On 18 December 1947 in Radom, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes with its seat in Radom, this in the person of 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, this pursuant to the provisions of Article 254.1, Point [...] of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Stanisław Rudkowski |
| Date and place of birth | 7 February 1901, Grzywacz, commune of Sarnów, district of Kozienice |
| Parents’ names | Jan and Joanna |
| Place of residence | Molendy, commune of Policzna, district of Kozienice |
| Occupation | mill owner |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
I lived through the entire German occupation in the village of Molendy, commune of Policzna, district of Kozienice, where I operated my own water mill. During the occupation I was not a member of any political or military grouping, and I personally had no contact with the members of such organizations. The village of Molendy is located approximately 1½ km from Garbatka train station (the third stop from Radom).
I was a witness to a criminal retaliatory action carried out by the invader against the civilian population of the village of Molendy. As I remember, this happened in 1943, on 22 July.
A day earlier, a group of partisans had tried to sabotage food warehouses in Garbatka which the Germans used to store levies. I recall that the partisans were unsuccessful and, despite their best efforts, were unable to destroy the warehouses; finally, they were forced to make a fighting withdrawal, leaving behind 3 dead.
People told me that the then commandant of the police station, Gardka [?], sent a report on the incident to the Germans, in which he informed them that the attackers had arrived from the direction of Molendy and had withdrawn there afterwards. We were expecting the Germans to victimize us, however we were unaware of how the attack on the grain warehouses had unfolded, and therefore assumed that any oppressive measures would be applied against Garbatka, not Molendy.
The next day, that is on 22 July 1943, at around 9.00 p.m. I was in my house in the company of the following: Jan Molenda (Klasztorna Wola, commune of Sieciechów), Jerzy Jakubowski (a cousin of mine, resident at the time in Garbatka), Bolesław Lesicz (presently resident in Lachodź), and one Julian Kraśnik, who worked at my mill. Suddenly, a shot rang out near my house. Concerned, we exited the building into the farmyard. At once I saw a line formation of German gendarmes cutting off Molendy from the east and approaching in the direction of my yard. At this moment Lesisz ran away and hid in the potato field near the house and mill. A short time later, two gendarmes ran into my farmyard and demanded that I and my companions present our identity cards. We complied, however the gendarmes did not look at the documents, but hid them in their pockets. After hurriedly searching and looting my house, the two gendarmes came outside and ordered us to proceed to the village leader. They followed behind us. But while we were still in my farmyard, a few revolver shots were fired in our direction from the rear. I lost consciousness and fell, coming to only after a dozen or so minutes. Half-consciously, I still heard the shots. I ascertained that I was seriously wounded, and started crawling towards the forest.
When I finally regained consciousness, I noticed that Jerzy Jakubowski and Jan Molenda – both dead – were lying next to me. I remember that they had bullet wounds to the backs of their heads. In all probability, I was still alive only because at the very last moment I had turned my head to one side and the bullet had therefore passed clean through the neck muscles, without damaging the skull or spine. Once I reached the forest, I found that I no longer had my calf-length boots, for my would-be executioners had removed them, convinced that I was dead. As I remember, Molenda’s boots had been taken off too. I do not know what happened in Molendy that evening – I personally did not witness anything else. Only later was I told by farmers that gendarmes from the stations in Zwoleń, Kozienice and Radom, accompanied by so-called Kalmucks, more than 200 men in total, had cordoned off the village and summoned all of its male residents to the meadow near the small military cemetery. From amongst these, the following were shot and killed in the same way as my companions: Jan and Kazimierz (brothers), Szemborów, Bachan (name unknown), Julian Kwaśnik, Stanisław Łapa, Barszcz (name unknown), Stanisław Molenda and Józef Przerwa. In total, 10 men were killed, and their bodies were buried the next day – on instructions given by the gendarmes – in the forest near Molendy. After the execution, one of the gendarme officers spoke to the gathered men and declared that this was the German response to the act of sabotage committed against the food warehouses in Garbatka. Furthermore, those present were threatened that if any assistance was given to the partisans, all the residents of Molendy would be shot, and the village itself burned down.
I would like to indicate the following as witnesses to this act of collective responsibility: 1) Franciszek Kutyła, 2) Adam Krawczyk, 3) Jan Mickiewicz and 4) Paweł Majewski, all of whom currently reside in Molendy.
I know that the exhumation of the bodies of the murdered victims was conducted in the spring of 1945, and that they were officially reinterred at the cemetery in Garbatka.
In March 1944, a partisan unit clashed with German gendarmes both in Molendy and on the outskirts of the village. Both sides took casualties. As I remember, the Germans who fought in this action not only threatened to burn down Molendy, but also looted a few abandoned homes and in numerous instances seized quantities of livestock (pigs, poultry).
Returning to my shooting, that is to 22 February 1943, I would like to add that at the time the Germans pillaged my home of everything valuable – including my bedlinen. I think that the execution of 22 July 1943 was an act of German barbarity directed against the defenseless and completely innocent civilian population.