Warsaw, 7 November 1947. A member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Warsaw, Acting Judge Halina Wereńko, interviewed the person named below as a witness, without an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the obligation to speak the truth, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Wincenty Lesław Wiśniewski |
| Parents’ names | Karol and Maria, née Hauser |
| Date of birth | 14 September 1904, Dobromil, Lwów Voivodeship |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, Żoliborz, Sarbiewska Street 2, flat 27 |
| Citizenship and nationality | Polish |
| Education | Mathematics and Natural Sciences Faculty |
| Occupation | Assistant Professor at the Department of Zoology at the University of Warsaw |
During the German occupation, just like now, I worked as an Associate Professor and Senior Assistant at the Department of Zoology in Warsaw at Krakowskie Przedmieście Street 26/28. In the autumn of 1939, the Department of Zoology was located in the former Main School [Szkoła Główna] building on the side of Oboźna Street. The building was partially damaged, as a result of which we transferred the collections to undamaged rooms. The people who were then present in the department were: Prof. Wacław Roszkowski (who died in the uprising), Associate Professor Stanisław Markowski (currently staying at the Embassy in London), on rare occasions Associate Professor Jarocki (deceased), janitor Jan Sucharski, from time to time Associate Professor Jaczewski, a student called Olędzki, and myself.
In the second half of November 1939 (I don’t remember the exact date), a German officer and two military men in uniforms came to the department. I don’t remember their ranks and I don’t know their names. The officer was tall, wearing a pince-nez, and about 35-40 years old. Without introducing themselves, they demanded that all the rooms be opened. We were in the middle of transferring the exhibits, so the items were scattered and disorderly. I believe that the Germans thought that the collections were damaged and went on to the library. I got the impression that they didn’t know which books were valuable; they only looked for textbooks in German, and ignored copies. Having inspected the library, they took out twenty to thirty volumes (about one cabinet). When leaving, they told us not to enter the building. The janitor who lived downstairs was to make sure no one violated this prohibition.
After the Germans’ visit, the rest of the personnel and I took out three wardrobes of copies, a number of the most valuable books, and new microscopes, and we removed lenses and glasses from older microscopes that were used for practice. We hid those items at the house of Prof. Roszkowski, at my place, and at the houses of friends.
I was not present when the same group of Germans visited the department for the second time. The janitor told me that they took some things, but I don’t know exactly what. All books had the department stamp. Within seven days, I will submit a list of books, reproduced from memory, that were in the department, many of which are still missing. We did not take them from the department, so they were probably taken away by that group of Germans.
At this point, the report was concluded and read out.