The atrium is a part of the exhibition that fosters reflections and brings up memories linked to the history of our town. The building used to house detention cells. However, their importance was changing with the history of the building. The inter-war period was the time when the People’s Militia, Town Militia, Communal Police and the Field Gendarmerie operated in Oświęcim. They were in charge of policing and security in the town. Their seat was in the magistrate located in the town hall in that period. World War II was the time when duties related to policing and security were taken over by the ‘blue police’ subordinated to the German authorities. The time of the PRL (the Polish People’s Republic) was yet another and different period for the building. Cells in the Town Hall saw interrogations of Home Army soldiers, activists of underground organisations and politicians of opposition parties.