JÓZEF KRUK

In Serbinów on this day, 8 January 1948, at 4.50 p.m., I, Władysław Fituch from the Criminal Investigation Section of the District Citizens’ Militia Station in Kielce, acting on the basis of the following: Article 20 of the provisions introducing the Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 257 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, due to the unavailability of a judge in the township, in consequence whereof any delay could result in the disappearance of traces or evidence of a crime, which traces or evidence would cease to exist before the arrival of a judge, observing the formal requirements set forward in Articles 235–240, 258 and 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the participation of reporter Władysław Sieczka, whom I informed of his obligation to attest to the conformity of the report with the actual course of the procedure by his own signature, have heard the person named below as a witness. The witness, having been advised of the importance of the oath, swore the requisite oath, and was also notified of the right to refuse testimony for the reasons set forward in Article 104 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and of the criminal liability for making false declarations, this pursuant to the provisions of Article 140 of the Penal Code, thereupon stating:


Name and surname Józef Kruk
Parents’ names Franciszek and Ewa, née Dąbrowska
Date and place of birth 1 February 1916, Serbinów, commune of Mniów, district of Kielce
Religion Roman Catholic
Occupation farmer
Place of residence Serbinów, commune of Mniów, district of Kielce
Relationship to the parties the son of Ewa Kruk, and uncle to the children of Jan Kruk
As regards the present case, I am aware of the following facts: Concerning the said case,
I can state that the immediate reason for the burning alive of certain residents of the villages

of Serbinów and Podchyby, commune of Mniów, was that they belonged – allegedly – to an underground organization. They were accused of this by Piotr Ślusarczyk, who during the occupation was the commandant of the police station in Mniów, Władysław Kotwica and Wincenty Marczewski. For this, Kotwica and Marczewski were later executed by Polish partisans, whereas Piotr Ślusarczyk ran away and currently resides somewhere in western Poland. In 1947 Ślusarczyk was in Kielce at his daughter’s wedding. His daughter presently lives in Mniów and works in the commune of Mniów. Another informer was Stefan Wypych. When the Poles from Mniów (Raszówka) were burned to death, Wypych was seen driving around with Gestapo men in a taxi.

I know for a fact that the commandant of the Blue Police, Piotr Ślusarczyk, was aware of what was going to happen in the night from 25 to 26 May 1943, for he strengthened the guard. Policemen told me that during the night in question, at 12.00 a.m., gendarme Witek arrived at Ślusarczyk’s house, whereupon they both went to the station and Ślusarczyk told the officers who were on duty – Matuszewski and Łaziński, whose names I do not know – to go home. Ślusarczyk and gendarme Witek remained in the building, where they conferred. During the said night Piotr Ślusarczyk and Witek, the Gestapo gendarme, walked around Mniów, and Ślusarczyk pointed out the houses of Poles singled out for arrest.

On the next day German Gestapo men arrived and burned the Poles in Serbinów alive; Ślusarczyk had an active hand in this, helping the Gestapo men to make arrests. On that day, the Germans burned Poles from the villages of Mniów (Raszówka), Podchyby and Chyby, commune of Smyków, district of Końskie. Residents of Mniów told me that Stefan Wypych

drove around with the Gestapo men in a taxi and pointed out the people who were to be
arrested. I would like to add that officers Matuszewski and Łaziński informed me that Piotr
Ślusarczyk had himself drawn up a list of all the residents of Mniów, Serbinów, Pogłodów,

Podchyby and Chyby, district of Końskie. Piotr Ślusarczyk knew who was in the underground resistance movement, for he himself was a member, but he had joined only to determine which of the villagers were involved. Once he had done this, he informed the Gestapo in Kielce of his findings.

At this point the report was brought to a close and read out before being signed by the witness.