Report from the interview of Jan Sobieraj from Warsaw, who having been duly sworn, testifies as follows:
| Name and surname | Jan Sobieraj |
| Age and place of birth | 42 years old, Warsaw |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Permanent place of residence | Warsaw, Obozowa Street 76 |
| Current place of residence | block 85, camp 2, Hohne (Belsen) |
I was arrested in Warsaw in February 1940 for being a member of a Polish socialist organization and the Polish resistance. I was detained in prison in Warsaw, where I stayed until 14 August 1940. I was then sent to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where I stayed until 29 August 1944. I was sent to the concentration camp in Ravensbrück, where I stayed for about two weeks. Later I was transported for a short period of time to two other camps and on 8 April 1945 I arrived at Belsen.
I am a tramcar driver by trade, but in Auschwitz I worked as a carpenter. I worked in a kommando consisting of 40–50 carpenters. During my work I often had contact with one of the kapos, whose name was Pilarek.
Pilarek was the leader of a kommando working in the courtyard where wood was stored. I often had to go to that courtyard for wood. I frequently saw Pilarek beat prisoners who worked under his supervision.
In May 1942 I was there and I saw Pilarek beat a man whose name I don’t know; he was holding a block of wood – it seemed to be oak – and hitting the prisoner in the back of the head with it. I saw the man fall on the ground. Pilarek started kicking him all over the body. The prisoner was still lying on the ground as I was leaving the courtyard with wood.
Later that day I returned to the camp with my kommando and I saw Pilarek’s kommando coming back to the camp as well. The man who had been beaten was among them. His friends were carrying him and they went with him to the hospital. This was the last time I ever saw him.
Dr. Grabczyński, a Polish physician who worked in the hospital, told me that all prisoners taken to the hospital because of the wounds caused by the beatings, as well as those who were too weak to carry out any kind of work were injected with carbolineum, which killed them very fast.
In November 1940 I saw a deep pit being dug in the ground just outside the camp. After the evening roll call several trucks drove to the camp and about 40 prisoners got out. They were forced by the guards from the SS to walk into this pit in the ground. While I was standing by the pit, I noticed Hauptscharführer Palitzsch. He was armed with an automatic rifle and I saw him fire it into the pit. I then heard several shots from a revolver. One of the SS guards later told me that Schwartz was the one who was shooting with a revolver in order to finish off those whom Palitzsch did’t manage to kill. I saw Schwartz standing by the pit, but I didn’t see him shoot. After the execution I saw the bodies being taken out of the pit and loaded onto carts, and then – transported in the direction of the crematorium.
Around 18 March 1942, during the morning roll call, block leaders were calling out names of various prisoners. These people were put in a separate group numbering about 180 prisoners in total, I think. The following SS men were present in the square: Obersturmführer Aumeier, Obersturmführer Schwartz and Hauptscharführer Palitzsch. The group was marched to block 3. Later that morning, at around 8.00 a.m., I saw them walking to block 11. At around 11.00 a.m. on the same day I saw a number of carts driving from the direction of block 11 to the crematorium. Some of them were only partially covered and I could see that they were loaded with corpses.
On 28 October 1942 I witnessed a similar incident. I saw about 300 prisoners, who were called out. Then I learned from a Polish friend who worked at the camp office that there were 343 of them. When my kommando was leaving for work, this group of prisoners was lining up in front of block 3 and their names were written down. This was the last time I saw them. When I came back later on the same day, prisoners from my block told me that they saw this group of prisoners marching toward block 11. A mutiny probably broke out there. It was suppressed by the SS men shooting with rifles from the windows in block 11.
I was told that the execution did not yet begin. Later that day, the kapo from block 11 known as "Jakub" told me that the prisoners had been shot between 2.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. He told me that the execution was carried out by Hauptscharführer Palitzsch and one Oberscharführer, whom we knew by the nickname "Gustaw Żelazo" [Iron Gustav].
At about 5.00 p.m. I saw a large number of carts loaded with corpses, driving from block 11 to the crematorium. This incident has a special place in my memory, because one of my best friends, a Pole named Stanisław Dobrowolski was among the prisoners who were called out that morning and I never saw him again.
In the spring of 1944, one prisoner escaped and 12 people who worked in the same kommando with the escaped prisoner were to be hanged as punishment. Obersturmführer Aumeier ordered all prisoners to be present during the hanging. After the execution, Aumeier gave a speech to the prisoners, telling them that the hanging was a punishment for that man’s escape.
Interpreter: I declare that I have translated this report for the witness into his native language, before he signed it. Elre Brieger
Sworn before me.
Captain of the Royal Artillery
No. 1. War Investigation Department
5 October 1945
I hereby certify that this translation is in accordance with the English original presented to me.
Kraków, 1 April 1947, Karol Bocheński (PhD)
Lawyer and sworn court interpreter translating from French, English, German, Spanish, and Portugese, Kraków, Świętego Sebastiana Street 16