New book on Polish wartime hero tells shocking story of man who liberated Auschwitz

^{Lest We Forget: One photo captures some of the horror of Auschwitz. New detainees arriving at Auschwitz}

It is the 11th day of the 11th month and soon it will be the 11th hour (GMT), so it seems appropriate to report on another facet of the horrors of wartime. A new book called The Volunteer tells the astonishing story of Witold Pilecki. This Polish resistance operator volunteered to be incarcerated in Auschwitz, so he could organise an underground movement, chronicle the suffering and mass murder in one of the most evil places ever on this Earth and warn the outside world. It is a quite incredible story told in horrific detail by Jack Fairweather. Most people will find the book so shocking they will have to put it aside from time to time and grope back to reality.

“Witold Pilecki is one of the unsung heroes of World War II, “Antony Polonsky, chief historian, Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews, wrote. “Jack Fairweather has brought Pilecki’s story to life with a rich array of primary sources that reveal his role alerting the world to Auschwitz’s horrors and its transformation from a concentration camp to the epicentre of the Holocaust. In doing so, Fairweather reminds us that the Nazi leadership didn’t start the war with the idea of the Holocaust fully formed — its policy emerged through a series of experiments in mass murder, which Pilecki was able to witness and report with remarkable courage and tenacity.”

^{Witold Pilecki}

A Polish cavalry officer and intelligence agent, Witold arranged to be embedded in Auschwitz where he suffered terribly at the hands of the Germans and the kapos — sadistic inmates who terrorised fellow captives — until his escape several years later. He wrote Witold’s Report, the first comprehensive intelligence account of the atrocities of the Holocaust.

^{Witold Pilecki with his son, Marek}

Witold later fought in the Warsaw uprising. After the communist takeover, he remained loyal to the London-based Polish government in exile. In 1947 he was arrested by the secret police and charged with working for foreign imperialism. After a show trial, Witold was shot in the head.

Earlier married to Maria Ostrowska, Witold had two children. He had fought as a cavalry officer in the Wilno Offensive, Kiev Offensive, First Battle of Grodno, Battle of Warsaw, Zeligowski’s Mutiny, September Campaign and Warsaw Uprising.

Witold is celebrated as a great wartime hero. Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich wrote, “When God created the human being, God had in mind that we should all be like Captain Witold Pilecki, of blessed memory.”


The Volunteer : The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz. Jack Fairweather, Ebury Publishing, ISBN13 9780753545188