The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery

Synopsis

In 1940, the Polish Underground wanted to know what was happening inside the recently opened Auschwitz concentration camp. Polish army officer Witold Pilecki volunteered to be arrested by the Germans and reported from inside the camp.

His intelligence reports, smuggled out in 1941, were among the first eyewitness accounts of Auschwitz atrocities: the extermination of Soviet POWs, its function as a camp for Polish political prisoners, and the final solution for Jews. Pilecki received brutal treatment until he escaped in April 1943; soon after, he wrote a brief report. This book is the first English translation of a 1945 expanded version.

In the foreword, Poland s chief rabbi states, If heeded, Pilecki s early warnings might have changed the course of history. Pilecki s story was suppressed for half a century after his 1948 arrest by the Polish Communist regime as a Western spy. He was executed and expunged from Polish history. Pilecki writes in staccato style but also interjects his observations on humankind s lack of progress: We have strayed, my friends, we have strayed dreadfully. . . we are a whole level of hell worse than animals These remarkable revelations are amplified by 40 b&w photos, illus. , and maps. "

Copyright:

2012

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

404 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781607720096

Publisher:

Aquila Polonica Publishing

Date of Addition:

12/01/15

Copyrighted By:

Jaroslaw Garliński and Aquila Polonica

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Military, Nonfiction

Submitted By:

Daproim Africa

Proofread By:

Daproim Africa

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.