PAWEŁ KIEŁBOWSKI

On 24 September 1942 between 5.00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. my son, Stanisław Kiełbowski, was arrested by the Gestapo. He was arrested at work at the “Bata” company, where he was employed as a technician.

On the same day, around 6.00 p.m., the flat I occupied at Planty Street 5 was thoroughly searched. During the search, my other son, Ryszard Kiełbowski, knocked on the door. One of the Gestapo men told my daughter to open the door. Having done that, she warned my son about the search that was being carried out by the Gestapo in our flat. She told him to walk away from the door immediately. Unfortunately, my son didn’t manage to do so, as one of the Gestapo men pushed my daughter aside, grabbed him and dragged him into the flat. The Gestapo officer asked my wife: “Who is he?” and she answered: “Our son.” Having exchanged looks with each other (there were two Gestapo men), one of them handcuffed my son. After a body search, they found [illegible].

The Germans didn’t pay attention to my wife’s explanations: that our son didn’t live with us, that he was married and had his own flat, that he only stopped by to give us back a briefcase that he had borrowed. They told him to stand with his face to the wall. When our son began to demand that they explain the cause of arrest, one of them hit him with the butt of his revolver and forbade him to speak. Having carried out an ineffective search, the Germans left, taking our son with them. The Germans behaved brutally during the search, especially the one [dressed] in civilian clothes. I wasn’t at home at that time.

One week later, there was another search. Before it began, they threatened [my] wife that they would give her a different treatment after the outcome of this search – they would take her to the Gestapo headquarters and beat her up. Then she would tell them everything she knew, and they were sure she knew a lot. When my wife asked them what exactly this was about and told them that she didn’t know anything, that some scoundrel had wrongly accused our sons and that they were innocent, one of the Germans ran up to her and pushed her with all his might so that she fell and went into nervous spasms (she has heart problems). Having found no evidence against our sons again, the Germans left the flat. I wasn’t at home this time either – I was out of Radom on business.

On 6 October that [same] year, my daughter-in-law – Ryszard’s wife – was arrested. She was taken away from work. The Gestapo did not carry out any searches at Ryszard and Regina’s flat. We didn’t know the reason for their arrest.

After 20 days, on 13 October [1942], the older son, Ryszard, was hanged near the Kielce road. On 14 October near the building of the arms factory, the other son, Stanisław, was also murdered in the same way.

Ryszard Kiełbowski was born on 1 March 1915, [he was] an officer cadet in the Polish Army. He graduated from the Officer Cadet School in Zamość in 1937. Stanisław Kiełbowski was born on 13 November 1917, [he was] an officer cadet in the Polish Army. He graduated from the Officer Cadet School in Równe in 1939. [He was] taken into captivity in 1939. He escaped from the train while being transported to Germany. They were both mechanics. Regina Kiełbowska was taken to the camp in Auschwitz, where she met the terrible fate of Polish martyrs – she was murdered. The flat of the late Ryszard and Regina Kiełbowski was robbed by the Gestapo. The bodies of Ryszard and Stanisław were burned in Firlej.

We had nothing left, not even their graves. We hope that society will not pass [over this] lightly and that adequate organizations will not let the martyrs, the victims brutally murdered by the forever-damned fascist rabid dogs, be forgotten.

That’s what we will insist on, for those degenerates to receive their due punishment.