MARCIN MROCZKOWSKI

On 4 May 1946, the Municipal Court in Opatów, represented by Judge Al. Zalewski, with the participation of reporter R. Cybulski, interviewed the person named below as a witness. Having advised the witness of the criminal liability for making false declarations, of the wording of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and of the significance of the oath, the judge swore the witness in accordance with Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, whereupon the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Marcin Mroczkowski
Age 44
Parents’ names Jan and Katarzyna
Place of residence Opatów, Sienkiewicza Street 21
Occupation official of the Municipal Board in Opatów
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none
Relationship to the parties none

From June 1942 until August 1944, I was employed as a keeper at the remand prison in Opatów. Many times, I saw Ryszard Hospodar from the local SD unit or his assistant from the criminal police, Stanisław Słonka, drag young Polish or Jewish people away to be executed in the local cemeteries that they chose as execution sites. They executed a total of 30 people this way, including Józek Lasek, probably from Bardo, and a woman caught with a shipment of illegal newspapers. Those selected for execution were usually chosen from among those suspected of political activity. So called “interrogations” during which people were beaten and tortured with specially prepared whips took place nearly every day. The only Poles who took part in this kind of interrogations were those they trusted: Stanisław Słonka and Tadeusz Teodorczyk.

One time a person was so viciously tortured that the walls were sprayed with blood. At the time, many transports of prisoners were sent to Auschwitz. The Germans, as well as Słonka and Teodorczyk, who also escorted these transports, tied up the prisoners’ hands. Słonka, Teodorczyk, Ślęzak, Grys, and Szymczak, who were also former Blue Police officers, brought in people who were caught to be sent away to the Reich. Independently of the above, everyone I have mentioned would accompany the German gendarmerie into the country and take part in fighting the Polish partisan units.

One time Słonka and Taszycki brought in young Goldman, the son of the owner of the mill on Ostrowiecka street in Opatów, as well as some friend of his. I talked to them and found out that after the Jews had been deported from the city, they were accidentally caught by Słonka and Taszycki. In exchange for sparing their lives, they offered them a treasure hidden in the mill by the father: ¾ kg of golden coins. Słonka took the offered bribe and handed both Jews over to the SD. On the very same day, he and Hospodar took the two to the local Jewish cemetery and murdered them.

The following German gendarmes were involved in torturing the detainees as well: Alfred Biller and Wiktor Berger. The former [gendarmes] regularly took Jews away to execute them and participated in the murder of the Bataliony Chłopskie [Farmers’ Battalions] member Pronobis at the Jewish cemetery. The latter took part in the murder of three Poles from Włostów in the same place.