EUGENIUSZ KUROPATWA

Błotnowola, 8 March 1947

On 8 March 1947, at 12.30 at the Citizens’ Militia station in the commune of Pawłów, district of Stopnica, I, constable Eugeniusz Benica, interviewed the witness on the subject of the victims murdered by the Germans. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declaration, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Eugeniusz Kuropatwa
Parents’ names Józef and Maria, née Stojek
Date of birth 28 May 1922
Religion Roman Catholic
Occupation head of the Postal Agency in Błotnowola
Marital status bachelor, single
Criminal record none

Place of birth and residence Błotnowola, commune of Pawłów, district of Stopnica

On 13 November 1943 I was best man at a wedding. I will explain what I saw. At about 5.40 p.m. we were celebrating at my friend Longin Boduch’s wedding in the village of Parchocin, commune of Pawłów, district of Stopnica. The wedding was proceeding in order, with no disturbances.

Suddenly there was a gunshot. We realized that Germans had arrived in carts, were jumping off, and surrounding the house. When one wedding guest noticed the Germans, he started running away, because these were the Germans whom we called “Szulec”, they were from Nowy Korczyn, district of Stopnica. They suddenly entered the house yelling: “Hands up!” They searched the wedding guests, asking to see their documents. Those who didn’t have documents were put to one side, on a pasture. They were ordered to lie on the ground, while those who had documents were kept in the yard, in the mud, and were horribly beaten with rifle butts until they bled so much that it was impossible to tell what fabric their clothes were made of.

In the beginning, when the house was surrounded, one person was killed and another shot. Those who had no documents were loaded onto carts and taken to Nowy Korczyn. On the way there, many people jumped off the cart in the village of Brzostków, commune of Pawłów. Having arrived in the neighboring village of Pawłów, [the Germans] threw people off the carts, put four innocent people in a ditch and shot them dead, and transported the rest to Nowy Korczyn while setting dogs on them and beating them. A while later they took them to Busko and shot the rest of them dead.

I know nothing more regarding the case. I testified only about what I saw.

At this the report was concluded, read out and signed.