ELEONORA WOŹNIAKOWSKA

Warsaw, 5 April 1950. Janusz Gumkowski, acting as a member of the Main Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, interviewed the person named below, who testified as follows:


Forename and surname Eleonora Woźniakowska, née Białek
Date and place of birth 14 May 1916 in Warsaw
Names of parents Leon and Maria, née Szatkowska
Father’s occupation laborer
State affiliation Polish
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Education elementary school
Occupation pensioner
Place of residence Marywilska Street 3, flat 4
Criminal record none

When the Warsaw Uprising broke out, I was at home at Marywilska Street 3. From the very first day the insurgents from the technical school that was located near the tram terminus at Piotra Wysockiego Street fired upon German tanks driving along Toruńska Street.

On 2 August, at around 9.00 or 10.00 a.m., a German tank stopped at the corner of Marywilska and Toruńska streets. The Germans, I do not know their unit, but they wore green uniforms and were armed, started pounding on the gate that led from the street into the courtyard of our house; on that day it was closed. The door leading from the courtyard to the entrance hall was also closed. Once they got into the courtyard, the Germans started throwing grenades into the entrance hall. At the time, the residents of our house were in the basement – the “bunker”, because the Germans’ entry into our courtyard was preceded by intense shooting. After knocking down the door, they ordered all of us to leave the basement, threatening that they would throw in a grenade. We came out into the courtyard. The Germans stopped the men, but ordered the women to disperse. I ran into my flat to get my husband’s jacket, in which he had his papers. I realised that the flat was on fire. Thus, I returned to save it. A while later, one of the Germans came up, aimed his rifle at me and ordered me to leave. When I came down, there was no one in the courtyard. The men were standing in the street. The Germans led them to the corner of Toruńska and Piotra Wysockiego streets, towards the wall of the annex. Nearby, opposite the fire station, there was a small potato field. They ordered them to stand facing the wall. While walking along Piotra Wysockiego Street in the direction of the tram terminus, I caught a glimpse of a German aiming at the men, and saw my husband, Roman Woźniakowski, fall, but he did not seem to be dead. I did not hear any more shots. I found some of the women from our house. When everything fell silent and the German tanks left, we immediately returned to the crime scene . The men from our house were lying, dead, amongst the potatoes: my husband – Roman Woźniakowski, my father – Leon Białek, the father of the owner of the house – Jan Gniadek, the owner of the house – Wacław Gniadek; Pawłowski, Bielawski, Bobiński – seven people in total. The son of Mrs. Śmieszek, a resident of our house, had also been killed nearby; he was shot by the Germans from the tank. Thus on that day, 2 August 1944, the Germans committed a crime on eight civilian men.

I did not hear about any other crimes committed by the Germans in our area during the Uprising.

At this point the report was concluded and read out.