False Testimony About Auschwitz

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30487, 8 July 1964, Page 17

False Testimony About Auschwitz

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright)

FRANKFURT, July 7. A former inmate of Auschwitz concentration camp admitted today he had lied in court when he claimed a Nazi official had slashed off a woman prisoner’s breasts with a bull-whip. “I lied. That was just a yarn going around the camp. I never saw it,” Rudolf Kauer told the Judges trying a number of defendants for the murder of 4m people at Auschwitz. Kauer made the false accusation in pre-trial testimony against Wilhelm Boger, described by other witnesses as the camp’s “torture master.” He retracted it and other charges when asked to repeat them in the court-room today. “I was drunk when I made those nasty accusations,” Kauer said. Shocked Silence

There was shocked silence in the court-room, finally broken by a warning from the Chief Judge, Hans Hofmeyer: “It isn’t that easy—you know you can be legally punished for lying.” “I’m sorry about this,” Kauer replied. “But, all right, then punish me. I’m used to it.” Judge Hofmeyer stared grimly at Kauer, a native of the Ukraine, and then began to read from the transcript of his pre-trial testimony. “You said you could never forget Boger mis-treating a 23 or 24-year-old Polish girl from Cracow,” the Judge said. “You said he beat her on the breasts with a bull-whip. You said she was covered with blood and one breast was ripped off. You said there was a sea of blood in the interrogation room.” “I lied,” Kauer said. “That was just a yarn going around the camp. I never saw it.” Boger grinned as Kauer spoke. Other defendants grinned also as the Judge pressed Kauer. further. “You said Klaus Dylewski

was one of the worst killers,” the Judge said. “Dylewski was Harmless . . . I may have said something like that But it wasn’t true . . . everything I said then is worthless,” Kauer replied. The prosecutor asked Kauer if he retracted his testimony for fear the defendants would accuse him of acting as an informer for the Gestapo at the camp. “That’s not true ... I was no stool-pigeon,” Kauer replied, but he admitted under further questioning that he did work for the Gestapo and had a private room at Auschwitz.

A prosecution spokesman said an investigation would be made to decide whether Kauer should be indicted for perjury.