On 13 March 1947 in Środa [Wielkopolska] Investigating Judge Sosnowski heard the person named below as a witness, without taking an oath. The witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Jan Stępniak |
| Age | 41 years old |
| Parents’ names | Franciszek and Franciszka |
| Place of residence | Środa, Górki Street 14 |
| Occupation | deputy senior district official in Środa |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
In December 1939, I was deported from Środa to Parysów, commune of Garwolin, where I lived until the beginning of May 1940. In May 1940, I moved to Garwolin and took up work in the Kreishauptmannschaft as a low-ranking office worker and interpreter. I was employed there until the Germans fled in July 1944.
Towards the end of 1941 the suspect, Dauner, started working at the Kreishauptmannschaft in Garwolin as deputy to the Kreishauptmann. Dauner was a mayor by occupation and came from Württemberg or Baden. His exact place of residence and employment in Germany is known to Franciszek Barski, the head of the general department at the Provincial Office in Bydgoszcz.
Dauner was a member of the SA, and I myself saw him in his official uniform on a number of occasions. I do not know what rank he held. Doubtless he was also a member of the NSDAP. His approach to Poles and Polishness in general was particularly hostile. He called everything that was Polish Mist (shit).
I know this, because as an employee of the office of the district authorities I saw him practically on a daily basis.
I remember that in the summer of 1942 the Gestapo murdered the parish priest and notary public, whose surnames I do not remember, and one Warowny, a caretaker at the municipal board. I assume that Dauner, being the deputy to the Kreishauptmann, had to have heard of this murder, for I myself saw the Gestapo men, Kreishauptmann Freudenthal, Dauner and Schulrat Müller, conferring jointly on the open veranda of the canteen immediately before the crime. Gestapo men arrested the aforementioned persons on the evening of the same day, and executed them along the Pilawa – Łucznica road. Since Dauner was very hostile towards Poles, it is quite probable – and for me obvious – that he took part in the preparations for this murder.
Next, still on the same evening, the Gestapo men – having murdered the abovementioned persons – drove to the estate owned by Drewitz, whom they arrested, while the Polish officers present there, invalids from the September Campaign of 1939, were murdered on the spot.
I do not know how many officers were there.
Since this murder was committed after the initial triple homicide and on the same night, I assume that Dauner also took part in the arrangements.
Around summer or autumn 1943, the Germans destroyed the entire village of Wanaty in the district of Garwolin, and murdered all of its residents – men, women and children. Dauner, as deputy to the Kreishauptmann, must have been a co-perpetrator.
Towards the end of June or in the beginning of July 1944, some 30 people were executed in Garwolin; they had probably been taken from a prison in Warsaw. The execution was in retaliation for the assassination by Polish partisans of Kreishauptmann Freudenthal.
During this period Dauner was the acting Kreishauptmann and it is doubtless that he is responsible for the shooting of these 30 people.
I would like to explain that the execution was performed immediately before Freudenthal’s funeral ceremony.
Probably in the summer of 1943, the Germans conducted a repressive operation in the district of Garwolin against Polish residents, during which they arrested more than a hundred people, who were subsequently sent to concentration camps. The arrestees included two employees of the Kreishauptmannschaft – staff inspector Andrzej Hrycho and a telephonist, Ms Hołubiec.
It is indisputable that Dauner, as the technical manager of the office, had to have taken part in preparing this operation, especially as those detained included two civil servants subordinate to him.
Probably in 1942, a mass deportation of Jews was carried out in the district of Garwolin. This operation was administered directly by Kreishauptmann Freudenthal, however Dauner – his deputy – must have played a part in the preparations. There were some 40,000 Jews in the district of Garwolin, and only a few of them survived.
Following the anti-Jewish action, some eight Jews – artisans – were placed at the disposal of the Kreishauptmann, who would use them to perform various work in the building of the office of the district authorities and in the canteen. When they were no longer needed, he had them murdered. Dauner – Freudenthal’s deputy – must have at least known that such an order had been given.
In 1942, 1943 and 1944, the local forests were cleared on a mass scale, and the wood was sent to Germany. This campaign was administered in part by Freudenthal, and in part by Dauner, who in any case must bear responsibility for the destruction of national property. If I remember correctly, the wood quota for one of these years was approximately 150,000 cubic meters.
Towards the end of 1941 or in the beginning of 1942, a labor camp – Arbeitslager – was set up in Garwolin on the initiative of Freudenthal. The direct administrator of this facility was Dauner, with the exception of certain brief periods. People would be locked up there for a variety of infringements, such as failure to provide quotas, failure on the part of parents to hand over children for deportation to Germany, non-payment of taxes, etc. Inmates of the camp had to work without pay in the park of the German canteen, and were forced to support themselves at their own expense. They even had to pay for their period of stay, and would be released only after completing all duties allocated to them.
I have been told that the Poles in the camp were beaten and persecuted. I do not know whether or not Dauner beat people.
The Germans set up a special gendarmerie unit, in 1943 if I remember correctly, which occupied itself with murdering Poles without any courts or investigations.
I cannot specify whether or to what extent Dauner was responsible for the actions of this formation, but it is obvious that he must have known about its existence.
In July 1944, immediately before the German authorities fled Garwolin, a farm building used by the district authorities was burned down, while the elementary school, which housed the Kreishauptmannschaft, was set on fire. The farm building was gutted, however residents managed to save the school after the Germans left. The withdrawal was administered by Dauner, and he therefore could have given the order to set fire.
When the camp in Treblinka was opened – this could have been in 1941 or 1942 – many people from the Garwolin district would be sent there for various offenses. The pertinent decisions were issued either by Freudenthal, or by Dauner.
The following people may be able to provide more detailed information regarding Dauner:
Dr H. Augustowicz from Garwolin, the district physician during the German occupation;
Góralewicz, the wife of a former public prosecutor from Poznań; I do not know her name or address;
Maksymilian Kurpisz, I do not know his address; he joined the army some time after July 1944;
Stanisława Fuhrmann, originally from Krotoszyn; I do not know her present address.
As regards files and documents pertaining to Dauner’s period of tenure, I know that they were destroyed during the fighting in 1944, plundered, or destroyed by Polish civilians or Soviet soldiers.
I would also like to add that every year Polish youths would be rounded up in the district and deported for labor to Germany. These operations were administered by Freudenthal and Schulrat Müller, however Dauner – as Freudenthal’s deputy – is in my opinion co-responsible.
I have read the report before affixing my signature hereto.