On 23 January 1948 in Kozienice, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes with its seat in Radom, with Acting Judge Teodor Pakosiński presiding, acting pursuant to Article 20 of the provisions introducing the Code of Criminal Procedure, interviewed the person specified below as a witness, without administering an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Stefan Nowak |
| Age | 32 years old |
| Parents’ names | Józef and Stefania, née Tęcza |
| Place of residence | village of Samwodzie, commune of Brzeźnica |
| Occupation | farmer |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | none |
This was in May 1943. On the bridge in Samwodzie, German gendarmes from Kozienice encountered Kowalczyk (whose first name I don’t remember), who was driving a cart. They supposedly found a weapon on his person. Consequently, he was tortured in the village of Samwodzie. As a result, he gave up the names of the following men: Piotr Nowak, Jan Nowak, Bolesław Szewc, Władysław Piskor, Bronisław Piskor, Stanisław Aneczek, and Bronisław Szymański – from Samwodzie. Right away, these people were beaten on the spot, in Samwodzie, then tied up and transported to Psary.
The gendarmes continued to torment the arrestees in Psary. Henryk Kowalczyk and Krakowiak’s daughter (whose name I don’t know) were arrested there. Having been harassed and tortured (the screams of the people who were being beaten could be heard from afar), the arrestees were transported to Kozienice. One of the arrestees, Bronisław Piskor, came back home on the same day. I heard that all the others were shot dead in Kozienice.
On 5 April 1944, German gendarmes together with the Gestapo and SS formations carried out mass arrests in the commune of Brzeźnica. I was arrested as well, and consequently sent to Gross-Rosen camp in Germany. All the arrestees were transported to Kozienice and detained in the fire station. The interrogations of the arrestees took place in the fire station. On top of that, the majority of the arrestees were escorted for interrogation somewhere else in the town. These people returned after the interrogations having suffered brutal tortures. For instance, I saw Bronisław Molenda from Staszów, whose heels had been burnt with hot iron.
In the fire station I only heard the screams of two people who were being beaten, namely Józef Kozioł and Władysław Jaszczak. Interrogations conducted in the fire station were fewer, probably because the arrestees were interrogated there only once. An arrestee would be escorted to the town repeatedly. These people returned beaten so badly that they couldn’t move on their own. When touched, they screamed in pain. I remember the following names of some of those who were brutally beaten and tortured: Stanisław Podolski from Brzeźnica, Bolesław Łukasiewicz from Brzeźnica, Antoni Basaj from Staszów, Stefan Przychodzień from Samwodzie, Wacław Granowicz from Staszów, Jopek from Staszów, Pietrzyk, a teacher from Śmietanki, Władysław Lipka from Staszów, Mieczysław Marzysz from Staszów, and many, many others.
After two days of interrogations, early in the morning one of the Germans read out the names of those who had been subjected to the most brutal tortures and taken away by the Germans, and whom we never saw again. After I returned from the camp, I learnt that all of them had been shot in Zwoleń. The total number of the arrestees was over 400. A small number of them were released home – the rest was sent to the camps in Germany. Very few of the arrestees have come back so far. I wasn’t interrogated at all. They sent me to the camp with no prior interrogation.
I do not know the surnames of the Germans who participated in the arrests and interrogations.
I confirm that this is my testimony.
The report was read out.