Warsaw, 14 July 1948. Judge Halina Wereńko, a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, interviewed the person named below as a witness, without taking an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Stanisława Rogalska, née Szajkowska |
| Parents’ names | Stanisław and Maria |
| Date of birth | 14 November 1899 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Citizenship and nationality | Polish |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, Dembińskiego Street 2/4 |
| Occupation | shop owner |
When the Warsaw Uprising broke out, I was at my home in Warsaw at Dembińskiego Street 2/4. I was accompanied by my husband Piotr Rogalski, aged 70, and sons Jan (21 years old) and Stefan (22 years old).
German units were stationed in the barracks at Gdańska Street. The insurrectionists did not conduct operations in our area. Before 13 September 1944 (I don’t remember the exact date) the German forces left the barracks and moved to the Central Institute of Physical Education. At more or less the same time (I don’t remember the exact date) German airplanes dropped leaflets. I don’t have one now, and back then it was read out to me; it contained an order for the civilian population to leave their houses by 08:00 on the next day and gather at the "Blaszanka" (Metal Products Factory), from where they would be transported out of Warsaw. Those who remained would be shot, and the houses burned down. I don’t remember exactly who had signed the leaflet, I think it was the commander of the forces that had taken up positions at the Central Institute of Physical Education. During this time, civilians from nearby wooden houses had also gathered at my house; in total, there were some 200 of us. The group contained many sick people, while my husband had just recently recovered from pneumonia, so we decided not to leave the house.
On 14 September at around 14:00 I heard what sounded like tank engines. I proceeded to the roof of my 2-storey house and saw that German tanks were advancing towards us along Marii Kazimiery Street, from the direction of the Central Institute of Physical Education, while German army detachments were marching along Dembińskiego Street. I did not recognise their unit. I quickly ran downstairs in order to warn everyone, whereafter we went down to the cellar. A few men ran out of our house; as far as I am aware, there is no information regarding their fate. After some time I heard a loud banging on the cellar door from the side of Dembińskiego Street and then calls in German for everyone to leave (Raus!). When this had no effect, the soldiers threw some grenades at the door, tearing it off its hinges, and then threw a few more grenades inside, wounding a few people. They were shouting at us to leave the cellar. I was one of the last to leave.
While still in the cellar, I saw people starting to leave and, after taking a few steps, the German soldiers would shoot at them. I saw a group of German soldiers standing by the front door, and it was they who were doing the shooting. I did not witness the moment when my husband and my son, Jan, walked out of the cellar; I was with my second son, Stefan, whom I hid in the cellar and then exited. I walked up to a German soldier standing in the street, by the front door, and started explaining that there were no insurrectionists in our house, only civilians, asking why they were killing us. The soldier didn’t shoot at me, and instead ordered me to go along Dembińskiego Street in the direction of Bielany. The following residents accompanied me: Filomena Pietrucha with her daughter Zofia (some 4 years of age), Mr and Mrs Gąsiorowicz, and a group of people from other houses. I walked along Dembińskiego and Marii Kazimiery streets towards the so-called ponds, presently dried up. Here I found my husband. We were surrounded by German soldiers armed with light machine guns.
A moment after I met up with my husband, a German soldier took him and two other men and led them up a hillock; I then heard three shots and the soldier returned alone.
I saw male bodies scattered around the pond. I cannot say how many there were, but definitely more than ten. After some time, the German soldiers brought along a group of men and many groups of women from Marymont. I saw a German soldier drive up on a motorcycle and hand over a piece of paper to the unit commander. Afterwards I did not witness any more shooting by the ponds. Those in our group guessed that this had been an order to cease further executions.
During the night our whole group, numbering a few hundred people, were taken to the Central Institute of Physical Education and placed in one of the halls. The next day we were taken to the Bielański Forest, from where, under the cover of a foreign air raid, I escaped to the Marists in Bielany.
I later learned from friends who had remained in the group that they were taken to the transit camp in Pruszków. In 1945 I learned from Mr and Mrs Gąsiorowicz (currently residing at Bieniewicka Street 4), who had exited the cellar of my house after me, that my son, Stefan, and the others who were hiding in the cellar had been murdered.
In total, more than 200 people were shot dead in front of my house. While exiting the cellar, I saw the following people standing in the street, near the front door: Michał Kuczyński with his wife, Józef Kuczyński, Stanisław Pietrucha, Widulski (I don’t remember his first name), Franciszek Franczyk, Wirgiliusz Arkita with his wife Regina and two children, 7-year old Zbigniew Arkita, Kobus with her 7-year old grandson, Mystkowska with her daughter and two grandchildren, Strzelczyk (I don’t remember his first name, maybe it was Szymon), Wacław Zientara with his wife and child, Kazimierz Echor, Artur Wysocki, Bukatowicz with his wife and small son, Jajkowska, Eugeniusz Dudzik, Jan Walczak, Stanisław Krawczyk and Alfreda Wróblewska with her daughter Izabela.
On 14 September 1944, just as had happened at our house, the Germans murdered the entire civilian population of the whole district of Marymont. I heard that the following were murdered at Dembińskiego Street 10: Wincenty Grabowski with his wife, Tokarski, and two small girls by the surname of Przedpełska. The following men were murdered by the ponds together with my husband: Stanisław Zawadzki, Eugeniusz Dudzik, and Stanisław Krawczyk.
After I returned to Warsaw in January 1945, I saw the bodies of these three men, unburied, by the ponds; some of the other bodies at this location had been buried in shallow graves, for I saw arms and legs sticking out from the ground. Exhumations carried out by the Polish Red Cross in 1945 resulted in the uncovering of the remains of those who had been murdered in front of my house and placed in a shallow grave in Dembińskiego Street. It was then that I recognised the body of my son, Stefan Rogalski. I took my husband’s body from beside the pond and organised a burial. Families took some of the other bodies, while the uncollected corpses were buried by the Polish Red Cross in a joint grave at Marii Kazimiery Street near house number 47.
From amongst those who escaped the execution on 14 September 1944, I have met in Warsaw Mr and Mrs Gąsiorowicz and Aniela Dudzik, whose address I don’t know. My son Jan survived by escaping from the execution spot.
At this point the report was brought to a close and read out.