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Escape on 4 May 1944

ESCAPES FROM AUSCHWITZ

Escape on 4 May 1944

Escape of the Poles Zenon Milaczewski and Jan Tomczyk as well as of the Jews ChaIm Gosławski, Karl Chaim Peller and Riwen Żurkowski on 4 May 1944

Chaim Gosławski (Goslowski) was born on 10 September 1913 in Lelów near Jędrzejów. Since August 1940 he was incarcerated in Buchenwald and then in Sachsenhausen. He was transported to Auschwitz on 25 October 1942; during registration he received number 69976. When he was brought to the camp, he was sent to the Monowitz camp, where he was a block elder. In the spring of 1944, in connection with the planned escaped, he provoked the argument with Lagerältester, as a result of which he was disciplinarily transferred to work on the premises of Buna chemical plant under construction.

Source: A-BSMA

Zenon Milaczewski, photograph taken in the camp.

Zenon Milaczewski was born on 2 July 1912 in Łódź. He was brought to Auschwitz on 21 February 1941; in the camp he received number 10433. In late October of 1942, he was transferred to Monowitz, where he was employed in the Kommando working in the camp kitchen. Since the summer of 1944 he was a Kapo of this Kommando.

Karl Chaim Peller was born on 18 January 1910 in the village of Tekutscha near Kolomyia. In the interwar period he lived in Czechoslovakia. Since May 1941 he was incarcerated in Buchenwald, from where he was transferred to Auschwitz on 19 October 1942. During registration he received number 68608. He was sent to Monowitz, where in the spring of 1944 he was employed on the premises of Buna chemical plant under construction.

Jan Tomczyk was born on 24 June 1905 in Vilnius. Since 1922 he lived in Łódź, where he was arrested during the German occupation. On 25 June 1943 he was brought to Auschwitz; during registration he received number 126261. After the quarantine he was transferred to Monowitz, where he was employed in Kommando number 147 (glass and chemical products warehouse) since the beginning of the year 1944 as a Kapo.

While working on the premises of Buna plant Jan Tomczyk established contacts with civilian workers who agreed to help him to prepare the escape. Two of them, Julian Likus and Józefa Hankus, provided him with civilian outfits and fake documents as well as ensured the contact with a partisan unit operating in the vicinity of the village of Porąbka. The third of them, Tadeusz Zalewski, prepared hiding places in the lorry he was maintaining. They were located in the chests for tools and wood and five people could hide there.

On 4 May 1944 before noon the escapees hid in the chests, appropriately closed and protected by Likus and Zalewski. The driver left the premises of the plant without any problems and drove to the forest between Kozy and Lipnik (about 25 km south), where the escapees were hidden in a dugout used by the local unit of the People’s Army. They stayed there for a few weeks. The partisans were providing them with food up to the moment when they suddenly disappeared.

On 26 May the the camp authorities received the information that Milaczewski, Tomczyk and Żurkowski had been captured in Cracow. During the investigation all three prisoners consistently claimed that the escape was initiated by Gosłowski, one of the two men who had provided them with clothes and documents. Then on the agreed date all five of them mixed into the crowd of civilian workers leaving the plant and as a result of Werkschutz guard’s negligence crossed the checkpoint without any problems. Then they parted from Gosławski and Peller in order to cross the border of the General Government and reach Cracow.

When the investigation was over, Tomczyk and Milaczewski were punished with the transfer to Buchenwald. An unexpected turn of events occurred when Żurkowski, who still remained in the camp, presented additional evidence. Because shortly before leaving the camp Milaczewski and Tomczyk tried to poison him, he decided to reveal the circumstances of the escape and then of the crime committed by them. He informed the SS men that they fled from the camp and then found refuge thanks to the assistance of civilian workers. He also said that after staying in the hideout for a few days, Milaczewski and Tomczyk stole a considerable amount of money from Peller and Gosławski, killed them and hid their bodies in the forest. As a result of this testimony, the SS men arrested Hankus, Likus and Zalewski. In November, when the investigation ended, they were incarcerated in the camp. Milaczewski and Tomczyk were brought in from Buchenwald and hanged in the roll-call square in Monowitz on 16 December. According to the testimonies of the witnesses, it was the only execution in the camp which was approved by the prisoners, as it was according to them the act of justice for the committed crime.

Source: A-BSMA

Personal card of the prisoner Karl Chaim Peller, filled in during registration in the camp.

Source: A-BSMA

Personal card of the prisoner Chaim Gosławski, filled in during registration in the camp.

Source: A-BSMA

Telegram (first and second page) sent from Auschwitz on 5 May 1944 informing about the escape of Zenon Milaczewski, Jan Tomczyk, Riwen Żurkowski, Karl Peller and Chaim Gosławski.

Telegram (first and second page) sent from Auschwitz on 4 June 1944 informing about the capturing in Cracow on 26 May of Zenon Milaczewski, Jan Tomczyk and Riwen Żurkowski.

Source: A-BSMA

Page from the so-called Totenbuch (book of the dead) kept in the hospital mortuary in Auschwitz III-Monowitz. In the third and fourth line from the bottom the deaths of Jan Tomczyk and Zenon Milaczewski were noted.

Testimony of Józefa Hankus:

Finally, my role in the escape was limited to the fact that I had supplied the escapees with documents and facilitated their contact with a group of partisans. As personally, I was not able to provide personal documents, two of them were purchased and the rest supplied by the organization. “Ausweises” prevailed, used on the premises of the I.G. Farbenindustrie plant. The unit of the People’s Army active in the vicinity of Porąbka was supposed to take over the escapees. …

Source: Józefa Hankus, A-BSMA, Testimonies Fonds, vol. 47, p. 23.

Testimony of Julian Likus:

We began specific preparations together with Zalewski, initially it was in particular the reconstruction of the “Man” lorry he drove. A heavy 10-ton vehicle was powered with wood gas (Holzgas). Wood storage compartment was located next to the driver’s cabin, it was sort of a quite spacious chest. The bottom of the container was removed, and an additional bottom chest was assembled from wooden boards. Precisely adjusted piece of plywood served as a movable bottom, as it could be easily attached with special bars. The second compartment was located on the side of the chest. This chest was intended for the storage of different kinds of tools. In order to remove the traces of modifications, the color of the entire vehicle was changed.

… Having finished all the preparations, we were only waiting for Zalewski to receive the order to leave in the direction of Bielsko, which took place on 4 May 1944. At noon five escapees met in the barracks … and closed inside, quickly took off their camp uniforms, hid them in the compartment under the floor and put on civilian clothes prepared previously.

… I would like to emphasize that other prisoners were not in this barracks at the time. Leaving the barracks, they locked the door with a key. …

Next to the boiler room a broken locomotive was standing on railroad tracks, and right next to it there was a lorry in which the prisoners were supposed to hide. Escapees in disguise came up to the car and, pretending to be loading empty chests‒were disappearing one after the other in the compartments described before. Three prisoners hid in the chest for firewood and two of them in the tool chest, which was in the middle of the platform from its bottom side. At that time, I was standing at the crossroads and keeping watch of the area around. When all the conspirators took their positions, the driver came up to the car and together we made final adjustments and masked the hideouts. The bottom of the wood container was attached, and we filled the remaining part of the chest with wooden leftouts, adding old tire tubes etc. on top. We covered the hatch of the toolbox with fine sand and ash in order to create the impression that it had not been opened for a very long time. Then I stepped on the car platform which, as I mentioned, was loaded with empty chests and the motor set off.

… Passing through the gate leading towards the plant, the vehicle was quite thoroughly searched but only because the guards were changed and, seeing their supervisor, wanted to perform their duties as conscientiously as possible. The search did not bring any results and we were let outside. …

We hit the road heading towards Bielsko. When we passed Kęty, I looked back and to my horror, I saw a police car speeding behind us at some distance. I told Zalewski about it and he started driving with maximum speed. We both thought that the escape had been discovered and they were chasing us. But the police car was going faster and the distance between us began to decrease, until finally… we were overtaken, and the police car disappeared, the policemen did not intend to stop us.

Source: Julian Likus, A-BSMA, Testimonies Fonds, vol. 3, pp. 295, 296, 297.

Testimony of Tadeusz Zalewski:

The case was revealed some time in October. It was the month when I was arrested. … I had just come back from my assignment and was pouring oil into the compressor when Gestapo officers came up to me and asked about my name. …

During my three-day stay in the bunkers of block 11, hour after hour, I kept wondering about my fate. I was just scared of what was awaiting me. I could not even eat anything. The Kapo of the camp jail, Jakub, “reassured” me by saying that soon, I would be eating anyway. During the third night a breakthrough occurred. As previously I had not been even able to fall asleep and was wandering restlessly in the cell, that night the sleep came. When I woke up, I was strangely at peace with my fate, I was not even scared by the perspective of death. It was strange considering how I felt just a couple of days before. …

A few minutes later the door of our cell opened, and Likus’ and mine surnames were called. We were sure that they were taking us for the execution. Likus started crying. I tried to calm him down by saying that maybe it would be better when we were hanged in public, maybe somebody would let our families know about it. It is better to die in this way than in the crematorium. When we were led to the corridor, we also saw Józefa Hankus—so all the three of us involved in the case were there. This confirmed our suspicions even more. Totally devastated, we marched in the commanded direction. We were led to the building and then inside, first Hankus, then Likus, then me. When my predecessors were leaving the room, they were not particularly worried. I felt reassured too. It turned out that in the room, we had our photographs taken in three positions, together with the medical checkup. Me and Likus remained in the main camp. We were deprived of our civilian clothes and given camp uniforms. … We had also the numbers tattooed.

Source: Tadeusz Zalewski. A-BSMA, Testimonies Fonds, vol. 83, pp. 238‒239, 241.

Testimony of Józef Tabaczyński:

I know that after some time three participants of this escape were captured. Two Poles … and one Jew. They were brought into the camp in Monowitz. I do not know all exact details, but I remember … that the other two prisoners, who participated in the escape, were liquidated by theircompanions.

After being incarcerated in the camp the next time, two escapees mentioned attempted to kill their Jewish companion, they had been transported to Monowitz with.

… I was personally unable to understand how such a crime might have been committed on afellow prisoner. It was particularly devastaiting as one of the killed Jews (his name was Chaim) was widely respected and appreciated. I consider the death penalty for the murderers as just, even if it was carried out by the Nazis.

Source: Józef Tabaczyński, A-BSMA, Testimonies Fonds, vol. 44, p. 57.

Source: A-BSMA

Escape route of Chaim Gosławski, Zenon Milaczewski, Karl Chaim Peller, Jan Tomczyk, Riwen Żurkowski, who escaped hidden in a special compartment of the lorry driven by civilian workers. German map of Kreis Bielitz (Bielsko district), early 1940s of 20th century.