JÓZEF POTOCKI

On 17 December 1945 in Warsaw Investigating Judge Halina Wereńko 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 him in, following which the witness testified as follows:


Forename and surname Józef Potocki
Age 50 years old
Names of parents Józef and Antonina
Place of residence Ziemowita Street 39
Occupation priest of the Resurrection of Our Lord parish
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

On 1 August 1944 at 5.00 p.m. the insurgents attacked a German unit near the railway track. The assault was unsuccessful and they retreated having suffered considerable losses. In retaliation, the Germans rapidly – in the course of a few minutes – threw out the residents and burned down three houses at księcia Ziemowita Street 41, Wszeborska Street 13, and the building of the “Polnin” company at Hutnicza Street. Then they started dragging people out of houses that looked suspicious to them. And thus from the house at Wszeborska Street 12 they dragged out five people: Jerzy Winiarski (then 23 years old), an office worker; Sylwester Karski (23 years old), a locksmith; Franciszek Cieślak (41years old), a carpenter; Zbigniew Kowalski (17 years old), a cart driver; Stanisław Młudźko (46 years old), a railwayman; Tadeusz Marciniak (19 years old), a confectioner, and executed all of them by machine gun at księcia Ziemowita Street 42, near the wall of the house, at the corner of Wszeborska Street.

The bodies of the murder victims were exhumed by their families in 1945. Presently, the bodies are buried in Bródnowski Cemetery, while the death certificates were issued at the Resurrection of Our Lord parish. I have been told all of the above by the families of the victims, namely: Winiarski (I do not know his forename, Wszeborska Street 12), father of Jerzy, resident in his own house; Cecylia Młudźko, the wife of the murdered Stanisław (resident at Birżańska Street 16 and after remarrying – Cecylia Pozłotko).

I did not see this incident myself, because I was in the presbytery at the time and it was only thanks to the securely closed door and the presence of mind of the housekeeper, who did not let the Germans in despite their persistent hammering, that I was saved from being dragged out and executed. The same for the people then present in the presbytery, to which they fled from the street during the abovementioned events. Apart from the families, more details concerning this execution could be provided by Leokadia Królikowska (resident at Ziemowita Street 42), a midwife by profession, for the execution took place right under her windows.

Having carried out the execution at Ziemowita Street, the Germans proceeded to Hutnicza Street and there abducted seven other people, mainly the elderly and fathers of families, namely: Mieczysław Kralak (39 years old), a painter, married; Stanisław Biegaj (44 years old), a rammer; Bolesław Rosztawicki (38 years old), a laborer; Władysław Choiński (50 years old), a carpenter; Jan Karczmarczyk (46 years old), a caretaker; Józef Średnicki (some 49 years old), a laborer; Jan Masłowski (38 years old), a laborer. All of them were taken under the pretext that they would be burying bodies or performing some sort of work, and the officer commanding the revenge unit gave the families his word of honor that nothing untoward would happen to the detainees. Instead, half a kilometer further on, he had them executed in the field near the wall of the Gley factory.

The families buried the bodies in Bródnowski Cemetery, while the death certificates were issued in my parish. Currently, the wall at this point is demolished; the location is unattended and there is no plaque informing of the execution. I know the details of this event from the wives of the murdered men, who told me about [the execution] while drawing up the death certificates, namely: Choińska (I do not know her forename, resident at Hutnicza Street 17) and others, who, as their house burnt down, moved to other streets and districts.

Leokadia Królikowska, mentioned above, is in possession of bullets with traces of blood, which were taken from the wall of the Gley factory and – as she told me – were fired during the said execution. She has shown me these bullets. A year after this execution, Królikowska found three more bodies of persons murdered in unknown circumstances: Zbigniew Drągowski (24 years old), Gustaw Bronisław [Belon?] (28 years old) and Czesław Łypaczewski (26 years old).

The surnames were determined on the basis of identity papers found on the bodies. The death certificates of these victims were not drawn up in my parish and I do not know if they were buried in Bródno; Królikowska will determine this.

All of the surnames that I have given are verified, for in my capacity as the parish priest and registrar I drew up the death certificates in my office.

Furthermore, wishing to honor these innocent martyrs, the community decided to install a plaque with the surnames of all the victims murdered within the area of the parish.

In addition, I heard from the wives of Jan Kowalewski and Zbigniew Noskowski that they had been murdered by the Germans when they left home to shepherd a goose into a shed. A passing German patrol shot them both. This occurred at Dźwińska Street 9, flat 11; the wives of the murdered men currently live at this address, and they may provide more details.

I heard that the executions were carried out by German soldiers, not gendarmes.

The report was read out.