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Witold Pilecki 1901-1948 was a
soldier of Second Polish Republic. During the Second World War he founded the Secret Polish Army and later
joined the Armia Krajowa. He was the only person who volutneered to be
imprisoned in Auschwitz, where he organised a resistance movement and helped to
inform the Western Allies of the camp attrocities as early as 1940. He escaped in 1943 and took part in Warsaw Uprising. For his connections with Armia Krajowa he was sentenced on false charges to death by Soviet puppet state of communists People's Republic of
Poland and shot in 1948.
False and codenames: Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold
Officer of cavalery reserve. Lieutant JG (podporucznik) from 1925, Lieutant (porucznik) from 11.XI.41, rotmistrz from
11.XI.43.
His life in detail
Born on 13 May 1901 in Ołoniec.
In 1918 he volunteered for the new Polish Army.
He took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920.
At the start of the Second World War in 1939, in the September campaign, was a member of the "Prusy" army
group and 41. DP
Rezerwowej. After the Soviet agression on 17th September, he was forced to retreat to Warsaw. During this campaign he was
credited with destruction of 7 tanks and two airplanes.
On 9th November, he helped found the Tajna Armia Polska (Secret Polish Army) and served as the Chief of Staff.
On September 19, 1940 he allowed himself to be captured and was transported to Auschwitz under the name of Tomasz Serafiński. After the war he defined his aims as:
* The setting up of a military organisation within the camp for the purposes of:
- keeping up the morale among fellow inmates and supplying them with news from the outside
- providing extra food and distributing clothing among organization members
- preparing our own detachments to take over the camp in the eventuality of the dropping of arms or of a live force [i.e.
paratroops]’
From October 1940 his reports constituted one of the main sources of information about
Auschwitz for the Western Allies.
Witold Pilecki escaped from the camp on April 27, 1943, taking with him documents stolen from the Germans.
He worked with organisations that were opposed to Soviet taking control of Poland.
During the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, Pilecki fought without even revealing his military rank. The fortified area held by his forces was called the
"Great Bastion of Warsaw". It was one of the farthest ones to be held by the insurgents and caused great difficulties
for the German supply lines. The bastion was held for two weeks in face of constant attacks by German infantry and armor.
After the war, in 1948, Witold Pilecki was accused of espionage and was sentenced to death by the communist courts in Poland.
He died in Rakowiecka
prison in Warsaw on May 25, 1948.
Information about his deeds and fate was censored and supressed by the communist regime.
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