On 19 April 1946, the Municipal Court in Opatów, represented by Judge Al. Zalewski, with the participation of reporter app. J. Kwiatkowski, interviewed the person mentioned below as a witness. Having advised the witness of the criminal liability for making false declarations, of the wording of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and of the significance of the oath, the judge swore the witness in accordance with Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, whereupon the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Mieczysław Nowak |
| Age | 45 years old |
| Parents’ names | Jan and Marianna née Gawlik |
| Place of residence | Opatów, Sienkiewicza Street 28 |
| Occupation | post office worker |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
From 1944 until 1945, I was a caretaker in the local detention center in Opatów, so I know that the officer of the local SD unit, Ryszard Hospodar, nearly constantly – daily – tormented and abused the detainees, mostly those suspected of political activity. The interrogation was carried out as such: the prisoners were summoned from the cell, one at a time, and led to the nearby office where they were beaten in a cruel way. Although me and the other guards were not allowed to be present when it happened, I do know from the detained and tortured victims that they were beaten with specially prepared whips, while being laid down on benches or positioned with their heads between their legs. Women were beaten this way as well. After interrogations of this kind, I saw stains of clotted blood on the office walls that we had to wash off because we couldn’t stand the sight of it. Officers of the former criminal police were present during those practices as well: Stanisław Słonka and Tadeusz Teodorczyk, who undoubtedly participated in the torturing of victims.
While I was performing the aforementioned duties, the infamous torturer that instilled terror in the people of the entire district, Ryszard Hospodar, led around 20 Jewish people for execution, including men and women, and around 20 Poles that he personally murdered at the nearby cemetery. Gendarme Berger took and executed one Jew. Since I witnessed it myself, I know that Tadeusz Teodorczyk and other SD officers went to the field with the gendarmerie to participate in the fights against the partisans. Teodorczyk was especially cruel as he beat the detainees – suspected for political activity – with a stick. He also, together with Stanisław Słonka, took part in escorting the prisoner transports to Auschwitz; both of them tied up the hands of people who were to be transported away with ropes or wires or put them in handcuffs.
The head of the local Arbeitsamt [labor office] Hoffmann was also very hostile towards Polish people. He insulted, threatened, and beat the detainees captured during the roundups or manhunts, which were organized by him very often, both in the town and the adjacent areas.