War Crimes Trials - Vol. II The Belsen Trial. 'The Trial of Josef Kramer and Forty Four Others'

(62) DEPOSITION OF ADAM MARCINKOWSKI (Pole, aged 21)

2. On 20th June, 1945, I was shown by No. 14573509 Sergeant Edward Dinsdale, 86 Special Investigation Section, Corps of Military Police, a man whom I recognised as a Kapo in Drütte Camp, and as Stubenältester of Block 19 at Belsen Camp. I knew him by the name of Medislaw and l have now been told his full name is Medislaw Burgraf. He was a Polish soldier.

3. I remember the following incident which occurred at Belsen Camp. On 12th April, 1945, at about 3 p.m., a friend of mine, George Grabonski, who lived at Warsaw, and who, like myself, then lived in Block 21, went to Block 19 which was about eight metres away. Burgraf stood at the door of Block 19, I was at a window of Block 21 and heard my friend ask Burgraf for permission to enter Block 19 to see a sick friend. Burgraf refused, and when my friend asked him, Burgraf, who was standing at the top of the steps leading into the block, struck my friend Grabonski, who was then standing at the foot of these steps, a two-handed blow with a square table leg which he always carried. The blow fell at the back of my friend’s head and he immediately collapsed. When I saw this I immediately went down and dragged my friend into Block 21. By the time I had arrived downstairs Burgraf had re-entered his block. Grabonski had an open wound at the back of his head. I attended to him for about three hours, but at the end of that time he died. I carried his body and put it on the pile of corpses already outside the block. Other people also saw this incident, but I cannot at present name any of them.

4. From my block, at Belsen, I sometimes watched the distribution of soup at meal-times outside Block 21. This distribution was done by a prisoner, who was supervised by Burgraf. During the short period I was at Belsen very little food was given to the prisoners, and as the men were very hungry when food was distributed, they rushed to be served first. Burgraf would then beat them indiscriminately with the table leg. I have seen very weak men fall down and later on be dragged by their comrades to the piles of corpses. I can say that I have personally seen Burgraf beat about 50 persons to death in this way over a period of four or five days.