On 29 August 1947 in Oświęcim, a member of the Kraków District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes, Municipal Judge Dr. Henryk Gawacki, acting upon written request of the first prosecutor of the Supreme National Tribunal, this dated 25 April 1947 (file no. NTN 719/47) and in accordance with the provisions of and procedure provided for under the Decree of 10 November 1945 (Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland No. 51, item 293) in connection with Article 254, 107 and 115 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, interviewed the former inmate of the Auschwitz concentration camp, named below, as a witness, who testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Józef Habrajski |
| Age | 32 years old |
| Occupation | installation electrician |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Citizenship and nationality | Polish |
| Place of residence | The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim |
I was incarcerated in the Auschwitz concentration camp from 30 October 1942 to 18 January 1945 as prisoner no. 72048. I was deported to Auschwitz from the prison in Mysłowice, where I was incarcerated from 9 October 1942, following my arrest in Radzionków, where I lived on a permanent basis. From Auschwitz I was transported to the camp in Gross-Rosen, and after the evacuation of that camp to the camp in Litomierzyce.
As soon as I had arrived at the Auschwitz camp, I was sat on a stool and received 25 blows with a club near the Blockführerstube [guardhouse], after which I was sent to block 9, where I remained in quarantine for two days. Next I was assigned to the Bauhof kommando [building warehouse brigade] for four days of work, and later to Holzhof kommando [timber warehouse brigade] also for four days, followed by my assignment to Maurerkommando [bricklaying brigade]. I went every day from the parent camp to the camp in Birkenau, where we worked at the construction site of a huge barn. I worked there until 25 January 1943. I was then transferred to the camp in Birkenau and assigned to a working brigade which constructed brick toilets in section II. I worked there more or less for three months. Then, in March 1943, I joined the working brigade of electricians and worked at connecting blocks in sections I and II to electricity. Later, from May 1943 to 5 October 1944, I worked in the men’s camp in the so-called Sauna [central bathhouse], where I operated three electric pumps. Apart from that, when requested, I carried out various installation orders in crematoria I and II, situated by the railway ramp. On several occasions I also went to crematorium IV, where I made repairs to electrical wiring. On 5 October 1944, I was incarcerated in the bunker of block 11 in the parent camp for “organizing” food and money. As I managed to find out at a later date, I was to stand trial, but it didn’t happen due to the evacuation of the camp on 18 January 1945 when I was transported to Gross-Rosen.
As I have already mentioned, I went to crematoria II and III quite frequently, sometimes even twice a week. I knew a prisoner, one Mieczysław Morawa (presently deceased), who worked there as Heizerkapo [stoker]. He made it possible for me to inspect these crematoria very thoroughly. I remember very clearly that sometime around Whit Monday in 1944, SS-Oberscharführer Muhsfeldt came to the crematoria II and III. I remember his face very well, especially his light-colored, catlike eyes. I came across him almost every time I went to these crematoria. He was hardly ever sober, and as Mieczysław Morawa told me, the prisoners who worked in the crematoria were forced to supply him with alcohol because when he didn’t have vodka, Muhsfeldt would literally go crazy and was thus a terror not only for the prisoners, but even for the SS men assigned to the Sonderkommando [special unit].
I very often worked in these crematoria at the time of transport arrivals and when these crematoria were in operation. While walking around and observing the crematoria, I noticed that the Germans sent some transports of prisoners to the changing room and the gas chambers in a peaceful manner, without resorting to force; the prisoners, in good faith – misinformed with appropriate speeches and deceived by the crematoria’ fixtures – went to the changing room and handed over their clothes in accordance with German instruction.
Other transports were forced into the changing room and the gas chambers. I could infer from the behavior of the SS men awaiting such transports that they had been previously informed that they were to handle a given transport using violence. Then, Muhsfeldt – drunk, as were other SS men – would run with a gun in one hand and a stick or club in the other and drive the prisoners into buildings and order around the other SS men. I also heard shots and saw corpses of prisoners lying on the ground. I couldn’t observe whether Muhsfeldt shot anyone himself. Having dealt with such a transport, Muhsfeldt would drink even more.
I also remember that once when I was in crematorium II, I met Grabner, whom I knew very well. Grabner wore a gas mask.
In Birkenau, I often saw Aufseherin [overseer] Brandl walking with her dog. I saw her beat female prisoners with her hands.
As for Oberaufseherin [senior overseer] Mandl, I also know her very well, and I saw her beat female prisoners with her hands; having received a blow from her, the inmates would almost always fall to the ground, and then Mandl would kick them. Once I stumbled across Mandl and Hössler “handling” one inmate in the above-described manner. I also witnessed how Mandl, when reading out a sentence to a Jewess, Mala Zimetbaum, who was taken to the crematorium, punched her in the face when this woman threw herself at Unterscharführer Ritter.
When I worked at the pumps in the Sauna, I sometimes went with Rottenführer Wosnitska to crematorium II to fetch gas for delousing. Boxes with gas were taken from the storeroom by Wosnitska himself and handed over to him by Lehrer [Lechner?] or Voss, or later Muhsfeldt.
The report was read out. At this the hearing and the report were concluded.