On 12 February 1948 in Radom, the Investigating Judge from the I Region of the District Court in Radom in the person of Judge B. Ogniewski [?] heard the person named below as a witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and the significance of the oath, the witness was sworn in accordance with Article 254 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Jan Brach |
| Age | 28 years old |
| Parents’ names | Jan and Marianna, née Prus |
| Place of residence | Słowackiego Street 13, Radom |
| Occupation | unemployed |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
During the German occupation, I worked as a caretaker of the house at Ogrodowa Street 13 in Radom, which was owned by Kazimierz Myszkowski. My wife and I worked also in his villa at Sienkiewicza Street 24. In 1942, I don’t remember the exact date, Dr Böttcher, Polizeiführer of the Radom district and commander of the SS and the police, moved in to the address with his wife. The works I performed in his flat included stoking the stove. Böttcher also had a maid, who was a Pole but didn’t want to speak Polish and spoke only German. She was from Sucha near Białobrzegi.
In Böttcher’s flat I saw pictures of Hitler, Göring and other Nazi dignitaries.
Prices were gradually rising and my wife and I earned 120 zlotys per month, which, after Myszkowki was thrown out, we received from Böttcher. So, I sent my wife to him with a request for a pay rise, as it was difficult to make ends meet with such meager wages.
Böttcher told my wife through his maid, whose surname I don’t know, that 120 zlotys per month for two laborers was indeed not enough, but for Poles – it was even too much. As a result, my wife returned empty-handed.
One day residents of the house at Ogrodowa Street 13 (Poles) received an order issued by Böttcher to leave the premises within 24 hours. Later on, some Jews were driven there and ordered to tear the building down to the foundations, leaving only my flat. Next, garages for cars from the district were built there. Böttcher’s vehicle was garaged at Sienkiewicza Street 24.
One night in winter, I don’t remember the date but it was freezing cold then, four trucks with approximately 30 people, probably Jews, stopped by the house. They brought parts of foldable barracks which these people were then piling up in the courtyard.
I saw these people from my window: they worked barefoot and bareheaded, in shirts only, and it was cold outside. Later they built barracks from the parts they had brought and the barracks were then used as garages.
Although I came in contact with Böttcher every day when I was stoking his stoves, I didn’t talk to him. He couldn’t even speak Polish. I didn’t witness any of his criminal activities.
A section of the street in front of the villa in which he lived was barred and inaccessible to Poles; during the day it was guarded by one man and at night by three.
This is all I know in the present case.
The report was read out.
I would like to add that there was a large picture on the wall in Böttcher’s flat, with Hitler, Göring, Böttcher and one more man – all together. On his collar, Böttcher wore skull and bones and two stars.
The report was read out.