On 16 September 1947 in Wadowice, Investigating Judge of the District Court in Wadowice, with Judge Z. Sołtysik (PhD) presiding, interviewed the person specified below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the provisions of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Zofia Woźniak |
| Age | 24 |
| Parents’ names | Ferdynand and Franciszka |
| Place of residence | Wadowice, Gotowizna Street 5 |
| Occupation | office worker at the municipal court |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
I was detained in the concentration camp in Auschwitz from 6 March 1942 until the evacuation, that is 18 January 1945. I worked in the kitchen for prisoners. In Birkenau – where I also stayed in block 10 – Monika Miklas was the leader of the so-called Außenkommando [external work detail] no. 10, meaning that she supervised prisoners who worked outside the camp. Prisoners in block 10 were exclusively women of various nationalities. I remember Monika Miklas, I saw her almost every day. She wore an SS uniform and always had a German Shepherd dog by her side. She would come with the members of the Außenkommando when I was giving out soup for prisoners who returned from work. They would come back exhausted, just before the evening roll call. One day I saw Monika Miklas yelling at prisoners who were carrying soup for the whole kommando no. 10 from the kitchen − because, as she said, it was late and they were late for roll call. Miklas beat these prisoners with a whip all over their bodies, and as a result the prisoners spilled three caldrons with soup, and one of the prisoners, who was carrying a caldron, got burnt.
I personally saw only one such incident, but I learnt from other prisoners that Monika Miklas abused prisoners during work, beat them, set the dog on them, and forced the guards to torment the prisoners in the same manner. Monika Miklas spoke Polish.
Presently, I cannot remember the names of the people who said that Monika Miklas abused prisoners. I had contact with her only when I was giving out soup and when she sometimes came to the kitchen to inspect other guards. I frequently saw Monika Miklas take away some of the margarine that had been prepared for the caldron for prisoners for her own purposes.
The report was read out before signing.
Page 2 of the report from the hearing of the witness Zofia Woźniak
Those present: Z. Sołtysik (PhD) and T. Marzycka as reporters
With regards to the people on the list, I remember Therese Brandl, Max Grabner, Elfriede Kock and Maria Mandl.
I met Maria Mandl as early as in the spring of 1942. I would like to point out that prisoners were required to keep their hair straight and tie it with a bow or a string. My hair is naturally wavy and when I was walking through the main gate of Blockführerstub e [guardroom] once, Maria Mandl noticed me. She marched me to a bathroom, ordered to lean over the bath and kept pouring alternately hot and cold water over my head. When I replied something, she beat me with a rubber whip so hard that my whole face was left in cuts and I had to go to hospital.
Maria Mandl took part in selections of prisoners to the crematorium. These selections occurred every week, or even more often, during general assemblies, when we had to strip naked, regardless of whether it was in the winter or in the summer. Maria Mandl personally chose who was to stay and who was to be exterminated. She also heard the reports, during which we had to stand at attention. If a prisoner moved or didn’t stand straight in line, Maria Mandl would beat her with a whip so hard that such prisoners frequently died. Almost every roll call of this sort ended with several deaths.
One time in July 1943, when I gave another prisoner a third portion of soup, Maria Mandl poured it over the prisoner’s head and beat her with a whip. I was punished by four months in a harsh penal kommando.
In December 1944, when I was walking through the camp street, I accidently jostled Maria Mandl. Even though I immediately apologized, she punished me by seven nights in a bunker, in which one could not lie down, only stand, because it was designed that way. During the day I had to work in the kitchen.
I would like to add that Maria Mandl as Oberaufseherin [senior overseer] ordered her subordinates to punish prisoners for most trivial offences. I personally heard her say that a prisoner should stay alive six weeks at most. To sum up, Maria Mandl terrorized the camp in Birkenau.
I never met Therese Brandl personally, but I heard that she beat prisoners.
Max Grabner was head of the Political Department. He had a habit of beating every prisoner with whom he came into contact in this official capacity, and telling them that no one would leave Auschwitz alive. Grabner hit me in the face and said the words mentioned above.
As for Elfriede Kock, I saw her frequently when she beat prisoners and pushed them into a ditch while they were cleaning up in the camp.