On 27 September 1947 in Kraków, Municipal Judge Dr. Henryk Gawacki, a member of the Kraków District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, upon written request of the First Prosecutor of the Supreme National Tribunal dated 25 April 1947 (file no. NTN 719/47), in accordance with the provisions of and procedure provided for under the Decree of 10 November 1945 (Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland No. 51, item 293) and in relation to Articles 254, 107 and 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, interviewed the former Auschwitz prisoner mentioned below as a witness, who testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Jan Szewczyk |
| Age | 26 years old |
| Citizenship and nationality | Polish |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Education | student of the University of Mining and Metallurgy |
| Place of residence | Czarnowiejska Street 45/8, Kraków |
| Testifies freely. |
In January 1940, I was arrested in Nowy Sącz, and then, in June 1940, I was transferred from the Tarnów prison to the Auschwitz camp, with a group of 600–700 people. I was placed there as a Polish political prisoner no. 440. On 10 March 1943, I was transferred to the camp in Neuengamme near Hamburg, where I stayed till October 1943. On 1 October 1943, I managed to escape, but in November 1943, I was detained in Białystok. Then, I was held in prisons in Berlin and Potsdam, in the Großbeeren camp near Berlin, and in Sachsenhausen.
In Auschwitz, having stayed in quarantine until 5 or 6 July 1940, I worked on the construction of blocks, then on planning the roll call square, and from about the middle of August 1940 – in the Landwirtschaftskommando [agricultural work detail] in the nearby towns. From about the middle of October 1940 to July 1941, my task was to transport food to the camp kitchen on cart no. 1. Then, I worked in the hospital in the main camp as a Nachtwächter [night watchman]. In autumn 1941, I was assigned to the personnel of the Führerheim building for officers, where I stayed until the last days of February or first days of March 1942. At that time, I was placed in the bunker in a standing cell for five days as a punishment, then I returned to work in the Führerheim. When the Führerheim was taken over by female personnel, I was placed in a separate room in block 11 for a week. Then, on the order of the Lagerführer [camp leader], I was assigned to the penal company. In September 1942, I was dismissed and I worked, for about a month, in Harmensee, constructing fish ponds. Then, I fell ill with typhoid, and next with meningitis. At that time, I was held in block 7 in Birkenau. When I recovered, I stayed in that block, where I performed various tasks, usually consisting in removing the corpses of dead prisoners. In March 1943, I was transferred to Neuengamme.
I remember very well that former Lagerführer Aumeier came to the Auschwitz camp in the period when I worked as a servant in the Führerheim building, before I was imprisoned in the bunker, which took place – as I mentioned before – in the last days of February or first days of March 1942. I know it because the room for the new Lagerführer in the Führerheim building was prepared by a different servant. That prisoner, called Magdoń, who has already died, told me that when Aumeier entered the room, he told Magdoń off for hanging the mirror too high for Aumeier’s height.
One day during the time I worked in the Führerheim building, but before I was placed in the bunker, a fire broke out in block 24 during the roll call. Aumeier with a gun in his hand, accompanied by another SS-Führer, ran to that block, screaming – as he always did – on his way. It turned out that it was some firewood stored behind the furnace that had caught fire. Therefore, I believe that Aumeier arrived at Auschwitz in the winter period – at the turn of winter and spring.
At the end of February or at beginning of March 1942, the Lagerführer sentenced me to five nights in the Stehzelle [standing cell] for unauthorized possession of food items, which I had hidden in my straw mattress. After work, I was escorted, together with other prisoners who were also to be placed in the Stehzelle as a punishment, to the bunker in block 11. It turned out that there were 47 prisoners sentenced to the Stehzelle. Individual small cells, where four or even six prisoners were placed, were already occupied, so the SS man whose task was to lock us up took us all to the so-called dark cell. The cell had no windows, and there was only a small, narrow hole to let the air flow in on the wall opposite to the entry door. The cell was heated by a radiator. By night, due to the lack of sufficient fresh air and the heat from the radiator, some prisoners started to faint and suffocate.
I lost consciousness and came around in the room of the clerk of block 11, where my fellow inmates managed to save me. Then, I spent a night in my block and in the morning of the following day I went – as usual – to work to the Führerheim. In the evening after work, in accordance with the issued order, I was escorted to block 11 and placed in a separate room with the same inmates with whom I had spent the fateful night in the dark cell. Then, it turned out that from the 47 prisoners locked in the cell, only 27 were left. I do not know what happened to the rest – I assume that they had suffocated to death. We all stayed in a separate room in block 11 for a week. From the SS men’s statements I understood that they had been thinking of executing us all. After a week, we were released by an SS- Führer, who told us, “Go back to the camp, but keep your mouths shut or you’ll be shot dead”. At the time I served the rest of the sentence in the Stehzelle.
When after a week we were released from block 11, all 27 prisoners were assigned, on the order of the Lagerführer, to the penal company for an indefinite period of time. In that company, a black dot was attached to my clothes. At first, we stayed in block 11, and then we were transported to block 1 in Birkenau, situated next to the camp kitchen. The penal company consisted of about 500 prisoners and worked on the construction of the so-called Königsgraben [a canal draining water out of Birkenau]. Only a small part of the unit, about 20 prisoners, worked in the camp if necessary.
One day in June 1942 when I was working in the camp, a shooting took place at the above- mentioned drainage ditch. As a result of the commotion, some prisoners from the penal company escaped, which the camp authorities considered a rebellion. All prisoners working there were gathered at the yard of block 1. The small group of prisoners working elsewhere, including myself, were also rounded up. The prisoners with black dots were separated from the rest and locked up in block 1. While I was there, I heard single gunshots. When I managed to look through the window overlooking the yard – I must admit that I was standing as far as possible from the window for my own safety – I saw Aumeier with a gun in his hand. I took a single, short glance immediately after the gunshot, but I do not know if it was Aumeier who had fired it. Afterwards, I saw more than 14 corpses on the ground. The bodies were soon taken away, and some other prisoners with a black dot and myself had to clean the bloodstains from the yard. When I was released from the penal company, my fellow inmates from the main camp told me that all prisoners with red dots were then escorted to block 11 in the main camp. Those fellow inmates met them on their way there, so I assume that the whole penal company with red dots was executed by firing squad in block 11. In turn and as reported by other prisoners working as orderlies, the prisoners from the hospital were gassed.
Many times at the roll calls in 1941 – If I am not mistaken – I heard Plagge, whom I know personally and by name, report to the Rapportführer [report leader] in relation to block 11, so I assume that Plagge served in that block.
When I worked as a servant in the Führerheim building, I met Kollmer. Kollmer and other SS-Führers drank in Kollmer’s room, which they left in a deplorable state, with the ceiling and walls covered in bullet holes. I was assigned to clean that room, but several times I did not manage to do that on time. One day, Kollmer kicked me, because I had not cleaned his room properly.
At this point, the hearing and the report were concluded. The report was read out and signed.