the streets. She had to go up and down heaps of sand and pyramids of various objects. It was still the dead of night, but she could clearly make out the city’s contours in the dark lit up by the pink glow of fires. The streets were deserted but for occasional police patrols. Mrs H. was heading towards Bankowy Square. At the crossroads of Leszno and Tłomackie streets a nearly one-floor-high barricade rose up in front of her like a menacing wall. Mrs H. wanted to climb it when she suddenly heard an order, “Stop! Go back! There’s fire. The street is blocked!” The building of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Treasury was burning beyond the barricade. Mrs H. went back. She zigzagged and suddenly found herself on Teatralny Square without knowing how she got there. The square was an extraordinary sight. It was profusely “illuminated” by the fire’s glow. The flames flared from two directions: from the Wielki Theatre [Grand Theatre]378 and from Wierzbowa Street, forming a russet-purple vaulting. Motivated by fear, Mrs H. pushed forward through the tunnel of fire. The square was deserted and the streets were strewn with the corpses of humans and horses. The crack of explosions mingled with the sound of collapsing walls into a macabre symphony.
Mrs H. cannot remember how she got to Wielopole379 several hours later. She remembers only that she encountered a small group of people heading in the same direction and joined them. They were fire victims too, [53] carrying bundles with their salvaged belongings. It was difficult to walk. The smoky air made them choke. They could not catch their breath. Sparks were raining down on their heads, soiling their hair. She kept tripping on corpses, heaps of smoldering ruins, and scattered objects.
The tenement on Prosta Street was on fire. “My husband!” she shuddered. How could she know that only the frontside annex was burning? Her husband was living in the back courtyard. Devastated and staggering, Mrs H. went to her aunt on Waliców Street, where she stayed until the armistice was announced at midday on 28 September. She then went out for the first time. It was not curiosity but fear for her relatives that pushed her onto the street.
