Witness:
| Name and surname | Mieczysław Kotlarski |
| Age | 34 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | school headmaster |
| Place of residence | Chorzów, [...] |
Testifies as follows:
From 18 December 1940 to 28 October 1944, I was imprisoned in the Auschwitz camp, and later in Gross-Rosen and Buchenwald.
From the list of members of the Auschwitz camp staff submitted, I recall the names of Hans Aumeier (number 1), August Raimond Bogusch (number 7), Wilhelm Gerhard Gering (number 23), Max Grabner (number 28), and Heinrich Josten (no. 37), Stefan Kirschner (number 38), Gustav Kuny (number 46), Arthur Liebehenschel (number 53), Herbert Paul Ludwig (number 57), Maria Mandl (number 59), Adolf Medefind (number 61), Karl Ernst Möckel (number 63), Kurt Hugo Müller (number 65), Ludwig Plagge (number 72), Hans Schumacher (number 80), Paul Szczurek (number 83).
1) Hans Aumeier was the Lagerführer [head of the camp] in 1942 and 1943. I often saw him personally beat and kick prisoners and chase after them holding a revolver.
Aumeier took in the transports of Jews and often he decided which of the prisoners were to be gassed. I was present at all the incoming transports and so I know that he was the one who sent the Jews for gassing. In August 1943 I saw Aumeier and other SS men firing machine guns into closed railway cars. The cars contained Jews from Będzin, about 3,000 people, mostly women and children. After opening the wagons, it turned out that there were whole heaps of people who had been shot. The rest were led off to the gas chamber.
Aumeier sentenced prisoners to death for trying to escape. Although maybe it was the Lagerkommandant [camp commandant] that sentenced them to death, but in any case Aumeier applied for the punishment and was always present at the execution. Höß was rarely seen. During the execution, Aumeier announced to other prisoners that they would be hanged in the same way if they ever tried to escape.
Aumeier, while interrogating prisoners, beat them and inflicted other punishments, such as the bunker or a public flogging.
7) August Raimond Bogusch worked in the office. I saw him often. I don’t know if he abused the prisoners.
23) Wilhelm Gerhard Gehring was a warden in block 11, the so-called block of death. [He was the supervisor] of the bunker and reportedly meted out flogging punishments. I would like to note that not all the SS men were admitted to block 11. I can’t say anything more about Gehring’s activity.
28) Max Grabner, SS-Untersturmführer, was the head of the Political Department. He made lists of those condemned to death. I heard this from some fellow prisoners who worked in the Political Department. Max Grabner not only struck fear into the prisoners, but the SS men too. In the summer of 1943, I heard Aumeier himself mention that he didn’t want to have anything to do with Grabner. I don’t know of any other criminal acts committed by Grabner.
37) Heinrich Josten had control over the sentries and was the manager of the Luftschutz [air raid protection]. I can’t say anything about his conduct.
38) Stefan Kirschner worked in the Political Department. I can’t say anything about his conduct.
46) Gustav Kuny worked in the Effektenkammer [storeroom for personal effects]. He was one of the few SS men who dealt with prisoners humanly. I didn’t see him harass anyone. The prisoners spoke about him well.
53) Arthur Liebehenschel was the camp commandant after Höß, from the end of 1943 to 1944, for several months. During his time, the relations in the camp improved considerably. During this period there was no shooting or gassing. He didn’t beat the prisoners himself and forbade the beatings. He announced that a prisoner could come to him directly at any time if he had an issue to raise. The prisoners used this opportunity. He was not liked by the SS men – for example, Schebeck expressed such an opinion about him: “Ist der Hampelmann noch da?” [“Is that wimp still here?”]. Under Liebehenschel, people were still punished by flogging, but only after an investigation. The penalty of flogging was used to a lesser extent during this period. He was mostly present during the implementation of the punishment. He himself, as far as I know, didn’t mete it out, but his predecessors did it. In his time, kapos with green triangles were degraded – i.e. recruits from among ordinary criminals – while political prisoners, mostly Austrian communists, were promoted.
Liebehenschel forbade the employees of the Political Department to enter the camp without a serving SS-man. From Stanisław Dubiel, also a prisoner, I heard that when an inmate murdered an SS man, some other SS men accused Liebehenschel that this was a consequence of the relaxation of the regime against the prisoners.
57) Herbert Paul Ludwig was a Blockführer. I sometimes saw him punch the prisoners.
59) Maria Mandl was the commandant of the women’s camp. I can’t testify about her conduct.
62) Adolf Medefind from around 1942 was the boss’s assistant in the food warehouse in Auschwitz, and later became the head of the food warehouse in Birkenau. In 1944 he became the head of the central warehouse (wholesale), where food wagons were unloaded. Ignacy Ratajczak, residing in Chorzów [at] Wolności Street 6, complained that Medefind beat him and ordered him to beat some other prisoners. Medefind, nicknamed “Fish Eye”, hated the Poles especially.
63) Karl Ernst Möckel was the head of administration with the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. I can’t testify about his conduct. Apparently he ordered that sardines and other similar articles that would come in packages for the prisoners should not be given to them, but distributed among the SS men.
65) Kurt Hugo Müller was initially a Blockführer, and then he worked in the Arbeitseinsatz [labor deployment office]. I saw him many times beating prisoners and herding them off to work.
72) Ludwig Plagge was a Blockführer known for beating prisoners. I can’t list any specific incidents.
80) Hans Schumacher was an assistant in the food store. People called him “Lofty”. He supervised the loading or unloading of food and when he noticed that one of the prisoners had stolen something, he punched him or whacked him with a stick, and then led him to the head of the warehouse, Schebeck, who would then torment the prisoner.
83) Paul Szczurek was a Blockführer in Auschwitz from the end of 1940. In 1943 he worked in the so-called Sonderkommando – i.e. in the crematorium service. I often saw him drunk and herding Jews with his stick when the transports were being unloaded. In February and March 1945, I met him again in Buchenwald, where he was a Blockführer and served on the gate. I also saw him punch the prisoners there and herd them along when they were passing too slowly.
The following witnesses will also be able to testify against the accused: 1) Gerhard Włoch, Chorzów, [...],
2) Józef Kroker, teacher at school No. 28 in Chorzów III,
3) Feliks Miłek, Gliwice, I don’t know his exact address,
4) Ignacy Ratajczak, Chorzów, [...],
5) Jerzy Podziemski, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Auschwitz, 6) Feliks Buczyński, Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, [...].
The report was read out before signing. The report was concluded.