“The Volunteer”: the story of the man who managed to penetrate the hell of Auschwitz
“HEROES MOVE INTO THE DARKNESS,” penned Seferis, paying tribute to those of immeasurable courage who, often silently, write the grand and intimate narratives of history, even at the cost of their own lives. Among them was Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish Resistance. Pilecki infiltrated the horrors of Auschwitz as a spy, survived near-death experiences three times, only to be ultimately sentenced to death in a sham trial by the Soviets, branded a traitor.
His incredible journey is vividly brought to life by author Jack Fairweather in the critically acclaimed Volunteer. Published by Gutenberg and translated by Theodora Darviris, the book not only paints a vivid picture of the Polish officer’s experiences in the camp, but also unveils the daily life and tragic reality of the refusal by many to accept the unfolding horrors.
Pilecki advocated for the bombing of Auschwitz, asserting that it would be better to obliterate this killing field than to allow countless prisoners to be systematically led to their deaths each day.
With an unyielding spirit, Pilecki survived numerous battles on the outskirts of Warsaw and voluntarily infiltrated Auschwitz by courting capture. He was the first to send coded reports to various governments, particularly Britain’s, about the unimaginable atrocities occurring within the camp. Simultaneously, he was meticulously planning a resistance movement and potential revolt.
The challenge was not only organizing a conspiracy under such oppressive and life-threatening conditions, but also finding prisoners who had not been dehumanized into beasts by their captors, or transformed into Muselmanns – a term referenced extensively by Agamben in his books and essays. This term describes the gradual dehumanization of individuals into mere automatons, teetering on the brink of insanity.
Every day, Witold Pilecki bore witness to the chilling spectacle of “life dripping and dying.” Naked prisoners were led to torture in the rain, beaten to death, and subjected to psychological torment. They were mauled by dogs, tied to horses and dragged until they merged with the earth, forced to dance with their crutches, and piled up lifeless to the sound of German songs.
Through Pilecki’s accounts, the author tells of choirs and football matches at Auschwitz that created an illusion of normality, even though they were ironically serving as preludes to death.
Pilecki himself detailed this to the British in an early letter that arrived at the Polish headquarters of the Rubens Hotel in London by Christmas 1940. The letter was passed onto Churchill himself. In it, Pilecki more or less urged for Auschwitz to be bombed, arguing it would be better to destroy this killing field than to let countless prisoners be methodically led to their deaths each day. The bombers almost reached Auschwitz, but the British refrained from publicising the camp’s horrors.
Despite the intensifying atrocities, Pilecki was confident that the Allies would eventually respond. He maintained constant contact with them and even managed to receive news broadcasts through a stolen radio that picked up BBC news. He claimed that these broadcasts gave him strength and courage. For instance, he learned from the broadcasts that the Germans had clashed with the British in Crete and that the Soviets were continually losing battles. As a result, a surge of prisoners started arriving at the camp. They were later executed with Zyklon B next to the gas chambers, already filled with the bodies of innocent Jews.
All these accounts were documented by Pilecki in his coded messages to the British, but were considered exaggerated and dismissed as “an isolated event!”
Eventually, Pilecki orchestrated a daring escape in 1943, survived being shot, and participated in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, which resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 Poles. He was imprisoned in Germany, liberated by the Americans, and after a period in Italy, he returned to Warsaw, which had since been occupied by the Soviets.
His opposition to Stalin’s communist regime, however, led to a sham trial and his subsequent conviction. The story of Witold Pilecki is well-known in Poland, but it took many years for his unpublished memoirs to be unearthed by Adam Sira, a scholar at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum. These memoirs have now been transformed into a gripping novel that sheds light on one of the darkest chapters in modern history.
This article was initially published in the print version of LiFO.
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