ANIELA KOSTRZEWA

Warsaw, 21 February 1946. Judge Halina Wereńko, delegated to the Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, interviewed the person named 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 swore the witness in accordance with Art. 109 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Aniela Kostrzewa née Wojdyn
Date of birth 10 April 1910
Names of parents Jan and Julia née Rosik
Occupation tailor
Education seven years of elementary school
Place of residence Warsaw, Tarnowiecka Street 42, flat 1
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none
Marital status widowed, has a 15-year old son

Before the war, my husband worked at the Supreme Court as the first chairman’s chauffeur. Under German occupation, he also worked as a chauffeur in the penitentiary system, the office was located on Daniłowiczowska Street.

I don’t know if he belonged to an underground organization because my husband never spoke to me about it.

On 10 December 1943, five German gendarmes came by car to our flat at Tarnowiecka Street 47 (Grochów). Four of them entered our flat. All were armed and had helmets strapped under their chins. They immediately asked about my husband and I saw that one of them was holding a list with my husband’s surname, name and date of birth.

That was at 6:00 in the morning, my husband was still in bed. The gendarmes ordered him to get dressed, conducted a brief personal inspection and looked under the pillow. They didn’t search the flat at all. Having gotten dressed, my husband was taken to the car and driven away, as I later learned, to Pawiak prison.

The next day, my husband sent me back a powder-box, a watch, and 150 złotys, which he had on him at the time of the arrest, through a friend working in Pawiak prison. I don’t know this friend’s name.

On 23 December 1943, my husband’s name and surname appeared on a list of hostages. Another notice was published a few days after Christmas, which stated that my husband and 39 other people had been executed on 23 December.

I didn’t know anyone who was executed along with my husband.

That day, the execution was conducted on Wolska Street, next to the Wolski Hospital, so I suppose that is where my husband died. I don’t know what happened to the corpses or any of the details of the execution.

The report was read out.