Record of Witness Testimony 124

POLISH SOURCE INSTITUTE 104 IN LUND Dädesjö, 14 January 1946

Testimony received by Institute Assistant Bożysław Kurowski, LL M transcribed

Here stands Mr Bronisław Berdyś born on 18 July 1922 in Cracow , occupation plumber religion Roman Catholic , parents’ forenames Wiktor and Maria last place of residence in Poland ulica Wilga 16 [lit. ‘16 Wilga Street’], Cracow current place of residence Dädesjö

who – having been cautioned as to the importance of truthful testimony as well as to the responsibility for, and consequences of, false testimony – hereby declares as follows: I was interned at the concentration camp in Auschwitz from April 1941 to 12 March 1943 as a political prisoner – bearing the number 12863 (?) and wearing a red -coloured triangle with the letter ‘P’. I was later interned in the Neuengamme concentration camp from 15 March 1943 to 17 April 1945 No. 18889; and finally, from 17 April to 3 May 1945, I underwent evacuation from the Neuengamme camp to Lübeck.

Asked whether, with regard to my internment and my labour at the concentration camp, I possess any particular knowledge about how the camp was organized, how prisoners were treated, their living and working conditions, medical and pastoral care, the hygienic conditions in the camp, or any particular events concerning any aspect of camp life, I state as follows: The testimony consists of seven pages of handwriting and describes the following: 1. Evacuation of the concentration camp in Neuengamme to Lübeck aboard trains on 17 April 1945 – Hunger, thirst 2. Embarkation of approximately 14,000 prisoners aboard the SS Thielbek and SS Cap Arcona – Daily routine, Appells [roll call assemblies, Ger.], food provisions – One prisoner’s unsuccessful attempt at escape from the Cap Arcona 3. English air raid on 3 May 1945 – Bombing of ships carrying prisoners – The course of events – Panic – Ways survivors rescued themselves – The witness’s own experiences – Death of ten to twenty thousand prisoners at sea – Approximately 200 lives saved Bronisław Berdyś [stamp]

POLISH SOURCE INSTITUTE BLOM’S PRINTING, LUND IN LUND 1945

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1. Polish Source Institute Dädesjö 14 January 1946 in Lund

Record of eyewitness testimony from Bronisław Berdyś, born on 18 July 1922 in Cracow Evacuation from Neuengamme The Aussenkommandos [external labour details, Ger.] had been gathering at the camp in Neuengamme since mid-March 1945. The evacuation, however, began on 17 April 1945. At 3 a.m. prisoners marched out of the camp in groups of a hundred, and were loaded into freight wagons 500 metres from the camp. On that day, the prisoner population of the Neuengamme camp was approximately 16,000; there were an additional 6,000 Danish and Norwegian police personnel who were evacuated separately in Red Cross motor vehicles. Neuengamme was very much a men’s camp, so there were no women. The boarding process was directed by Lagerführer [lit. ‘camp leader’, Ger.] Thumann. Approximately sixty to eighty prisoners were loaded into a wagon; there was no room to sit down. The camp stores were also evacuated; a dozen or so trains were used for that purpose. The journey from Neuengamme to Lübeck took roughly thirty-two hours. The trains arrived in Lübeck at ten-hour intervals. Upon arrival in Lübeck, we were transferred fifty at a time to ships in the harbour. I was put aboard the SS Thielbek, which was in the harbour. In total, that ship took approximately 3,600 prisoners; this figure included the entire second transport out of Neuengamme. By 26 April, the number of prisoners aboard the Thielbek had risen to 5,000. Our living conditions there were critical: we slept on bare iron (it was the same below decks), and we each had a single blanket. As for food, we had each received a two- kilogram Red Cross parcel from the camp on the day of the evacuation. The parcels were of course

2. distributed chaotically and so not everyone received one. Apart from them, no other food was issued. Nor was any food or drink provided during the journey. Many people died of exhaustion and thirst, and prisoners had to bury the dead by the railroad tracks in the port of Lübeck. No food was provided aboard the Thielbek from 17 to 26 April 1945 either. Only as we were being transferred to the SS Athen (which was taking us to the SS Cap Arcona lying off in the Bay of Lübeck, about thirty kilometres from the port) did we receive one 1.2-kilogram loaf of bread per ten men, and nothing else. To get drinking water, one had to pay the SS men in cigarettes. So on 26 April 1945, 2,500 of us prisoners were taken aboard the Athen, which ferried us to the Cap Arcona. When we came aboard the Cap Arcona, the entire Revier [infirmary, Ger.] from Neuengamme was already there, as well as the first transport, numbering 1,500 prisoners. I should mention that there was no typhus epidemic at the camp in Neuengamme in the final period. We spent all of the first night waiting on the first deck of the Cap Arcona, and then we were put into passenger cabins on Deck A. Later transports were then quartered on Decks B and C. By 30 April, the Cap Arcona had been fully loaded and was carrying over 6,000 prisoners, all from Neuengamme. General conditions aboard the Cap Arcona improved. Namely, we received coffee in the morning, half a litre of so-called soup for lunch (this was dried vegetables boiled in water), and one 1.2- kilogram loaf of bread per eighteen men for supper. Moreover, at very specific times we could get fresh water; there was a tap in every cabin. It was a passenger ship. In every two-bed cabin, there were five prisoners.

Prisoners also slept in all of the larger rooms and hallways. Cabins were hard to come by. Appells continued to be held aboard the Cap Arcona in the morning and evening. During our time aboard the ship, one of the Russians fled, or rather jumped into the water with the intention of escaping and swimming to shore, some six kilometres away. The SS became aware of his escape attempt and a motor boat was sent after him – not to rescue him but to ensure he drowned, as was later officially announced during Appell. English air raid On 3 May 1945, English aeroplanes (which I recognized by their ring markings) came in squadrons of six and began a bombing raid, targeting the SS Cap Arcona first. The moment the first bombs fell, the ship’s crew raised white flags. The first bombs landed in the sea. Despite the white flags, the aeroplanes made another bombing run, this time seriously damaging the ship; within fifteen minutes, the Cap Arcona was in flames. A panic broke out on the ship. The hallways leading to the upper deck and various entranceways were jammed. People were tearing out tables, doors and then throwing them into the sea so as to have something to cling to. By then, I was already seeing casualties missing arms or legs, people mad with terror. When I went above deck I saw chaos and panic, both among prisoners and unarmed SS men, who, equipped with life preservers and other gear, were rushing to save themselves. I spotted two lifeboats that had begun the rescue operation. The German crew was fishing prisoners and SS men out of the water. While still aboard the Cap Arcona, I saw

4. a motor boat already overloaded with people rescued from the water; with revolvers, sailors were shooting at those still in the water who, in the hope of saving themselves, clung to the boat, weighing it down heavily. The two motor boats had come to our rescue from the shore; meanwhile, the twelve lifeboats attached to the Cap Arcona were in flames. I myself witnessed a burning boat fall from the Cap Arona on top of twenty people who were in the water. People were also throwing square-shaped life rafts into the water; survivors were drowning one other over them, because a single raft had up to thirty or forty people trying to grab hold of it. Of those still aboard the ship, perhaps as few as ten per cent were thinking clearly; the rest had already gone mad. I was standing with others on the stern awaiting rescue from the shore, but because the air raid had intensified, no help came and the waiting was pointless. By 4.15 p.m. the fire and smoke had made it impossible for me to remain aboard the ship, so I threw off my jacket and shoes and, in the rest of my clothing, leapt into the water. Once in the water, I grasped just how tragic my circumstances were, for the water was icy cold. Realizing that I would not last long, I retreated to the ship and took hold of a rope for a moment. However, I had to swim away from the ship, because tar and various pieces of wreckage were falling down from above onto me in the water. So I swam away, confident that all I had left to do was swim determinedly for the shore. After swimming a dozen metres or so, I was already tired. Having scanned the water, I spotted a plank with a dead person underneath still holding on to it. Read, signed, and accepted by Bronisław Berdyś Bożysław Kurowski

5. Polish Source Institute Dädesjö, 14 January 1946 in Lund

Record of eyewitness testimony from Bronisław Berdyś, born on 18 July 1922 in Cracow, cont’d Swimming ashore from the Cap Arcona I pushed the dead man away and tried to swim on the plank, but unfortunately the going was very rough because the bay had become stormy and the waves made swimming difficult. I felt that there was nothing left for me to do but drown. Yet as the waves carried me along, I spotted a man sitting in a life raft and he waved his arms at me, so I swam over to him. In the water, only a few individuals could still be counted from the thousands that had been aboard the Cap Arcona only a short while before. The Russian and I used planks to paddle the raft towards the shore in the hope of saving ourselves. When we were one hundred metres from shore, we got out of the raft and tried to wade the rest of the way to dry land. Our legs, however, had gone numb, and we reached the shore with difficulty. A German civilian pointed to a house that we were to go to. There, we found approximately thirty prisoners drying their clothes and warming themselves by a stove. At 10.30 p.m. two motor vehicles came and took us to barracks in Neustadt, where we slept. The next day, 4 May, I learned that I was in the hands of the English and that I was completely free. In Neustadt, a list was later drawn up of the survivors among the 6,800 prisoners aboard the Cap Arcona. I know that there were approximately 160 registered on that list. With regard to the bombing of the Thielbek, which

6. also had prisoners aboard, I can state that the Thielbek was struck by several bombs immediately after the attack on the Cap Arcona; then, five minutes later, she went under along with the people on board. There were only a few survivors, numbering over twenty, and they were people who had been on the upper deck. The ship had been struck in the side; she instantly tilted, and by around 2.30 p.m. there was no trace of her left on the surface. I had a watch, which is how I can remember the exact time of these events. Aboard the Thielbek were over 4,500 prisoners. The Cap Arcona had also tilted and run aground, as did the SS Deutschland. A week later, some friends and I went to see the Cap Arcona after the disaster. We set out on a large boat; I could still see many corpses and charred bodies. One kilometre away from the Cap Arcona was the SS Athen, whose front section and bridge were burnt. Around 27 May, a funeral for the victims was held on shore, opposite the wreck of the Cap Arcona. All rescued Poles and prisoners attended, as did an English military honour guard which fired rifles in an honorary salute. I have photographs from the funeral ceremony. I submit this testimony on the basis of what I witnessed and experienced first-hand, to the best of my knowledge and in accordance with my conscience. Read, signed, and accepted by

Bronisław Berdyś Bożysław Kurowski

I will add that the following day, that is, on 4 May 1945,

I met a good friend of mine whom I had known since my earliest days in the camp; and from him I know that he and approximately fifteen others had remained aboard the Cap Arcona until 10.00 p.m., at which time they were rescued by life boats that had sailed from the shore. Most of them, however, had burns on their arms and legs and were consequently hospitalized. From what he told me, I know that it had cost them tremendous effort to stay alive; among other things, they had had to pour water over iron bars in order to hold themselves above water without getting burned. This friend is named Modest Walczyński and he is from Mława. Read, signed, and accepted by Bronisław Berdyś The witness delivers his testimony calmly and gives the impression of being an entirely trustworthy person. B. Kurowski Institute Assistant

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POLISH SOURCE INSTITUTE

IN LUND

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