Witness protocol recorded in the Municipal Court in Auschwitz, 30 October 1946.
Present:
Municipal Judge: Jan Janowski
reporter: Jan Zębaty
Witness:
| Name and surname | Józef Merker |
| Age | 70 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | registry office clerk |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
Regarding the following case I can only state that on 3 July 1940, the German authorities, SS and SA – some special commission, seemingly from outside of Auschwitz – summoned the civilians from Legionów, Krótka, Polna and Kolejowa streets to Wysogląd’s room in Birkenau for 10 a. m. [The gathering] concerned giving our house away and putting it at the disposal of the SS. After the civilians arrived, three trucks with armed SS military surrounded Wysogląd’s house. Inside, the commission inquired about the origins of specific civilians, but not all. Poles were allowed to sit, while Jews had to stand. Because the whole thing seemed suspicious to many of the civilians, they attempted to run off, some of them succeeding.
To me, personally, the situation seemed really suspicious, and when the Germans started whispering to each other I realized I might be taken away or arrested. For that reason I tried to save myself by showing them a document proving my service in the Austrian military where I had been awarded medals. On these grounds I was let go. What happened later I do not know, as I wasn’t present. I’m only aware that whoever hadn’t managed to escape was generally taken to the Sudetes by the Germans. I also know that the deportation took place amidst gunshots. A few were allowed to take 25 kilo bundles. The German authorities would drive by civilians’ houses and allow them to take necessary things, and took them immediately after that.
The resettlement of Legionów, Polna and Krótka streets happened during one day by order of the camp authorities. It is true that German authorities had provided carts to transport personal belongings to the surrounding villages. It was usually permitted to take household equipment, but there wasn’t enough time to take everything. There were cases of people who were forbidden to take everything. The resettlement took place at the end of March 1941. I can only recall that the Germans took a photographic record of the resettlement. The next day SS men began to dismantle the abandoned houses with the help of political prisoners. They transported the materials to the camp and utilized it to expand the camp.
Commandant Höß wasn’t present at the aforementioned gathering. German authorities did not liaise with us on the matter of compensation for the lost real estate, nor did they propose any other property in exchange. Only six buildings remained in the streets mentioned above. Even though, as a result of the German board of the Auschwitz city, the German court forbade the dismantling of the buildings, it was too late, as the houses had already been pulled down..
I owned a brick multi-story house, worth 44,000 PLN in 1931.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Feliks Kulinowski |
| Age | 55 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | master carpenter |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
[I testify] in accordance with witness Józef Merker, that during the gathering at Wysogląd’s, the Germans told some of the people to move to the left, and others to the right side. On the right were those to be let go. At some point there was some turmoil, the Gestapo men started shooting in the room and around the house. I recall one of them hitting an elderly man for no reason. It is true that if a whole family had not attended the meeting, soldiers would be sent to bring the missing members.
I remember that the Auschwitz prisoners worked on dismantling the houses, beaten very hard by the kapos, sometimes even killed, if one of them couldn’t lift a heavy log of wood. Many prisoners were killed by the falling walls, because they weren’t dismantled from the top down but were demolished by being battered at the bottom with heavy logs – the way armies used to ram city walls. It would happen very often that the whole wall collapsed on top of the prisoners.
I had a new, brick two-story house that I finished in 1936. My house cost around 40,000 zlotys in 1936.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Franciszek Rembiesa |
| Age | 59 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | train conductor |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
I was living on Tomasz Górnicki Street, and I owned a brick two-story free-standing house. Its value in 1936 equaled 35,000 zlotys. There were five houses on that street, and all were knocked down. I wasn’t present at the gathering at Wysogląd’s, and regarding the resettlement, I testify in accordance with Józef Merker.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Edward Kubisty |
| Age | 73 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | retired |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
Regarding the case discussed here, I can only say that I had a house at Kolejowa Street 21, brick, two-story and partly three-story, of 50,000 zlotys value in 1939. It is true that I wasn’t its sole owner but a co-owner. I wasn’t present at the gathering at Wysogląd’s. I wasn’t present during the resettlement of Legionów Street, as I had already been resettled before that.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Stanisław Szczepanek |
| Age | 40 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | worker |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
I can only state that during the meeting at Wysogląd’s, I was working on the camp’s premises as a coachman. Then an SS man came to bring me to Wysogląd’s room, where, together with my family, I was deported to the Sudetes without any belongings. In the Sudetes, the Arbeitsamt assigned us to work for specific Germans in exchange for money. When I didn’t want to work for a certain German woman, they wanted to shoot me. I owned a wooden two-story house on a brick foundation, of around 10,000 zlotys value in 1939. I had another brick two-story house on Polna Street, worth around 6,000 zlotys in 1939.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Władysław Jęczalik |
| Age | 77 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
[I testify] in accordance with witness Józef Merker. I owned a brick two-story annexed house in Polna Street 24, worth around 20,000 zlotys in 1939.
Witness:
| Name and surname | Franciszek Kołaczek |
| Age | 61 |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Occupation | train conductor |
| Place of residence | Auschwitz |
Having been legally cautioned and advised, the witness testified as follows:
I wasn’t present at the gathering at Wysogląd’s, and I owned a brick, two-story house at Kolejowa Street 31, worth about 22,000 zlotys in 1939.