Warsaw, 7 November 1947. A member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, Judge Halina Wereńko, heard as a witness the person specified below; the witness did not swear an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Mieczysław Gębski |
| Parents’ names | Adam and Mieczysława née Omiczyńska |
| Date of birth | 18 August 1909 in Wierzbica, Błonie district |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, Mickiewicza Street 18, flat 36 |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Education | elementary school |
| Occupation | merchant, shop owner |
At the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising, I was in my shop at Freta Street 8 in Warsaw. Near the shop, in the St Hyacinth church, in the side aisle and in the corridor between the church and the monastery, a hospital for the injured insurgents and civilians was set up after the evacuation of the St John of God Hospital (I don’t remember the exact date). Dr Szumigaj from the St John of God Hospital was a doctor there, and the sanitary staff consisted of sisters from the same hospital and sisters from the monastery at Freta Street 10. How many injured people there were in the hospital, I cannot tell. I saw that they were lying close to one another.
On 1 September, the Germans seized a barricade on the corner of Freta Street and Długa Street, and entered Freta Street from the direction of Stara Street and Mostowa Street.
On 30 August and 1 September, as a result of heavy shelling, the ceilings collapsed in a few places in the middle of the church and in the right aisle.
On 1 September at noon I got injured on Mostowa Street, I lost consciousness and I don’t remember how I got to the basement of my shop at Freta Street 8.
I learned much later that on 2 September the Germans led people from the church to Wola, and then to the Pruszków transit camp. The routes were various: through Plac Zamkowy [the Castle Square] and the Traugutt park.
After some time, I cannot exactly tell, maybe after a few hours, maybe after a few days, I regained consciousness due to smoke. I discovered that my house was aflame. I went out to the street and saw that all the houses in the neighborhood were aflame, and also the church. I put out a part of the fire in my shop and I returned to the basement.
After some time, the Germans set up a sentry post in my shop, so I couldn’t reveal my presence. While I was in the basement, from time to time I could hear dogs barking, steps, conversations, music and Polish songs, shooting, screams, and crying. I think that the Germans were catching Polish people who were hiding. I had some food in the basement, but I was in need of water. I remained in such conditions until 15 December 1944.
I determined the date of my departure at a later time.
On that day, as the German sentries were gone, I got to Freta Street 1, and then, over several nights, I got to Franciszkańska Street. While I was still in the basement on Freta Street, I heard the movement of German vehicles and the Germans talking. I think they made a connection between Żoliborz and Śródmieście, in the direction of Stare Miasto [Old Town], at Freta Street.
On 18 December I got to Franciszkańska Street. There I encountered Polish workers from Włochy. Their office was at Piłsudskiego Street in Włochy. In secrecy, the workers provided me with clothes, cut my hair and brought me to Włochy.
As for my family, my cousin and her mother, Gębska, and my cousin’s husband, Śledź, died as a result of the bombardment of the St Hyacinth church by German planes on 31 August or 1 September 1944. Presently I have met with almost none of the injured whom I had seen in the St Hyacinth church and whom I had known by sight.
In the spring of 1945 I met Roman Tośko and his sister. During several exhumations carried out by the Polish Red Cross he took many remains from under the rubble of the church. People who had been evacuated from the church on 2 September, among others Szymańska, told me that some of the injured had stayed in the church.
At this the report was closed and read out.