HENRYK SZKLARZ


Name and surname Henryk Szklarz
Age 28 years old
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Occupation office worker
Place of residence Ulrycha Square 8a, Chorzów-Batory

From 25 June 1940 to 30 August 1944, I was imprisoned in the Auschwitz camp. From the list of the Auschwitz camp personnel that I have been shown, I remember the following names: Hans Aumeier (No.1), August Raimond Bogusch (No. 7), Theo Emil Paul Gehri (No. 22), Max Grabner (No. 28), Heinrich Josten (No. 37), Gustav Kuny (No. 46), Arthur Liebehenschel (No. 53), and Kurt Hugo Müller (No. 65).

Re 1: Hans Aumeier was the Lagerführer [camp leader] from around the middle of 1942 to the middle of 1943. Aumeier never missed an opportunity to beat, kick and harass prisoners in different ways. I saw Aumeier many times beat, usually with his hand, prisoners who came late to a roll call or those who picked potatoes scattered when unloaded from a car.

On 6 January 1943, Aumeier, Grabner, Lachmann and others participated in a selection of prisoners who were to be executed by firing squad. The prisoners were only asked about their occupation, education and the reason they had been arrested. Members of the intelligentsia were sentenced to death. In that case, a total of 18 prisoners were killed by shooting.

Apart from the above-mentioned events, I cannot provide any other facts related to his criminal activity.

Re 7: August Raimond Bogusch worked in the Schreibstube [writing room] as Schützablagerführer. I have nothing more specific to say about his activities.

Re 22: Theo Emil Paul Gehri is an SS man who worked in the Gefangene-Eigentumsvervaltung [prisoner property administration]. I have nothing to say about him. He gave prisoners the money they had received from home, and he segregated items stolen from Jews and other prisoners.

Re 28: Max Grabner was the chief of the Political Department and probably the person whom prisoners feared the most. A countless number of times, I saw him beat and kick prisoners, often those who had fallen down. I do not know why he beat them. Under his term, the camp personnel started decimating prisoners from the block or kommando of an escapee. There are no other specific criminal facts I could provide.

Re 37: I remember Heinrich Josten as the Luftschutzleiter [air-raid protection leader] and the deputy to Lagerführer Hössler. I cannot say anything about his activities.

Re 46: Gustav Kuny was an ordinary SS man, later an Unterscharführer, who worked in the Effektenkammer [personal effects storage]. He was one of the SS men who were kindest towards the prisoners. He felt bad about them being treated in such a way. Once when he saw prisoners being escorted to the place of execution, I heard Kuny say in German about Palitzsch, “That swine Palitzsch, damned dog”. In such cases he was so agitated that he could not eat and he gave his food to prisoners. In the presence of Kuny, everyone felt relaxed while working or talking. When he was guarding the prisoners, they had more freedom and did not have to rush. He was one of the few SS men who had not lost his humanity.

Re 53: Arthur Liebehenschel was the successor of Höß. He was Lagerkommandant [camp commandant] from the autumn of 1943 until around May 1944. Under his term, the situation of the prisoners improved. I never heard of him abusing a prisoner. Unlike Höß, who was present in the camp only during executions, Arthur Liebehenschel was more interested in prisoners’ lives and was present almost every day when units were marching off to work. Before Liebehenschel’s arrival, weak prisoners and those who were unable to work were immediately finished off. Under his term in the camp, there were more and more weak people, who were not fully able to work.

Re 65: I know Kurt Hugo Müller from the period when he worked in the Arbeitseinsatz [labor deployment] office, that is from around the end of 1943. Müller ruthlessly executed all orders. I met him when Liebehenschel held the position of Lagerkommandant. At that time, he did not abuse prisoners, or at least I do not recall any such case.

The witnesses listed below will for sure be able to provide more details regarding the suspects’ behavior:
1) Gerhard Włoch, resident in Chorzów; I do not know his address,
2) Kazimierz Smoleń, resident in Chorzów III; I do not know his address, 3) Jerzy Pilecki, Katowice, Polish Radio.

The report was read out and signed.