Anniversary of Daring Escape of Auschwitz Whistleblower

Pilecki and his two friends, Jan Redzej and Edward Ciesielski, made their daring escape from Auschwitz on the night of April 26, 1943.

Witold Pilecki was a Polish soldier and rotamaster in the pre-war Polish cavalry. In German-occupied Poland he founded the Secret Polish Army resistance group in November 1939, subsequently joining the 1942-formed underground Home Army.

Called "the bravest of the brave" and considered one of the top five war heroes of all time, Pilecki compiled the so-called Witold's Report, the first comprehensive account of proceedings in the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Holocaust.

During World War II, Pilecki volunteered for a resistance operation to get imprisoned in the Auschwitz camp, where he planned to gather intelligence and escape. At Auschwitz Pilecki organized a resistance movement, and as early as 1941 informed the Western Allies about Nazi atrocities in the camp. After escaping from Auschwitz in 1943, he took part in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Read the rest at Polish Press Agency.