Witold Pilecki

Witold Pilecki
Pilecki in a colorized pre-1939 photograph
Born	(1901-05-13)13 May 1901 Olonets, Olonetsky Uyezd, Olonets Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	25 May 1948(1948-05-25) (aged 47) Mokotów Prison, Warsaw, Poland
Buried	Unknown; possibly in Powązki Military Cemetery or Mokotów Prison
Allegiance	Second Polish Republic; Polish Government in Exile
Years of service	1918–1947
Rank	Captain, Cavalry master
Commands held	Commander of the 1st Lidsky Squadron (1932–1937) Deputy Commander of the 41st Infantry Division (1939) Organizer of the Secret Polish Army (1939–1940) Organizer of the Union of Military Organizations (1940–1943) Commander of the Warszawianka Company (1944)
Battles/wars	Polish–Soviet War Wilno Offensive (1919) Kiev Offensive (1920) First Battle of Grodno (1920) Battle of Warsaw (1920) Polish-Lithuanian War Żeligowski's Mutiny (1920) World War II September Campaign (1939) Warsaw Uprising (1944)
Awards	Order of the White Eagle Order of Polonia Restituta Cross of Valour (2) Silver Cross of Merit
Alma mater	University of Poznań, Faculty of Agriculture (1922) Stefan Batory University, Faculty of Fine Arts (1922–1924)
Spouse(s)	Maria Ostrowska ​ (m. 1931)​
Children	2

Witold Pilecki (13 May 1901 – 25 May 1948; Polish pronunciation: [ˈvitɔlt piˈlɛt͡skʲi]; codenames Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold) was a Polish cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader. He was also a co-founder of the Secret Polish Army resistance group during World War II. In 1940 he infiltrated Auschwitz concentration camp and organized resistance activities there. He is the author of Witold's Report, an intelligence report on Auschwitz.

From the 1990s, following the fall of Polish communism, Pilecki was rehabilitated and has been the subject of popularised discourse by state institutions, NGOs, and even football fans. The "Let’s Reminisce about Witold Pilecki" project has promoted beatification of Pilecki. In line with the historical policy of the post-2015 Polish government, this was further emphasized.

Early life

Witold Pilecki was born on 13 May 1901 in the town of Olonets, Karelia, in the Russian Empire. His ancestors were deported to Russia due to their participation in the January Uprising of 1863–1864. Witold was one of five children of forest inspector Julian Pilecki and Ludwika Osiecimska. In 1910 Witold moved with his mother and siblings to Wilno to receive a Polish education, while his father remained in Olonets. During his time in WIlno, Pilecki joined the secret ZHP Scouts organization. During the First World War he was part of the Wilno self defence force.

Polish–Soviet War and later career

As a cavalryman, Pilecki fought in the Battle of Grodno and the Battle of Warsaw in the Polish–Soviet War. When the war with the Soviets ended he completed his school examinations while continuing his military service. In 1926 he was promoted to reserve second lieutenant (seniority from 1923).

In September 1926, Pilecki became the owner of his family's ancestral estate, Sukurcze, in the Lida district of the Nowogródek Voivodeship. In 1931, he married Maria Ostrowska. They had two children, born in Wilno: Andrzej (16 January 1932) and Zofia (14 March 1933). Pilecki was active in the local community, he was the chairman of a dairy and founded a famrer's association. He also organized Krakus Military Horsemen Training, and was appointed to command the 1st Lida Military Training Squadron, which as placed under the Polish 19th Infantry Division in 1937. In 1938, Pilecki received the Silver Cross of Merit for his activism.

World War II

Pilecki was mobilized as a cavalry platoon commander on 26 August 1939. He was assigned to the 19th Infantry Division under General Józef Kwaciszewski, part of the Polish Army Prusy. He was then part of the 41st Infantry Division, in which Pilecki was second-in-command under cavalry commander Major Jan Włodarkiewicz. On September 22 Włodarkiewicz and Pilecki disobeyed orders to retreat through Romania to France, instead opting to stay in the underground in Poland.

Polish resistance

On 9 November 1939 in Warsaw, Major Włodarkiewicz, Second Lieutenant Pilecki, Second Lieutenant Jerzy Maringe, Jerzy Skoczyński, and the Jan and Stanisław Dangel brothers founded the Secret Polish Army (Tajna Armia Polska, TAP), one of the first underground organizations in Poland. TAP was based on ideological Christian values. Pilecki was organisational inspector and Chief of Staff in TAP from 25 November 1939 until May 1940. From August 1940 he was in charge of the 1st branch (organizational and mobilization).

Though some TAP members were arrested, these were mainly from accidental unmaskings through August 1940. However in September 1940 arrests were made due the organization being infiltrated by informer Borys Pilnik. Towards the end of August 1940, after the arrest of two leaders of TAP (Doctor Dering and Lieutenant Colonel Surmacki), Włodarkiewicz called a meeting in which was proposed a TAP member would infiltrate Auschwitz. Pilecki was urged by his superior to take this task.

Auschwitz

Main article: Witold's Report

Pilecki was one of 2000 men arrested on 19 September 1940. Pilecki used the identity documents of Tomasz Serafiński, who was assumed dead by mistake. He was caught at the flat of Eleonora Ostrowska at Wojska Polskiego Street. Along with 1705 other prisoners he reached Auschwitz between 21-22 September 1944 an d was assigned prisoner number 4859 under the name of Serafiński. In autumn 1941 he was promoted to lieutenant by his superiors.

Auschwitz concentration camp photographs of Pilecki (1941)

Pilecki organized the underground Union of Military Organizations (ZOW) at Auschwitz while working in the camp. ZOW's tasks were to improve inmate morale, provide news from outside, distribute extra food and clothing to members, set up intelligence networks, and train detachments to take over the camp in the event of a relief attack ZOW was organized along secret cells of five.

During his time in the camp, Pilecki prepared reports and sent them to the main command of the Home Army. None of these reports have survived, and it is unclear to what extant they were used by the main command. Pilecki urged his superiors to grant permission for ZOW to fight for the liberation of the camp, however these pleas were met with silence. This disappointment was of the reasond that led to Pilecki deciding to escape.

Escape

On the night of 26–27 April 1943 Pilecki was assigned to a night shift at a camp bakery outside the fence, and he and two comrades managed to force open a metal door. They left the SS guards in the woodshed, barricaded from outside. Before escaping they cut an alarm wire. They headed east, and crossed into the General Government after several hours.

Outside the camp

During June 1943, in Nowy Wiśnicz, Pilecki drafted his first informal report covering the situation in Auschwitz. However this report was buried at the farm he was staying, and was only revealed after his death. In August 1943, already in Warsaw, Pilecki started preparing Witold's Report (Rapport W), which focused on the Auschwitz underground. The report covers three main topics: ZOW and its members, Pilecki's experiences, and to a lesser extent a description of the extermination of prisoners, including Jews. Pilecki's intent in writing the report was to convince the Home Army command to liberate the prisoners in the camp, however the Home Army command rejected this proposal since the resistance in the camp lacked basic fighting equipment.

On 19 Feburary 1944 he was promoted to captain of cavalry (Rotmistrz). Pilecki was involved in the Home Army Kedyw unit and joined a secret anti-communist organization, NIE. He fought in the Warsaw Uprising, and after its fall was captured and taken prisoner by the Germans. He survived until liberation in 1945 at Oflag VII-A in Bavaria.

Communist Poland

Photographs of Pilecki from Mokotów Prison (1947)

Pilecki in court (1948)

Trial of Pilecki (1948)

Show trial of Pilecki (1948)

In July 1945, Pilecki left Murnau and was reassigned to the military intelligence division of the Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders in Ancona, Italy. By December 1945 he was sent back to Warsaw with the mission of gathering intelligence for II Corps. As NIE had been disbanded, Pilecki recruited former ZOW and TAP members. Pilecki was arrested on 8 May 1947 by the communist authorities, and despires pleas for pardon written to president Bolesław Bierut, he was exeucted on 25 May 1948.

Legacy

Witold Pilecki memorial plaque in Warsaw

From the 1990s, following the fall of Polish communism, Pilecki was rehabilitated and has been the subject of popularised discourse by state institutions, NGOs, and even football fans. The "Let’s Reminisce about Witold Pilecki" project has promoted beatification of Pilecki. In line with the historical policy of the post-2015 Polish government, this was further emphasized.

Pilecki's granddaughter has spoken out against the usurpation of his memory, stating:

“I find it outrageous that recently the political and national groups use the profile and biography of my grandfather to their own individual aims and games. Captain Witold Pilecki did not serve divided Poland but Poland which was free of prejudices, divisions and hatred. Witold did not categorize people based on their worldview and religion, he did not exclude anybody. He was a man of great faith in God and human. (…) Patriotism and nationalism are the opposites! A patriot wants all the best for his country while a nationalist wants all the best for himself ..."

External links

• Witold Pilecki's report from Auschwitz in Polish (in Polish)
• Additional reports of Pilecki (in Polish)
• Operation Auschwitz at IMDb