HENRYK GRZEJSZCZAK

Kozienice, 5 September 1947. The District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Radom, Branch Office in Kozienice, in the person of a member of the said Commission, lawyer Jerzy Kaliszczak from Kozienice, interviewed the person mentioned hereunder as a witness, having first informed him of the criminal liability for making false declarations.


Name and surname Henryk Grzejszczak
Place of residence village of Tomczyn, commune of Grabów nad Pilicą, district of Kozienice
Date and place of birth 20 January 1907, village of Trzebień, commune of Trzebień, district of Kozienice
Parents’ names Józef and Michalina, née Wieczorek
Citizenship Polish
Religion Roman Catholic
Occupation cobbler and shoemaker (temporarily employed as a forestry worker)

On 16 December 1943 at around 11.00 p.m., my house – located near the forest in Tomczyn – was raided by German gendarmes from Kozienice. They broke down the door to my house, and then proceeded to check my name and surname against a list. I had 40 copies of the “Biuletyn Informacyjny” clandestine newspaper in my jacket pocket, intended for distribution. I managed to hide them under a small chest. When my two-year-old son woke up and started crying, one of the gendarmes, with a sneer on his face, stuck a carrot in his mouth and then pressed him down with a pillow.

Eight other men were arrested along with me. We were immediately taken to the prison in Radom. I was not beaten – neither during the arrest, nor in Kozienice. I don’t know the surnames of the Germans. I was interrogated in Radom at the so-called Dienststelle [office or police station]. There I was beaten with whips and kicked. The severe abuse caused my skin to turn black, and some sort of watery substance started spurting from my body. I was interrogated in this fashion three times. I know that one of the Germans – he didn’t whip me, limiting himself to a few kicks – went by the surname of Koch. Following this grilling, I would urinate with blood. Before commencing a beating, they would tie me to a special table. I have just remembered – they would also place a gas mask over my head, however instead of an absorber it was fitted with a plug. The plug would be removed whenever I came to. The wounds caused by the beatings were not dressed in any way.

From Radom, they sent me to Gross-Rosen, then to Dachau (KZ-L), and finally to München 68 (KZ-L).

While in the Arbeitslager [labor camp] in Munich, I was given a vaccination. On 16 February 1944, I received an injection in the left leg. They told me that this was a preventive shot. By the third day, my leg had swollen so much that I was unable to put on a shoe. On 20 February [19]44, I reported to the rewir [sick room – from the German Revier]. The doctor – a Pole – informed me that I was suffering from phlegmon, and that one of the German physicians was conducting experiments. I was operated on thrice under anesthesia. I don’t remember the surnames of the doctors. I had a part of my calf removed, and also underwent a bone scraping procedure. The entire treatment consisted in covering the wound with a rag soaked in water and held in place by a rubber band. I lay like this, sick, until 12 June 1944. I ran a temperature of 38–40 degrees. The only food that I received was rutabaga and kohlrabi soup. I lost weight massively, in the end weighing only 38 kg. The wound healed only towards the end of April 1945, but it continues to be very troublesome.

I am 180 cm tall and now weigh 87 kg. I think that I was selected for the experiments because of my excellent health. Now I am sick, completely devoid of strength.

The report has been read out to me and I confirm that it contains my testimony.

This is only a small fragment of the torments that I have suffered.