STEFAN GRYZ

On 19 November 1947, Judge M. Pytlewski from the Magistrates’ Court in Iłża heard the person named below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the provisions of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Stefan Gryz
Age 20 years old
Parents’ names Władysław and Marianna, née Sobul
Place of residence Podsuliszka, Zalesice commune
Occupation farmer, lives with his mother
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none
Relationship to the parties son of the murdered Władysław Gryz

On 14 August 1944, the Germans in black and green uniforms with death’s heads surrounded the village of Podsuliszka and took all the men, including my father Władysław, and four unmarried women; I somehow managed to hide. They marched them to the Modrzejowice estate, and on the morning of 15 August 1944, 26 or 27 men were led to the Pakosław Forest and shot there. I didn’t witness this execution. I know that 12 men were killed on the spot and buried in a common grave, four were wounded (and later died), and the rest managed to escape.

My father was also wounded – his arm was shot through and hanging on by a shred of skin, and his left leg was shot through under the knee. The execution took place on a Tuesday, and my father died on Saturday. My mother buried him in the cemetery in Alojzów.

Bronisław Kopania from Podsuliszka, who at the time served with the German police, accused our village of harbouring numerous partisans there. Kopania left with the Germans and nobody has heard of him since. I don’t know the surnames of the Germans and I am unable to describe their appearance – I wouldn’t know them today.

The report was read out.