solemnly promising one another that they would not commit even the smallest theft on the premises, and they agreed that they would keep an eye on Polish brigade members to prevent them from looting unattended property. My colleague was working as the head of a group in one tenement. He ordered his men to take as few things as possible from cabinets to the chambers, to close cabinets which were open, to tie linens in a bundle [9] and bring it to the chambers. They also left notes informing about the address to which the linens were taken. In this way, the brigade heads tried to maintain some order and avoid confusion. Many tenements, as I said, were closed; initially in such cases, by the order of the authorities, doors were chopped through with axes and the bedding was taken for disinfection; not until about noon were locksmiths summoned, who opened the locked premises.
The brigades worked very hard that day. They were urged to hurry, as there were more tenements assigned to be disinfected. For this reason, a certain regular work pattern that had been used at the beginning (closing cabinets in open flats, securing a variety of valuable items found in homes, or leaving notes explaining where [10] linens were taken), had to be given up because everything had to be done in haste, and the brigades continued their work amidst chaos and exhaustion. Consequently, the operation no longer could deliver the expected results. The brigades worked until 11 p.m. on that day. After they finished, the individual heads of the brigades searched their workers, and then they were all meticulously searched again by the German gendarmes at the corner of Krochmalna and Ciepła streets. As a result, the gendarmerie arrested one Polish brigade member on whom they found two stolen sweaters. According to my colleague, the behaviour of the disinfection brigades during this operation was overall impeccable, and they cannot be held responsible for the acts of theft and robbery of property that occurred that day on Krochmalna Street. In this case, it is the [11] thieves who should be blamed, those who managed to sneak to Krochmalna Street that afternoon via rooftops on Grzybowska Street. Partially responsible for the thefts were also the locksmiths brought in to open the flats, and the rest was done by Krochmalna residents who were allowed into the premises after the baths, who stole their neighbours’ property.
This campaign, according to my colleague, did not achieve any positive results whatsoever. The population was kept frightened and hungry on the square from early morning until late at night, and some even were held
