ZOFIA FLAK

On 4 December 1946 in Radom, a member of the District Commission for the Investigation of German Crimes with its seat in Radom, this in the person of attorney Marian Marszałek, acting pursuant to Article 4 of the decree from 27 November 1945 (Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland No. 51, item 293), interviewed the person mentioned hereunder as a witness. Having been advised of the criminal liability for making false declarations and of the provisions of the Article 106 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the witness testified as follows:


Name and surname Zofia Flak
Date of birth 16 July 1916
Parents’ names Stefan and Maria née Alberski
Citizenship and nationality Polish
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Criminal record none

I have been a permanent resident of Zwoleń, Kozienice district, from 19 June 1936. I was living there during the German occupation [in] 1939–1945. My husband, Czesław Flak, was a doctor. He was murdered by the Germans. As a permanent resident, I know the attitude of those living in Zwoleń towards the occupation very well. In 1940, the occupiers did not apply collective repressions, only catching those individuals who took part in underground operations organized since the Germans’ arrival. This is how they arrested Jan Talaga, husband of Emilia, residing [on] Radomska Street in Zwoleń; Władysław Wasak, husband of Stefania, residing [on] Staropuławska Street in Zwoleń; and Władysław Piechota, residing [on] Puławska Street in Zwoleń, who returned from Auschwitz.

From 1941, round-ups of people for work in the Reich began. People were taken according to a list and right off the street, as they were.

In 1942, the occupiers arrested all the reserve officers in Zwoleń and in the surrounding area – teachers. It was a special operation. I know the names of some of the arrested, for example Franciszek Markiewicz, husband of Teofila, residing [on] Radomska Street in Zwoleń; Jakub Styczyński, head of the school, now residing on Krzywa Street in Zwoleń; and Eugeniusz Woźniak. In 1941, a ghetto was created in Zwoleń and the residents were expelled from the designated area. Jews from the neighboring villages and towns were gathered in this ghetto. There were over 20,000 people. They were deported through Garbatka [an important railway junction for German transports] in an unknown direction. None of them came back. A group of about 100 people were selected and used for work in Klikawa, Puławska Góra district. I don’t know what happened to them. Several people came back.

In March 1942, the Germans exercised general repressions against the inhabitants of Karolin and the nearby villages, allegedly for killing a Volksdeutscher. 72 people were shot dead at that time; Antonina Bąk knows these incidents (Kochanowskiego Street, Zwoleń), Roman’s obedient wife (Kroczów village, Grabów nad Wisłą commune). In the same year, I don’t remember the exact date, Jan Kaczyński, husband of Franciszka, was arrested for helping the inhabitants of Zwoleń. He helped in providing personal IDs (Kennkarte). He was an official.

In addition, there were a lot of arrests for trading and for political reasons – I don’t know the names. These people were liquidated secretly at Glinianki in Zwoleń and in the courtyard of the agricultural school. These graves were uncovered in 1945 and a number of people were identified.

Arrests and killings took place throughout all of 1943. Two mass executions took place in Zwoleń in 1943. Before, in January 1944, Cieszkowski, brother of Kazimierz, who lived on Niecała Street, and Władysław Kaczyński, brother of the above-mentioned Franciszek, were arrested in Zwoleń. They were taken for being part of the underground operation. On 15 January 1944, 15 people were arrested and executed on the same day in the village of Leokadiów, Puławska Góra commune. Their names: Krawczyk – their mother Elżbieta lives in Zwoleń near the cinema, and Mieczysław and Franciszek Nowakowski, I don’t remember the others. On Good Friday, 15 April 1944, there was a mass executions of 20 people – farmers from the villages of Brzeźnica and Słowiki. The population had to be present during the execution. The Germans drove people out of the church and from homes and forced them to watch.

On 16 May 1944, about 60 people were arrested for underground activity. Some of these people came back, some perished. Those who returned: Deja (Kozienicka Street, Zwoleń), Kazimierz Oleksik (Staropuławska Street, Zwoleń), and others. Those who were deported to concentration camps, died there. Some of those arrested were shot dead on 19 April 1944. They were buried near the cemetery in Zwoleń. Currently, the grave has been uncovered and all those buried there have been identified. I identified my husband with all certainty. The execution took place in the market. Walenty Bryłka, Stanisław Bronik, Wiktor Gogała, Aleksander Papiewski, and many others were killed.

In 1944, massive round-ups “for fieldworks” took place due to the approaching front. At the end of July 1944, the Germans deported the whole population of Zwoleń. In September, some people returned. In January, the front was broken and we were released.

I would like to mention that my husband was killed in retaliation for the kidnapping of two Germans, Berger and Jordan, by the partisans. My husband was initially in hiding. He was betrayed by Jeske – a Volksdeutscher. Kolc, the Gestapo confidant, was very well-known in Zwoleń. He was directly guilty of betraying those murdered on 19 April 1944. He was an older man, pockmarked, fat, and tall. He is supposedly in Poznań now. Jeske was the mayor of Zwoleń, he escaped with the Germans.

The report was read out.