On 4 May 1988 in Białystok Waldemar Monkiewicz, prosecutor for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Białystok, delegated to the District Commission for the Investigation of Hitlerite Crimes in Białystok by the Prosecutor General of the Polish People’s Republic, proceeding in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 of the Act of 6 April 1984 (Journal of Laws No. 21, item 98) and Article 129 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, interviewed the person named below as a witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false statements, the witness confirmed with her own signature that she had been informed of this liability (Article 172 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The witness then testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Jadwiga Stachurska, née Andrzejczuk (Jendrzejczuk) |
| Parents’ names | Franciszek and Stanisława |
| Date and place of birth | 26 February 1927, Białe Szczepanowice |
| Place of residence | Czyżew-Stacja, Czyżew commune |
| Occupation | pensioner |
| Education | 7 years of elementary school |
| Criminal record for perjury | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
During the Hitlerite occupation I was not yet married and lived with my parents and siblings in the settlement of Czyżew-Sutki. I don’t recall when exactly the Jews came to our house. They asked us and our parents to shelter them. There were men, women and children, approximately 18 people altogether, I don’t remember exactly. In any case, they approached us in the autumn of 1942, when the Germans began the deportations of Jews and it was clear that the purpose was extermination. My parents and us agreed, despite significant risk. Obviously, the Germans threatened anyone who aided Jews with the death penalty.
To hide the Jews in our buildings, special hideouts had to be prepared. They were located under the floor of the room and in a standalone cellar. Food and drink had to be delivered there, and feces removed. The Jews tried to help us with that, but it wasn’t always possible. Anyway, there was a lot of work. We were baking huge quantities of bread and cooking in large cauldrons. I don’t remember the last names of those Jews anymore.
On 20 March 1943 I left home in the early morning to go to the seamstress in Czyżew, two kilometers away, as she was giving me sewing lessons at the time. On my way I was stopped by several gendarmes, whose names I didn’t know. They turned me around. I believe they were in a horse carriage, but I don’t recall their number.
Upon arrival at our buildings they started the search. First, they encircled the house and led my father outside. They asked if he was sheltering Jews, but my father denied it. Then they started searching and discovered the Jews under the house floor. They tapped on the floorboards, which produced a hollow sound; then they hacked at them with an axe and led out the Jews one by one. They located the Jews in the cellar in a similar manner. They shot my father and three of the Jews whom we were sheltering on the spot. While my father was being shot, I escaped to the attic with my mother. We thought the gendarmes were about to shoot all members of the household. After shooting my father and the three Jews, the gendarmes left, tying up and taking with them the remaining Jews, who I heard were shot.