Lublin, 13 October 1947. Deputy Prosecutor Mieczysław Nowakowski, a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, interviewed the person named below, who testified as follows:
My name is Halina Ryżukiewicz, 43 years old, Roman Catholic, criminal record – none, relationship to the parties – none, an office worker, residing in Lublin at Poniatowskiego Street 8, flat 2.
I did not witness the execution held by German units on 2 September 1944. During the night of 2 September insurrectionary units left the Old Town in Warsaw, leaving severely wounded insurrectionists and civilians at the "Pod Krzywą Latarnią" (Under the Crooked Lantern) Hospital. There could have been some 200 wounded. I worked as a nurse at the hospital, along with other women.
On 2 September 1944, at around 07:00, the Germans entered the Old Town from the direction of Wąski Dunaj Street and immediately ordered everyone to leave the basement areas and stand in line in the street, at the same time grouping the elderly, the crippled, and those who could not walk on their own at "Krzywa Latarnia". The healthy people who were lined up in the street knew what fate would befall those who remained. Since they were leaving their loved ones behind, the scenes that took place could make your blood run cold. The Germans acted cruelly, hitting people with rifle butts, etc.
Once we had been arranged in a line, we were driven on foot towards Pruszków, through the Wola district. Young, healthy men would be taken from the column every so often. It was said that they were executed as insurrectionists. I did not see the shootings. These young, healthy men would leave our ranks with their hands held high, guarded by SS men. When these men were taken away, we would hear bursts of machine gun fire. We surmised that they were being shot. The Germans who were escorting us said that the men in question would be executed.
I would like to stress that the Old Town had been occupied by Wehrmacht units. I don’t know the surnames of the commanders of this specific detachment.
While I was being held in the camp in Pruszków, I learned from clandestine newspapers that the Germans had first gassed the wounded and the civilians in "Krzywa Latarnia", and then set fire to the building in order to hide all traces of their mass crime.
When I returned to Warsaw from Germany on 10 February 1945, I immediately went to the Old Town to take a look at the charred ruins of "Krzywa Latarnia". Amongst the rubble I saw blackened bodies – in all probability they belonged to those who had been there on 2 September 1944.
I cannot provide the surnames of those who escaped from the Old Town. I remember only two surnames, namely: a commander under the pseudonym of "Bończa" and a canon priest, Lewi, whose present addresses I do not know.
I cannot say anything about the other crimes referred to in the document authored by the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, dated 26 September 1947, for I did not witness them.
I know nothing else.
The report was read out.