What happened
“Zofiówka” was founded in the early 20th century by the Society for the Care of Mentally and Nervously Ill Jews; the land was bought with jewellery donated by Zofia Endelman, after whom the institution was named. In the 1930s it was the largest sanatorium in Otwock, treating poor patients free of charge, with work as an important part of therapy. During the occupation Zofiówka lay within the ghetto. When the Germans began liquidating it on 19 August 1942, some 110–140 people were murdered at the hospital; some were shot on the spot, the rest deported to Treblinka. Several doctors, including the director, took their own lives. Later a Lebensborn centre operated in the buildings, and after the war a tuberculosis sanatorium and a neuropsychiatric hospital. Today the abandoned pavilions are falling apart. Urban explorers speak of a strange, oppressive atmosphere after dark and of silhouettes seen in the windows of empty corridors.
Witnesses
Urban explorers and local residents; the institution's history is documented in testimonies of the ghetto liquidation, including Calel Perechodnik's memoir “Am I a Murderer?”.
Explanations and hypotheses
Zofiówka's history is well documented and needs no legends – it is the site of a crime against defenceless patients and their carers. The ghost stories come mainly from urban explorers and are hard to separate from the impression made by ruins with such a tragic past. The buildings are derelict and dangerous, and the Jewish community is pursuing a claim to the property in court. Entering without permission is illegal.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- Calel Perechodnik, Spowiedź (Ośrodek KARTA i Żydowski Instytut Historyczny, 2016)
- Marian Gągała, Otwocka służba zdrowia w chaosie XX wieku (Inwestprojekt-Druk, 2008)
- Tomasz Urzykowski, Rocznica zagłady Żydów z Otwocka i Falenicy. „Prosiła się o kulę, nadaremnie” (warszawa.wyborcza.pl, 2017)
More: Wikipedia (pl)