KORNELIA WYSOCKA

Warsaw, 10 November 1949. Adam Tokarz interviewed the person named below as a witness, who testified as follows:


Name and surname Kornelia Wysocka née Witkowska,
Date of birth 1895 in Łomża
Parents’ name Stanisław and Agnieszka née Makowska
Father’s occupation beer bar owner
Nationality Polish
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Education four grades of elementary school
Place of residence Warsaw, Rymkiewicza Street 3
Criminal record none

Throughout the duration of the Uprising, until 14 September, I was in the house at Rymkiewicza Street 3. On 14 September, there were many civilians, mostly women and children, about 40 in number, in the basements there. No insurgent operation was conducted from our house. In the afternoon hours, a few soldiers burst into the house. They tossed grenades into the basements and told us to come out. The grenade explosion injured a number of people. Wróblewska who was sick and had stayed in her apartment, was killed by one of the grenades. German soldiers, speaking German, marched us along Marii Kazimiery Street towards the barracks in the grounds of the former Gas School. There was a larger group of soldiers standing in the field. They opened fire on us. Everyone fell down to the ground. I was not even injured. After a while the soldiers went away towards the “palace,” and soon sounds of shooting, shouting and crying could be heard coming from that direction. I was lying next to my husband who, dying, managed to say goodbye to me and said: “Long live Poland!” We lay like that during the following day and night, afraid to move, when a soldier walked up and finished off two people. During the second night, we were approached by soldiers who began to dig pits nearby. There were seven of us alive, including one wounded person. After announcing in German that the wounded were to be killed while the rest was to be escorted to the camp, two soldiers took us to Bielany, from where – along with a group of people from lower Żoliborz – we were sent away to the camp in Pruszków. I managed to flee from the transport.

Konstanty Szymanowski (residing at Marii Kazimiery Street 13) will be able to provide information about these events and circumstances. Only slightly wounded, he managed to crawl out from under a heap of people that day in the evening. From Ciszewski (as far as I know he lives at Paska Street 4, but I don’t know his first name) I learned that on Gdańska Street, probably in the building known as the “Pekin,” three women were raped and killed. He should also have information about the burning of people somewhere close to Marii Kazimiery Street.

At that the report was concluded and read out.