JANINA GAWROŃSKA

Warsaw, 23 February 1948. Judge Halina Wereńko, a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, interviewed the person named below as a witness, without taking an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Janina Henryka Gawrońska, née Kwiatkowska
Date of birth 30 March 1920 in Warsaw
Parents" names Jan and Wacława, née Kowalska
Religion Roman Catholic
Education secondary trade school
Place of residence Polanica-Zdrój (Kłodzko), "Ballada" villa, Owcza Street 6
Citizenship and nationality Polish
Occupation housewife

I took part in the Warsaw Uprising as a nurse in the 1st Motorised Artillery Battalion "Młot" ("Radosław"), under the pseudonym "Łukasz".

On 2 August 1944 I was ordered by the military authorities to organise a first-aid post for a dozen or so wounded at Długa Street 20. In the middle of August I organised a first-aid post for some 30 wounded at Długa Street 16, and I also took care of a post for a few wounded at Długa Street 10. The physician at the first-aid post at Długa Street 16 was Dr Wnuk, who on 1 September left the hospital and proceeded through the sewers to the Śródmieście district.

On 1 September a fire broke out in the house at Długa Street 16 and I evacuated 29 wounded from there to the hospital at Długa Street 7. I would estimate that at the time the hospital housed some one hundred wounded and part of the personnel, the surnames of whom I do not know. At Długa Street 7 I took care of the 29 wounded whom I had transferred; they were lying in a room on the first floor. I was accompanied by sister "Monika". It was on the morning of 2 September that I first saw a German soldier enter my room. I explained to him – being fluent in German – that my room contained wounded civilians. The soldiers withdrew.

An hour later, an SS unit burst into the hospital (I recognised they were SS men by their insignia) and a few of them ran into my room, where they proceeded to shoot the wounded with their pistols. Among others, they shot nurse "Ninka" dead, who did not want to abandon her wounded husband. An SS man shot her and her wounded husband. I was able to bring my wounded sister, also a Home Army nurse, down into the hospital courtyard. I also saw that "Monika" had managed to bring down her wounded commander, major "Zdan". When I was leaving the room, the shooting was underway. While I was proceeding down the staircase, I saw that the soldiers were using rags to set fire to the building. Passing through the gate, I witnessed German soldiers throwing grenades through the windows into the cellars where the wounded lay. At the gate I saw one wounded insurrectionist, "Bobik", lying on a stretcher. I don"t know what was going on in the courtyard, for I was occupied with my sister. At the gate I saw an SS officer (I didn"t recognise his rank), about 30 years old. He was a tall blonde man, his face flushed with colour.

We exited through the gate into Długa Street. The less severely wounded, staff, and civilians went along with us. I did not see "Monika", but I did notice her a bit later in Kilińskiego Street.

We were stopped at the corner of Kilińskiego and Długa streets. While walking along Długa Street, I observed that house number 20, where the first-aid station had been situated, was aflame. As far as I know, the wounded who had been located there had not been taken away. In Kilińskiego Street we were joined by a dozen or so wounded from Długa Street 7 and a few other first-aid posts, and by a group of nurses, among others sisters "Mila" and "Monika". Here the SS men robbed our group, taking away our valuables. We were led along Kilińskiego and Podwale streets to Zamkowy Square.

Along the way our group, that is, the one from Długa Street 7, grew smaller, but we were joined by more and more civilians. I didn"t notice whether the soldiers pulled any wounded from among the marching people, but I did hear individual shots. When we were in Zamkowy Square, near the corner of Mariensztat Street, there was some movement. I was unable to see what was going on. I saw that "Monika" was walking a few steps behind me. "Ukrainians" would hit us in our faces and shower us with abuse. We were led down through Mariensztat Street, and then upwards, through the ruins, to Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. At the seminary a few people – among others "Monika" and major "Zdan" – were able to separate themselves from the group and go inside the seminary building. The whole crowd was then driven on foot to the Western Railway Station – there were now only 15 people left from our original group from Długa Street 7 – and from there transported to the transit camp in Pruszków.

At this point the report was brought to a close and read out.