The sixteenth day of trial, 11 December 1947
Presiding Judge: Please, call the witness. Witness Stefan Karkoszka?
Witness: Yes.
Stefan Karkoszka, 24 years old, university student, Roman Catholic, no relationship to the defendants.
Presiding Judge: I advise the witness to speak the truth. Making false declarations is punishable with a prison term of up to five years. Do the parties submit any requests regarding the mode of hearing of the witness?
Prosecutors and Defense: We exempt the witness from taking the oath.
Presiding Judge: Therefore, the witness will testify without taking the oath. Does the witness know defendant Dinges? Please, take a good look at him. Does the witness recognize him?
Witness: Yes.
Presiding Judge: Can the witness tell the Tribunal if it is really true that the witness got a Polish officer out of the camp and defendant Dinges helped him do that?
Witness: It is not entirely accurate. On that same day, I got three others out of the camp, so there were four of them together.
Presiding Judge: Can the witness please present us the course of that event?
Witness: I was in the Zentralbauleitung [der] Waffen-SS [central SS construction bureau] and I had a car at my disposal.
Presiding Judge: Did the witness work as a civilian chauffeur?
Witness: Yes, I did. I got them out in 1944, and I worked there from 1942. It happened when one of the prisoners came to me and asked if I could take them out of the camp. It was 1944, the transports were already being sent away, and the camp was slowly being liquidated. It took us weeks, because there were various obstacles. First, my car broke down, then those prisoners were taken to Birkenau, and then the guard, whom I had already convinced, was in the meantime sent to Dachau. Later on, I decided to take them out by myself, which I did. If defendant Dinges says that he knew about it and did not give us away, then he probably tells the truth. However, there were four [officers], but only one from Birkenau, so maybe he only knew about that one.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Did the witness get those officers out overtly, or did he hide them in some way?
Witness: It was a vehicle for carrying wood and there was a chest, but there was not enough room for four prisoners. So I put two railroad ties on the car, one on top of the other, and the tailgate was open. They slipped in between the railroad ties and the tailgate.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: How many people did the witness get out?
Witness: Four.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Four at a time? Did SS men know about that transport?
Witness: No.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Why did the witness decide to do so, although he did not know whether he would be detained or not?
Witness: I did it near a construction site and that was a place where it could be done, because there were bricks near the gate.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Was it outside the camp grounds?
Witness: No, it was in the camp.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: But searches were performed there.
Witness: First, I had to leave the construction site. When leaving, I had to show a “control book”. All the documents were false: prisoner Wilhelm, whose surname I cannot recall, forged an order to go to Bielsko, including [information] that I was carrying barrack parts. So first I left the Bauhof [construction warehouses], and then the central camp. In other words, I was lucky because there was one covered vehicle in front of me. I managed to overtake it and I passed through the first barrier. Fortunately, an Unterscharführer whom I knew was also driving out, so when they raised the barrier for him, I took the opportunity. I said, “Heil Hilter, Unterscharführer!” and I drove out.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Were those officers prisoners?
Witness: Yes, they had the oldest numbers.
Prosecutor Szewczyk: And what were the relations between the witness and Dinges?
Witness: Dinges was the head of the garages. He only performed repairs, and he also rode a motorcycle. I often went with him for car parts. As far as his behavior towards the prisoners is concerned, I have nothing to say. He also never did anything to me. Once, he even came to my house and said that I could listen to a London radio station at his place. I did not know his private side, so I was afraid, but one day I took the risk and we listened radio messages in German and Polish together. Later on, he invited me to spend the New Year with him. I did not want to come, because I thought he would have German guests and I would feel uncomfortable, but he convinced me to come over. When I came, I found out that there were four other Poles. We spoke in Polish. He did not understand much, but nevertheless we spoke in Polish, and then we even sang the Polish song “Góralu, czy ci nie żal” [Highlander, are you not sorry]. He liked it very much and asked us to sing again. After midnight, they fired shots in salute. I was also given a rifle and so I shot. I stayed with them until January 1945. Then, I was transferred to Neusalz [Nowa Sól]. His wife lived nearby. We both were losing our footing and we were supposed to escape to Freiburg, because I had a sister there. Before it happened, they transferred us near Opole, where he stayed, and since then I have not seen him again.
Presiding Judge: The witness has said that Dinges knew about those officers’ escape. Did he find out by coincidence?
Witness: I told him about it. He came over in the evening and asked my mother where I was and what I had done. And he left. We did not talk about the escape ever again.
Presiding Judge: Did it happen directly [after the escape]?
Witness: On the same day in the evening.
Presiding Judge: Did the witness talk to him about it before it happened?
Prosecutor Szewczyk: Dinges claims that it was only one officer.
Witness: There was one from Auschwitz, and three from Birkenau.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Is the witness aware of the fact that there was a commotion in the camp after the witness got those officers out?
Witness: Yes.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Does the witness know that Dinges stated that the witness was not there at all and did not leave the camp, as a result of which the witness was cleared of all suspicion?
Witness: Yes, I do. On the same day that I got them out, a friend of mine was locked up, because he had accidentally entered the warehouse. However, his boss confirmed that he had been driving with him all day, so he was released.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Does it mean that Dinges confirmed that?
Witness: Yes, he did, but three weeks later five chauffeurs were detained. Two of them were let go thanks to the efforts of major Bjornoff who said he needed them in the Bauleitung.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Was it thanks to the intervention of defendant Dinges?
Witness: Yes.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: In 1943, the witness worked as a chauffeur in the Bauleitung. Did the witness work there until the end?
Witness: Yes.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Does the witness know that Dinges lived with his family outside the camp in Bieruń Nowy and then in Babice?
Witness: Yes.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Was the witness with Dinges every day, provided that he was present in the Bauleitung?
Witness: Yes.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Can the witness say if defendant Dinges insulted the prisoners with words like “Polish pig”, beat and tortured them?
Witness: No.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Did the witness ever see the defendant pour hot or cold water on prisoners?
Witness: No.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: What was the defendant’s attitude towards the prisoners: friendly, outgoing, or hostile?
Witness: Favorable.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Did the witness hear anything about Dinges asking prisoners in the garage to wash his underwear or clean his shoes?
Witness: Dinges had a family and his wife did it for him.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Did the Bauleitung chauffeurs participate in transports of Jews or did they transport packages to “Canada” and received the so-called Sonderverpflegung [special meals] for doing so? Did Dinges receive them?
Witness: It was impossible. Our cars were intended [for] the Zentralbauleitung, and the commander’s office had its own cars.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Does it mean that you never participated in those transports and you never received the Sonderverpflegung for it?
Witness: No.
Defence Attorney Rappaport: Does the witness know that defendant Dinges rode a motorcycle outside the garages and repaired machines and lifting devices?
Witness: Yes. He had a motorcycle at his disposal and he travelled to Gliwice, Opole, and Wrocław.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Does the witness know that two French painters were employed in the garages?
Witness: Yes, that is correct.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Has the witness heard anything about Dinges driving a car into a group of workers and killing a Jew? Would the whole camp have talked about it?
Witness: I did not hear about it. Yes, everyone would have known about it.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Did the witness ever see defendant Dinges ordering prisoners to box in the garage?
Witness: No, it happened in the central camp. A different SS man who liked boxing did it.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: And nothing like that ever happened in the garages?
Witness: No.
Defencs Attorney Rappaport: Did Dinges take prisoners’ letters to the town?
Witness: He had contact with the families, but I do not know whether he brought them letters, because that was their own secret.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: And does the witness know if he brought medicine and vodka to the camp?
Witness: Yes, he did.
Presiding Judge: Will the witness please say more about the chauffeurs who were detained?
Witness: One of the camp kapos did business with them and he gave them away. He was sent by the Political Department. The chauffeurs were locked up, because something new could come to light in that way.
Presiding Judge: What happened to those chauffeurs?
Witness: They are all alive.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Did defendant Dinges intervene to free the witness?
Witness: Yes, he did.
Prosecutor Brandys: Was the witness assigned to work for Dinges?
Witness: Yes, as far as further driving was concerned.
Prosecutor Brandys: Did the witness come to work with Dinges and leave with him?
Witness: No. We left separately.
Prosecutor Brandys: What was the witness’ position?
Witness: I was a chauffeur.
Prosecutor Brandys: Did the witness drive outside the camp?
Witness: I did if I was given a special order.
Prosecutor Brandys: Did the witness leave the camp alone or with defendant Dinges?
Witness: I left alone.
Prosecutor Brandys: So how can the witness know about Dinges’ activities outside the camp if the witness was not with him? And why is the witness answering the Defense Attorney’s questions in affirmative if the witness was not with Dinges at that time?
Witness: I can only say what I saw when I was with Dinges outside the camp. I do not know what he did when he was alone.
Prosecutor Brandys: The witness claims that cars from the Bauleitung were never used for transporting prisoners from the ramp. So what happened when other vehicles were not available?
Witness: The commandant’s office had 30 vehicles, while the Bauleitung had the worst cars.
Prosecutor Brandys: Yesterday, the witness stated that cars from the Bauleitung were used at the ramp. When the witness was outside the camp, he could not see what was going on inside.
Witness: Civilian chauffeurs had no access to the ramp.
Prosecutor Brandys: I am asking whether the Bauleitung cars were used at the ramp or not.
Witness: I do not know that.
Prosecutor Brandys: And where were the cars parked at night?
Witness: In the evening, they were cleaned and repaired by prisoners, and then they were parked all night in the garage.
Prosecutor Brandys: Did the witness, while working as a chauffeur, know about everything that was happening outside the camp?
Witness: Yes, to some extent.
Prosecutor Brandys: Did the witness know about all accidents in which the Bauleitung chauffeurs were involved?
Witness: Outside the Bauhof?
Prosecutor Brandys: Yes, outside the Bauhof.
Witness: I do not know that.
Presiding Judge: The witness has mentioned the names of the officers whom he transported out of the camp. Will the witness please say their names again?
Witness: I know one of them: Stanisław Pawliczek. He is, or was, the President of the Association of Former Political Prisoners of the Silesian Voivodeship, but he was not an officer. Among those four men whom I got out of the camp, there was only one officer. One of those men was killed, and the rest are still alive.
Presiding judge: Where was he killed?
Witness: He was killed in Budy, where they had their operational point. They got into a fight with some SS men, and he was killed.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Would the witness know if a chauffeur employed in the Bauleitung had been involved in an accident and had died in it?
Witness: I would have to know about such an accident.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: If defendant Dinges had ran over a Jew and killed him, would the witness know about that?
Witness: Yes, I would.
Defense Attorney Rappaport: Was defendant Dinges present in the garage at night or did he go to his family house?
Witness: He spent nights at his family home in Babice. A different Unterscharführer stayed in the garage, guarding us.
Prosecutor Brandys: The witness left work at 4.00 p.m. Was it possible for the witness to know what defendant Dinges did every day after 4.00 p.m.?
Witness: We all worked till 4.00 p.m., until the roll call.
Prosecutor Brandys: But the witness does not know what SS men did after 4.00 p.m.
Witness: I could not have known that.
Prosecutor Brandys: Does the witness know anything about defendant Dinges’ activities before 1941?
Witness: First, he served in the air force, because he himself told me about it, regretting that he had been assigned to the SS.
Prosecutor Pęchalski: Did the SS chauffeurs and non-commissioned officers report to the witness what they did or what happened on the way when they travelled? Did the witness receive such reports? Was every SS man obliged to report to the witness?
Witness: Every SS man had his civilian helper. They were our friends. The SS men took them for longer rides and later they would tell us about different things that had happened.
Prosecutor Pęchalski: So they had to report it?
Witness: No.
Prosecutor Pęchalski: If a Jewish prisoner was run over in Auschwitz, where they were exterminated in large numbers, was it such a great event that they had to report it?
Witness: I cannot deny that it would have been a big event.
Presiding Judge: I order a 20-minute break.