Witold Pilecki - The Greatest Man You’ve Never Heard Of
A Polish hero whose story of heroism was only recently discovered as Poland regained its sovereignty.
Born to an aristocratic Polish family in 1901, Witold Pilecki grew up as someone who stood up for what we believed in. He grew up to be one of the greatest men you’ve never heard of.
As a young man he would earn numerous citations for gallantry fighting against the Soviets in the Polish-Soviet War. Despite his early heroics, his most incredible contributions were still ahead of him.
Fast forward to 1939. Nazi Germany had invaded and conquered Poland in less than a month. The world was thrust back into global conflict. Pilecki, who at the time had been enjoying time with his wife and two children on a farm in the Polish countryside, went into hiding as the Nazis and the Soviets split Poland.
While in hiding, Pilecki’s Polish pride led him to join a growing Polish resistance. He helped form the Secret Polish Army. As was often the case under Nazi occupation, the pressure tightened around local Jewish populations in Poland. In time, there were Poles who turned against their Jewish neighbors. However, in the face of such evil, others sought to secretly help their Jewish countrymen and women.
Common Nazi strategy was to atomize local societies and destroy the national bonds they shared. They sought to drive Poles to see each other not as Poles, but as ethnicities or class. Pilecki was heralded as one who did not turn in and circle the wagons around his ethnicity and class. On the contrary, he began reaching out to those around him.
Having fallen so quickly, and being torn in two by Nazi Germany and Russia, Poland was in pure chaos. Amidst the chaos was the lack of knowledge surrounding an enclosed area near a town the Germans called Auschwitz.
Voluntarily Going Into Hell
Around this time, rumors had begun circulating around the camp in Auschwitz. Very little was known about how the Germans ran the ‘new’ camp. Many believed it to be an internment camp or large prison and were not aware of the atrocities going on within its walls.
In order to gain a better understanding of Auschwitz, the Secret Polish Army looked for a someone to go into the camp and send back information on what they saw. Witold Pilecki saw an opportunity to serve his country yet again.
In September of 1940, using the identity documents of another individual, Pilecki was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. Intent on gathering information and create a resistance cell that may lead to an uprising, Pilecki quickly found himself in an unimaginable hell.
At the time, the horrific gassings of the Holocaust had not yet been initiated, but that did not mean mass killing was not underway. The crematorium was running non-stop. Guards at Auschwitz were known for telling those prisoners who arrived that the only out was through the chimney.
A Mission Now Focused on Survival
Pilecki would stay at Auschwitz for 30 months. He suffered starvation, lice, and bedbugs. He survived outbreaks of typhus. He, as so many others did, resiliently survived the exhausting work assignments and countless beatings.
Yet he remained committed to his mission. Amidst the most vile and evil of mankind’s doing, he gathered and smuggled intelligence. With each detail the Polish underground army received, many wondered if such horrors could be true, or if Pilecki was embellishing.
Despite the Polish underground passing the information along, eventually reaching the British and Americans, no immediate actions were taken. Even requests to bomb Auschwitz despite the potential loss of innocent life was lobbied as a merciful solution. Recognizing that Auschwitz was only getting worse, and that a successful uprising with external support was not forthcoming, Pilecki planned his escape.
Having secured a job in a bakery, Pilecki and a few other prisoners broke through a back door and escaped into the night. He would make his way to back to Warsaw and briefly be reunited with is wife and children.
Right Back Into the Fight
He was not done yet. Pilecki returned to the resistance. As the advancing Soviet army, now aligned with the Allies, began pushing Germany out of Poland in 1944, Pilecki and the Polish resistance sought to kick the Germans out of Warsaw before the Soviets could arrive.
The Warsaw Uprising, the largest action taken by a European resistance group in World War II would take place. Pilecki was right in the thick of it. Hoping that the uprising would enable Poland to re-establish itself as a sovereign state, the Poles fought once more for their freedom.
Unfortunately, the uprising would fail. The Soviet lines held which allowed the Nazis to wipe out the Polish resistance. In the aftermath, the Soviets came and gained control. As they rushed back into Poland, they also liberated Auschwitz in January of 1945. It is believed that 1.1 million people, most Jewish, were killed there.
A Polish Spy
The return of Soviet presence to Poland presented yet another mission for Pilecki. He joined an anti-communist organization and began surveillance on the Soviets for the Polish Government-in-Exile.
Living under multiple aliases and working a variety of jobs, Pilecki sought to keep his true identity secret. By July 1946, his identity and been compromised and despite orders to leave Poland, Pilecki refused seeking to continue his work.
In May of 1947, Pilecki would be captured. He would be placed on trial the following spring where a fellow Auschwitz survivor and future Polish prime minister would testify against Pilecki.
The charges brought against him included illegal border crossing, espionage, and planned assassinations. Pilecki would be found guilty and sentenced to execution. On May 15, 1948, deemed an enemy of the state, he would be executed alongside three of his affiliates.
His Story Finally Told
With Poland’s status as a communist regime, mention of Witold Pilecki’s name was censored in any public record. This ban remained in place until the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was only until the 1990s that his story and reports were brought to light.
And in those stores and reports, the image of a hero was born. Showered with posthumous awards, there is now a street in Warsaw named after Witold Pilecki. More importantly, for a country that has lost his sovereignty multiple times, Pilecki stands as a symbol to fellow Poles for Polish nationalism.
History for the Hurried
March 1, 1932: The 20-month-old son of aviation pioneer Charles A. Lindbergh was kidnapped from his home in Hopewell, New Jersey. Despite paying a $50,000 ransom, the boy’s body would be found near his home in May.
March 4, 1681: King Charles II of England granted a huge tract of land in the New World to William Penn to settle an outstanding debt. Today we call that area the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
March 4, 1789: The first meeting of the new Congress under the new U.S. Constitution took place in New York City.