Poland in the UK

The story of Witold Pilecki, who allowed himself to be captured by the Gestapo to infiltrate the concentration and extermination camp, gain intelligence and, if possible, stage a breakout, was told by the award-winning writer, journalist and Pilecki’s biographer, Jack Fairweather, and Director of Poland’s Pilecki Institute, Wojciech Kozłowski, during a webinar hosted by the JW3 Jewish community centre.

During the event, organised in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London and the Pilecki Institute, Fairweather outlined the story and work of Witold Pilecki, why it matters, and how the author discovered it. Meanwhile, Kozłowski talked about Pilecki‘s legacy and how his story is brought to the public around the world. The talks were followed by a discussion and a Q&A session with the speakers, which explored, among others, Pilecki’s faith and the Auschwitz bombing debate.

Describing the work of Pilecki in informing the world about the Holocaust in Auschwitz, Fairweather emphasised that “he was the first to alert the world to the camp’s horrors through his smuggled reports. He was the first to try and stop them. Three years before Allied commanders publicly acknowledged the camp existence, Pilecki was urging them to bomb it“.

He said: “By my count he sent at least 10 reports via secret messengers from the camp that charted Auschwitz’s evolution into a death factory. He described the start of the programme to euthanise sick prisoners, then the early gas experiments against Soviet POWs [prisoners-of-war]. Then, of course, the Holocaust itself. All of his reports made it to London. Each of them called on the Allies to take action. That’s why his work in the camp is so historically important – he was revealing to the world just how the Nazis could conceive of murder on an industrial scale.“

In his talk, Fairweather also highlighted Pilecki’s efforts to organise an uprising in Auschwitz. He added that he is in the process of applying to Yad Vashem for Pilecki to be recognised as one of the Righteous Among the Nations.

Building on the significance of Pilecki’s story, Wojciech Kozłowski underlined his legacy, what can be learned from him and how knowledge about him is spread by the Pilecki Institute. He described Pilecki as a "powerful and shining" character of the 20th-century Polish history as well as “a member of this great generation that dared to confront and resist two totalitarian regimes: Nazism and Communism. He is one of those who risked everything to stand up to political evil“.

Kozłowski added that Pilecki's legacy includes freedom, courage, trust, hope, love for his country, valuing human life and strong moral and religious convictions. He said that the ways of spreading knowledge about Pilecki include conventional methods of presenting his history, such as books and exhibitions, as well as ways of inspiring good practice, self-development and action in others, for example, the Witold Pilecki International Book Award.

Opening the event, Polish Ambassador to the UK Arkady Rzegocki said: “Today, we honour one of the greatest truth-tellers perhaps in the world’s history. What makes Witold’s story so special is the fact that he infiltrated Auschwitz voluntarily, facing the unknown of the scale of brutality. Yet, while uncovering himself one of the most important atrocities of our times, for many years his own story was not very well known because he fought the takeover of Poland by the communists after the war ended and was executed. That is why I am so glad that we can connect today and commemorate him in this important year and in a fitting way. Thanks to Witold’s sacrifice and the distribution of his information by the London-based Polish Government-in-Exile, the world knew.“

Witold Pilecki was born on 13 May 1901. He fought as a cavalryman in the Battle of Warsaw during the Polish-Soviet War and defended Poland following the German invasion in September 1939. In August 1940, after Poles began to be dispatched to Auschwitz and rumours suggested the camp was a place of shocking brutality, Pilecki volunteered to investigate the atrocities being committed there. Over the next three years, he managed to organise internal resistance and a series of escapes, while his reports about the Holocaust were smuggled out and delivered to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, which informed the world. In April 1943, Pilecki escaped Auschwitz, and then tried to organise an underground attack on the camp. In 1947, he was arrested for his opposition to the communists, brutally tortured, trialled and later executed by a shot to the head.

Jack Fairweather is the bestselling author of “The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated Auschwitz”, the Costa Prize-winning account of Witold Pilecki. Published in 2019, the book draws on unpublished family papers, newly released archival documents and interviews with surviving resistance fighters. It has been translated into 25 languages and forms the basis of a major exhibition in Berlin. Fairweather has served as The Daily Telegraph’s Baghdad bureau chief, and as a video journalist for The Washington Post in Afghanistan. His war coverage has won a British Press Award and an Overseas Press Club award citation. He divides his time between the UK and Vermont.

Poland’s Pilecki Institute has been established to facilitate the interdisciplinary and international analysis of issues and developments that were of key importance for the political history of the 20th century, namely the Nazi and Soviet totalitarian regimes and the global consequences of their actions. An important element of its mission focuses on honouring persons who gave aid and succour to Polish citizens and Poles of different citizenship in those difficult times. It also gathers and makes available documents concerning selected aspects of the 20th century, provides support for scientific research programmes, and helps disseminate knowledge about the period through educational projects and events which straddle culture and history.

Polish Embassy UK Press Office