"On 14 June 1940, 20 people left "in a transport" guarded—it was said—by twice as many Germans, armed to the teeth. The chroniclers of Pawiak do not record this separately, but rather as part of the next, larger deportation. My mother and I despairingly speculated as to where these two terrible "kennels" had gone. Pawiak had not yet heard the name "Palmiry". The regular shots coming from the clearing there eventually attracted the attention of the foresters, and from them — through secret newspapers — Pawiak learned of Palmiry. Two days of hell began on 20 June. Bolts slammed, long lists of names were called into our cells, and maybe three of us were left from the original dozen. The next day, Mieczysław Niedziałkowski was dragged out (...) Everyone on the long lists was taken to the "transport", about 400 people at that time. They were led under the arms of Maciej Rataj, sick, unfit, battered people dragged from their cells, too weak to walk to the truck. The "kennels", filled with SS men and escorted by heavily armed German vehicles, turned right after they left the gate. Pawiak had its ideas about where they were going. The prison was a lot emptier but — as always — not for long."