RÓŻA NASS

On 11 July 1947 in Kraków, Deputy Prosecutor from the District Court in Kraków, Helena Turowicz, delegated to the Kraków District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Poland, acting in accordance with procedure provided for under the Decree of 10 October 1945 (Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland No. 51, item 293), and pursuant to Article 20 of the provisions introducing the Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with Article 107 and 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, heard the person named below as witness, who testified as follows:


Name and surname Róża Nass
Parents’ names Herman and Salomea
Date and place of birth 9 January 1907, Biała Krakowska
Religious affiliation Jewish
Occupation office worker
Place of residence Kraków, Sławkowska Street 23, flat 6
Relationship to the parties none
Criminal record none

In 1942, I was barracked in the “Enamel” labor camp, which was a subcamp of a large camp for Jews in Płaszów. I stayed in the “Enamel” and Płaszów camps until October 1944, when I was deported to Auschwitz.

I came across Orlowski both in Płaszów and in Auschwitz, since she escorted the group of prisoners in which I was deported from Płaszów to Auschwitz. In Płaszów, I first met her in August 1944, when she served as an Aufseherin [overseer]. Her behavior towards prisoners was marked with exceptional brutality: she beat and kicked the inmates. Kicking was her favorite method; besides, she always had a whip close at hand.

The following incidents remain etched in my memory:

One day, a young pregnant Gypsy didn’t get up in time for the roll call. Then, Orlowski tortured her in an unearthly manner. She beat and kicked her maliciously about the stomach and breasts. Orlowski beat that woman so hard that she fell to the ground, but Orlowski didn’t pay any heed to that and continued to batter her.

I also remember how one day Orlowski came at a Polish prisoner, whose surname I don’t know, and hit her in the face, pulled her by the hair and then knocked her to the ground and kicked her. I remember these two incidents particularly vividly, but I would like to emphasize that I witnessed Orlowski torment prisoners on a regular basis.

In Auschwitz, I met Orlowski only once, when she took some women for work. I saw her only briefly and nothing particular happened at that moment. I would like to submit the following surnames of prisoners who also might provide some information pertaining to Orlowski: Halina Nelken and Sabina Mirowska, since these two women met Orlowski and witnessed her brutality both in Płaszów and Auschwitz. Halina Nelken presently resides in Kraków at Starowiślana Street 78, flat 13, and Sabina Mirowska married doctor Mirowski (ophthalmologist) and works in the Voivodeship Jewish Committee at Długa Street 38 in Kraków, so her address can be easily determined.

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