The 1944 Warsaw Uprisig Remembrance Association

The Witnesses' Uprising Reports

Uprising Memoirs of Henryka Zarzycka-Dziakowska

Henryka Zarzycka-Dziakowska,,
born on November 10, 1927 in Warsaw
the Home Army (AK) soldier a.k.a. "Władka"
the messenger and nurse of the AK battalion "Parasol"
seriously wounded on August 28,1944 in the Długa str.
POW hospital Stalag IVB Zeithein
Captive no. 299838

Introduction

I was born in Warsaw on November 10, 1927. My childhood was full of happiness. In my family there was also my 4,5 years older brother Marian. Our mother, Marianna, took care of our upbringing and our house. Our father, Henryk, used to belong to the Legions when he was 16. He was also a member of PPS (Polish Socialist Party). My Dad had an amazing voice and I imagine what a great career he could make - alike that of a young man called Fogg - if only his parents could have educated him. My grandparents were Maria and Henryk, and we, the children, got the names Henryka and Marian. We used to live in the city centre, in the Kazimierz square, which no longer exists.

a family walk, 1935

         My father's mother came from the Silesia, where people would speak German. It was in year 1937 when father ordered his son Marian to learn this language, which turned to be very helpful after the German invasion; Marian had a good command of German then. At the war outbreak I was 12 and started the 7th class. I continued the disrupted education in the clandestine lessons.
         My dad together with my brother had engaged in the very active underground activity in "Gurt" since the year 1941. Dad was brought up among Warsaw Jews so he spoke their language (jidysz). After the ghetto had been created, he used his employment in transport and very often delivered fish to the ghetto. Under fish meat was hidden, and often - weapons. I think that if my father had lived longer, he would have been appointed by Jews the Righteous Among the Nations title.
         My brother was sent by the organization to work on the rail. With an ability to speak German fluently, wearing an uniform, he was able to easily get to the railway administration. His duties included, among the others, mining tracks by means of dynamite. I belonged to the Grey Regiments, "Żbiki" ("Wildcats") the "Gurt" section. My brother, trusting me fully, often used my help with different underground actions. I was active in the Little Sabotage, was distributing leaflets, but not only that. I chose a nickname "Władka" as a sign of my great esteem for General Władysław Sikorski.

with friends, 1943

A few events from that period are vivid in my memory. One day I was walking the Miedziana str., carrying a peem weapon which was wrapped in paper, quite negligently. I saw an armed military police patrol approaching me. On the other side of the street, not far away from me, I could also notice two armed boys, my guards. Square-toes, I passed the patrol. This time I was lucky. I was 14 or 15 then.
Illegal publications were brought by me very often, either in a briefcase or a schoolbag. One day I was strolling with my friend along the Złota str. We both had lots of these publications with us. We forgot the time in our talk and did not notice that the street had suddenly become empty. It became clear: a raid. A civilian wearing a hat with a little feather came towards us and ordered to enter the gate. He did not find anything by me but my friend was in danger. The boy was on edge so much that to tell you the truth his legs fell apart and he slipped off the ground. The German (or Volksdeutsch) must have taken pity on him. When a military policeman had appeared in the gate and yelled to come to a waiting car, "our" German answered that we lived there and told us to come back home. I remember carrying my friend up the stairs. We did not knock any door upstairs but simply sat on a doormat. When tenants looked out and wanted to hide us, I said, "We will not expose you to danger, we've come from this raid." After some time it was quiet and we came back our homes. The fate was favourable again.

in the park, 1943

         August 1944 was approaching. Mother, due to being tensed up permanently, became seriously ill. Our uncle Antoni Przybytniak - Tolek helped us immensely with caring of her. He took Mum at Saska Kępa, to visit a Vietnamese, who was married to a Polish woman, who dealt with East medicine and used special healing mixtures and massages. Thanks to him (and also the uncle, of course) Mum recovered. For the time of the treatment Mum stayed in the flat in the Boduena 1 str. She was taken care of by neighbours. Fortunately at the end of July Mum was able to walk.
         My Dad and brother, having expected the Uprising outbreak, set among themselves that I would stay at home and take care of Mum. It was not in accordance with my plans. I was not going to spend the time of active fight with the enemy at home.
         The Uprising started just nearby the place where I lived - at the Napoleon Square (now the Square of Warsaw Insurgents). I had been a participant from the very beginning. In the basement we were filling bottles with petrol and we carried them to balconies, ready for our boys to use. I saw first wounded people. At the time I was to become 17 in 3 months.
         On the second day of the Uprising I met a bit older than me my friend Niuśka Pieślak (who then got married to one of the boys from "Parasol" - Bogdan Woźniak a.k.a. "Szarak" after the war). She saw me, while I was wandering without any assignment and told me, "Leave Marian (my brother) alone and follow me, we'll go to "Parasol" so we reached Wola. From the crashed shop-window I took a beautiful dairy with a silk cover and roses' ornament. I decided to describe in it my Uprising experiences day by day. Some part of inscriptions were added by me later, during my stay in the prisoners' of war camp. Complements and remarks are to be found in brackets.

Henryka Zarzycka-Dziakowska

edited by: Maciej Janaszek-Seydlitz

translated by: Monika Ałasa

edited by: Maciej Janaszek-Seydlitz

translated by: Monika Ałasa