Warsaw, 26 January 1948. Member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, Judge Halina Wereńko, interviewed the person specified below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Roman Dworski |
| Names of parents | Jan and Teofila née Świtalska |
| Date of birth | 23 September 1910 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, Słoneczna Street 50, flat 38 |
| National and state affiliation | Polish |
| Education | master of law |
| Occupation | employee of the “Eljot” company |
On the day of the outbreak of the uprising I reported as a volunteer to the battalion “Odwet”, gathered in Staszic Housing Estate with a strength of around 1.6 thousand people. The rallying points of the battalion were located in the quadrangle enclosed by Sucha Street, Wawelska Street, aleja Niepodległości, and Filtrowa Street. The future field of action would encompass the polygon bordered by Rakowiecka Street, Puławska Street, Marszałkowska Street, Śniadeckich Street, Koszykowa Street, Raszyńska Street to Filtrowa Street, Akademicka Street, Curie-Skłodowskiej Street, and the line running through Pole Mokotowskie from Curie-Skłodowskiej Street to the end of Rakowiecka Street. The main task of the battalion was the assault on the Stauferkaserne in the direction of Rakowiecka Street, along aleja Niepodległości. The main posts of the units, with which “Odwet” was to come into military contact, were located on Unii Lubelskiej Square, the technical university, the junction of Nowogrodzka Street and Koszykowa Street, the streets surrounding Narutowicza Square, the Mokotów fort with a crew of anti-aircraft cannons (14) and field artillery at the exit of Żwirki i Wigury Street (8, cal. 75 mm), tanks on the junction of aleja Niepodległości and Rakowiecka Street, the academic house by Narutowicza Square, Filtry. The following directly threatened the battalion: artillery from Pole Mokotowskie, the anti- tank ditch along Wawelska Street turned by the Germans into a strongly fortified trench, German barracks by the Saper’s statute, shooting from the heights of the Land Office (corner of Sucha Street and Filtrowa Street) and from the Hospital of Piłsudski (aleja Niepodległości). The Germans began firing on Staszic Housing Estate from those points, seeing the large-scale movement and regrouping of the battalion on 1 August at 3.30 p.m. Soon afterwards, a regular assault by the aviators moved from Pole Mokotowskie began, initially on the street, then from Solarskiego Street in the direction of aleja Niepodległości. The Germans set up a quarter in the quadrangle of Solarskiego Street (houses numbers 2-8), Wawelska Street (nr 38 and 40), Sucha Street (nr 1-7), and the section of Błogosławionego Władysława Street. Trautmann commanded the Germans from that quarter, setting up field phones to establish communication with his command. The Germans moved very carefully towards the East, they took three days to go to the odd side of Prezydencka Street (from Sucha Street). They took over the houses one by one, one could hear grenades explosions, rifle shots, cries of the residents. “Odwet” could not start the combat action, because it had not received any weapons at all. The armaments of the battalion, from the previous period, consisted of two Sten guns, one of which broke down a few hours after the outbreak of the uprising, a few military fragmentary grenades, 2 “Filipinka” grenades; a few commanders had small arms. A negligible amount of ammunition for these. The only (successful) collective action was taking control of the point of German resistance on Sędziowska Street (nr 1-3) in the first days of the uprising. The positive result was gaining some weapons (30 men armed with small arms and 5 rifles) - the negative: wounded commanders who having weapons went in the front line, while the rest were with bare hands, or with imitations of rifles carved from wood. Unfortunately, despite taking the German post, there still was no ammunition. On the night of 1 and 2 August 1944, a part of our battalion wanted to push though the allotments on Pole Mokotowskie under the cover of darkness. I heard that only a few managed to get through to Okęcie and leave Warsaw. Because of very heavy fire from Pole Mokotowskie, many returned in the morning, and the Germans started to catch insurgents
For the first four days we were under heavy fire from the Germans: they, however, were afraid of attacking us directly. The situation got much worse when they let Kaminski’s units join the action. Vlasovtsies, after “cleansing” the vicinity of Narutowicza Square, went to Dantyszka Street, where they set up an assault base. Under German direction, they were bursting into houses, robbing the people of valuables and watches, and murdering individual people. Murders, looting, and rapes happened in the presence of the Germans.
Between 4 and 6 August, I saw from the windows of the house at Jesionowa Street 15 a murder committed on seven insurgents led out from a house at Langiewicza Street 17. It happened in this way: the Germans (aviators) surrounded the house in a semicircle, the “Ukrainians” led their victims onto the terrace and mowed them down with rounds from submachine guns. Each of those killed had a few dozens wounds. I also heard that the “Ukrainians” had killed a few wounded and medical personnel of our sanitary point on Langiewicza Street 5, committing rapes on the nurses. At that time (4-7 August), Maszyński, an actor, and eng. Tomorowicz with his wife and 40 people from the civilian population were executed on Pole Mokotowskie. The corner houses on the streets closing our section were most plundered.
Count Tarnowski, then residing at Prezydencka Street 11 (it seems he is currently in Cracow), negotiated with captain Trautmann on behalf of the civilian population. Thanks to Tarnowski’s intervention, a part of the population located within the German quarter survived. In the face of the hopeless military situation (lack of weapons, ammunition, surgery tools, when every serious wound ended in the death of an insurgent, food shortages), the commander of the section ordered a retreat. Under the cover of the night, the units retreated in the direction of the city (on the barricade by Lardelli’s confectionery on Polna Street). This action lasted for a few nights, we had to move in small groups. On the day before the “cleansing” conducted by SS units, units of insurgents shattered in the vicinity of Narutowicza Square came to us though the sewers numbering around one hundred people. Commanders - captain “Sabała” and lieutenant “Stach”. These units were also moved to the city. On 11 August, SS units came on tanks from the vicinity of Unii Lubelskiej Square with an order for the immediate removal of the civilian population. It started from the side of Pole Mokotowskie to Filtrowa Street. They did not allow anyone to take anything with themselves, they executed people for disobeying. The people led out were taken to Zieleniak. During the march, a few insurgents came out of a sewer entrance and tried to mix into the rushed crowd. The Germans, however, noticed them, dragged them a few steps aside and executed them. Only the population from Trautmann’s quarter was not evacuated. Immediately after the residents left Staszic Housing Estate, the Germans started systematically burning the houses, having looted them before of all the more valuable items.
The population which inhabited the area of Trautmann’s quarter stayed there until 28 August 1944, then, on the order of mobile SS patrols, Trautmann told [the residents] to go to the Warsaw West station. During the next two day, we scattered in small groups or individually, pushing through in the direction of Okęcie. I don’t know if everyone made it though.
Final remarks:
The severely wounded had stayed under my care until the day of the “cleansing” (11 August). On that day they were separated from the healthy, I saw them for the last time on the corner of Prezydencka Street and Wawelska Street. “Farys”, severely wounded, saved from the execution on Wawelska Street, was among them. It is possible that the wounded survived, anyway the Germans did not shoot them on the spot.
The four men killed, lying two days after the cleansing in front of the house on Jesionowa Street 11, probably belonged to the “Odwet” battalion. I presume that they were hiding on their own from the Germans and - in the face of the mass burning of the houses – were forced to come outside from the hiding, and were killed by the Germans. Dr Bielawski, who died one year after the war, held their documents and deposits. Mr Stegman, the former owner of the house on Jesionowa Street 11, might remember their surnames.
Mrs Topolnica might be a valuable source of information, a secretary of the management of Staszic Housing Estate for many years, managing registrations of all its residents who made contact with her after the war. She lives on Piusa Street 22, flat 2. “Odwet” did not receive any help during stationing in Staszic Housing Estate, the discipline was kept until the end, despite a very difficult food situation and a desperate military position.