ZOFIA JANKOWSKA

Warsaw, 18th March 1946. The investigating judge Alicja Germasz, delegated to the Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, heard as a witness the person specified below. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the importance of the oath the witness was sworn and testified as follows:

Name and surname Zofia Jankowska née Bogdańska


Parents’ names Julian and Zofia
Date of birth 9 March 1907
Education six classes of secondary school
Place of residence Warsaw, Swarzewska Street 65, flat 2
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

My husband Zdzisław Jankowski (born on 25th August 1911 in Pruszków) had worked in the Pruszków power plant, Szczęśliwice substation, as a fitter. On 2 December 1941, he was arrested by the Germans and incarcerated in Pawiak.

How the arrest looked, I do not know, since it didn’t happen at our home and I was not present there. I learned about this from one of my husband’s friends. As far as I can tell, my husband was a member of a secret Polish organization, but we had never talked about this, as he did not want to let me in on it for the sake of my safety.

After strenuous efforts, I eventually managed to get my husband out of the prison at the end of January 1942.

On 21 November 1943, my husband was arrested again. It happened in a herb shop in Okęcie, the result of some row with the Germans. I don’t know any details, I learned about this from my husband’s co-workers, who in turn learned about this as someone notified the power plant of the arrest. On 25 November 1943, I found my husband’s name and surname on posters in town with a list of hostages who were to be executed. On 2 December 1943, I found my husband’s name and surname on posters with a list of people killed in a public execution on Puławska Street. There were 202 names on the list, and the first one was of Stefan Bryła, a professor of the Warsaw University of Technology.

Apart from that, I have not had any news about my husband.

The report was read out.