JÓZEFINA WĘGLARSKA

On 20 June 1947 in Piotrków, the investigative judge of the Disctrict Court in Piotrków with its seat in Piotrków, in the person of Judge P. Królikowski, interviewed the person specified below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Józefina Węglarska (Ziuta)
Age 43
Place of residence Piotrków Trybunalski, [illegible] Street 34
Occupation housewife
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none
Relationship to the parties none

I was detained in the Ravensbrück camp from 1940 until 1944. In the camp I met Maria Mandl, who was the head overseer. At first, in 1940 Mandl was the overseer of the bunker (prison). In the autumn of 1941, she became the head overseer of the camp (Oberaufseherin). The way Mandl treated prisoners was inhumane. We had to stand barefoot in the camp yard, regardless of the weather, and there were some bitingly cold and snowy days. Mandl beat and kicked prisoners for what were the most trivial offences from her perspective. For example, I unconsciously moved my foot several centimeters forward while I was standing during roll call. Mandl ran up to me and kicked me in the leg with all her might. The leg hurt afterwards for two weeks.

The executions started in the spring of 1942, and involved only Polish women. Mandl beat and kicked victims for no reason before they were taken away for execution. I would like to stress that whenever Mandl encountered prisoners, she beat and kicked them, hitting them expertly in the most painful spots. She beat [prisoners] senseless, the faces of her victims were battered, covered with blood and bruises. She had a habit of hitting predominantly in the lower abdomen. Mandl never hit me, personally. She once came up to me and said, “You look like you want to kill me”, but she did not hit me.

The following women from Piotrków were in the camp with me: Eugenia Kluska (Sieradzka Street 1); Maria Konsy (Piastowska Street 3); Bronisława Kaciużanka ( “Kara” Glass factory); Stanisława Parol (power station); Janina Kacperska (Legionów Street 16); Sabina Albrecht (Łączyńska’s shop, Słowackiego Street).

I cannot give the names of the women beaten up by Mandl, since there were many prisoners in the camp – 4,000 in the first year, and about 60,000 at the end. Mandl beat dozens of people every day. I witnessed this, but I did not know the names. I remember an incident in 1941, when I was in block 9 (housing about 800 people). Mandl had beaten one prisoner so hard that she died several days later in the Revier (hospital). Holding her by the hair with the left hand, she repeatedly punched her with the right one in the face, which was covered with blood. Once the prisoner collapsed, Mandl also kicked her a dozen or so times in the stomach. Several harsh beatings of this sort occurred every day, but I don’t know the fate of the beaten women, since the number of prisoners in the block was constantly growing.

In 1942 Mandl was transferred to Auschwitz. I did not know Alfriede Kock, Erna Baden and Luise Danz, because they were not in our camp.

That is all I have to say. The report was read out.