Note 07

Written on 30 July 2019

1. In the camp, there was strict discipline, whereupon SS-man entering the block, we had to stand at attention, remove the hat from our heads, smack it against the knee firmly and stay like that. Only after he left could we release the position. It was the same outside the block. In front of approaching the SS man, one had to stand at attention and take off his hat, which could be put back on only after he left. If the prisoner was too late to do that or didn’t hit it against the knee enthusiastically enough, he got kicked and had to straighten up quickly not to be kicked again. Such practices were widespread.
2. We got up from the bed around 5 AM after a gong (bell). 2 prisoners brought black barley coffee from the kitchen, which so-called sztubowy gave out to the prisoners, as the only morning meal. The prisoners left the block, and only two stayed behind to wash the floors. They were leaving only for a morning roll call at 6 AM. At the roll call, we were divided by a block leader into 10 rows; he counted the prisoners and reported it to the SS-man standing nearby, who compared the numbers. There were cases where a weakened prisoner with a head low had to leave a row for elimination. On the following roll call, the prisoner was already absent. SS-man went to the point of collating all the blocks’ reports. If the number of prisoners matched, another gong (bell) rang. After that, the prisoners left for assigned work under the watch of capos and armed guards. We were forced to sing while leaving the camp for work outside the gates, and a band played. At the gates, we stood at attention, removed our hats, and our kapo reported his number to the watch post and the number of prisoners leaving. The prisoners were assigned 1 or 2 armed guards. Upon return from work, we also had to sing, stand at the gate at attention, and remove our hats. The capo reported his number and the number of prisoners while the band was playing. We were faking German songs as we didn’t know the language. Before the evening roll call, there was a chance to talk with other prisoners, ask where they worked or find a familiar prisoner in the crowd. One prisoner told me he works at the furnaces burning naked corpses and that after 4 weeks of the work, he’d be killed and burned himself as that was the frequency at which those crews were changed.
3. After 20.12.1941, on block 9, there was a Christmas tree. We were taught carols and slogans named ‘My milestones’ in German, but nobody learned that during my stay in the camp.
4. From 20.12.1941, during the entire winter, there was only one bath in the baths. I stripped naked, and with a towel wrapped around my waist, in shoes with no socks, I ran from block 4a to the bath house about 40 metres away. At the same time, our clothes were sent for flea treatment. The water was cold. We were given another underwear to use, and after a few hours of waiting, our clothing was returned. In that period, there was only one underwear change; I used one pair of socks and mended holes in those socks with thread. Every day, we had to wash our upper bodies and feet in cold water, as there was none hot.
5. My commando worked outside the camp on the construction of stables. One day, we heard screams from the stables, and one passing prisoner told us that another prisoner’s gold teeth were being pulled out there.
6. I remember that exhausted Russian prisoners were entering the camp. Some of those war prisoners dragged themselves on their own accord; some were supported by others, while the rest were dragged in dead on the snow. After three months, there were no more of those prisoners, and when I entered this zone, I saw naked corpses. I have asked one prisoner what happened to those Russian captives. He said there were about 3000; after three months, the remaining 300 were moved to Brzezinka. I remember after being arrested and handcuffed at the station, a gendarme told me I would be hanged. I didn’t care much about it as I thought they weren’t stringing me up yet.
7. After experiences in the camp and forced labour, I was being treated for insomnia and other illnesses. I had dreams about scenes from the camp, forced labour in Kędzierzyn and bombardments I survived there. I delayed starting a family as we feared war. I was also treated in psychiatric clinics, state-funded and privately. In one of those clinics, around 1946, I received a few sleeping pills and three days off work, as the regulations didn’t allow for more help. I was told by a doctor ” that bedbugs are given better treatment in the People’s Republic than ex-camp prisoners. My wife Irene, knowing my mental state, decided to marry me. We married on the 14th of April 1957. I had nightmares. M wide comforted me then; she didn’t have a merry, calm life with me. I won’t write about current treatment options, as my life has ended now. I have over 97 years now; I pay for nurses, cardiologists, various treatments and medicines. I worked in different positions for over 42 years, 40 in the mining industry. I currently receive about 1200 PLN (approx 280 EUR in 2019), which is about 50% of my work-related pension, as I also receive a war veteran pension.
8. In 2018, I had visitors from Germany who were interested in the living conditions of former prisoners of concentration camps who told me that people aren’t bad. Still, it’s politicians that spread animosity and hate.
9. I won’t write about the interest our government’s interest in camp prisoners who still live, as nobody’s interested in that, and it won’t change anything. Lately, I’ve heard that there was a gathering of representatives from interested countries on the anniversary of the liberation from Auschwitz camp, and I thought that if we had access to Katyń and from Moscow, there wouldn’t be anyone invited. Today, that is, 30.07.2019, it was reported on the TV that in Warsaw and Poznań, there will be joyful parades and dances on the anniversary of the war breaking out (i.e. 01.09.1939). I don’t know whether living grandsons and granddaughters of the prisoners who died in those camps and soldiers who died in the II WW will be invited and if they’ll be dancing happily. The intentions described above bring thoughts of a situation from Auschwitz. An entire camp full of prisoners, myself included, was lined up for the morning roll call. Only one prisoner ran around the camp, dancing, jumping and repeating ’11th block, 11th block’. He must have lost his mind for some reason. I haven’t seen it at the evening roll call.
10. My face was swollen from hunger after half a year in the camp. After an extended stay in the camp, one was losing weight to about 35 kilograms and died. I know as I was there and have seen it. Watching some politicians’ merry, plump faces, I relate those to the faces of prisoners swollen from hunger. I returned from the camp to the house of my parents, who were surprised by the sight of my face, as they didn’t know it was the result of hunger—from my transport people died after about 4 months. The names of those people can be found in publications mentioned in note 04 from 22.07.2019.
11. I admire the universal abilities of some of our politicians who can fill any role, for as long as it’s well paid and has a ‘small bonus’. In People’s Republic, I didn’t belong to any party, and I do not belong to any now – it was not easy to live this way as I could have been fired from work for it. I was a leader in the construction and renovation division, and all employees reporting to me belonged to the party. I couldn’t order any work from private companies. To do so, I had to have two refusals from state companies and documented lower, competitive prices approved by Voivedeship’s Price Commission. After the work was completed, I had inspectors from the National Inspection Commission and the Citizen’s Militia. I won’t write about the remuneration and differences in salaries and bonuses of directors in times of the People’s Republic and presently in the Polish Republic.
12. I wonder if writing about forced labour in Kędzierzyn makes sense, but I wasn’t hungry there. There was one meal for lunch, turnip soup or cabbage with bread, and I could have any amount of soup. I usually had trouble breathing after such a meal for a few hours due to an overfilled stomach.

I’d like to apologise to a potential reader for my notes, which contain repeated descriptions and memories and illegible writing. At my age, I often forget what I wrote yesterday for lunch or whether I had taken my medication—pills.