HENRYKA JUSZCZYK

22 February 1950. Janusz Gumkowski, acting as a member of the Main Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, interviewed the person named below, who testified as follows:


Name and surname Henryka Juszczyk, née Siwińska
Date and place of birth 15 July 1916, Warsaw
Parents’ names Antoni and Paulina, née Swędzka
Father’s occupation Laborer
State affiliation and nationality Polish
Religious affiliation Catholic
Education Secondary
Occupation Pensioner
Place of residence Warsaw, Żelazna Street 41, flat 15
Criminal record None

From the beginning to the end of the Uprising, that is until 6 October 1944, I stayed in the house at Żelazna Street 41. That day the Germans gave orders to leave the houses in the areas that were controlled throughout the Uprising by the insurgents. Because my husband was away and I was left alone with two children and an old mother suffering from multiple sclerosis, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity, of which I had been informed, of sending my mother to the Polish Red Cross (PCK) post from where the Germans were to transport the elderly to hospitals around Warsaw. Relying on the help of my neighbors, I carried my mother to the Polish Red Cross point located on Wronia Street, near Towarowa Street. At the moment when I brought my mother to the PCK, there was already a car waiting ready to go, with 10 to 15 old people inside, both women and men. I put my mother into the car. The Germans told us to go away immediately, so I didn’t even see the direction the car went in.

After the Uprising, I asked people whom I didn’t know personally (which is why I am unable to give their surnames) and who, as I knew, had also taken their old relatives to the Polish Red Cross post, whether they had any knowledge of what had happened to their loved ones. In this way I hoped to learn anything at all about my mother. But none of them was able to give me any information.

Along with my brothers – Jan (residing in Radom, PBR), Stanisław (residing in Wrocław at Czysta Street 3/5) and Antoni (residing in the building of the Polish Radio) – I looked for my mother in all the hospitals near Warsaw. But we didn’t learn anything about her whereabouts.

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