
Witold Pilecki volunteered to enter Auschwitz to expose Nazi crimes. For over two years, he endured unimaginable horrors, smuggled reports to the Allies, and organized resistance. His bravery went unrecognized for decades. This is the story of one of WWII’s most heroic—and tragic—figures. Prisoner 4859
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Sources:
“Wiltold Pilecki.” Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
McPherson, Amy. “The Man who Revealed Auschwitz’s Atrocities to the World.” BBC.com. January 27, 2025.
Hockenos, Paul. “The Daring Polish Resistance Fighter Who Volunteered to Be Sent to Auschwitz So He Could Sabotage the Nazi Death Camp From the Inside.” Smithsonianmag.com. May 8, 2025.
“Auschwitz.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”
Pilecki, Wiltold. “The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery.” Translated by Jarek Garlinski. Los Angeles: Aquila Polonica, 2013.
Fairweather, Jack. “The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Heros who Infiltrated Auschwitz.” New York: Harper Collins, 2019.
Dear, I.C.B. and M.R.D Foot, editors. The Oxford Companion to World War II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Credit:
Simple History Creator: Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Video Directors: Lav Velimirovic, Ognjen Jovic
Script: Jake Leigh-Howarth
Script Review: Peter Turner
Narrator: Chris Kane ()
Artists: Fiona Phan, Selma Belegic
Animators: Nancy Bhalla, Krishna, Guillermo G. Caasi. Jr, Ravina Bheda, Rommel Ponferrada
Editor: Artem Dobrohodov
Thumbnails: Fiona Phan
Senior Production Manager: Umar Ijaz
Simple History Channel Manager: James Dowse