WŁADYSŁAW OLIWA

Warsaw, 25 April 1946. Examining 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 Władysław Jakub Oliwa, pseudonym "Wilczur"
Date of birth 8 September 1922 in Warsaw
Parents’ names Onufry and Franciszka, née Kurek
Education vocational and commercial design school
Place of residence Warsaw, Czerwonego Krzyża Street 21, flat 23
Occupation an invalid, supported by his parents, 87% loss of health, unable to use his right arm
Religion Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

During the Warsaw Uprising I took part in operations conducted by the "Napoleon" assault unit, the so-called battalion of death, under the pseudonym "Wilczur". Initially, the Battalion fought near the Castle, while later our command headquarters was transferred to Mławska and Rybaki streets (to the house for Poles from abroad).

I had the rank of platoon sergeant, and in 1945 I was promoted to sergeant. I have disclosed myself.

(The witness presented a certificate issued by the Home Army Liquidation Commission, undersigned by colonel Radosław, the chairman of the Liquidation Commission, wherein it is stated that Władysław Oliwa, a sergeant of the Home Army, registered on 12 September 1945 with the Liquidation Commission for the Central District, thereby fulfilling the obligation to disclose himself).

Around 20 August 1944 (I don’t remember the exact date), during an attack on Bugaj Street, I was wounded in both legs and in my right arm, and was carried to the military hospital at Długa Street 7. I lay in the cellar of the hospital in room no. 9, and subsequently in room no. 3. Hospital rooms were set up in the nine cellar halls. They were occupied primarily by male patients, only room no. 5 was set aside for women.

I don’t know how many wounded were lying in the cellar; I only know that they were packed tightly, one next to the other. Apart from the cellars, the hospital also occupied three floors. I don’t know how many wounded were in the hospital. Apart from the wounded insurrectionists, there were also wounded civilians, but these were a minority.

On 1 September the insurrectionists withdrew from the Old Town. Some of the lightly wounded and nearly the entire medical and sanitary staff left the hospital, using the sewers to get to Śródmieście or Żoliborz, in the direction of Kampinos. Only one female nurse, sister "Zofia", remained in room no. 3, where I was lying. My commander, lieutenant "Napoleon" came to fetch me with his liaison officer, [however] I remained, for I was severely wounded.

On 2 September, in the morning, some of the female nurses and Dr "Rozan", the chief doctor at the hospital, returned to the facility. The nurses instructed the patients to take off their army shoes and trousers and took our identification cards; they intended to destroy these items so as to make the hospital appear to be a civilian facility. I handed over my Home Army identification card. Some time later – I cannot provide the exact hour, for it was dark in the cellar – I heard individual shots coming from the street, or so I think. After a while a group of SS men burst into room 5, where the women were lying, and from there they proceeded in pairs to each room. A moment before the SS men entered, sister "Zofia" told us that two wounded Germans lying on the ground floor had informed the German soldiers that there were insurrectionists in the hospital. When the SS men entered the cellar, I heard sister "Zofia" telling them that the wounded lying there were civilians. Two SS men walked into our room and ordered us to remove our bandages; they looked at the wounds, trying to determine how they were received. Next they ordered the lightly wounded to go to the courtyard. Two men left our room. During this time shots would ring out in the courtyard and on the ground floor. There was a hole in the wall to room 3, where my mattress was. I clearly saw an SS man shooting at the women. He sat on a bed and aimed at those lying around. I later learned that of the 14 or 15 wounded women, only two survived, as well as a 14-year old boy who hid under a bed. Once the two less severely wounded men left our room, the SS men started shooting at those lying on the beds and mattresses. During the execution other soldiers threw a grenade and set fire to the staircase leading to the cellar. Consequently, the SS men stopped the execution and hurriedly withdrew from the cellar. Nine wounded, myself included, were left alive in the room. I heard screams, groans and shot coming from upstairs.

Soon after the stairs had been set ablaze, the fire engulfed the whole building. After the SS men had exited, some 30 of us remained in the cellar of the blazing building. The only healthy person was the housekeeper of Father Pągowski (I don’t know her surname), who was taking care of the wounded priest. Additionally, a boy who had been wounded in the lung, some 16 years of age, was also able to walk. These two would throw blazing beams out of the cellar, and give water to the gravely wounded. In fact, the water was soon used up. The wounded crawled helplessly, looking for more. It was very hot. After three days a burn patient, who had also contracted tetanus, started moaning loudly. His groans were heard by "Ukrainians" who were pillaging the building; they walked up and ordered those alive to exit, or otherwise they would toss in a grenade. A while later they threw a grenade into room no. 9. Then a woman by the name of "Zośka" started screaming; she was unable to control her fear. We all hid under the bodies of the dead or under the beds, while "Zośka" left, assuring the "Ukrainians" that she was alone there, accompanied only by a tetanus patient. The "Ukrainians" barged into the cellar, talked with the tetanus patients, took some cigarettes and the last of our sugar, and left.

We found ourselves without food or water. The priest and his housekeeper left the cellar. I heard that soldiers took them to the Carmelite Church.

On 5 September (I’m not sure of the date) we heard someone calling out in Polish for those who were alive to walk out of the building. Suspecting a trick on the part of the Germans, we hid. [However] someone in our group recognised the voice of nurse "Nina" from our hospital, whereupon it became clear that we had been approached by a rescue expedition sent from the Carmelite Church. Throughout this day and the next the nurses, escorted by SS men, carried the surviving 28 wounded to the Carmelite Church at Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. Two nurses wrapped me up in a blanker and carried me by their hands. Along the way, Mongols would look under the blanket and ask: "Bandit?". I saw bodies lying in the courtyard of our hospital at Długa Street 7 and at the gate, sometimes one on top of the other.

On the next day we were taken to the Baby Jesus Hospital in Milanówek, while in 1945, following the entry of the Polish army, to Konstancin. The following were my companions in the cellar: Szczurowski, Grochowski and [Marian Karczmarek?].

One of the female nurses at the Baby Jesus Hospital in Milanówek (I don’t know her surname) told me that the mildly wounded from our hospital at Długa Street 7, along with her husband, had been shot dead in Wąski Dunaj Street.

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