JANINA BORKOWSKA

Warsaw, 8 March 1946. Judge Halina Wereńko, delegated to the Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, interviewed the person specified below as a witness. Having advised the witness of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the significance of the oath, the judge took an oath from the witness under Article 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Janina Stanisława Borkowska, née Kacprzak
Date of birth 1 January 1908
Parents’ names Roch and Maria
Occupation office worker in a factory
Education seven classes of vocational school
Place of residence Pawia Street 65
Religion Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

During the German occupation I resided at Pawia Street 65, next to the apartment that I currently occupy. I lived together with my husband, Jakub Edward Borkowski (born in 1903), a chauffeur by profession, who was last employed by the Municipal Department of Sanitation.

My husband never told me that he worked for an underground organisation, and I did not ask, for I preferred not to know. However, following my husband’s arrest on the basis of a list that contained his address and personal details, I surmised that he was involved with an underground organisation. He was arrested on 5 November 1943. Gestapo men took him from our home to Pawiak prison. The search conducted in our house did not disclose anything. The head of the Municipal Department of Sanitation, Popielski, as well as his son, Górski, and Zawadzki, were all arrested at the same time as my husband.

I don’t know much about these affairs, you could get more details from Wielogórska, whose husband was arrested at the time and then executed together with my husband.

I don’t know Wielogórska’s address, but I think she will come forward of her own accord.

A poster was put up stating that on 9 November 1943, all of those arrested had been placed on a list of hostages. On 12 November my husband and others arrested along with him were executed by firing squad; posters dated 14 November 1943 gave information of this fact. I received no information about my husband from the time of his arrest.

The report was read out.