JÓZEF JAWORSKI

On 16 August 1947 in Jedlnia-Letnisko, the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes in Radom in the person of a member of the Commission, lawyer Zygmunt Glogier, heard the person named below as an unsworn witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Józef Jaworski
Date and place of birth 23 September 1882, Wierzbica, Radom district
Parents’ names Franciszek and Julianna
Place of residence Siczki, Jedlnia forest district
Occupation deputy forester with the State Forests
Criminal record none
Relationship to the parties none

I am a deputy forester with the State Forests in the Jedlnia forest district. I know about the executions carried out in my area in the years 1939–1940 only because they were conducted 500 meters from my abode. Moreover, the trucks with victims had to pass by my lodge, and this is why I am able to provide some details pertaining to these executions.

The first execution was carried out at the beginning of December 1939. 2–3 taxis and two covered trucks came from the direction of Radom. They entered the forest and stopped between two hillocks, and next they surrounded the forest with guard posts, so that it was impossible to catch a glimpse of what was going on there. I am unable to say how many people were brought and executed on that day. These executions were carried out from December 1939 to December 1940.

From that point on, the Germans no longer held them there, and I don’t know what location they used instead. The Germans came to the Siczki Forest to execute people about 12 times. Two or three taxis and from one to three 2-ton trucks would come as a rule. The escort was composed of Gestapo men, who – apart from the first time, when the grave was dug by the convicts themselves – dug graves before the executions. I estimate that about 30 people were executed by shooting in the years 1939–1940. There are 11 graves in the area, of which 10 are larger common graves and one is a single.

In 1944, the Gestapo returned to the area and, guiding themselves with the help of special signs, that is, red dots painted on pines, which by the way can be seen to this day, they secured the area and proceeded to do something there. It was said that bodies were burned there, and later I saw for myself that each grave was destroyed and levelled, and I also came across scattered bones. The only grave that remained undisturbed was the largest one, containing two layers of bodies, which was 2–2.5 meters wide, 15–20 meters long and 2 meters deep; it must have been overlooked. It has a cross on it and is surrounded with young birches. I cannot say who was brought in these cars, as I was afraid to come any closer because the executions were heavily guarded.

The executions were carried out in the following manner: the victims were pushed into previously dug graves, then grenades were thrown in, and finally people were finished off with shots. Trees in that area bear marks of the shooting to the present day. I myself found a piece of [illegible] from the last execution. I went to see the grave ten days after the last execution in 1940. I found some bones then, and I had the impression that the grave was moving; it was also covered in blood. All the executions were carried out at 3.00 p.m. sharp.