Witness interview report made in the Municipal Court in Żarki on 20 September 1947 by Judge J. Kryplewski, with the participation of a reporter, Z. D. Rzewuski [illegible]. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness was duly sworn and testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Stefan Wolny |
| Age | 44 years old |
| Occupation | office worker with the Polish State Railways |
| Place of residence | Cicha Street in Poraj, Zawiercie district |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
From among the former members of the crew at the Auschwitz concentration camp, I know the below listed persons:
1) Hans Aumeier, Lagerkomanndant of the camp. I was incarcerated in the Auschwitz camp on 6 December 1941. I came across Hans Aumeier in the spring of 1942. I knew him both by name and by sight. He was the commandant of the Auschwitz I camp. I came across him and observed him during an execution of two prisoners caught on the run. Hans Aumeier was in charge of this execution. One of the prisoners, already with a noose around his neck, addressed Aumeier with some wish; in response, Aumeier came at the prisoner who was carrying out this execution and punched him in the face, in this way making him hurry up with the hanging. I frequently saw Aumeier walking around the camp. He stopped the prisoners, searched them, and finding anything more than a handkerchief and one last letter, he would beat them. He once punched me in the head when I was crossing the gate, but I don’t know what for.
Until August 1942 I went to work outside the camp, in the so-called sewer kommando. At that time, that is, in the spring and summer of 1942, I noticed that whenever Hans Aumeier appeared, the SS men who supervised the work would become more cruel towards the prisoners, beating them a great deal more in Aumeier’s presence. I also noticed that when Aumeier appeared at the blocks, all Blockführers [block leaders] would begin to behave with great cruelty towards the prisoners, and that they would then yell at them and beat them more.
In the spring of 1942, the block leaders read out an announcement signed by Aumeier, which said that those prisoners who had been sent to the Auschwitz camp with death sentences should not attempt escape because their death sentences were changed to imprisonment in the Auchwitz camp for the period of the war. Despite this announcement, the executions were still carried out almost every day. Aumeier was the closest collaborator of Grabner in block 11, the so-called death block. Information pertaining to Aumeier’s activity in block 11 during the so-called “cleansing” of this block could be provided by Paweł Ludwig, formerly residing in Myszków, and currently in Jelenia Góra, Wyczółkowskiego Street 28, and Jan Pilecki, director of the Polish Radio residing in Katowice.
2) Johann Becker, a tall dark man, head of the sewer kommando. I worked in this kommando in the spring and summer of 1942 at making plans. Since I didn’t speak German well, I had difficulty communicating with Becker, as a result of which our conversations ended in Becker punching me in the face so hard that I got a nosebleed, and before he left he would also kick me. This happened on a daily basis. I also saw Becker beating other prisoners whenever he came across someone who didn’t work.
3) Franz Brylka, about whom I cannot provide any information, but I think that Władysław Wieczorek, headmaster in some school in the Częstochowa district, could say something about him.
4) Max Grabner, head of the Political Department, who was in charge of the action of shooting and gassing prisoners and supervised the network of spies. He was in charge of the investigations. Details pertaining to his activities could be provided by the following witnesses: Ludwik Rajewski, residing in Warsaw at Puławska Street 12a, and Majewski (I don’t remember his name), residing in Warsaw. His name and address could be given by the above-mentioned Ludwik Rajewski.
Since the autumn of 1942 I worked at sorting foodstuffs taken from the Jewish prisoners upon arrival at the camp. Franz Schebeck was my boss. Around the spring of 1943 I realized that Grabner, who used to come to visit him, was a close friend of his, and that it was Grabner who told Schebeck about incoming transports of Jews for the gas. Schebeck would order us, prisoners working at sorting food: “Give me something decent, I’m going to Grabner” and would then take coffee, sardines, tea, etc. My kapo, Adolf Maciejewski, currently a restaurant owner in Chorzów, told me several times that Schebeck shared with Grabner some valuables found among the foodstuffs taken from the Jews.
Grabner had the worst reputation. It was said about him that if you met him in unfavorable circumstances (i.e., during an interrogation), you would not survive.
5) Stefan Kirschner, whom I knew only by sight. More details about him could be provided by Ludwik Rajewski, residing in Warsaw, who informed me that Kirschner worked in the Political Department and that he was to be avoided at all costs.
6) Eduard Lorenz, with whom I met in 1943–1944 when I worked in the storerooms. He was a chauffeur who transported food to the main warehouse and from there he took it to the subcamps. He yelled at us, prisoners working at loading food, and hurried us up, and frequently he beat some prisoners to force them to move faster. He hit me several times with his hand or a reed. When the Jewish transports arrived, I was taken to load the food taken away from the Jews.
I saw that Eduard Lorenz, as a chauffeur, was driving Jews to the gas, and I saw that when Jews were being loaded onto cars, when Höß and Aumeier were watching, he was brutal towards the Jews, that is, he beat and kicked them.
7) Johannes Lissner and 8) Kurt Müller, who were Blockführers. I saw them very often during the roll calls, beating pisoners. I don’t remember the dates of particular incidents.
I would like to emphasize that Blockführers were chosen from among those SS men who were notorious for their sadism and cruelty.
9) Helmut Schippel, whom I know only from hearsay. Details pertaining to his activities could be provided by Mieczysław Kotlarski, residing in Chorzów at Powstańców Street 51.
10) Hans Schumacher, deputy of the head of the main warehouse, Franz Schebeck. The prisoners called Schumcher “Long”. I had to deal with him from August 1942 to the end of October 1944, when I worked in the food storeroom.
His behavior towards prisoners who worked in the storerooms on a permanent basis was rather correct. However, even we who worked there permanently received a bad beating from him from time to time, usually for “organizing” food. I myself was beaten up by him a few times. I don’t remember the exact dates. Still in 1942, he beat one prisoner who worked in the storeroom, Edward Wieczorek, having caught him stealing a bucket of lard. I don’t know the address of this prisoner, but as far as I know he lives in Lipiny.
As regards prisoners who didn’t work in the food storeroom, Hans Schumacher was most cruel and sadistic when he caught them stealing the smallest article of food, for instance, picking up some bread crusts in the courtyard. If he caught someone, he would bring that prisoner to the storeroom and beat him so mercilessly that the prisoner was soon covered in blood. In 1944, he exhibited particular cruelty towards the Russians, but in that year he beat the Poles whom he thus caught less severely. I don’t remember the surnames of the beaten people, as well as the dates of these daily incidents. This “Schumacher’s song” took place on a daily basis.
In 1944, when the transports of Hungarian Jews began to arrive at Auschwitz, Schebeck appointed Schumacher head of the sorting room where the foodstuffs taken from the Hungarian Jews were sorted – to be exact of that part of the sorting room which was located in the basements.
In my opinion, Piotr Suchanowski, currently residing in Mrzygłód, in the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court in Zawiercie, could be able to provide information as to what extent did Hans Schumacher get rich on the Jewish valuables found among the foodstuffs taken from the Jews. I inferred from his behavior and from what he said that Schumacher was a staunch supporter of Hitler, and he frequently emphasized the power of Germany and the party.
I would like to note that if I could see other SS men employed in Auschwitz I, I would be able to recognize more thugs from Auschwitz and provide details related to their criminal activities. I don’t remember any more SS men by their names.
I have nothing more to add.