Trial by the district courts in Klagenfurt, Vienna, Salzburg and Linz against members of the HSSPF Lublin, Volume 66; Testimonies regarding the Lipowa camp and Selbstschutz

Documentation from trials conducted in Landesgericht Klagenfurt (the Klagenfurt District Court), Landesgericht Wien (the Vienna District Court), Landesgericht Salzburg (the Salzburg District Court) and Landesgericht Linz (the Linz District Court) against members of the HSSPF (Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer-Higher SS and Police Leader) Lublin: Documentation of the trial, Volume 66; Testimonies regarding the Lipowa camp and Selbstschutz - File card: Yad Vashem (p. 1); - File card: Regional court Klagenfurt (p. 2); - Letter to Landesgericht Wien from Prosecutor Dr. Koch, 15 March 1968 in Hamburg regarding the criminal proceeding against former members of the department of the SS and police guard Lublin (p. 3); - Table of contents regarding incidents in the Lublin district and referring to the operations of the Selbstschutz (Self-protection- a paramilitary organization created by ethnic Germans in Central and Eastern Europe) (p. 4); - The establishment, function and resolution of the Selbstschutz in the Lublin district (p. 5-9); - The death march of the Jews from Chelm to Hrubreszow (p. 9-10); - The murder of a Polish man while he was under arrest for forced labor (p. 10-11); - Arson and killing of Jews by an SS Unterfuehrer of the Selbstschutz in a village near Krasnystaw (p. 11); - Shooting of a Jew assigned to labor in the Burggrabenbau (moat construction) (p. 12); - Murder of Jews and Gypsies in Belzec (p. 13); - Murder of eight Jews during the liquidation of a small Jewish quarter in Lublin, 03 May 1940 (pp. 13-20); - Result of the investigations; liquidation, 03 May 1940; - Consideration of evidence; - Shooting of Polish civilians in Josefow and Radawiec, February 1940; - Previous history of the shooting (pp. 20-29); - In Josefow, 14 April 1940; - In Radawiec, 16 June 1940 (pp. 29-35); - The accused, their statements and consideration of the evidence: Odilo Globocnik: committed suicide, 31 May 1945; Ludolf von Alvensleben died, 28 August 1953; Willi Stemmler died, 29 October 1948; Hermann Dolp, missing from 19 April 1961, and declared dead; Karl Streibel, Anton Binner, Friedrich Paulus, Rudolf Fritzsche, Karl Tiefenthal, Paul Raebel, Herrmann Moebius and Hans Schaefer have all responded to the charges; Max Schneider, missing in action; members of the Schutzbataillons Lublin (pp. 35-61); - Legal analysis (pp. 61-83) including the facts of the case, illegality, the intent; reasons to find the accused not guilty; complicity and aid; - Further investigations and who should be called to testify: Members of the Selbstschutz; residents of Josefow; residents of Radawiec; - Closing of the proceedings (pp. 87-92); - Letter from Landesgericht Wien to Bezirkshauptmannschaft (District Commission) Voecklabruck, 27 March 1968 regarding the search for Kutschera who was a member of the SS and participated in resettlement "Aktions" (p. 93); - Letter from 13 May 1968 regarding the accused Huebscher and Lassmann (p. 94); - Letter to the police office in Salzburg from Landesgericht Klagenfurt, 27 March 1968 regarding Robert Felsinger (pp. 95-96); - Testimony of Wilhelmine Trsek at Landesgericht Wien, 22 February 1968: Work in Lublin, December 1939-autumn 1942; work as a secretary for Globocnik and other SS members; claim that she never wrote a letter on her own, everything she wrote was dictated; claim that she never heard of Sobibor, but she did have knowledge of Treblinka and Majdanek; denial of the receipt of a piece of jewelry from Globocnik; further denial that she wrote a notice, 15 July 1942 (pp. 97-100); - Letter regarding two diaries kept by Felix Eisenstadt, 26 June 1968 (p. 101); - Letter from Landesgericht Wien, 13 September 1968 in Linz regarding the criminal case against Heinrich Barbl and Josef Groemer concerning their participation in Euthanasia crimes in Hartheim and their work in Sobibor (pp. 102-103); - Letter from Landesgericht Wien, 25 September 1968 regarding the accused Heinrich Barbl and Josef Groemer (pp. 104-105); - Letter from the Federal Interior Ministry of Austria to the Lublin regional court regarding Josef Schinwald and his activities in Lublin, Trawniki and Warsaw and his personal data (pp. 106-108); - Letter from the Federal Interior Ministry of Austria to Landesgericht Wien, 12 March 1969 regarding the criminal case against Helmut Pohl and others (p. 109); - Letter from the Federal Interior Ministry of Austria to Landesgericht Wien, 12 March 1969 concerning the birth date and activities of N. Schwarz, who allegedly was the head of the German gendarmerie in Chelm in 1940, and participated in the murder of 360 Jews from Danzig (pp. 110-111); - Letter from the Federal Interior Ministry of Austria to Landesgericht Wien, 14 March 1969 regarding declaration of the death of Karl Wukowits (pp. 112-113); - Letter from the Federal Interior Ministry of Austria to Landesgericht Wien regarding the criminal case against members of SSPF Lublin and "Aktion" Reinhard (p. 114); - Documentary evidence from the Soviet Union Attorney General: Translation of a protocol from 24 August 1944 regarding Treblinka; translation of the testimony of Max Lewit which refers to various incidents in Treblinka (pp. 115-118); an attachment containing the complete protocol from 24 August 1944 (pp. 119-136); - Testimony of Max Lewit, a 33 year old carpenter from Warsaw: Inmate in Treblinka, May 1943-July 1944; living and working conditions in Treblinka; violent crimes and shootings of Jews in the camp; the fate of 60 children, aged 12-14 who were brought to Warsaw in 1942 and were murdered in various brutal ways; testimony regarding forced labor, the burning of corpses and the killing process of Jews; description of the unsuccessful escape attempt from the camp, 23 June 1944; shooting of those who tried to escape, including the witness who was left for dead in the pit by the SS; escape from the pit (pp. 137-143); - Letter from the Untersuchungsstelle fuer NS Gewaltverbrechen beim Landesstab der Polizei Israel (Israel Police Headquarters Investigative Body for Violent Crimes Committed by the Nazis), 18 March 1969 regarding the witnesses Josef Reznik, Mieczyslaw Kliszczowski, Pawel Oserowski and others (pp. 144-145); - Testimony of Hela Weiss: Born in Lublin; resident of Lublin until winter 1940; description of her work and life in the Lublin camp, 1940-1941; bad living conditions; deportation to Sobibor; detailed listing of the German personnel at Sobibor (pp. 147-156); - Testimony of Hela Weiss in Polish (pp. 157-159); - Testimony of Gothelf Tauba translated from Polish: Born in Pulawy/Lublin; testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktion" in Opole, 30 December 1939; deportation to Belzec Lubelski; deportation with her sister to Majdanek, September 1942; transfer to an airport in Plage Laszkiewicz with 500 other women, late November 1942; remaining at Plage Laszkiewicz for the winter; the situation in Majdanek, including the suicides of some of the women; life in the Plage Laszkiewicz camp until July 1943; testimony regarding activities of Gollak and violence against Jews; deportation to Blizin with her sister; transfer to Auschwitz; 1944; transfer to Sudetenland; liberation in Kratzau, May 1945 (pp. 160-166); - Testimony of Gothelf Tauba in Polish (pp. 167-168); - Testimony of Golda Lipszyc: Born in Pulawy/Lublin; testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktion", 30 December 1939 in Lublin; deportation to Belzec; life in Belzec until September 1942; transfer to the Plage Laszkiewicz camp, November 1942; conditions in the camp and her work; description of the arrival of transports after the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto; arrival of children who were taken away from their parents; murder of the children in Majdanek; arrival from the Bialystok Ghetto of the last transport she witnessed, June 1943; testimony regarding the defendants Hackenholtz, Bamberg and Gollak and their activities in Plage Laszkiewicz (pp. 169-177); - Testimony of Golda Lipszyc in Polish (pp. 178-180); - Testimony of Rosa Wolman: Testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktion", October 1942; taken captive in a school; deportation of her parents and her uncle; arrival in Lublin with a transport; deportation to Majdanek; an inmate in Majdanek for two months; transfer to Plage Laszkiewicz until October 1943; testimony regarding various SS personnel at the Plage Laszkiewicz camp; transfer to Milejow, October 1943; transfer to Trawniki six weeks later; camp life in Trawniki; living conditions in the camp (pp. 182-187); - Testimony of Sima Josef Beck: Testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktion" in Belzec, 10 May 1942; transfer to Majdanek with her sister, 25 October 1943; transfer to Plage Laszkiewicz; transfer to Milejow with her sister, 25 October 1943; transfer to Trawniki shortly after the liquidation of Milejow, transfer to Majdanek, Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Theresienstadt; comments regarding various defendants; testimony regarding various violent events in Plage Laszkiewicz; description of her experiences in the different extermination camps (pp. 188-192); - Testimony of Hana Sapir: Born in Danzig, 24 July 1927; deportation with her mother to Plage Laszkiewicz, November 1942; deportation to Milejow, autumn 1943; deaths of her mother and her aunt in Majdanek; work in a marmalade factory; transfer to Trawniki for eight or nine months; transfer to Majdanek for three months; forced march with other Jews to Cmielow; transfer to Auschwitz; transfer to Bergen-Belsen; liberation in Bergen-Belsen, April 1945 (pp. 193-197); - Testimony of Jakow Perec Towja, 29 March 1966: Forced labor constructing an SS Ausbildungslager (training camp), 1941; expropriation of his textiles store in Piaski by the Nazis; in hiding during the resettlement "Aktions" in Trawniki; explanation that Piaski was a transfer place for the extermination of Jews; commuting between Piaski and Trawniki until "Aktion Judenrein", 1943; listing of SS personnel who participated in the resettlement "Aktions"; in hiding during "Aktion Judenrein" and witness to the "Aktion" from his hiding place; description of the various incidents he witnessed during the "Aktion"; testimony that Dr. Sturm and Bartetzko shot children during the selection; transfer to Trawniki three days after the "Aktion"; an inmate in Trawniki until the liquidation; testimony regarding "Aktions" against Jews in Trawniki and Piaski, including the shooting of different Jews; identification of various defendants from photographs (pp. 198-203); - Testimony of Chaim Sztajndoz, 06 November 1968: Identification of various SS members from photographs; residence in Janow Lubelski, 1942; arrival at the Krasnik camp; selection in the camp near the synagogue; deportation of those selected to Budzyn; work in a cap factory in Krasnik; testimony regarding the shooting of Mosche Schiff by Groeger; statement that prisoners were rarely shot in Krasnik (pp. 204-208); - Testimony of Salman Lederfein (Mosche), 29 May 1968: Identification of various SS members from photographs; work for the track construction Abfuellstation (service station), from 1941; arrival at the camp at the synagogue after "Aktion Judenrein" in Krasnik; transfer to the Krasnik camp as a horse specialist after the shooting of Mosche Graf, spring 1943; order to bring the corpse of Mosche Graf to the cemetery and bury it; testimony regarding the shooting of Schiff, and description of other incidents, as well as the hanging of four inmates; escape from the camp on the arrival of the Red Army (pp. 209-210); - Testimony of Mosche Dorf, 25 May 1968: Arrival at the Abfuellstation camp with some members of his family, 1942; remains in the Abfuellstation camp until 1944; escape while on a march; correction of the map of the camp, and signature to the correction; testimony regarding the hanging of Kuchcik; explanation of why escaped the hanging; detailed testimony regarding Groeger (pp. 212-215); - Testimony of Hermann Pinkus, 10 April 1966: A resident of Krasnik; arrival at the Ruda-Opalin camp; remains in the Ruda-Opalin camp until autumn 1940; transfer to the Krychow camp; remains in the Krychow camp until spring 1941; transfer to the Sawin and Wlodawa camp; work as an ambulance man; liquidation of the Wlodawa camp, spring 1942; transfer back to Krasnik; testimony regarding SS personnel in Krychow, Ruda-Opalin and Wlodawa; work in a hospital during the time after his return to Krasnik; ordered by the Gestapo to return the hospital, autumn 1942; in hiding along with a nurse from the hospital; testimony regarding the shooting of the patients and resettlement "Aktions" in Krasnik; deportation to the Budzyn camp with his brother; testimony regarding SS personnel at the Budzyn camp; transfer from Budzyn to the Wieliczka camp, summer 1944; transfer to Mauthausen; forced march from Mauthausen to Wels; liberation in Gunzkirchen (pp. 216-221); - Testimony of Josef Borenstein, 29 March 1966: Residence in Krasnik; work for his uncle Chaim Bergmanson in a shoemaker's shop; testimony regarding Germans he met through his work; final resettlement "Aktion" and the capture of all workers in a school, 1942; deportation of women and children to Zaklikow; deportation of the witness and other workers to the Krasnik camp; the fate of the Bergmanson family; testimony regarding Hantke and his selections in Krasnik; arrival of the witness at the Budzyn camp, October 1942; transfer to Majdanek after the liquidation of Budzyn; identification of some of the defendants from photographs (pp. 222-226); - Testimony of Josef Pinkus, 01 May 1966: Detailed testimony regarding SS member Napieralla; work for the Judenrat in Krasnik as an ambulance man, 1940-autumn 1942; testimony regarding the first resettlement "Aktion" when he was captured in a school, spring 1942; description of an "Aktion" when Jews were deported to Zaklikow; arrival of the witness at the Krasnik and Budzyn camps; time in the Abfuellstation camp; arrival at the main camp in Krasnik; camp life in the Abfuellstation camp; the shooting of Moshe Schiff in Budzyn; description of various incidents in the main Krasnik camp; comments regarding Groeger; the arrival of Bartetzko and Bartetzko's removal of six Jewish women from Trawniki; identification of SS personnel from photographs (pp. 227-231); - Testimony of Jehoszus Laks, 02 May 1966: Life with his parents in Zaklikow until October 1942; work in a saw mill; testimony regarding the first resettlement "Aktion" in Zaklikow, October 1942; description of the second resettlement "Aktion" when he was captured in a synagogue, 30 October 1942; selected for deportation to the Budzyn camp; arrival at Budzyn, 01 November 1942; remains in Budzyn until spring 1944; transfer to Rzeszow; testimony regarding SS personnel known to him from Budzyn, some of whom he identifies from photographs (pp. 232-234); - Testimony of Jakob Zukert, 03 May 1966: Residence in Krasnik with his parents, forced labor from 1939; deportation to Budzyn, 1941; testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktions", spring 1942 and 02 November 1942 and its participants; time in the camp near the synagogue; testimony regarding Hantke and his activities in Krasnik; listing of SS personnel in Budzyn (pp. 235-239); - Testimony of Josef Reznak, 15 April 1912: Arrival at the Lipowa camp, January 1941; work in Lipowa and the Dolp-Platz; forced labor constructing the Majdanek camp; testimony regarding Gollak and other members of the SS; description of the resettlement "Aktion", 13 November 1943; executions in Lublin; selection as a worker by Rohlfing because he was a joiner; characteristics of various former SS members; testimony regarding the hanging of POWs, 1942; explanation of the situation on a map of the Lipowa camp; identification of some of the defendants from photographs (pp. 240-251); - Testimony of Mieczyalaw Kliszczowski (birth name: Salomon Zwager): Arrival at the Lipowa camp, 1940; work in a locksmithery in DAW; escape while working, summer 1943; testimony regarding SS personnel at the Lipowa camp; forced labor digging a pit for corpses, 1941; testimony regarding a hanging in Lipowa, 1942; description of the incident; identification of some of the defendants from photographs (pp. 252-256); - Testimony of Pawel Oszerowski, 18 April 1909: Arrival at the Lipowa camp, January 1941; escape while working, June 1943; testimony regarding SS personnel at the Lipowa camp; the hanging of Jaeger and other POWs,1942; description of the process of the roll calls ordered by Schramm and Mohwinkel; identification of some of the defendants from photographs (pp. 257-261); - Testimony of Ester Margot Berger, 14 April 1966: Description of her deportation from Stettin to Lublin, 13 February 940; arrival at the Lipowa camp; transfer to the DAW camp; transfer to the Majdan Tatarski Restghetto; labor as a secretary for some SS personnel in Lipowa; escape from the camp before Christmas (25 December) 1942; in hiding in Stuttgart and Berlin; death of her husband in Auschwitz; arrest in Berlin by Riedel who saw her by chance, August [year?]; beating by Riedel to find out who helped her escape from the camp; remains silent; deportation to Auschwitz; testimony regarding SS personnel from the Lipowa camp (pp. 262-269); - Testimony of Roman Fischer, 20 April 1966: Arrival at the Lipowa camp with a Kriegsgefangenentransport (POW transport), 1941; description of the situation in Lipowa; testimony regarding the Dolp "Aktion", 04 February 1941; escape from the camp, March 1943; testimony regarding roll calls; description of the process and the administration; no testimony regarding violent acts of Mohwinkel or Hantke; confrontation with descriptions of various murders in Lipowa; comments on those cases; testimony regarding an incident when his father-in-law, his wife and their daughter were sent to an extermination camp (pp. 270-281); - Testimony of (Benjamin) Lipman Arnowicz, 15 October 1968: Arrival at the Lipowa camp, late 1940-early 1941; remains at the camp until 03 November 1943; also an inmate of the Hammerstein camp and Trawniki; listing of external camp detachments such as the airport or Majdanek; comments regarding various SS personnel he knows from the camps; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; testimony regarding orders in the Lipowa camp and the fact that he was beaten with a whip by Mohwinkel; statement that there were some hangings while he was in the camp; description of those incidents; testimony regarding the Kommando: Augen rechts! "Aktion" when the inmates were forced to look at the inmates who had been hanged and march past them (pp. 282-287); - Testimony of Josef Rezwik, 15 May 1968: Inmate of the Lipowa camp, 1941- 03 November 1943; POW in the Moosburg camp; arrival at Majdanek, 03 November 1943; escape while he was working; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; testimony regarding the Lipowa camp and the roll calls; work for the Heeresverpflegungslager der Wehrmacht (Wehrmacht Army Supply Depot), for the Munitionslager (Munitions Depot) and for the Heereskraftfahrzeugplatz (Army Vehicle Place); work also at the Dolp-Platz; forced labor building up Majdanek; testimony regarding an unsuccessful attempt to escape from the camp, 1942 (pp. 288-290); - Testimony of Abraham Kotlar, 16 May 1968: Inmate in the Lipowa camp from May 1943; work before that in a printing press; transfer to Radom, July 1943; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; testimony regarding the conditions in Lipowa; statement that the Flughafen (Airport) camp was much more worse that the Lipowa camp; work for some time in an Eisensortierlager (iron sorting facility); testimony regarding roll calls in Lipowa; discussion of an incident when they had to march past a hanged 17 year old boy; comments regarding various selections in Lipowa (pp. 291-295); - Testimony of Rachel Blank, 17 May 1968: Identification of some of the defendants from photographs; work of her husband in the Lipowa camp from December 1939; presence of their son with her husband; inmate in Majdanek with Aryan papers; testimony regarding signs of life from her husband and information received about him from other people (pp. 296-297); - Testimony of Mieczylaw Kliszczowski, 17 May 1968: Arrival at the Lipowa camp, early 1940; escape with Aryan papers, summer 1943; work in the locksmithery in Lipowa; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; testimony regarding various SS personnel such as Riedel, Mohwinkel and Hantke; testimony regarding Kommando: Augen links!, the hanging of three inmates and the order to march past their corpses and look at them (pp. 303-307); - Testimony of Simcha Turkeltaub, 18 May 1968: Identification of some of the defendants from photographs; testimony regarding the resettlement "Aktions" in the Lipowa camp; forced labor until 14 February 1940; inmate of the Lublin Ghetto until 10 April 1942; transfer to the Restghetto Majdan Tatarski; deportation to Majdanek, 09 November1942; escape with Aryan papers one day before the liquidation of Majdanek; testimony regarding the conditions in the Lipowa camp; discussion of the term "Muselmaenner", people who were unfit for work who were brought from the Lipowa camp to Majdanek to be killed; deaths of most of the Muselmaenner due to debilitation; description of the rations in the Lipowa Ghetto and Majdanek (pp. 308-311); - Testimony of Frydman (first name illegible), 21 May 1968: Arrival at the Lipowa camp Lublin as a POW; work for three months at the Flugplatz camp; ordered to build a model of the Lipowa camp for Hausberg; work for Richter until his escape, 25 December 1942; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; listing of the names of SS personnel he can remember; comments regarding two photographs, one of a model of the Lipowa camp and the other of the construction of the DAW; testimony regarding the roll call when the inmates were forced to march past the hanged corpses of three inmates and ordered to look at them; naming of SS personnel who participated in the hangings and ordered the roll calls; testimony regarding various shootings he witnessed (pp. 311-315); - Testimony of Zwibak (first name illegible), 28 May 1968: Inmate in the Lipowa camp, late 1940-late 1942; escape, October 1942; forced labor at construction of Majdanek and in various sections of the Lipowa camp; listing of the names of SS personnel he can remember from Lipowa; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; preparation of a drawing of the Lipowa camp; testimony regarding an incident when Mohwinkel ordered that he be flogged; testimony regarding a selection which was initiated in reaction to an escape attempt by an inmate; selection and deportation of thirty men; testimony regarding the hanging of three inmates in 1942; discussion of the term "Muselmann" (pp. 316-321); - Testimony of Pawel Oszerowski, 28 May 1968: Arrival as a POW at the Lipowa camp, 1941; escape, 1943 before the liquidation of the camp; listing of the names of SS personnel he can remember from Lipowa; comments regarding the SS personnel; identification of some of the defendants from photographs; work at the Lagerkomplex; preparation of a drawing of the camp; comments regarding the drawing; testimony regarding the hanging of three POWs in 1942; claim that one of them was Jaeger; the inmates were forced to march past the corpses and the order "Kommando:Augen links" was given (pp. 322-323); - Testimony of female witness (name illegible), 28 March 1968: Work in the Lipowa camp for five to six months as Sozialfuersorgerin (Social Welfare Officer), later as Magazinverwalterin (Store Keeper) and Kuechenleiterin (Kitchen Administrator), in March [no year given]; planning of her escape secretly; work for some time in the Rohstofferfassung (Raw Material Acquisition) under Konziel; listing of names SS personnel in the Lipowa camp; identification of some of the personnel; description of an incident when some relatives of the inmates were permitted to come to the camp but were deported one day after they arrived, among them her mother and her sister who were deported and never returned, just like all the others who were deported that day (pp. 324-327).