On 30 October 1947 in Radom, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes with its seat in Radom, this in the person of a member of the Commission, lawyer Zygmunt Glogier, interviewed the person mentioned hereunder as a witness, without taking an oath. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:
| Name and surname | Kazimierz Roman |
| Age | 40 |
| Parents’ names | Józef, Agata |
| Place of residence | Radom, Tybla Street 3 |
| Occupation | clerk |
| Criminal record | none |
| Relationship to the parties | none |
From 1939 until mid-1944, along with other Polish prison guard employees, I was working at the Radom prison. I was working in the office.
In November 1939, the first large-scale arrest operation was carried out. Up to 200 people were arrested then, usually from Radom intelligentsia circles and the Jewish intelligentsia. Among others, Dr. Cung and attorney Hassebajn were detained, and were beaten particularly badly by Pochluda, a Gestapo man who spoke Polish. After a couple of weeks most of the arrestees were released.
As far as I know, the Sonderabteilung was formed by the end of 1940, after a large group of prison guards were arrested (ten people). The record of prisoners was still kept by the prison’s administration. It wasn’t until 1943 that the Sonderabteilung was entirely isolated, and any contact with prisoners staying at the Sonder was impossible.
By the end of March or at the beginning of April 1940, a large transport of prisoners from near Chlewiska was brought in. There were about 200 people in it. I remember when they were led inside. The gendarmerie formed a column, which the prisoners had to run through, while gendarmes and the Gestapo men struck them with sticks on their heads. I saw blood on the floor then.
In the middle of April 1940, around 2.00 p.m., vehicles pulled over in front of the prison on the Malczewskiego Street side. That’s when the prisoners from Chlewiska, who were staying in the female ward, were led out in groups of ten, with their hands tied behind their backs with string. Exactly 144 men were taken from the prison that time, including two children – boys aged 10 and 11. This precise information was given by a guard – the doorkeeper that day – Józef Traczyk, who died in a camp. The general belief was that the people were executed in Firley. Gendarmes and the Gestapo escorted them. They noted in the file: “ ubył” [gone]. I need to add that before the Sonderabteilung existed, the gendarmerie and the so-called blacks were set up in the whole prison and watched the cells.
In 1940, a huge transport was taken to the camp, over a hundred people. They told us to note in the file: “released”. The transport left in July. Whether there were any transports in 1941, I don’t remember. I just know that there was a constant commotion in the camp and very few releases.
I remember that in September or October 1942 a large number of prisoners was taken from the Sonderabteilung, and then hanged in the city outskirts. In November 1942 it would seem that a large number of people in Radom were arrested – mostly the intelligentsia – who were put in the Sonder. I know that among this group were the first prisoners to be sent to Majdanek camp. They told us to write down in the file: “ zu [missing]”, but before we did, the prison guards had already managed to cross the prisoners of the record, annotating: “KZ”.
At this time I witnessed prisoners being driven to interrogations handcuffed, and brought back beaten so badly that they couldn’t stand straight, and they had to lie on their front because their backs and buttocks were bruised. Koch was the main person to go crazy in the Sonder. He organized a riding school in the secret courtyard, hitting the prisoners running past him with a whip; this was called gymnastics.
We heard constant screams from the Sonderabteilung, day and night. From those who would pick up prisoners, I remember Peters who spoke perfect Polish, and a black guy with a mustache who could also speak Polish, and Erdman who spoke Czech. To my knowledge, Erdman was a specialist in detecting radio.
In spring 1943 a large batch of farmers was brought in from the surroundings of Kozienice, and I believe they were deported to a camp. By the end of 1943, when the Sonderabteilung was entirely separated, our contact with political prisoners and opportunities to monitor the situation were over. I only managed to learn from Grajkowa that in 1944 she saw through her windows facing the prison’s courtyard an armored, coffin-shaped vehicle drive up. Soon, tied prisoners in groups of 30 were thrown into it, and then taken away somewhere. The Gestapo and gendarmes seated themselves on the prisoners. At this time, a public execution was carried out on the Warsaw Road or somewhere near the cemetery. In my opinion, the Sonderabteilung was created to break any communication between the prison guards and the prisoners. On 21 November 1940, the following were arrested for contacting prisoners, as listed in the document I attach: foremen Zygmunt Grabijas [and] Leonard Hendryk, senior guards Stefania Rychter, Józef Traczyk, Franciszek Wójcik, Stanisław Słomczyński, Józef Wąsik; and guards Antoni Majczyna, Stanisław Walkiewicz. They all died in the camps. I need to mention that the green uniforms of the above-mentioned guards returned all covered in blood, and the Gestapo guy who delivered the clothes said to the guards: “You all deserve this, none of you are innocent.”
Apart from that, the following were arrested in 1940: the prison’s superintendent Wojciech Łuczyński, aspirant Józef Stahl, foreman Bronisław Król – for, as I presume, belonging to a secret organization. Others arrested: senior guard Stanisław Jastrzębski for killing a Volksdeutscher in 1939, senior guard Józef Kluczek for removing Polish propaganda leaflets from the apartment of [a detained individual] Bernardyn, senior guard Piotr Bednik for aid given to prisoners, Stanisław Piwowarczyk for arms possession, Stanisław Mordka sentenced by a special court ruling to death for torturing Germans and Father Dr. Strzelecki, prison chaplain, for patriotic activism. Overall, out of 40 people in the prison staff, 18 died.
I saw several times how the German superintendent Rumler would personally beat prisoners with a whip – the thick side – for trivial offenses, such as the possession of tobacco. Due to insufficient nutrition, some of the guards ate from the cauldron meant for prisoners – a thin soup. When Rumler caught sight of that, he punished the guards, depriving them of food rations for up to two months. Among the German prison staff, I knew Konrad Guntzelmann, Stejnmüller [Steinmüller?], Kajzer [Kaiser] – a Viennese, and Glehtner.
I hereabove testified.
The report was read out.