๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑWWII uncovered: Honouring Witold Pilecki Hero of the Polish Underground



๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑWWII uncovered: Honouring Witold Pilecki Hero of the Polish Underground

Please join us by taking a moment to remember the millions of lives lost - but not forgotten. This maybe best illustrated by the words of Witold Pilecki: 

"The game which I was now playing in Auschwitz was dangerous. This sentence does not really convey the reality; in fact, I had gone far beyond what people in the real world would consider dangerous."

Pilecki, a celebrated and legendary hero in Poland, is the only inmate known to be voluntarily imprisoned at Auschwitz.  After his escape, he wrote a 100-page report on camp life.

"In August 1939, Pilecki was called up to defend Poland against the German invasion. Following the defeat, Pilecki made his way to Warsaw to fight with the Polish underground resistance (the Home Army) against German occupation."

According to the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust: "On 19 September 1940, Pilecki intentionally allowed himself to be arrested. He was detained nearby for two days with an estimated 1,800 Polish political prisoners before being transported to Auschwitz. He remained there for the next two and a half years as prisoner 4859."

"Pilecki’s mission was to raise the morale of Polish political prisoners by bringing news from outside the camp, as well as to report on camp conditions to the Home Army in Warsaw. In October 1940, Pilecki successfully sent out his first report with a released inmate. It reached the Polish Government-in-exile in March 1941, who passed it onto the Allies. Pilecki found fellow members of the Polish underground and began to create a secret organisation within Auschwitz.

 The organisation ran at great risk. They built a radio transmitter from smuggled parts. Through this transmitter, Pilecki reported on camp conditions and the number of deaths until the risk of discovery became too high. Pilecki escaped in April 1943. He fought in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 but their defeat led to Pilecki’s imprisonment in POW camps in Germany."

Witold Pilecki survived the war only to be arrested by the secret police in Poland in 1947. Facing charges of espionage for foreign imperialism Witold was put to death on 25 May 1948 in in Mokotรณw Prison in Poland. He was 47 years old. Lest We Forget. 

๐ŸŽจ Colourisation by Jecinci 

Original description sourced by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and the Warsaw Institute

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