On 11 September 1947 in Chorzów, Municipal Court in Chorzów, Fifth Branch, in the person of Municipal Judge J. Goettlich, with the participation of reporter Kazimiera Grygier, interviewed the person specified below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the wording of Art. 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Mieczysław Kotlarski |
| Age | 34 |
| Parents’ names | Adam and Agnieszka, née Wałkowska |
| Place of residence | Chorzów, Stalmacha Street 18, flat 7 |
| Occupation | manager of the Special School no. 16 in Chorzów |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
In the photographs presented to me I recognized the following former members of the SS crew at the Auschwitz concentration camp: Hans Aumeier, [Max] Grabner and Paul Szczurek.
1) Hans Aumeier was the head of the camp (Lagerführer) at Auschwitz while holding the rank of SS-Obersturmführer. He was generally known to prisoners due to his function. I cannot give the exact timeframe of his command at Auschwitz, but I can say that he headed the camp in 1942 and 1943 – the bloodiest years in the history of Auschwitz. Executions that took place in the block several times a week, public hangings, gassings, mass killings by means of injections, systematic flogging – these were the methods used with his knowledge, and most frequently in his presence, in order to mercilessly torment the prisoners. As the head of the camp, he bears responsibility for that. He also personally beat prisoners.
I remember that once in the summer of 1943, when a group of starving prisoners was picking up breadcrumbs from the trash taken out from a warehouse, he jumped among them holding a revolver, beat them, kicked and chased them as they ran. In 1942, I also saw him kick female prisoners who were walking past the camp for men on their way to work. He often participated in receiving mass transports of Jews that started arriving at the end of March 1942 and were mostly sent to the gas chambers. He personally beat and pushed the Jews, and also participated in selecting and sending them to the crematoriums. In August 1943, a transport of Jews from Będzin, numbering about 3,000 people – mostly women and children, came at night and was sent in its entirety to the gas chambers. Just as the train arrived, piles of corpses were unloaded from the carriages, for the SS men had been shooting at the Jews through the walls of the tightly packed, locked carriages. Aumeier himself participated in this bloody massacre by shooting from an assault rifle. I frequently saw him carrying the same firearm while walking to block 11 or driving a car in pursuit after escaped prisoners. He punished escape with execution by hanging. Along with other inmates, on 9 and 11 July 1942 I witnessed prisoners being hanged as punishment for escape. Two prisoners were sentenced to death on both dates. In July 1943, 12 Polish prisoners were hanged for escape as well. Aumeier was present during these executions.
2) [Max] Grabner, SS-Untersturmführer, was also known to the prisoners at Auschwitz camp as the head of the Political Department. This post made him the master of life and death and as such, he terrorized the camp. He orchestrated the mass executions in block 11. He personally prepared lists of the condemned prisoners and showed no reservations in this regard. Even SS men feared him, and the head of the camp had to take his opinions into consideration. He held this position from the beginning, that is, from 1940 until 1943. Feliks Myłyk, residing in Gliwice, and Kroker – a teacher at school no. 28 in Chorzów III, who both worked in the Political Department, can provide more information with regards to Grabner.
3) I met Paul Szczurek in 1941 when he was a Blockführer at the camp in Auschwitz. I frequently saw him walking to block 25a to meet with the block leader Wilhelm Malcherczyk from Chorzów, who died in 1942. At that time, Szczurek behaved with moderation. Later, he was assigned to the so-called Sonderkommando [special squad] operating the crematoria. Armed with sticks, he and Kaduk (they were from Chorzów and spoke Polish) herded prisoners to the gas chambers. I also saw Szczurek in 1945 in the concentration camp in Buchenwald where he was a Blockführer as well, and often served at the gate, beating and pushing the prisoners who were walking through.