Auschwitz, 6 August 1946, District Judge Jan Sehn, acting on the basis of the Decree of 10 November 1945 (Journal of Laws No. 51, item 293) on the Main Commission and District Commissions for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, as a member of the Main Commission, heard in accordance with art. 255, pursuant to art. 107, 115 of the Criminal Code the person named below, who testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Wilhelm Wohlfarth |
| Date and place of birth | 15 February 1911 in Warsaw |
| Parents’ names | Edward and Maria |
| Occupation | chartered surveyor |
| Place of residence | Warsaw, pl. Inwalidów 3 apartment 12a |
| Religious affiliation | Augsburg Evangelist |
| Nationality and national affiliation | Polish |
I was arrested in Warsaw on 19 November 1941 and imprisoned in Pawiak, where I remained until 8 January 1942. On that day, I was loaded onto a railway prisoner transport with 62 fellow prisoners and on 9 January 1942, I arrived at the concentration camp in Auschwitz. I stayed in this camp until 18 September 1944, when I was deported to the concentration camp in Mauthausen in a transport of about 2,000 prisoners. After 50 days in this camp, I was transferred to the Gusen II concentration camp, where I was released on 5 May 1945.
In Auschwitz I initially worked in Palitzsch’s Kiesgrube, from where, on 15 January 1942, I was assigned as a professional to the kommando of Lotzky’s company. This was a drainage and surveying company from Bydgoszcz. On behalf of this company, the work in Auschwitz was managed by Prof. Reinicke. These works were aimed at developing projects for the irrigation and drainage of the entire Interessengebiet concentration camp in Auschwitz, an area extending from the tufts to the Sola near Bielany to Broszkowice, where the Sola joins the Vistula. This area covers over 40 km2. The assumption of these projects was that the ponds located within the bifurcations of the Vistula and Soła could be put to economic use. According to the projects, water was supposed to be diverted through the ponds from the Sola river to the Vistula. In the same kommando we also worked on drainage network projects in the area occupied by the camp. Lotzky’s office was located in the so- called Stabsgebäude. I note that Lotzky’s kommando was the third surveying office in the Auschwitz camp. The first was the so-called Vermessung-Baubüro, and the second the Messtruppe Landwirtschaft. The Messtrupe Landwirtschaft and the measurement office of the Lotzky company were merged in April 1942 into one office under the name of Bodenwirtschaftsdienst. In July 1945, the Bodenwirtschaftsdienst was renamed the Meliorationen office and assigned to the Bauleitung. At that time, Reinicke left this office, to be replaced by Dr. Preng, who had a PhD in engineering.
Since I spent almost all my time in the Auschwitz camp working in these surveying offices, I know from my own observation and from what I was told by my colleagues who had direct contact with these matters, of all the harassments that were committed against the prisoners working in the surveying kommandos. On this basis, I present the following facts: on 3 February 1943, colleagues Tadeusz Hrehorowicz, No. 31,054, Władysław Horodalski, No. 14,242, Marian Włodek, No. 26,000-something, Bolesław Poncyliusz, No. 174, and Witold Frydrychowicz, No. 63,668, met a certain lady from outside the camp who gave them food. The meeting took place with all due precaution while working in Rajsko. This contact was overseen by an SS guard at the workplace. For this service he also received part of the food given to his colleagues by this woman. After returning to the camp, we learned that this SS man (whose name I don’t remember) had made a report which he intended to give to the Blockführerstube. We tried to prevent this with the intervention of SS-man Schwarz, who was the head of our kommando. We thought that the guard would abandon his plans. The next day, however, we found out that he had reported them, because all the above named colleagues were taken from the office and put in the bunker at block 11. After ten days, on 13 February 1943, they were shot in the bunker. (In the ledger marked with the inscription ‘SK [Strafkompanie] Bunker 26.1.1941-24.3.43’ they were recorded on the date of their arrival in the bunker on 3 February 1943, with the following entries: 1. Pole, 26,585, Marian Włodek, born on 8 August 1909 in Nadarzyn,
2. Pole, 31,054, Thadeus Hrehorowicz, born on 18 April 1913 in Riga,
3. Pole, 14,213 Ladislaus Horodelski, born on 27 November 1911 in Zamość, 4. Pole, 64,668 Witold Frydrychiewicz, born on 6 November 1910 in Warsaw, 5. Pole, 174 Bolesław Poncyliusz, born on 22 March 1916 in Piaseczno.
In the ‘Grund’ [reason] column, ‘AAd Lagerführers’ is given— Auf Anordungdes Lagerführers. In the next column, the following is written in red ink next to each name: ‘verst. 13/02/43’).
Shortly after these five were shot, Stanisław Dorosiewicz—known in the camp as an informer for the Political Department—was assigned to a group of prisoners working in the Bodenwirtschaftsdienet. He made out that he was a Georgian, although we knew that he came from Kielce. Officially, he took up the position of kapo for the Bodenwirtschaftsdienst. He tried to exploit his work in this kommando for his ‘Judas’ schemes.
All of us who worked in the surveying office enjoyed the full trust of the prisoners, because by working outside the camp and being able to move around the whole camp, we facilitated our fellow prisoners’ contact with their families (in the form of letters), and sometimes we could smuggle some food for them, or medicines. Dorosiewicz tried to use this trust for the purposes of the Political Department, with whom he remained in constant and close contact. Because we were aware of the role and function of Dorosiewicz, we were careful and didn’t let him know about our affairs. Therefore, Dorosiewicz planned with the SS men from the Political Department, first of all with Grabner and then with Woźnica [Wisnitz], to set up a separate surveying office at the Political Department. He offered me work in this office that was to be created. I didn’t agree to this, obviously, and my other colleagues refused, so this project wasn’t implemented and Dorosierwicz prowled about under the cover of working in our kommandos. This was during the time of Höß’s command, when prisoners informing on each other was rife, allowing themselves to be used for this nefarious purpose for small treats like cigarettes or bread. The most dangerous of these informers was Dorosiewicz, who had around 200 others placed in almost all the labor kommandos. His role came to light in full in connection with the escape of Kazimierz Jarzębowski’s group.
On 20 May 1943, Jarzębowski escaped with the prisoners ‘Cowboy’ and ‘Włodek’ (I don’t remember their surnames and numbers). They were doing surveying work in Skidzinice- Wilczkowice, got the guard drunk with vodka, which they had received thanks to a contact from outside, and escaped. On the evening of that day, Dorosiewicz walked around the block, asked about the Vermessers, and wrote something down. From his behavior, we concluded that there would be reprisals due to Jarzębowski’s escape. The next day—that is, on 21 May 1943, when all the kommandos went out to work—the Schreibers read out the names of 52 surveyors from a list that had already been drawn up, and ordered my group to go to block 24 to the Schreibstube. First, we stood there in the corridor, and then we waited in front of the block for further orders. That went on for three days. On the first day they placed Sławiński and Marcisz in the bunker. After three days we were allowed to return to our former jobs.
During the next days, a further 25 prisoners were selected from the surveyors employed in the kommandos, and they were also detained in the bunker. They were prisoners Hakaszewski, Skrzetuski, Krzyżogórski, Jemiołowski, Kokosz, Sikorski, Woźniak, Wardaszko, Dziuba, Ćwikliński, Lendzion, Krzywosiński, Lisiak, Zarębski, Czerski, Wojtyga, Poltański, Ohrt, Reiser, Moskalski, Rapacz, Pierzyński, Tokarski, Gancarz, and Kulikowski. The arrests lasted several days, small groups were taken away daily, the last one on 27 May 1943.
Concerned for the fate of our arrested companions, we ascertained that investigations were being carried out against them, because they went over to the Political Department barrack next to the old crematorium in Auschwitz. This barrack was for interrogations. On 25 June 1943, from among those arrested, 13 colleagues were shot, including Dziuba, Wardaszka, Krzywosiński, Zarębski, Tokarski, Lisiak, Krzyżogórski, Jamiołkowski, Kokesz, Ćwikliński, Moskalski, Pierzyński and Czerski.
On 19 June 1943, a gallows was built in front of the prison kitchen, along the camp street. It was a long rail suspended on two poles buried in the ground. Be the time we were lined up between the blocks and in the camp street, up until the evening roll call, the gallows had already been prepared. 12 ropes were hanging from the rail with stools underneath. After rushing thought the roll call formalities that day, Woźniak, Sikorski, Skrzetuski, Marcisz, Sławiński, Wojtyga, Kulkowski, Garncarz, Ohrt, Foltański, Reiser and Rapacz were led underneath the gallows and lined up from the side of the kitchen, facing the roll call square, so that they had the gallows and ropes in front of their eyes. They were all dressed in denim without underwear and had their hands tied behind them. Then they were instructed to stand upon the stools beneath the nooses, and, if I remember correctly, two prisoners, also from the bunker and brought in for this purpose, put the nooses around the necks of the condemned. The ceremony was watched by a group of SS officers with commandant Höß and Lagerführer at the head.
The entire camp security had been reinforced. A whole SS company was stationed behind the kitchen. Three SS men were on duty in each guard post, and patrols walked between the posts. Around the gallows on the street corners stood four Blockführers armed with automatic rifles. When the condemned already had their nooses in place, Höß stepped forward from his entourage, in the company of the Dolmetscher, and began to read out the verdict.
As I recall, in this verdict he referred to an order or recommendation from Berlin. The execution, according to his speech, was to be punishment for Jarzębowski and his colleagues poisoning the guard. This was obviously untrue, because the guard had only got drunk, suffered no ill health and continued to work in the Auschwitz camp, telling us that he felt stupid because a report was submitted to Berlin that he had been poisoned when in reality he had only got drunk. Höß didn’t finish reading out the sentence, however, because Skrzetuski, who was the first from the edge, kicked away his stool and hanged himself. Seeing this, the ranking SS officers who were standing in Höß’s group ran over to the condemned and pulled away the stools on which they were supported. After the execution, Höß and the SS men left, and we were ordered to go to the blocks. After some time, a doctor came to confirm the deaths of the hanged men. Their corpses were taken away the same evening, and the gallows were shortly after dismantled. Of all the prisoners detained in the bunker of block 11 in connection with the escape of the Jarzębowski group, only Lendzion and Hakaszowski survived. Everyone else was lost.
(In the second volume of the ledger of the block 11 bunker, in the possession of the Kraków District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, the following entries are included:
1. Pol.P. No. 6,569 Stanislaus Sławiński, born on 19 February 1899, in Sokolna, arrested on 21 May 1943, by the order of the Political Department, + 19 July 1943.
2. Pol.P. No. 26,391 Czeslaus Marcisz, born on 3 July 1912, in Krotoszyn, arrested on 21 May 1943 by the order of the Political Department, + 19 July 1943.
3. Pol.P. No. 71,796 Edmund Rakaszewski, born on 22 May 1904, in Lodz, arrested on 21 May 1943 by the order of the Political Department, released + 19 June 1943.
4. Pol.P. No. 253 Janusz Skrzetuski, born on 8 February 1922, in Kraków, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 July 1943.
5. Pol.P. No. 7,322 Władysław Krzyżogórski, born on 19 May 1911, in Poznań, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + June 25, 1943.
6. Pol.P. No. 10,048 Wacław Jamiołkowski, born on 9 February 1901, in Warsaw, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
7. Pol.P. No. 10,745 Tadeusz Kokesz, born on 25 April 1918, in Jordanów, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
8. Pol.P. No. 25,419 Edmund Sikorski, born on 19 March 1920 in Czarnocin, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
9. Pol.P. No. 35,650 Jerzy Woźniak, born on 27 April 1912, in Warsaw, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
10. Pol.P. No. 66,803 Leon Wardaszko, born on 22 October 1888 in Ostrów Mazowiecka, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943. 11. Pol.P. No. 74,507 Józef Dziuba, born on 8 February 1913, in Niepołomice, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
12. Pol.P. No. 84,764 Władysław Ćwikliński, born on 24 November 1909, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
13. Pol.P. No. 84,765 Witold Lendzion, born on 16 September 1918, in Toruń, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, released on 30 July 1943.
14. Pol.P. No. 6,529 Romuald Krzywosiński, born on 25 April 1910, in Zalesie, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
15. Pol.P. No. 63,808 Jan Lisiak, born on 10 June 1916, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
16. Pol.P. No. 76,960 Bogdan Zaręba-Zarębski, born on 17 May 1921, in Równe, arrested on 26 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
17. Pol.P. No. 19,630 Leon Czerski, born on 18 February 1904 in Dęblin, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
18. Pol.P. No. 24,740 Józef Wojtyga, born on 13 April 1912 in Nowy Sącz, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
19. Pol.P. No. 41,664 Zbigniew Foltański, born on 8 December 1910 in Warsaw, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
20. Pol.P. No. 367 Bogusław Ohrt, born on September 15, 1914 in Lublin, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
21. Pol.P. No. 399 Leo Reiser, born on 28 February 1909, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
22. Pol.P. No. 17,219 Marian Moskalski, born on 22 March 1905, in Poznan, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
23. Pol.P. No. 36,043 Tadeusz Rapacz, born on 10 October 1906, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
24. Pol.P. No. 37,301 Władysław Bierzyński, born on 12 May 1924, in Kraków, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
25. Pol.P. No. 64,611 Stanisław Tokarski, born on 22 August 1897 in Kraków, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 25 June 1943.
26. Pol.P. No. 24,538 Józef Garnacarz, born on 18 March 1900 in Rzeszów, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
27. Pol.P. No. 25,404 Mieczysław Kulikowski, born on 6 August 1920, arrested on 27 May 1943 by the Political Department, + 19 June 1943.
In the last column (‘entl.’) all the names except Hakaszewski and Lendzion are entered with a cross before the date, drawn with a red pencil.)
After reviewing the ledger shown to me now, I would say that both Sikorski and Woźniak were hanged with the whole group on 19 June 1943, and on this basis, I argue that the date of death written after their names (19 June 1943) is wrong. I knew both of them well—I worked with them and we became friends in the camp, and now I can still see them hanging with the others on the gallows.
While working with the surveyors’ kommando outside the camp, I often saw Höß riding a horse or in a car in various locations of the Interessenbiet. Very often he traveled to Birkenau on horseback, where the camp was being built at that time. I remember that he was there very often, at the time when we were surveying the area under the camp. At that time, the gas chamber was already open in the house behind the triangulation tower in the clearing to the right of crematorium V. Höß would approach this small building often, ride around it and the pits in which the bodies of the gassed were burnt. In the morning, he took his son, a boy of about 12-years, for such a ride.
I note that Jarzębowski was captured and brought back to the camp the day after the execution by hanging. [He was] detained in the bunker of block 11. He was tortured to get information about his method and route of escape. Twice he tried to commit suicide in the bunker. Eventually, a month after he was brought back to the camp, he died. ‘Cowboy’ was arrested entirely by accident, and in connection with another case was sent to Auschwitz. It was only in the bunker where he ended up that he was identified by his number and shot. What happened after with ‘Włodek’ I don’t know.
(The previously mentioned bunker ledger includes, inter alia, the following entry:
Pol.P. No. 115 Kazimierz Jarzębowski, born on 22 January 1906 in Poznań, detained in a bunker on 31 July 1943 after returning from his escape, + 20 August 1943.)
The report was read out and thus concluded.