On 17 August 1945 in Warsaw, Investigating Judge Mikołaj Halfter interviewed the person specified 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 the witness, who then testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Anna Pia Mycielska |
| Date of birth | 23 September 1923 |
| Names of parents | Michał and Zofia |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, Piusa XI Street 4 |
| Occupation | administrative employee of the Polish Red Cross Graves and Cemeteries division in Warsaw |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
In compliance with the instructions from the Department of Health of the Municipal Board in Warsaw (exhumations division), I went to Agrykola Street, where corpses were being extracted from a storm sewer. When I arrived, I found 16 bodies placed on the ground. This was on 8 August 1945. On that day, no more bodies were extracted. Consequently, I proceeded to identify the bodies. I did not go down to the sewer because I did not have proper clothes. According to Jasiński, head of the group sent from the City Water Utility Department, who had been inside the sewer and conducted work there, the corpses – as well as those extracted on the next day – had been on makeshift benches constructed from wooden boards and some of them had been lying in the sewer, while others had been piled in a heap, on which the water flowing down the drain had stopped.
As a result, the bodies had only shreds of clothes on them. On 9 August, another 16 bodies were extracted. At that juncture, I interrupted my actions, pending the completion of masonry works. The Water Utility Department is to notify the Polish Red Cross of the date on which the extraction of bodies can be resumed. Over the course of these two days, I identified the bodies extracted and compiled a list, which I enclose to the present report (at that juncture, the witness submitted the list, which has been added to the present report).
Let me say that in the course of the extraction of the bodies, I was approached by a man who said that he had identified the body of his wife, Czesława Krzyżanowska among the corpses. He took the body and buried it at the cemetery in Służew, with permission from the Department of Health. He notified me of this fact. This man claimed that the bodies from the sewer were the people who were trying to get from Mokotów to Śródmieście [City Center] between 28 and 29 September 1944. They had accessed the sewer through a hatch at the junction of Belgijska Street and Dworkowa Street and were to resurface at the junction of Piusa Street and Aleje Ujazdowskie. The storm sewer leads to the Vistula river. Under Łazienkowska Street, a sewer pipe branches off towards the hatch at the junction of Aleje Ujazdowskie and Piusa Street. Since exiting there was not an option due to the proximity of German posts, the entire group retreated towards Dworkowa Street. Some of the people reached Dworkowa Street, but others decided to wait in the sewer because it was under fire which was coming from the direction of the Belweder area. This man claimed that he had exited the drain in Dworkowa Street after the Germans ceased to execute the people getting out through this hatch. His account suggested that between 28 and 29 September, he was part of the abovementioned group.
One of the casual onlookers in the crowd that was present at the extraction of the bodies but who refused to state his name, told me that at that time, the Germans had elevated the water level in the drain and consequently, many people had drowned there. Another person (who also refused to provide his name) stated that in order to liquidate the people in the drain, the Germans threw carbide inside and poisoned them that way with gas.
I would like to state that during the extraction of the bodies, Jasiński, who was in charge of the works, gave me documents which had been found scattered in the sewer. These documents are on file at the Polish Red Cross repository (Information Bureau). Let me say that looking at some of those documents, I have concluded that they were removed from the pockets of the corpses’ clothes by the workers carrying out the extraction, who were looking for valuables. Additional evidence is the fact that I saw that some of the pockets or what had remained of them were only recently torn. On the basis of how the feet of some of the corpses looked, I have concluded that shortly before their extraction, they had had their shoes removed, since the part of the leg that had a shoe had a different color than the rest of the body, and this was true only as regards the part where the rim of the upper part of the shoe used to be.
Among the items extracted from the sewer at that location, there was also a pair of crutches. A sub-machine gun (rozpylacz) was found, as well as two helmets and magazines for machine guns.
I cannot explain what has happened to the helmets and the rozpylacz. Mr. Świderski was supposed to take them, but I do not believe that he did.
I would add that on 8 and 9 August of this year, Mr. Bronisław Świderski (MA) was present during the extraction of the bodies. He was taking photographs.
I have nothing more to add.
The report was read out.
I wish to add that the bodies described above were relatively well-preserved, except the heads, on which there was no flesh whatsoever. Whether the body was of a man or a woman could be established beyond reasonable doubt. I closely inspected the bodies that were extracted from the storm sewer, but I noticed no traces of bullet wounds on them, nor did I notice anything to suggest that any parts of the bodies had been wrapped in bandages.
The report was read out.
REPORT No. 9/AM
Due to late notification from the Department of Health, I arrived on site when 16 bodies had already been extracted. The corpses were being extracted from a storm sewer. Inside the sewer, they had been piled in a rather big heap, partially obstructing the flow of water, due to which almost all bodies were without clothes.
According to one man who had been with this particular group (he refused to state his name), the events occurred on the night between 28 and 29 September 1944. These people were escaping from Mokotów to Śródmieście [City Center]. The hatch was in Dworkowa Street. The storm water outlet leads to the Vistula. Under Łazienkowska Street, there is a pipe branching off to the exit hatch at the junction of Aleje Ujazdowskie and Piusa XI Street. Since it was impossible to exit there due to constant fire, the entire group retreated towards Dworkowa Street. One part of the group moved to Dworkowa Street, while the rest, the sewer being under fire in the Belweder area, decided to wait there, i.e. near Agrykola Street.
How the events subsequently unfolded may be reconstructed as follows:
In the storm sewer, bodies were found sitting on makeshift benches and drowned in such a position. According to further information, the Germans elevated the water level in the sewer (in Łazienkowska Street or near Dworkowa Street) and that way, these people drowned unsuspectingly, which is borne out by the fact they were found in a sitting position.
At the same time, the Germans were said to have poured carbide into the sewer and the fumes caused fainting, and consequently, death in the deep water (normally, the water level was at waist height).
Among the corpses, many documents were found.
The "freshness" of the print indicates that the documents were removed from pockets. The shreds of the pockets have been recently torn. All this is evidence that before the bodies were extracted, the laborers searched them for valuables.
Anna Pia Mycielska
The victims extracted from the sewer in Agrykola Street
Name and
| surname | DOB | Sex | Nat. | Buried | Distinctive marks – reposit. | Report no. Sign no. |
| N.N. | M | P | Lindleya Square, tomb V | Army gaiters, grey sweater, mag pouch belt. Naked. Insurgent. | 240/AM 10146 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Blue shirt with tiny black and white stripes. High boots, rubber. Navy blue tracksuit. Insurgent. | 241/AM 10177 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | High boots, tied with leather straps. Naked. | 242/AM 10179 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Hand-made sweater. Stitching of rather big holes, probably grey. Navy blue suit. Leather belt in repository. | 243/AM 10178 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Navy blue coat, navy blue jacket. Military sweater. Insurgent. | 244/AM 10176 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Army gaiters, army socks. Belt. Insurgent. | 245/AM 10162 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | High army boots. Shreds of uniform. Naked. Insurgent. | 249/AM 10153 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Probably pregnant. Claret dress (or just skirt). White singlet. Sports shirt in multicolored tiny stripes. | 246/AM 10160 | |
| Name and | ||||||
| surname | DOB | Sex | Nat. | Buried | Distinctive marks – reposit. | Report no. Sign no. |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Skating boots, brown from heel to tip, buckled belt. Near this body and the next two bodies, some scattered documents were found. | 247/AM 10193 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Naked. Documents found next to the body, see 247/AM | 255/AM 10155 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Naked. Riding boots with oblong metal plates. | 248/AM 10164 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | High army boots. Naked. | 250/AM 10184 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Army coat or jacket, waterproof, buttons with likeness of eagle engraved. Insurgent. | 251/AM 10159 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Grey hand-made sweater, trousers tucked into socks, long, probably green. Rubber boots. | 252/AM 1 0200 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Naked. Army boots. Army belt. Mag pouch belt. Insurgent. | 253/AM 10199 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | T-shirt, probably white. Grey uniform, denim. Insurgent. | 256/AM 10195 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Ski boots. Naked. Remains. | 257/AM 10197 | |
| Name and | ||||||
| surname | DOB | Sex | Nat. | Buried | Distinctive marks – reposit. | Report no. Sign no. |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Ski boots. Grey sweater. Thick navy blue jacket. | 258/AM 101[…]6 | |
| Krzyżanowska | ||||||
| Czesława | 25.12. 1905 | F | P | Służew | Body identified and taken by family. | 254/AM |
| N.N. | M | P | Lindleya Square, tomb V. | Naked. Tall. Army belt and mag pouch. Insurgent. | 259/AM 10195 | |
| N.N. | M | P | Lindleya Square, tomb V | Upper jaw: 4 gold teeth on both sides. Zipper sweater. Tracksuit. Insurgent. | 260/AM 10194 | |
| Kondratowicz | ||||||
| Jerzy Bohdan | 16.6. 1926 | M | P | −”− | Navy blue jacket and trousers. Brown leather. Grenade found under belt. Insurgent. Rep.: tram ticket, gorget, many documents. | 261/AM 10192 |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Grey jacket, big buttons. Fastened at neck, round collar. | 262/AM 10191 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Navy blue zipper sweater. Artificial lower teeth. Rep.: artificial teeth. | 263/AM 10190 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Grey pants, pink T-shirt, grey sweater with big buttons covered with fabric. Suede derby shoes, Tyrolean-like. | 264/AM 10189 | |
| N.N. | young | M | P | −”− | Navy blue slips. Boy. | 265/AM 10188 |
| Name and | ||||||
| surname | DOB | Sex | Nat. | Buried | Distinctive marks – reposit. | Report no. Sign no. |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Army-issued boots with rubber soles. Naked. | 266/AM 10187 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Tall. Sweater, probably grey, metal buttons at the back. Upper jaw: second wisdom tooth to the left with big silver filling. Dress, probably claret. Sports shirt with metal buttons. | 267/AM 10185 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Remains, naked. | 268/AM 10182 | |
| N.N. | M | P | −”− | Remains. Green shirt, leotard with large holes. | 269/AM 10183 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Remains, naked. | 270/AM 10186 | |
| N.N. | F | P | −”− | Tarpaulin jacket with collar at neck. Elastic stripe at the back. Sports shirt. | 271/AM 10181 | |
| Notes: |
On the bodies filed under report no. 249/AM, 255/AM, 247/AM, the following documents were found:
Gumowska Maria Wanda, DOB. 1.9.1904 in Warsaw, resident of Rakowiecka Street 17.
Together with the documents of Mrs. Gumowska, the documents of her son were found:
Andrzej Gumowski, DOB. 16.1.1928 in Lublin, resident of Rakowiecka Street 17;
Graff Halina Irena, DOB. 22.4.1925 in Utrata, resident of Warsaw, Mickiewicza Street 30;
Solski Wiesław, DOB. 12.5.1923 in Warsaw, resident of Warsaw, Łomżyńska Street 34.
As regards the documents scattered in the sewer, they were issued to the names of the following persons:
Kowalski Zygfryd, DOB. 7.10.1901 in Raczyniewo, resident of Puławska Street 24;
Michałkiewicz Leonard, resident of Puławska Street 13;
Koźmińska Maria;
Górski Włodzimierz Antoni, DOB. 9.5.1916;
| ” | Zbigniew Tadeusz DOB. 24.2.1911; |
| ” | Jerzy DOB. 17.4.1921; |
| ” | Feliks Antoni, resident of Brühl house, Miłosna; |
| Mich | alska Janina, DOB. 13.2.1912, resident of Marszałkowska Street 36. |