ANTONINA BĄK

On 31 May 1947 in Zwoleń, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes with its seat in Radom, this in the person of its member, Deputy Prosecutor J. Skarżyński, acting pursuant to Article 20 of the provisions introducing the Code of Criminal Procedure, interviewed the person mentioned hereunder as a witness, without taking an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Antonina Bąk
Age 45 years old
Parents’ names Józef and Wiktoria
Place of residence Zwoleń, Agricultural School
Occupation housekeeper
Religion Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

On 18 March 1942, mass arrests of a political nature were carried out in Sydół (3 km from Zwoleń), Karolin, Ciepielów and other nearby villages. The arrests were made by Gestapo men from Radom. Among others, they detained my husband, Marian Bąk, who was the head of the Agricultural School in Sydół.

The arrests took place in the morning and later around noon on the same day. All of the detainees were taken to Karolin, where after a relatively short beating session – and without any investigation or court proceedings – they were executed in the nearby meadows. Fellow Poles organized a mass grave for the victims. More than 70 people were buried in it. I have not received an official death certificate to date. My husband’s body still lies in the mass grave.

I think that one Franciszek Tycki from Sydół, in whose house my husband and I lived, had a hand in my husband’s arrest, or possibly his son, Stefan Tycki, who was on excellent terms with the Volksdeutschers from Karolin. We did not get on well [with the Tyckis]. Even before my husband was detained, I heard how once, when the Tyckis organized a drinking bout that was attended by Józef Gram and Jakub Gram (Germans), old man Tycki said to the Germans: “The Bąks are the masterminds, I tell you. Various people visit them, and I also noticed some newspapers on a chest of drawers!”. To which one of the Germans replied in Polish: “This merits an investigation by the Feldgendarmerie!”. My husband was arrested a few months later. I do not know whether there was an inquiry against the Tyckis. All I can say is that I did not report this incident anywhere. Neither of the Tyckis was arrested on 18 March [19]42 or later.

I have to provide for three children, who were 12, 10 and 8 years old when their father was killed. I have not applied for any benefits, and I support my children with what I earn as a housekeeper at the Agricultural School.