WŁADYSŁAW SOBIENIAK

On 6 August 1947 in Staszów, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes of the District Court with its seat in Radom, Branch Office in Staszów, Judge Albin Walkiewicz, an attorney in Staszów, interviewed the person mentioned hereunder as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the wording of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Władysław Sobieniak
Age 26 years old
Parents’ names Józef and Bronisława
Place of residence Staszów, Krakowska Street 18
Occupation student
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

I spent the occupation in Staszów. In 1942, before the Jews were displaced, three young Jews from families living in complete poverty, having removed a window, entered the building where the Germans were storing goods taken away from a rich merchant called Milgraum, which was reported by the Jewish militia – Schutzpolizei. A German arrived and told the Jewish militia to bring in those Jews; however, two of them had escaped, so the third one was brought in. Then, the German gave an order to bring in relatives of the Jews who had ran away. The father of one of them and a sister of the other were brought in and locked in the storehouse.

From a certain, not very great distance, I then witnessed the following scene: that German was standing at the storehouse door and eating an apple. Holding the apple in one hand and a gun in the other, he instructed the young Jew to leave the storehouse and he shot him right at the door. Then, he told the old Jew to leave – the latter said something to the German, probably pleading. The German ate the apple and, not granting the old man’s wish, shot the Jew dead. The same happened to the young Jewish girl. He killed them all. When asked how was it that he could kill people while eating, he said that he could even sit on the people he had killed and peacefully have a meal – this did not impress him.

People from Staszów were sent to Germany for work in the following way: the Municipal Board, following the instructions of the Arbeitsamt from Ostrowiec, selected the required number of people and sent the list to that institution. The designated people were supposed to report to the Arbeitsamt by themselves. If someone did not report, they were captured by the gendarmerie and Arbeitsamt officers at night and were sent away anyway. In the same way, the Arbeitsamt in Staszów, independently of the Municipal Board, issued lists of people to be sent away and then carried out the operation. What is more, it happened that, regardless of the above-mentioned activities, the gendarmerie, while walking from door to door, took young people who were home and sent them to Germany – in this way, the gendarmerie took away about 110 people in three transports. The local head of the labor office, when ordered to gather a dozen or so people to be sent away, issued a list and informed over 100 people that they were obliged to leave the country. Having received bribes, he dismissed the people who were not needed or used them, forcing them to work in his house for free.

I do not know anything else. The report was read out.