The ‘Palace’, which was also referred to as the ‘Slaughterhouse of Podhale’ saw thousands of Poles sent to camps and prisons and tortured and murdered. Among the prisoners were Blessed Father Piotr Dańkowski, Franciszek Gajowniczek, and the Tatra Couriers – Stanisław Marusarz, Bronisław Czech, and Dr. Wincenty Galica, Marian Polaczyk, and Władysław Szepelak. The museum was established on Chałubińskiego Street in 1994 on the initiative of one of the former inmates, Wincenty Galica. At that time, the walls still had the authentic marks and signs left by the prisoners. Unfortunately, in 1999, the new owner of the building removed the exhibit, remodelled the rooms and destroyed the original marks on the walls. Thanks to the Zakopane authorities, former inmates and a widespread media campaign, the museum and its collections were forcibly returned to the building – it has been reopened in 2001 and remained open since then. The exhibit features items belonging to the Gestapo and former inmates, including photographs, documents, instruments of torture, and the records of people held in the former hotel. A few years ago, the town of Zakopane and the local government of Małopolska bought the building from its owner – it is now managed by the Tatra Mountains Museum.