In Kielce, on 7 February 1948, at 9:50 AM, I, Stanisław Kostera from the Investigative Department at the Citizens’ Militia station, acting pursuant to Article 20 of the provisions introducing the Code of Criminal Procedure, while observing the formalities listed in Articles 235–240, 258, and 259 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, with the participation of reporter Józef Łukasik, whom I have instructed of the obligation to certify the compliance of the Protocol with the course of procedure by signing, heard the person named below as a witness. Having been advised about the significance of the oath, the right to refuse to testify for reasons mentioned in Article 104 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, [and about] the liability for making false declarations in accordance with Article 140 of the Penal Code, the witness stated:
Name and surname | Katarzyna Wilk |
Parents’ names | Teofil and Tekla |
Age | 63 |
Place of birth | Piła, Stopnica district |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
Occupation | blue-collar worker |
Place of residence | Kielce, Wojska Polskiego Street 160a |
Relationship to the parties | none |
Regarding the present case, I have the following knowledge. The German occupation authorities set up a camp in the Fijałkowski barracks in 1941, during the summer. It held Russian prisoners. I cannot say how many passed through this camp, because the transports came and [the Germans] transported them further on.
However, over 10,000 prisoners died in this camp. Most of them died of hunger. All the prisoners were buried in the Bukówka forest.
In the camp they were fed only with rutabaga – sometimes with horse meat, if some horse died. They were used for forestry work, digging trenches, for transporting dung (instead of using horses), for loading wagons at the railway station, and other kinds of work.
At first, there was no room for sick people in the camp and no medical care was given to the prisoners. It was only later that an infirmary was set up, but not for the prisoners – only for the Ukrainians who served there. Prisoners who did not sign the list were not entitled to any medical care.
There was no crematorium in the camp; the corpses of prisoners were buried in the forest. Every day, the corpses of the murdered prisoners were taken to the forest and there, other prisoners would bury them in one pit.
I knew only one [person] in this camp – Willi Naber (Władysław Wojciechowski), who originated from East Prussia. Willi Naber was tall, slim, and he wore glasses. He was a translator in the camp and probably deputy head of the camp.
The camp was liquidated by the Germans just before the Russian troops entered, and the prisoners were transported away from it.
I conclude my testimony. I signed it after it was read out.