KAROLINA WILIŃSKA

On 12 March 1947, the prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court in Kraków with its seat at Grodzka Street 52, this in the person of Deputy Prosecutor from the Ninth Region Dr. Kordecki, with the participation of a reporter, Trainee Judge Nowak, heard the person named below as a witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the wording of Article 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Karolina Wilińska
Age 41
Parents’ names Antoni and Justyna
Place of residence Kraków, Chodkiewicza Street 5
Occupation clerk
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none
Relationship to the parties none

I stayed in the Auschwitz camp as a prisoner from 27 April 1942 until 18 January 1945. I worked in the camp registration office from April 1943 until the end.

Initially, the Lagerfuhrer [camp leader] of the camp was Otto Müller, Obersturmführer. At some point, in October 1942 or in September, Maria Mandl came to the camp as Lagerführerin. I saw her walking around in a uniform [illegible] shorts, military shirt and cap (kepi) in a military color. On her left shoulder and her cap she wore a badge [depicting] the German eagle as well as an Oberaufseherin badge – i.e. officer stripes.

Personally I didn’t notice, or rather I didn’t experience Mandl mistreating any prisoners because I worked in the camp office. The only thing I heard about the actions of the accused Mandl against prisoners was mainly during the inspection of documents and while the prisoners were being led out to work, and I only heard from the prisoners that on these occasions she would personally beat them in a sadistic manner, for the slightest misdemeanor, such as lack of proper cleanliness, for hair protruding from under a headscarf etc., considering such an issue to be contrary to her orders. At the same time she didn’t pay attention to the fact that it was sometimes impossible to follow her orders because we didn’t have any shoes, clothes, water, soap and other necessary things. The prisoners thought she was a sadist.

I heard from the prisoners who came to Auschwitz from Ravensbrück that previously the accused Mandl and a certain Aufseherin named Hesse performed special tasks at Ravensbrück, such as beating prisoners in the bunker.

The accused Mandel’s orders issued to the female prisoners were characterized by sadism and extreme malice, without even mentioning whether or not they could even be followed. For example, she issued an order that the prisoners who grew their hair back after it had been shaved off should brush their hair back straight. This was impossible for those female prisoners who had curly hair and the accused Mandl would beat them on the pretense of not following her orders.

Mandl’s office was located next to the registration office, where I worked and sometimes I myself heard prisoners being beaten there. These cases of beatings, however, involved German women. Through the wall I heard her shouting at the beaten women that they were bringing shame on the German people in front of the Polish prisoners.

The report was concluded and signed.