Wojciech Debowski, a Polish film maker living in the US, is working on a documentary movie about the German World War Two women's camp Ravensbrueck , where pseudo-medical experiments were carried out on Polish prisoners.
Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Joanna Najfeld.
Ravensbrueck was one of the largest German Nazi World War Two work camps, and the largest one for women only. The first group of prisoners was transported there in 1939. Beginning in 1942, the camp became the site of criminal, pseudomedical experiments on prisoners. The women were injected with deadly bacteria, or forced to undergo drastic surgeries. Tens of thousands died in pain and suffering. Those who survived, but became invalid as a result of experiments, were murdered in gas chambers.
Wojciech Debowski, the documentary film maker, has for years attended get togethers of Ravensbrueck survivors and managed to collect scores of testimonies. One of the still living survivors, probably the best well-known, is Wanda Półtawska, a Polish psychiatrist and pro-life activist, most famous for her spiritually close friendship with the late Polish Pope, John Paul II.
It was Wanda Połtawska's book, explaining in details the horror of everyday life in the camp, which inspired Wojciech Debowski to explore this topic. He has been filming the witnesses testimonies for several years. Right now, the 80 hours of raw material, awaits cutting and editing.