JÓZEF MARCINKOWSKI

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 Józef Marcinkowski
Date and place of birth 17 February 1898, Warsaw
Parents’ names Józef and Maria, née Wingert
Father’s occupation Confectioner
State affiliation and nationality Polish
Religious affiliation Catholic
Education Four-grade secondary school in Płock
Occupation Clerk
Place of residence Warsaw, Koszykowa Street 35, flat 4
Criminal record None

At the moment when the Warsaw Uprising began, I was in the house at Marszałkowska Street 111. On 2 August, at about 7.00 a.m., a German tank drove along Marszałkowska Street, from the side of Aleje Jerozolimskie. At the corner of Chmielna and Marszałkowska streets male youths, most of whom were wearing university caps, were trying, initially with the assistance from some people living in the surrounding houses, to derail a tram and place it across the road in order to form a barricade. The tank crashed into the tram and began to fire at the boys. Twelve of them were killed. I saw it all from my office window that looked out onto the street (the witness draws a sketch of Marszałkowska Street). The tank, under fire from the insurgents, drove on in the direction of Sienna Street. After a while, perhaps after half an hour, an armored car appeared in the street, followed by another tank. There were eight “Ukrainians” and German officers in SS uniforms on the car, which pulled up in front of our house. Then I rushed down to my establishment and closed it up because I was afraid that the “Ukrainians” might want to come to us.

I told my staff to come out via the basements. In the basements there were passages leading to Zielna Street. Through my kitchen window, I saw that the Ukrainians had already entered the courtyard. They told the people that there was nothing to fear, that they were in no danger of suffering any harm, and called for them to come out. People came out of the basements and their apartments, about 45 in number, including 27 women, 12 men and about five children. The Germans lined them up against the wall, on the left side of the gate, next to the “Pod Światełkami” ("Under the Lights") inn. Before they carried out the execution, they robbed the proprietor of the coffee bar. Then one of the officers gave a sign. With a single machine gun burst, the Germans murdered 45 helpless civilians.

After the crime, German officers ran into the gate to call for the car. However, the car had already been burned by the insurgents occupying the other side of Marszałkowska Street. These officers were killed by the insurgents. The “Ukrainians” took refuge in the ruins of the “ Światowid” movie theater which adjoined the back of our house.

The following day the insurgents captured this small unit of “Ukrainians”, all of whom were killed and buried in the garden in our courtyard.

Five days after the execution, that is on 7 August 1944, the victims of the crime of 2 August 1944 were also buried in our garden.

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

(Sketch Attached)