ZOFIA JACKOWSKA, WERONIKA ŁOSIŃSKA, JÓZEFA MARIAN, M.[...] SZ.[...]

Inspection report

Warsaw, 18 October 1945. At 15.15 examining judge Mikołaj Halfter, with the participation of a court expert, Prof. Dr Wiktor Grzywo-Dąbrowski and in the presence of those summoned: Zofia Jackowska, Weronika Łosińska, M.[...] Sz.[...] and Józefa Marian, performed an inspection and elaborated a description of areas located at aleja Szucha 12/14 and the former open-air kindergarten at the crossing of Bagatela Street and aleja Stalina (Aleje Ujazdowskie), where according to information gathered executions were said to have been conducted in August 1944.

During the inspection a site plan was drawn up of these areas, and this constitutes an attachment to the present report.

Zofia Jackowska, Weronika Łosińska, Józefa Marian and M.[...] Sz.[...] pointed out the spot where in August 1944 executions were carried out, to be exact witness Zofia Jackowska stated that the shootings of which she was a witness took place in the area marked CDEF, between the walls of a partially destroyed building. According to this witness, in August 1944 the walls of the area marked CFE were still standing, while the window and door openings were already devoid of frames, and it was through these openings, from the windows of the first floor and the balcony of building A, that she saw what was happening on the premises in question.

Witness Weronika Łosińska stated that she observed the area marked CDEF from the windows of the top floor of building B.

Witnesses Józefa Marian and M.[...] Sz.[...] pointed out the windows of the upper storeys in the gable wall of house number [...] on Bagatela Street, from which in August 1944 they observed the area of the former open-air kindergarten.

According to information provided by witness Józefa Marian, in the beginning of August 1944 she saw an execution of women at the point marked on the site plan with the letter K, while at the location marked with the letter J she saw a pile of men’s naked bodies that reached right up to the landing.

In accordance with directions given by the witnesses, the judge marked on the site plan the locations where the executions were said to have taken place and the points from which these executions were observed by the witnesses.

The judge, having in mind the locations of the buildings from which the aforementioned persons were said to have observed the executions, stated that it was indeed possible to observe what was happening in the area of the former open-air kindergarten and in that area marked on the site plan with the letters CDEF, from the vantage points described by the witnesses.

At the time of the inspection, only letters CDE were standing; the area marked with the letters CDEF was just a pile of rubble. The judge compared the photograph (no. 1) added to the case files with the area and stated that it conforms with the current appearance of the property, and that it was taken from the side of ED in the direction of building B, the wall of which – PR – is visible on said photograph.

At the point marked on the site plan with the letter G is the entrance to cellars under the area marked with the letters CDEF. The cellar, directly at entrance G, is currently used by the army units (stationed in the areas in question) to stockpile petrol. The cellar corridor – marked on the site plan with dots – bends at a right angle, and in the part parallel to the line ED is completely dark. When inspecting this corridor, use was made of electric pocket torches. The walls of this corridor are lined with bricks, which in the initial part of the corridor are light coloured, while in the part adjacent to the spot marked + on the site plan are dark, as if blackened. In the cellar at the point marked + there is a pile of ash (this can be seen on photograph no. 2, included in the case files). Bone remains are clearly visible in this pile. These were presented to the court expert, Prof. Grzywo-Dąbrowski, who inspected them and stated as follows: “the bones submitted to myself are singed fragments of flat skull bones, and parts of vertebrae, ribs, and collar bones. Judging by their condition, shape, type, thickness, etc., one may surmise that these are the remains of human bones”.

The report was read out.