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The Auschwitz Volunteer

Beyond Bravery

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The Auschwitz Volunteer

By: Witold Pilecki, Jarek Garlinski - translator
Narrated by: Marek Probosz, Jarek Garlinski, Ken Kliban, John Lee
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In 1940, the Polish Underground wanted to know what was happening inside the recently opened Auschwitz concentration camp. Polish army officer Witold Pilecki volunteered to be arrested by the Germans and report from inside the camp. His intelligence reports, smuggled out in 1941, were among the first eyewitness accounts of Auschwitz atrocities: the extermination of Soviet POWs, its function as a camp for Polish political prisoners, and the "final solution" for Jews. Pilecki received brutal treatment until he escaped in April 1943; soon after, he wrote a brief report. This book is the first English translation of a 1945 expanded version. In the foreword, Poland's chief rabbi states, "If heeded, Pilecki's early warnings might have changed the course of history." Pilecki's story was suppressed for half a century after his 1948 arrest by the Polish Communist regime as a "Western spy". He was executed and expunged from Polish history. Pilecki writes in staccato style but also interjects his observations on humankind's lack of progress: "We have strayed, my friends, we have strayed dreadfully.... We are a whole level of hell worse than animals!"

©2012 Jarsolaw Garlinski and Aquila Polonica (U.S.) Ltd. (P)2013 Audible, Inc. 20th Century Eastern Europe Military Modern War Soviet Union Holocaust Imperialism
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This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the disposition of the Poles throughout WW2, as well as those who want a factual account of Auschwitz, particularly the first camp and how it grew from makeshift to fully operational industrial machine.

Fascinating, raw, must read

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Heartbreaking, dark, and at times relentlessly brutal, this is perhaps the greatest example of bravery and courage I've ever encountered.

Essential reading

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How did this man survive such brutality and murder all around him? I'm not sure, but this account was truly compelling. Depravity and gruesome violence abounds in almost every chapter; it's definitely a hard listen at times, but to think the man survived this travesty of a camp, and for so long, is an incredible feat that must be witnessed with this book.

This is an unimaginable tale of resilience.

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