We bet that even if we offered to pay you
a hefty sum to go back in time to World War II and get yourself imprisoned in the Auschwitz
concentration camp, you’d probably answer, “no way!”
This is assuming that we have access to our own special time portal, which - for the record
- we do not. Ignore the hidden machine behind the curtain – nothing to see here…hehe…
But anyway, if you answered, “no” to our offer, that would probably be a wise decision.
Your odds of dying in the notorious death camp are higher than surviving through it
to enjoy the prize money we give you in the end. Such a challenge would be too much even
for our favorite guinea pig! But there was one man in history, the only person brave
and crazy enough to volunteer to go to Auschwitz. He went by the name of Witold Pilecki.
Before you question Pilecki’s sanity, you should first understand that he didn’t know
how intense the camp actually was when he agreed to go. The thing is, little was known
about the camp at the time. The knowledge of the happenings behind its closed doors
wasn’t as widespread as it is today. As a Polish cavalry officer and intelligence
agent, Pilecki’s mission was to go in and gather information about the site for the
purpose of finding out what exactly was going on there. Then he’d report his findings
to the Western Allies. Easy, right? His fight against the Germans did not begin
with this mission. He’d had prior experience fighting against them in the 1939 Defensive
War. As a man of resistance, he couldn’t just sit back and let the Nazi plague take
over. He felt compelled to do something about it. That’s why, when he heard about the
open position to be sent to infiltrate the camp, he put his best foot forward and volunteered.
What a good sport. Talk about taking one for the team!
Pilecki orchestrated and presented his plan of how he was going to infiltrate the camp,
gather information of its functions and organize a resistance movement within its walls. This
plan was approved. It seemed relatively simple and why wouldn’t the prisoners want to join
in resisting? Well, knowing what we know now, in hindsight, there are some major flaws with
this idea. That is, the prisoners would have likely been very malnourished, physically
weak with broken spirits, some on the brink of natural death. Such a resistance movement
couldn’t possibly make a dent on the impact against the Nazis, right? Unless, perhaps,
you didn’t fight back with physical strength but, rather, came up with a cunning plan using
mind over matter. But how would this be done? That would be the challenge for Pilecki to
figure out once he was there. His plan was put in place on September 19,
1940 when he purposefully entered an area where he knew the German Army was rounding
up Polish civilians. He carried false documents with him, registering under the name of Tomasz
Serafinski. That day, he was among 2,000 civilians to be detained. Then, after two days in detention,
suffering beatings along with the other prisoners, he was finally sent to Auschwitz where he
was registered as number 4859. Who knew what thoughts ran through his head
when he first witnessed the atrocities of the camp firsthand? Perhaps he was internally
kicking himself for going through with his crazy plan. That’s what we might assume
he’d be thinking on a human level. But there was no turning back. All he could do was remain
strong and focus on putting his plan into motion. Thankfully, he had help.
He probably recognized immediately that he would need to boost prisoner morale. The best
way he could do this was by informing them of current updates from the fronts of World
War II and giving them hope. He organized his secret resistance operation under the
Nazi’s noses, delivering and receiving messages to and from the outside using a courier system,
channeling reports to the allies. Through this, he stealthily acquired secret stashes
of food, clothing and medicines for the prisoners. All the while he was assisting prisoners in
their preparation for escape. Thanks to his efforts, it was as early as
1941 when he’d informed Britain and the United States of what was secretly going on,
that Nazis were actively exterminating Jews. Yet, one matter that remains questionable
has to do with why nothing was done to end the mass murders that were learned about so
early on, particularly by Winston Churchill. Perhaps Britain thought to approach the atrocity
with tact and strategic maneuvering but realized they couldn’t manage it until they’d won
the war. The matter is unclear. Pilecki, however, didn’t yet realize that
the allies had no intention of liberating the camp. When his underground resistance
group learned about the gas chambers by 1942, they scurried to come up with different plans
to liberate Auschwitz. One plan involved the idea of bombing the walls and having Polish
paratroopers fly in from Britain. But once Pilecki realized the truth, that he was on
his own, he decided he would have to find his own means of escape. If you imagine the
frightening reality of his situation, that he’d entered the camp thinking he’d have
help but was now left to fend for himself, it’s easy to think that you might panic
if you were in his shoes. In 1943, he escaped with two other prisoners.
They achieved this by cutting telephone and alarm wires. They used a duplicate key to
unlock the door. They then barricaded the door they’d exited through and crossed a
river so that they wouldn’t leave footprints to be followed.
Pilecki had spent a total of 2 and a half years at the camp, sneaking messages to the
Allies. If you think about it, 2½ years was a long time to spend in Auschwitz, forced
to live in horrible conditions. Many of us may not have lasted a day there.
After his long ordeal and his plan for liberation falling flat on its face, he was captured
in 1944 while fighting in the Warsaw uprising. He spent the remainder of the war in yet another
camp, a prisoner-of-war camp. If you think that wasn’t bad enough, he
then joined Polish troops in Italy in 1945, agreeing to return to Poland in order to gather
intel on the Soviet takeover. He was caught once again, this time by the Polish Communist
regime. It was during this time that he was interrogated on his espionage and tortured
severely. After a trial, he was given three death sentences. Yes, that’s right! Not
just one but three! With this, Pilecki’s heroic career ended with his execution on
May 25, 1948 at Warsaw’s Mokotow Prison. He was killed by gunshot to the back of his
head, a sad end to a very brave man who’d survived Auschwitz. He was 47 years old.
It wasn’t until much later in 1989 when the secrecy behind his true heroism emerged
into public knowledge upon the collapse of communism. Well after his death in 1995, he
received the Order of Polonia Restituta and, in 2006, he received the Order of the White
Eagle, the highest Polish decoration. Pilecki was one out of many Poles who’d
helped Jews during the Holocaust. Many, like Pilecki, paid the price of their heroism with
their lives. There are a lot of people like these who did not earn the recognition they
deserved. They performed acts of goodness without anything to gain in return and they
should be honored. If you found this video interesting – and
face it, of course you did! – then feel free to check out our other videos, including
more topics related to World War II like The Insanely Crazy Story of a Tiny Soldier or
the Soldier Continued Fighting WWII Because He Didn't Know It Ended! Thanks for watching,
and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
