LUDWIK GRABOWSKI

Warsaw, 14 March 1946. Judge Halina Wereńko, delegated to the Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, interviewed the person named below as a witness. Having advised the witness of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the significance of the oath, the judge took an oath therefrom, following which the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Ludwik Grabowski
Date of birth 6 December 1882 in the village of Józefin, commune of Wiązowna
Parents' names Jan and Maria, née Dębska
Occupation unemployed, trade – pork-butcher
Education no school education, can read and write
Place of residence Piastów, Reja Street 14, flat 4
Religion Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

My daughter, Irena Grabowska (born on 20 October 1909 in Miłosna, commune of Wawer), an officer worked by profession, lived with me in Piastów until the end of 1943, after which she moved to Warsaw and lived in the apartment of engineer Korsak at Wspólna Street 53. When leaving, she stated that commuting from Piastów to Warsaw was inconvenient, and that she had limited time, for she worked at the electric power station and had other things to do, too. She never told me that she worked in an underground organisation, while I – living apart – did not realise what she was doing.

On 7 March 1944 my daughter was arrested at the apartment by the Gestapo. On the previous day, an office friend of hers, Janina Kozłowska, had been arrested together with her brother. My daughter was arrested following their interrogation. Both were kept at Pawiak prison for some two – three weeks, after which Kozłowska was released (she presently lives at Wspólna Street 53). Apart from my daughter and Kozłowska, other people were also arrested at the time, amongst them a certain doctor (I don’t know his surname), who was however released.

My daughter sent me smuggled messages from Pawiak, and from these I learned that her case was being handled by a clerk by the surname of Bogut or Bohut, with distinct curly, light-blonde hair. She wrote that the charge against her was weak, and that they had no evidence.

On 26 April 1944 my daughter was taken along with 46 women from Pawiak prison. She had been in the hospital throughout her period of detention at Pawiak, and it was from the hospital that she and a few others were taken on the transport. Before departing, the women were given knapsacks.

I could not determine where this transport was headed. A German barrister told me that its destination was the camp in Ravensbrück, however my letter asking whether my daughter was detained there was answered in the negative.

At this point my daughter simply vanished into thin air, and I haven’t been able to learn anything about her fate.

The report was read out.

Additionally, I would like to testify that a few days after my daughter's arrest, the Gestapo conducted a search and took all of her best belongings: a few pairs of shoes, skirt suits, dresses, some jewellery – I don’t know exactly how many items they seized. Furthermore, I sent clothes and blankets to the prison, and also cash, which my daughter had on her person.

I also incurred substantial material losses while attempting to get in touch with my daughter and determine what she was charged with. I would say that in total this whole sad affair cost me several tens of thousands of zlotys.

The report was read out.