Ninth day of the hearing.
Presiding Judge: Next witness, Władysław Skowronek.
I advise the witness as per Art. 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure he is obliged to tell the truth. False testimony is punishable by incarceration for up to five years. Do the parties offer any motions regarding the manner of questioning?
Prosecution: We do not require the witness to swear an oath.
Defense: Nor do we.
Witness: Władysław Skowronek, 39 years old, farmer; religion: Roman Catholic; no relation to the defendants.
Presiding Judge: Please tell us specifically which defendants has the witness had contact with and in what circumstances?
Witness: I recognize Mussfeldt from Majdanek. One day I was going to work. Prisoners were walking past the crematorium. Then Muhsfeldt came and beat and kicked a prisoner (who fainted and could not go on) so badly he was left lifeless.
Another time I saw an SS woman leading four elegantly dressed Jewish children. She was leading them to a crematorium. I was carrying wooden planks out. I was in the crematorium when she brought these children. She said “ weg” [“out”] to me. I left. There were two Russian and two Jewish helpers in the crematorium. When I left, I heard four shots. Mussfeldt was inside the crematorium.
Besides, Mussfeldt abused the prisoners, beat them with whatever he could get his hands on, with a spade, to death.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: What happened with the prisoner Mussfeldt beat and kicked to death?
Witness: Mussfeldt called his helpers, who carried him away to the crematorium on a stretcher.
Prosecutor: Was Mussfeldt in the crematorium when the SS woman was leading those four children and when the witness heard four shots?
Witness: Yes, Mussfeldt was in the crematorium, while the SS woman left after bringing the children.
Prosecutor Pęchalski: How far from the camp did the witness live?
Witness: Some 150 meters.
Prosecutor: Is the witness aware that in the autumn of 1943, more specifically on 3 November, more than 12,000 Jews were shot? Did the witness see Mussfeldt during that operation?
Witness: I went up to the attic and wanted to watch, and I saw Mussfeldt and Thumann commanding and shoving prisoners into a hole. The radio was playing a waltz.
Prosecutor: Thank you.
Presiding Judge: The witness is excused.