Commission for the Investigation
of German Crimes
Warsaw
The deposition of Mr. Wacław Pątkowski, residing at Piotra Skargi Street 58, flat 27. Re: the detention and imprisonment of Marian Pątkowski, b. 12 October 1924 in Warsaw.
My son Marian Pątkowski was arrested on the night from 11 to 12 January 1941 in our flat. That night, around 40 young boys were taken from nearby houses in Targówek, with no allegations stated.
He was taken to the Pawiak, from where I received a note from him, in which he asked for 20 marks to be sent to him in prison. Meanwhile, we were making every effort to have our son released. My wife went to aleja Szucha, trying to prove our son’s innocence. The Gestapo man from room 4 pretended to look into our son’s records and then started to shout, accusing my son of being a member of a gang, which meant that he could not be released before the end of the war.
After two weeks at the Pawiak, he was transported to Auschwitz, where remained for two years. The letters he sent home all read the same and were written according to a template, only undersigned by Marian. The packages were reaching him.
After two years, he was transferred to the concentration camp in Gusen, St. Gregor [sic] post office, Upper Danube. I received letters from him at more or less monthly intervals, written on the camp paper, with a limited number of words. Therein, he thanked for the packages, which would indicate that at least some of those I had sent had reached him.
I got the last message from my son in June 1944.
This is a truthful deposition. I have read it before signing.