WŁADYSŁAWA KORGANOW

On 3 October 1946 in Oliwa, Barrister Tadeusz Barydawski, a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Gdańsk, interviewed citizen Władysława Karganow as a witness; having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:

My name and surname is Władysława Korganow, daughter of Jan and Konstancja, 34 years old, religion – Roman Catholic, criminal record – none, manager of a house for writers in Sopot, resident in Sopot at Grunwaldzka Street 62.

On 5 August 1944 in Warsaw, between 10.00 a.m. and 12.00 a.m., the Germans – Gestapo men from aleja Szucha – dashed out into Marszałkowska Street and proceeded to Zbawiciela Square, where they burst into the houses at nos. 31, 31a, 33 and 35, ordering all of the residents to go out into the street, where they immediately separated the men from the women. The women and children were taken to the Gestapo building in aleja Szucha, while nearly all of the men were executed at the corner of Oleandrów and Marszałkowska streets.

I did not witness this execution, but was told about it by my son, Marek, who survived together with a neighbor, Aleksander Łanigowy (residing in Łódź at św. Andrzeja Street 9). My son was sent to Oświęcim.

After 36 hours, my mother and my housekeeper, together with the other women (there were a few hundred in total), were released by the Gestapo and driven on foot in the direction of Marszałkowska Street, beyond Zbawiciela Square; however, they were able to join the insurgents. The Gestapo shot after them, and many women were killed near the Church of the Savior. The rest managed to get through to the barricades. Two women from my house were forced to run in front of tanks in the direction of the barricades. One of them was burnt and gravely shot.

I remained in the thick of the Uprising until 10 September 1944, and after that left Warsaw with thousands of other people.

My husband is currently in Russia.

At this point the report was concluded and read out.