On 11 March 1947, the prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court in Kraków with its seat at Grodzka Street 52, Deputy Prosecutor of Ninth Region, Dr. Kordecki, with the participation of a reporter, Trainee Judge Nowak, heard the person named below as a witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the wording of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Anna Szyller |
| Age | 28 |
| Parents’ names | Tadeusz and Kamila |
| Place of residence | Kraków, Świętego Tomasza Street 18 |
| Occupation | student |
| Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Criminal record | no |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
| I | met Maria Mandl in Auschwitz in October 1942. Before she came to Auschwitz she was |
an overseer in a bunker in Ravensbrück, where she specialized in beating. In Auschwitz, she created an atmosphere of terror. She rarely beat anyone herself, but if she did give out a beating she broke jaws. If she noticed any misdemeanor, she recommended that the prisoner be beaten by the overseer or the kapo, while she watched. Therefore, when she appeared in the block, all the prisoners hid with fear.
I was a block elder and during three years witnessed Mandl beat her victims to death. She kicked and beat until the victim stopped moving.
Once there was a fuss about the fact that the prisoners lost their clogs or their heels were worn down. If you consider that the prisoners had to run with mud up to their knees, this is understandable. Mandl made a roll call just because of it, and when one of the block elders asked what to do to change it, she said that there is a stick for that purpose which every block elder has and that they have to beat until they break the stick or just beat to death. “Beat to death” was her favorite expression that she would often repeat and actually carry out.
There was no right to any mercy with her. Others pulled out some people from the transport to the gas, but she was ruthless. She could have pulled some people out of the transport, but she sent them to the gas, if someone had a ripped heel or a frost-bitten toe. The supplications of the prisoners who mended her shoes didn’t help at all.
On 9 February 1943, Mandl and Drechsel organized a general roll call. At that time, all the prisoners, who were almost undressed, were herded out into the field and kept there until the evening, without moving [for] 12 hours. They were ordered to enter the camp one by one, Mandl and Drechsel stood at the gate and ordered the women to run while they beat them with sticks, and whoever couldn’t run fast enough was sent to the gas. While running, I saw crowds being set aside for the gas. Because of this, there was a row when one German woman was gassed. This roll call was organized by Mandl and Drechsel on their own. Mandl always threatened us that we would go to Ravensbrück, because in Auschwitz it was too good, and she would torment us in this way.
Currently, I am leaving for Paris and I will send a testimony from my fellow prisoners from France.
The report was concluded and signed.