Holocaust Archaeology : GPR Subsurface Imaging of the Mila 18 Memorial in Warsaw, Poland

Color poster with text, images, photographs, and maps. ; The main tool used in this project was ground penetrating radar (GPR). Alongside the GPR data, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data was also collected. The integrated use of ERT and GPR measurements, and in particular the joint analysis of 2D and 3D data, can represent a valid solution for target identification at complex archaeological sites. Another benefit of using GPR in these environments is they are lightweight, portable, robust, and digital. Information can also be viewed in real time allowing the ability to assess results in the field. GPR provides the ability to view objects in the subsurface via reflections and refractions from radio waves sent into the ground. ERT measures how resistive certain objects are to electricity and captures that data over time for the best results. During WWII, the Mila 18 bunker was a hideout where goods were smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto. The Warsaw Ghetto was created during the German occupation of Poland. This was the largest of the ghettos created during the war. Warsaw was the largest city in Poland with the largest Jewish population. On May 8, 1943, there was a total of 300 people in the bunker which included the leader of the Zydowska Organizacja Bojowa (ZOB) and 120 resistance fighters (Museum of the History of Polish Jews, 2017). The bunker was attacked by German troops. They gassed the bunker and the fighters committed suicide. The civilians in the bunker were able to flee. What we aim to find is how these civilians got out. By using geophysical methods at this location, it could be proven how these civilians got out if the tools are able to locate any potential tunnels connecting to the sewer system. ; LE Phillips Family Foundation; University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire Office of Research and Sponsored Programs