((Short description|Polish military officer (1901–1948)))
((good article))
((pp-30-500|small=yes))
((Use dmy dates|date=September 2023))
((Infobox military person
| name          = Witold Pilecki
| image         = Witold Pilecki in b&w.jpg
| caption       = Pilecki in a pre-1939 photograph
| birth_date    = ((birth date|1901|5|13|df=y))
| death_date    = ((death date and age|1948|5|25|1901|5|13|df=y))
| birth_place   = [[Olonets]], [[Olonetsky Uyezd]], Olonets&nbsp;Governorate, Russian&nbsp;Empire
| death_place   = [[Mokotów Prison]], Warsaw, [[Polish People's Republic]]
((Infobox person | child = yes | death_cause= [[Execution by shooting]]))
| placeofburial = Unknown; possibly in [[Powązki Military Cemetery]]
| allegiance    = ((plainlist|* [[Second Polish Republic]]
* [[Polish government-in-exile]]))
| alma_mater    = ((plainlist|* [[University of Poznań]], Faculty of Agriculture (1922)
* [[Stefan Batory University]], Faculty of Fine Arts (1922–1924)))
| spouse        = ((marriage|Maria Ostrowska|1931))
| children      = 2
| serviceyears  = 1918–1947
| rank          = Cavalry captain (((lang|pl|[[rotmistrz]])))
| commands      = ((plainlist|* Commander of the 1st Lida Military Training Squadron (1932–1937)
* Deputy Commander of the [[41st Infantry Division (Poland)|41st Infantry Division]] (1939)
* Organizer of the [[Secret Polish Army]] (1939–1940)
* Organizer of the [[Związek Organizacji Wojskowej|Union of Military Organizations]] (1940–1943)
* Commander of the ((ill|v=ib|Warszawianka Company|pl|Kompania NSZ „Warszawianka”)) (1944)))
| battles       = ((Tree list))
* [[Polish–Soviet War]]
** [[Vilna 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)
((Tree list/end))
| awards        = ((plainlist|
* [[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)|Order of the White Eagle]]
* [[Order of Polonia Restituta]]
* [[Cross of Valour (Poland)|Cross of Valour]] (2)
* Silver [[Cross of Merit (Poland)|Cross of Merit]]))
))

'''Witold Pilecki''' (13 May 1901((spaced ndash))25 May 1948; ((IPA-pol|ˈvitɔlt piˈlɛt͡skʲi |lang|Pl-Witold Pilecki.ogg)); codenames ''Roman Jezierski, Tomasz Serafiński, Druh, Witold''<ref name=":0">((cite web |title=65 lat temu rotmistrza Pileckiego skazano na śmierć |trans-title=65 years ago, Captain Pilecki was sentenced to death |url=https://muzhp.pl/pl/c/1035/65-lat-temu-rotmistrza-pileckiego-skazano-na-smierc |access-date=27 October 2021 |publisher=[[Museum of Polish History]] |language=pl))</ref>) was a Polish [[World War II]] cavalry officer, [[espionage|intelligence agent]], and [[Resistance movement|resistance leader]].

As a youth, Pilecki joined Polish underground scouting; in the [[aftermath of World War I]], he joined the Polish militia and, later, the [[Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic)|Polish Army]]. He participated in the [[Polish–Soviet War]] which ended in 1921. In 1939, he participated in the unsuccessful defense of Poland against the [[Invasion of Poland|German invasion]] and shortly afterward, joined the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]], co-founding the [[Secret Polish Army]] resistance movement. In 1940, Pilecki volunteered<ref name="Bes">((cite book |last1=Besemeres |first1=John |title=A Difficult Neighbourhood: Essays on Russia and East-Central Europe since World War II |date=2016 |publisher=[[Australian National University Press]] |isbn=978-17604-6-060-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lmy1DQAAQBAJ |chapter=The Worst of Both Worlds: Captain Witold Pilecki between Hitler and Stalin))</ref>((rp|66))<ref name="Were We All People?">((cite news|last=Snyder|first=Timothy|date=22 June 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/books/review/the-auschwitz-volunteer-by-witold-pilecki.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Were We All People?|work=The New York Times|url-access=registration|access-date=4 May 2020))</ref><ref name="patricelli">((cite book |last1=Patricelli |first1=Marco |title=Il volontario |trans-title=The Volunteer |date=2010 |publisher=Laterza |isbn=978-88-420-9188-2 |pages=53((ndash))268 |language=it))</ref><ref name="szum">((cite book |last1=Szumilo |first1=Mirosalw |editor1-last=Budeanca |editor1-first=C. |editor2-last=Bathory |editor2-first=D. |title=Histories (Un)Spoken: Strategies of Survival and Social-Professional Integration in Political Prisoners' Families in Communist Central and Eastern Europe in the '50s and '60s |date=2017 |publisher=[[LIT Verlag]] |isbn=978-36439-0-983-1 |pages=48((ndash))62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=239SDwAAQBAJ |chapter=Living with the Stigma of a 'Traitor of the Nation': The Plight of the Families of Victims of Stalinist Terror in Poland))</ref> to allow himself to be captured by the occupying Germans in order to infiltrate the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]]. At Auschwitz, he organized [[Resistance movement in Auschwitz|a resistance movement]] that eventually included hundreds of inmates, and he secretly drew up reports detailing German atrocities at the camp, which were smuggled out to [[Home Army]] headquarters and shared with the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allies]]. After eventually escaping from Auschwitz in April 1943, Pilecki fought in the [[Warsaw Uprising]] of August–October 1944. Following its suppression, he was interned in a [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|German prisoner-of-war camp]]. After the [[Communism in Poland|communist]] takeover of Poland, he remained loyal to the London-based [[Polish government-in-exile]]. In 1945, he returned to Poland to report to the government-in-exile on the situation in Poland. Before returning, Pilecki compiled his previous reports into ''[[Witold's Report]]'' to detail his Auschwitz experiences, anticipating that he might be killed by Poland's new communist authorities. In 1947, he was arrested by the [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|secret police]] on charges of working for "foreign imperialism" and, after being subjected to torture and a [[show trial]], was executed in 1948.

His story, inconvenient to the Polish communist authorities, remained mostly unknown for several decades; one of the first accounts of Pilecki's mission to Auschwitz was given by Polish historian [[Józef Garliński]], himself a former Auschwitz inmate who emigrated to Britain after the war, in ''[[Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp]]'' (1975). Several monographs appeared in subsequent years, particularly after the [[fall of communism in Poland]] facilitated research into his life by Polish historians.

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Drużyna harcerska z Orła n. Oką 1917 Witold Pilecki Witold Ferchmin.png|thumb|left|Pilecki ''(first right)'' as a scout, [[Oryol]], [[Russia]], 1917]]
Witold Pilecki was born on 13 May 1901 in the town of [[Olonets]], [[Republic of Karelia|Karelia]], in the [[Russian Empire]].<ref name="IPNweb" /> He was a descendant of a Polish-speaking noble family ([[szlachta]]) of the [[Leliwa coat of arms]]. His ancestors had been deported to Russia from their home in [[Lithuania]] (former [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1507–1795)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]] region, now in [[Belarus]]) for participating in the [[January Uprising|January 1863–64 Uprising]], for which a major part of their estate was confiscated.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Mus">((cite web |author1-link=Muzeum II Wojny Światowej |title=71 lat temu, 15 marca 1948 r. rotmistrz Witold Pilecki został skazany na karę śmierci  |trans-title=71 years ago, on March 15, 1948, Captain Witold Pilecki was sentenced to death |url=https://muzeum1939.pl/71-lat-temu-15-marca-1948-r-rotmistrz-witold-pilecki-zostal-skazany-na-kare-smierci/aktualnosci/1829.html |website=Poznaj Rotmistrza Witolda Pileckiego |publisher=[[Museum of the Second World War]] |access-date=27 October 2021 |language=pl))</ref><ref>((Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020 |title=Captain Witild Pilecki |url=https://biogramy.ipn.gov.pl/bio/wszystkie-biogramy/rotmistrz-witold-pileck/english-version/1901-1921/112319,1901-1921.html |access-date=8 July 2022 |website=Biogramy Postaci Historycznych |publisher=Instytut Pamięci Narodowej |language=pl))</ref> Witold was one of five children of forest inspector Julian Pilecki and Ludwika Osiecimska.<ref name="IPNweb" />

In 1910, Witold moved with his mother and siblings to [[Vilnius]], to attend a Polish school there, while his father remained in Olonets. In Vilnius, Pilecki attended a local school and joined the underground [[Polish Scouting and Guiding Association]] (''Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego'', ''ZHP'').<ref name="cuber">((cite journal |last1=Cuber-Strutyńska |first1=Ewa |date=2017 |title=Witold Pilecki: Confronting the legend of the "volunteer to Auschwitz" |url=https://www.zagladazydow.pl/index.php/zz/article/view/720 |journal=[[Holocaust Studies and Materials]] |language=pl, en |volume=4 |pages=281((ndash))301 |doi=10.32927/zzsim.720 |issn=1895-247X|doi-access=free ))</ref><ref name="IPNweb">((cite web |last1=Świerczek |first1=Lidia |title=Rotmistrz Witold Pilecki |trans-title=Captain Witold Pilecki |url=https://biogramy.ipn.gov.pl/bio/wszystkie-biogramy/106001,Rotmistrz-Witold-Pilecki.html |website=Biogramy IPN |publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance]] |access-date=4 February 2022 |language=Polish))</ref>

Following the outbreak of [[World War I]], in 1916 Pilecki was sent by his mother to a school in the Russian city of [[Oryol]], located safer in the East than Vilnius. There he attended a [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasium]] (secondary school) and founded a local chapter of the ''ZHP''.<ref name="IPNweb" />

===Polish–Soviet War===
In 1918, following the outbreak of the [[Russian Revolution]] and the defeat of the [[Central Powers]] in World War I, Pilecki returned to Vilnius, then outside the control of the Polish government, and joined the ZHP section of the [[Self-Defence of Lithuania and Belarus (1918)|Self-Defence of Lithuania and Belarus]], a [[paramilitary]] formation under Major General [[Władysław Wejtko]].<ref name="cuber" /><ref name="IPNweb" /> The militia disarmed the passing German troops and took up positions to defend the city from a looming attack by the [[Soviet Red Army]]. After Vilnius fell to [[Bolshevik]] forces on 5 January 1919, Pilecki and his unit resorted to [[partisan warfare]] behind Soviet lines. He and his comrades then retreated to [[Białystok]], where Pilecki enlisted as a ''[[Private (rank)|szeregowy]]'' (private) in Poland's newly-established [[Polish Army|Army]]. He fought in the [[Polish–Soviet War]] of 1919–1920, serving under Captain [[Jerzy Dąbrowski (lieutenant colonel)|Jerzy Dąbrowski]] and being involved in the [[Vilna offensive]].<ref name="IPNweb" /> He fought in the [[Kiev offensive (1920)]] and as part of a [[cavalry]] unit defending the then-Polish city of [[Grodno]]. On 5 August 1920, Pilecki joined the ((Interlanguage link|211th Uhlan Regiment|pl|211 Pułk Ułanów)) and fought in the crucial [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|Battle of Warsaw]] and then in the [[Rūdninkai Forest]]. Pilecki later was involved in the [[Polish–Lithuanian War]] as a member of the October 1920 [[Żeligowski's Mutiny]] where Polish troops occupied Vilnius in a [[false-flag operation]].<ref name="IPNweb" />

===Interwar years===
By the conclusion of Polish-Soviet War in March 1921, Pilecki was promoted to the rank of ''[[plutonowy]]'' ([[Corporal (rank)|corporal]]), becoming a [[non-commissioned officer]].<ref name=":1" />((Rp|19)) Shortly afterward, Pilecki was transferred to the [[Military reserves|army reserves]], completing courses required for a non-commissioned officer rank at the Cavalry Reserve Officers' Training School in [[Grudziądz]].<ref name="IPNweb" /> He went on to complete his [[secondary education]] (''[[matura]]'') later that same year.<ref name=":0" /> He briefly enrolled with the [[Fine art|Faculty of Fine Arts]] at [[University of Vilnius|Stefan Batory University]] but was forced to abandon his studies in 1924 due to both financial issues and the declining health of his father.<ref name="IPNweb"/> In July 1925, Pilecki was assigned to the 26th Lancer Regiment with the rank of ''[[Chorąży]]'' ([[Ensign (rank)|ensign]]). Pilecki would be promoted to ''[[podporucznik]]'' (second lieutenant, with seniority from 1923) the following year.<ref name=cuber/><ref name="IPNweb"/> Also in September 1926, Pilecki became the owner of his family's ancestral estate, [[Sukurcze]], in the [[Lida District]] of the [[Nowogródek Voivodeship (1919–1939)|Nowogródek Voivodeship]]. In 1931, he married ((ill|Maria Pilecka|lt=Maria Ostrowska|pl|Maria Pilecka (1906–2002))). They had two children, born in Vilnius over the next two years: Andrzej and ((ill|Zofia Optułowicz|lt=Zofia|pl|Zofia Optułowicz)). Pilecki actively supported the local farming community. He was also an amateur poet and painter. He organized the ''Krakus'' Military Horsemen Training program in 1932 and was appointed to command the 1st Lida Military Training [[Squadron (army)|Squadron]], <!--[[26th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment]],<ref>((Cite book |last=Wojskowych |first=Poland Ministerstwo Spraw |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EYdaAAAACAAJ&dq=Rocznik+Oficerski+Rezerw |title=Rocznik oficerski rezerw, 1934 |date=2003 |publisher=Rada Ochrony Pamięci i Męczeństwa |isbn=978-83-89474-01-8 |language=pl))</ref>--> which in 1937 was placed under the Polish [[19th Infantry Division (Poland)|19th Infantry Division]]. In 1938, Pilecki received the Silver [[Cross of Merit (Poland)|Cross of Merit]] for his activities.<ref name="Paliwoda 2013 88–96">((Cite journal |last=Paliwoda |first=Daniel |date=2013 |title=Captain Witold Pilecki |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/military-review/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20131231_art015.pdf |journal=Military Review |volume=93 |issue=6 |pages=88((ndash))96 |issn=0193-2985))</ref><ref name=cuber/><ref name="IPNweb"/>

===World War II===
====Polish September Campaign====
With [[Germany–Poland relations#Interbellum (1918–1939)|Polish–German tensions growing in mid-1939]], Pilecki was mobilized as a cavalry platoon commander on 26 August 1939. He was assigned to the 19th Infantry Division under Major General [[Józef Kwaciszewski]], part of the [[Prusy Army|Army Prusy]] and his unit took part in heavy fighting against the advancing Germans during the [[invasion of Poland]]. The 19th Division was almost completely destroyed following a clash with the German forces on the night of 5/6 September at the [[Battle of Piotrków Trybunalski]].<ref name="IPNweb" /> Its remains were incorporated into the [[41st Infantry Division (Poland)|41st Infantry Division]], which was withdrawn to the southeast toward Lwów (now [[Lviv]], Ukraine) and the [[Romanian bridgehead]]. In the 41st Division, Pilecki served as divisional second-in-command of its cavalry detachment, under Major [[Jan Włodarkiewicz]].<ref name="IPNweb" /> He and his men destroyed seven German tanks, shot down one aircraft, and destroyed two more on the ground.<ref name=":1">((cite book |last1=Wysocki |first1=Wiesław Jan |author1-link=Wiesław Wysocki |title=Rotmistrz Pilecki |trans-title=Captain Pilecki |date=1994 |publisher=Gryf |isbn=978-83852-0-942-3 |ref=none |language=pl))</ref>((Rp|32))<ref name="Bea">((cite book |last1=Beadle |first1=Jeremy |last2=Harrison |first2=Ian |author1-link=Jeremy Beadle |title=Firsts, Lasts and Only's: Military |date=2007 |publisher=[[Anova Books]] |isbn=978-1-905798-06-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZnEJIIVKgy0C))</ref>((rp|179)) On 17 September, the [[Soviet invasion of Poland|Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland]], which worsened the already desperate situation of the Polish forces. On 22 September, the 41st Division suffered a major defeat and capitulated.<ref name="IPNweb" /> Włodarkiewicz and Pilecki were among the many soldiers who did not follow the order of Commander-in-Chief General [[Edward Śmigły-Rydz]] to retreat through Romania to France, instead opting to stay underground in Poland.<ref name=cuber/>

====Resistance====
On 9 November 1939 in Warsaw, Major Włodarkiewicz, Second Lieutenant Pilecki, Second Lieutenant Jerzy Maringe, Jerzy Skoczyński, and brothers Jan and Stanisław Dangel  founded the [[Secret Polish Army]] (''((lang|pl|Tajna Armia Polska))'', ''TAP''), one of the first underground organizations in Poland. Włodarkiewicz became its leader, while Pilecki became TAP's organizational head as it expanded to cover Warsaw, [[Siedlce]], [[Radom]], [[Lublin]], and other major cities in central Poland.<ref name="IPNweb" /> As cover, Pilecki worked as manager of a cosmetics storehouse.<ref name="IPNweb" /> From 25 November 1939 until May 1940, he was TAP's inspector and chief of staff. From August 1940, he headed its 1st branch (organization and mobilization).<ref name="cuber" />

TAP was based on [[Christian values|Christian ideological values]].<ref name="cuber" /> While Pilecki wanted to avert a religious mission so as not to alienate potential allies, Włodarkiewicz blamed Poland's defeat on its failure to create a Catholic nation and wanted to remake the country by [[Right-wing populism|appealing to right-wing groups]].<ref name="Fai">((cite book |last1=Fairweather |first1=Jack |author1-link=Jack Fairweather (writer) |title=[[The Volunteer (book)|The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz]] |date=2019 |publisher=[[W. H. Allen & Co.]] |isbn=978-0-7535-4516-4 |ref=none))</ref>((rp|65)) In the spring of 1940, Pilecki saw that Włodarkiewicz's views had become more [[anti-semitic]]<ref name="Fai" />((rp|75)) and that he had put [[ultranationalist]] dogma into their newsletter, ''((ill|Znak (publication)|lt=Znak|pl|Znak (pismo konspiracyjne))''; Włodarkiewicz had also entered into talks about a merger with the far-right underground, including a group that had offered [[Nazi Germany]] a Polish [[Puppet state|puppet government]].<ref name="Fai" />((rp|78)) To stop him, Pilecki went to Colonel [[Stefan Rowecki]], chief of a rival resistance group, the [[Union of Armed Struggle]] (''Związek Walki Zbrojnej'', ''ZWZ''), which called for equal rights for Jews, gathered intelligence on German atrocities, and delivered it by courier to the Western Allies in an attempt to gain their involvement. The ZWZ had alerted the Polish Government-in-Exile that the Germans were inciting Polish hatred against the Jews, and that this might lead to the rise of a Polish [[Quisling]].<ref name="Fai" />((rp|78))

Pilecki called for TAP to submit to Rowecki's authority, but Włodarkiewicz refused and issued a manifesto that the future Poland had to be Christian, based on national identity, and that those who opposed the idea should be "removed from our lands".<ref name="Fai" />((rp|82)) Pilecki refused to swear the proposed oath.<ref name="Fleming">((cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Fleming (historian) |date=2019 |title=The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz: by Jack Fairweather (London: WH Allen, 2019), 505 pages |journal=Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=289–294 |doi=10.1080/23739770.2019.1673981 |s2cid=210468082))</ref> In August, Włodarkiewicz announced at a TAP meeting that they would, after all, join the mainstream underground with Rowecki – and that it has been proposed that Pilecki should infiltrate the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]].<ref name="Fai" />((rp|85)) Little was known about how the Germans ran the then-new camp, which was thought to be an [[internment]] camp or large prison rather than a [[Extermination camp|death camp]].<ref name="Lew" />((rp|390)) Włodarkiewicz said it was not an order but an invitation to volunteer, though Pilecki saw it as a punishment for refusing to back Włodarkiewicz's ideology. Nevertheless he agreed, which years later led to him being described in many sources as having volunteered to infiltrate Auschwitz.<ref name="Bes" />((rp|66))<ref name="Were We All People?" /><ref name="patricelli" /><ref name="szum" /><ref name="cuber" /><ref name="Fai" />((rp|85))

====Auschwitz====
Pilecki was one of 2,000 men arrested on 19 September 1940. He used the identity documents of Tomasz Serafiński, who had been mistakenly assumed to be dead.<ref name="Lew">((cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Jon E. |title=The Mammoth Book of True War Stories |date=1999 |publisher=[[Carroll & Graf Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7867-0629-7 |page=|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/mammothbookoftru0000unse/page/n3/mode/2up |ref=none))</ref>((rp|390)) Two [[backstory|backstories]] exist purporting to explain how Pilecki actually found himself in Auschwitz. In one version, he allowed himself to be captured by the occupying Germans in one of their Warsaw [[roundup (history)|street round-ups]], in order to infiltrate the camp.<ref name="Paliwoda 2013 88–96" /> In the second version, he did that in the apartment of Eleonora Ostrowska, at ''ulica'' Wojska Polskiego (Polish Army Street) during a building search. Afterward, along with 1,705 other prisoners, between 21 and 22 September 1940, Pilecki reached Auschwitz where, under Serafiński's name, he was assigned prisoner number 4859. In autumn of 1941 he learnt that he had been promoted to ''[[Lieutenant (Poland)|porucznik]]'' (first lieutenant) by people "far away in the outside world in Warsaw".<ref name="cuber" />

[[File:Witold Pilecki KL Auschwitz.jpg|upright=1.75|thumb|Witold Pilecki as KL-Auschwitz prisoner, KL Number 4859, 1940|left]]
While in various slave labor ''[[kommando]]s'' and surviving [[pneumonia]] at Auschwitz, Pilecki organized an underground [[Związek Organizacji Wojskowej|Military Organization Union]] (''Związek Organizacji Wojskowej'', ''ZOW'').<ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name="Wym">((cite journal |doi=10.2307/1853043 |last=Wyman |first=David S. |s2cid=159644414 |title=Review: Jozef Garlinski. ''Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp'' |periodical=[[American Historical Review]] |volume=81 |issue=5 |date=1976 |publisher=[[American Historical Association]] |issn=0002-8762 |pages=1168((ndash))1169 |jstor=1853043 |ref=none))</ref> Its tasks were to improve the morale of the inmates, provide news from outside the camp, distribute extra food and clothing to its members, set up intelligence networks, and train detachments to take over the camp in the event of a relief attack. ''ZOW'' was organized as secret cells, each of five members.<ref name=cuber/> Over time, many smaller [[Resistance movement in Auschwitz|underground organizations at Auschwitz]] eventually merged with ''ZOW''.<ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name="Foo">((cite book |last1=Foot |first1=Michael Richard Daniell |author1-link=M. R. D. Foot |title=Six Faces of Courage: Secret agents against Nazi tyranny |date=2003 |publisher=Leo Cooper |isbn=978-0-413-39430-9 |chapter=Witold Pilecki))</ref>((rp|117((ndash))126))

As part of his duties, Pilecki secretly drew up [[Pilecki's Report|reports]] and sent them to [[Home Army]] headquarters with the help of inmates that had been released or escapees. The first dispatch, delivered in October 1940, described the camp and the ongoing extermination of inmates via starvation and brutal punishments; it was used as the basis of a Home Army report on "The terror and lawlessness of the occupiers". Further dispatches of Pilecki's were likewise smuggled out by individuals who managed to escape from Auschwitz. The reports' purpose may have been to get the Home Army command's permission for ''ZOW'' to stage an uprising to liberate the camp; however, no such response came from the Home Army.<ref name=cuber/> In 1942, Pilecki's resistance movement was also using a home-made radio transmitter to broadcast details on the number of arrivals and deaths in the camp and the conditions of the inmates. The secret radio station was built over seven months using smuggled parts. It broadcast from the camp until the autumn of 1942, when it was dismantled by Pilecki's men after concerns that the Germans might discover its location because of "one of our fellows' big mouth".<ref name="Pil">((cite book |last1=Pilecki |first1=Witold |editor1-last=|translator-last1=Garlinski |editor1-first=|translator-first1=Jarek |title=The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery |date=2012 |publisher=[[Aquila Polonica]] |isbn=978-1-60772-009-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/auschwitzvolunte0000pile/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |ref=none))</ref>((rp|460)) The information provided by Pilecki was a principal source of intelligence on Auschwitz for the Western Allies. Pilecki hoped that either the Allies would drop arms or troops into the camp, or that the Home Army would organize an assault on it from outside.<ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name="Foo" />((rp|117((ndash))126))

The Camp [[Gestapo]] under SS-Untersturmführer [[Maximilian Grabner]] redoubled its efforts to ferret out ''ZOW'' members, killing many of them.<ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name="Gar">((cite book |last1=Garliński |first1=Józef |title=Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp |date=1975 |publisher=Julian Friedmann Publishers |isbn=978-0-904014-09-9 |chapter=Witold Pilecki))</ref>((rp|191((ndash))197)) To avoid the worst outcome, Pilecki decided to break out of the camp with the hope of convincing Home Army leaders that a rescue attempt was a valid option.<ref name="IPNweb" /> 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, overpower a guard, cut the telephone line, and escape outside the camp perimeter. They left the SS guards in the woodshed, barricaded from outside. Before escaping they cut an alarm wire. They headed east, and after several hours crossed into the [[General Government]], taking with them documents stolen from the Germans. The men fled on foot to the village of [[Alwernia]] where they were helped by a priest, and then on to [[Tyniec]] where locals assisted them. Later, they reached the Polish resistance [[safe house]] near [[Bochnia]], owned, coincidentally, by commander Tomasz Serafiński—the very man whose identity Pilecki had adopted for his cover in Auschwitz.<ref name="cuber" /><ref name="Fai" />((rp||pages=283–302))<ref name="Lew" />((rp|399)) At one point during the journey, German soldiers attempted to stop Pilecki, firing at him as he fled; several bullets passed through his clothing, while one wounded him without hitting either bones or vital organs.<ref name="Fai"/>((rp|297))

====Outside Auschwitz====
After several days as a fugitive, Pilecki made contact with units of the Home Army. In June 1943, in [[Nowy Wiśnicz]], Pilecki drafted a report on the situation in Auschwitz. It was buried at the farm where he was staying and was only revealed after his death. In August 1943, back in Warsaw, Pilecki started preparing [[Witold's Report]] (''Raport W''), which focused on the Auschwitz underground. It covered three main topics: ''ZOW'' and its members; Pilecki's experiences; and to a lesser extent, the extermination of prisoners, including Jews. Pilecki's intent in writing it was to persuade the Home Army to liberate the camp's prisoners. However, the Home Army command judged such an attack would fail. Even if the initial attack were successful, the resistance lacked sufficient transport capabilities, supplies, and the shelter that would be required for the rescued inmates. The Soviet [[Red Army]], despite being within attacking distance of the camp, showed no interest in a joint effort with the Home Army and the ''ZOW'' to free it.<ref name="cuber" /><ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name="Wym" />((rp|1169))

Shortly after rejoining the resistance, Pilecki became a member of the ''[[Kedyw]]'' sabotage unit, using the pseudonym ''Roman Jezierski''. He also joined a secret [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] organization, ''[[NIE (resistance)|NIE]]''. On 19 February 1944 he was promoted to cavalry captain (''[[rotmistrz]]''). Until becoming involved in the [[Warsaw Uprising]], Pilecki continued coordinating ''ZOW'' and Home Army activities and providing ''ZOW'' with what limited support he could.<ref name="IPNweb"/>

In Auschwitz, Pilecki had met the author [[Igor Newerly]], whose Jewish wife, Barbara, was hiding in Warsaw. The Newerlys had been working with [[Janusz Korczak]] to try to save Jewish lives. Pilecki gave Barbara Newerly money from the Polish resistance, which she passed on to several Jewish families whom she and her husband protected. He also gave her money to pay off her own ''[[szmalcownik]]'', or blackmailer, who said he was Jewish and threatened to report her to the Gestapo.<ref name="Fai" />((rp|534)) The blackmailer disappeared, with [[Jack Fairweather (writer)|Jack Fairweather]] concluding that "it is likely that Witold arranged for his execution".<ref name="Fai" />((rp|490))

====Warsaw Uprising====
When the Warsaw Uprising broke out on 1 August 1944, Pilecki volunteered for service with ((ill|Warszawianka Company|pl|Kompania NSZ „Warszawianka”)) of Kedyw's [[Chrobry II Battalion]]. Initially, he served as a common soldier in the northern city centre, without revealing his rank to his superiors.<ref name="IPNweb" /> After many officers were killed in the early days of the uprising, Pilecki revealed his true identity and accepted command of the 1st "Warszawianka" Company deployed in Warsaw's ''[[Śródmieście, Warsaw|Śródmieście]]'' (downtown) district.<ref name="IPNweb" /> After the fall of the uprising, which ended on 2 October that year, he was captured and taken prisoner by the Germans. He was sent to [[Oflag VII-A]], a prison-of-war camp for Polish officers located north of [[Murnau am Staffelsee|Murnau]], [[Bavaria]], where he remained until the prisoners were liberated on 29 April 1945.<ref name=cuber/><ref name="IPNweb"/><ref name="Pol">((cite book |last1=Pollack |first1=Juliusz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RAdLAAAAIAAJ |title=Jeńcy polscy w hitlerowskiej niewoli |date=1986 |publisher=Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej |isbn=978-83-11-07251-0 |page= |language=pl |trans-title=Polish Prisoners of War in Nazi German Captivity))</ref>((rp|213))

===After the war===
[[File:Pilecki photo 1947.jpg|thumb|Pilecki, [[Mokotów Prison]], Warsaw, 1947]]
[[File:Proces Pileckiego 1948-2.jpg|thumb|Pilecki in court, 1948]]
In July 1945, Pilecki joined the [[military intelligence]] division of the [[Polish II Corps]] under Lieutenant General [[Władysław Anders]] in [[Ancona]], Italy. In October 1945, as relations between the government-in-exile and the [[Polish Committee of National Liberation|Soviet-backed regime]] of [[Bolesław Bierut]] kept deteriorating, Pilecki was ordered by Anders and his intelligence chief, [[Lieutenant colonel (Eastern Europe)|Lieutenant Colonel]] Stanisław Kijak, to return to Poland and report on the prevailing military and political situation under [[Northern Group of Forces|Soviet occupation]]. By December 1945 he had arrived in Warsaw and begun organizing an [[intelligence gathering network]].<ref name="cuber" /><ref name="IPNweb" /> As the NIE organization had been disbanded, Pilecki recruited former ''ZOW'' and ''TAP'' members and continued sending information to the government-in-exile.<ref name="IPNweb" />

To maintain his cover identity, Pilecki lived under various assumed names and changed jobs frequently. He worked as a jewellery salesman, a [[Wine label|bottle label]] painter, and as the night manager of a construction warehouse.  However, in July 1946 he was informed that his identity had been uncovered by the [[Ministry of Public Security (Poland)|Ministry of Public Security]]. Anders ordered him to leave Poland, but Pilecki was reluctant to comply because he had a wife and children in the country and the wife was unwilling to emigrate with the children, as well as due to a lack of a suitable replacement. In early 1947 his superiors rescinded the order.<ref name="IPNweb"/>

Arrested on 8 May 1947 by the [[Communism|communist]] authorities, Pilecki was tortured, but in order to protect other operatives, he did not reveal any sensitive information.<ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name=":2">((Cite journal |last=Świerczek |first=Lidia |title=Sprawa Witolda Pileckiego |trans-title=The Case of Witold Pilecki |url=https://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media/files/Niepodleglosc_i_Pamiec/Niepodleglosc_i_Pamiec-r1997-t4-n1_(7)_1_/Niepodleglosc_i_Pamiec-r1997-t4-n1_(7)_1_-s141-152/Niepodleglosc_i_Pamiec-r1997-t4-n1_(7)_1_-s141-152.pdf |journal=Niepodległość i Pamięć |language=Polish |volume=4/1 |issue=(7) [1] |pages=141–152))</ref> His case was supervised by Colonel [[Roman Romkowski]].<ref name=":2" /> A [[show trial]], chaired by Lieutenant Colonel ((ill|Jan Hryckowian|pl|Jan Hryckowian)), took place on 3 March 1948. Pilecki was charged with illegal border crossing, use of forged documents, not enlisting with the military, carrying illegal arms, espionage for Anders, espionage for "foreign imperialism" ([[Polish government-in-exile|government-in-exile]]), and planning to assassinate several officials of the Ministry of Public Security of Poland. Pilecki denied the assassination charges, as well as espionage, although he admitted to passing information to the II Corps, of which he considered himself an officer and thus claimed that he was not breaking any laws. He pleaded guilty to the other charges. He was sentenced to death on 15 May with three of his comrades. Pleas for pardon from a number of Auschwitz survivors were ignored; one of their recipients was Polish prime minister [[Józef Cyrankiewicz]], also an Auschwitz survivor. Cyrankiewicz, who had already testified at the trial, instead wrote that Pilecki must be treated harshly as an "enemy of the state". Subsequently, on 25 May 1948, Pilecki was executed by [[Piotr Śmietański]] with a shot to the back of the head at the [[Mokotów Prison]] in Warsaw.<ref name="patricelli" /><ref name="IPNweb" /><ref name=cuber/><ref name=":1" />((Rp|188, 244))<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Pie">((cite book|last=Piekarski|first=Konstanty R.|title=Escaping Hell: The Story of a Polish Underground Officer in Auschwitz and Buchenwald|year=1990|publisher=[[Dundurn Press]] Ltd.|isbn=978-1-55002-071-7))</ref>((rp|249)) Several of Pilecki's affiliates were also arrested and tried around the same time, with at least three executed as well; a number of others received death sentences that were changed to prison sentences.<ref name=":1" />((Rp|161–165))<ref name=":2" /> Pilecki's burial place has never been found, though it is thought to be in Warsaw's [[Powązki Cemetery]].<ref name="IPNweb"/>

==Legacy==
[[File:Witold pilecki pomnik park jordana krakow.jpg|thumb|Monument to Pilecki in Kraków]]
[[File:2017 Pomnik Witolda Pileckiego w Warszawie.jpg|thumb|Monument to Witold Pilecki in Warsaw]]


Pilecki's life has been a subject of several [[monograph]]s. The first in English was [[Józef Garliński]]'s ''Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp'' (1975), followed by [[M.R.D. Foot]]'s ''Six Faces of Courage'' (1978).<ref name="Fleming" /> The first in Polish was the ''Rotmistrz Pilecki'' (1995) by [[Wiesław Wysocki|Wiesław Jan Wysocki]], followed by ''Ochotnik do Auschwitz. Witold Pilecki 1901–1948'' (2000) by [[Adam Cyra]].<ref name="cuber" /> In 2010, Italian historian [[Marco Patricelli]] wrote a book about Witold Pilecki, ''Il volontario'' (2010), which received the [[Acqui Award of History]] that year.<ref name=":02">((Cite web |last=Stocka-Kalinowska |first=Ewa |date=13 October 2010 |title=Włoch od rotmistrza Pileckiego |trans-title=Witold Polecki's Italian Connection |url=https://polskieradio.pl/art369_267995 |access-date=4 March 2021 |website=PolskieRadio.pl))</ref><ref>((Cite web|date=10 October 2020|title=Albo d'oro – Premio Acqui Storia – Acqui Terme|url=https://acquistoria.it/premio-acqui-storia/|access-date=27 October 2021|website=Premio Acqui Storia – Acqui Terme – Portale del premio Acqui Storia Comune di Acqui Terme|language=it-IT))</ref> In 2012, Pilecki's Auschwitz diary was translated into English by Garliński and published under the title ''[[The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery]]''.<ref>((Cite journal|last=Reid|first=James E.|date=2013|title=The Auschwitz Volunteer|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=46596|journal=The Sarmatian Review|language=English|volume=XXXIII|issue=1|pages=1736–1737|issn=1059-5872))</ref> [[List of Chief Rabbis of Poland|Poland's Chief Rabbi]], [[Michael Schudrich]], wrote in the foreword to a 2012 English translation of Pilecki's report: "When God created the human being, God had in mind that we should all be like Captain Witold Pilecki, [[of blessed memory]]."<ref name="Pil" />((rp|xv((ndash))xvii)) Historian [[Norman Davies]] wrote in the introduction to the same translation: "If there was an Allied hero who deserved to be remembered and celebrated, this was a person with few peers."<ref name="Pil" />((rp|xi((ndash))xiii)) More recently Pilecki was the subject of Adam J. Koch's 2018 book  ''A Captain’s Portrait: Witold Pilecki – Martyr for Truth''<ref>((Cite journal|last=Roszkowski|first=Wojciech|date=2019|title=Adam J. Koch, A Captain's Portrait: Witold Pilecki – Martyr for Truth, Freedom Publishing Books, Bayswater Vic. 2018|journal=Studia Polityczne|volume=47|issue=4|pages=158–159|doi=10.35757/STP.2019.47.4.09|doi-access=free))</ref> and [[Jack Fairweather (writer)|Jack Fairweather]]'s 2019 book ''[[The Volunteer (book)|The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz]]'', the latter a winner of the [[Costa Book Awards|Costa Book Award]]''.''<ref name="Fleming" /><ref>((Cite journal|last=Cyra|first=Adam|date=September 2020|title=Review. Jack Fairweather "The Volunteer: The True Story of Witold Pilecki's Secret Mission|url=https://view.joomag.com/memoria-en-no-36-09-2020/0925657001601445879|journal=Memoria|volume=36))</ref><ref>((Cite web|date=28 January 2020|title=Costa prize: Jack Fairweather wins book of the year with The Volunteer|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/28/costa-prize-jack-fairweather-wins-book-of-the-year-with-the-volunteer|access-date=27 October 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en))</ref>

From the 1990s, following the [[fall of communism in Poland]] and Pilecki's subsequent [[Political rehabilitation|rehabilitation]], he has been a subject of popular discourse.<ref name="cuber" /> A number of institutions, monuments, and streets in Poland have been named after him.<ref name="Fleming" /> In 1995, he was awarded the [[Order of Polonia Restituta]], and in 2006, the highest Polish decoration, the [[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)|Order of the White Eagle]].<ref name="IPNweb"/> On 6 September 2013, the Minister of National Defence announced his promotion to colonel.<ref name="rmf24">((cite web |date=6 September 2013 |title=MON awansował Witolda Pileckiego |trans-title=Polish Ministry of Defence Promotes Witold Pilecki |url=http://www.rmf24.pl/fakty/polska/news-mon-awansowal-witolda-pileckiego,nId,1022059 |access-date=10 October 2013 |publisher=RMF FM/PAP |language=pl))</ref> In 2012, Powązki Cemetery was partly excavated in an unsuccessful effort to find his remains.<ref>((Cite news |last=Puhl |first=Jan |date=9 August 2012 |title=Poland Searches for Remains of World War II Hero Witold Pilecki |language=en |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/poland-searches-for-remains-of-world-war-ii-hero-witold-pilecki-a-848853.html |access-date=11 July 2022 |issn=2195-1349))</ref>

In 2016, ''The Pilecki Family House Museum'' (''Dom Rodziny Pileckich'') was established in [[Ostrów Mazowiecka]]; it opened officially in 2019, but its permanent exhibition is still being prepared, with public opening planned for May 2022.<ref>((Cite web |title=Muzeum Dom Rodziny Pileckich – Misja |trans-title=Museum House of Pilecki Family –Mission |url=http://muzeumpileckich.pl/o-muzeum.html |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=muzeumpileckich.pl |language=pl))</ref><ref>((Cite web |date=19 October 2020 |title=Ostrów Mazowiecka: pierwsze w Polsce muzeum rotmistrza Pileckiego |trans-title=Ostrów Mazowiecka: First Museum of Witold Pilecki in Poland |url=https://serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/forumbiznesu/artykuly/1493902,ostrow-mazowiecka-pierwsze-w-polsce-muzeum-rotmistrza-pileckiego.html |access-date=7 March 2021 |website=Dziennik Gazeta Prawna |language=pl))</ref> The year 2017 saw the founding of the [[Pilecki Institute]], a Polish government institution commemorating persons who helped Polish victims of war crimes and crimes against peace or humanity in the years 1917–1990.<ref>((Cite web |date=1 February 2022 |title=Miała być "bardzo, bardzo skromna dotacja". Instytut Pileckiego otrzymał gigantyczną sumę od resortu Glińskiego |trans-title=It Was Supposed to Be a Small Subsidy: Pilecki Institute Receives Big Grant from Gliński's Department |url=https://www.wprost.pl/polityka/10613002/miala-byc-bardzo-bardzo-skromna-dotacja-instytut-pileckiego-otrzymal-ogromna-sume-od-resortu-glinskiego.html |access-date=19 March 2022 |website=Wprost |language=pl))</ref><ref>((Cite web |title=Instytut Pileckiego –oko.press |url=https://oko.press/instytucje/instytut-pileckiego/ |access-date=19 March 2022 |website=oko.press))</ref>

The 2006 film ''((ill|Śmierć rotmistrza Pileckiego|pl|Śmierć rotmistrza Pileckiego))'' ("The Death of Cavalry Captain Pilecki"), directed by [[Ryszard Bugajski]], presents Pilecki as an ethically flawless man facing unfounded accusations. The narrative structure is reminiscent of a saint's [[martyrology]], with belief in God replaced by belief in Country.<ref name="Marczak">((cite journal |last1=Marczak |first1=Mariola |journal=Studia Religiologica|title=Persuasive and Communicative Potential of Hagiographic Narrative Structures in Screen Representations of the Polish Underground Soldiers Struggling for Independence after World War II. |date=2018 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=115–128 |doi=10.4467/20844077SR.18.008.9506 |url=https://www.ejournals.eu/pliki/art/13495/|doi-access=free ))</ref>

In 2014 the Swedish band [[Sabaton (band)|Sabaton]] recorded a song about him, "Inmate 4859" on the album, "[[Heroes (Sabaton album)|Heroes]]".<ref>((Cite web |last=BraveWords |title=SABATON Release New Lyric Video For "Inmate 4859" |url=https://bravewords.com/news/sabaton-release-new-lyric-video-for-inmate-4859 |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=bravewords.com |language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite web |last=Blabbermouth |date=2014-04-21 |title=SABATON Bassist PÄR SUNDSTRÖM Speaks To PittsburghMusicMagazine.com (Video) |url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/sabaton-bassist-par-sundstrom-speaks-to-pittsburghmusicmagazine-com-video/ |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=BLABBERMOUTH.NET |language=en))</ref>

A 2015 film, ''((ill|Pilecki (film)|lt=Pilecki|pl|Pilecki (film)))'', by Marcin Kwaśny portrays Pilecki as an independence-movement saint. The sacralization is achieved by recounting verified historical facts, along with dramatized scenes. The film shows Pilecki performing deeds impossible for an ordinary man, while keeping faith with his country even under the direst torture.<ref name="Marczak" />

==References==
((Reflist))

==Further reading==
* ((cite book |last1=Cyra |first1=Adam |author1-link=Adam Cyra |title=Ochotnik do Auschwitz – Witold Pilecki 1901–1948 |date=2000 |publisher=Chrześcijańskie Stowarzyszenie Rodzin Oświęcimskich (Christian Association of Auschwitz Families) |location=Oświęcim |isbn=978-83-912000-3-2 |pages=|trans-title= Volunteer for Auschwitz – Witold Pilecki 1901–1948 |ref=none))
* ((cite book |last1=Cyra |first1=Adam |last2=Wysocki |first2=Wiesław Jan |author1-link=Adam Cyra |title=Rotmistrz Witold Pilecki |date=1997 |publisher=Oficyna Wydawnicza Volumen |isbn=978-83-86857-27-2 |ref=none |language=pl))
* Gawron, W. ''Ochotnik do Oświęcimia'' [''Volunteer for Auschwitz'']. Calvarianum: Auschwitz Museum, 1992.
* Adam J. Koch. [https://freedompublishingbooks.com.au/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=pilecki&x=0&y=0 A Captain's Portrait Witold Pilecki – Martyr for Truth] Freedom Publishing Books, Melbourne Australia, 2018 ((ISBN|978-0-64823-035-9))

==External links==
((Wikiquote))
* [https://www.1944.pl/powstancze-biogramy/witold-pilecki,34694.html Pilecki's biography] at the [[Warsaw Uprising Museum]]
* [http://www.polandpolska.org/dokumenty/witold/raport-witolda-1945.htm Witold Pilecki's report from Auschwitz in Polish] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203233703/http://www.polandpolska.org/dokumenty/witold/raport-witolda-1945.htm |date=3 February 2010 )) ((in lang|pl))
* [http://www.polandpolska.org/dokumenty/witold/raporty-witolda.htm Additional reports of Pilecki] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203233736/http://www.polandpolska.org/dokumenty/witold/raporty-witolda.htm |date=3 February 2010 )) ((in lang|pl))
* ((IMDb title|3273248|Operation Auschwitz))
* [https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0b711n3/the-man-who-volunteered-to-be-imprisoned-in-auschwitz?tblci=GiB2hX_FNGo005FMsDCDxFUoUTAdga1SU7pQEDUwJgbWdCCMjFQowI-rg9-K1MZf#tblciGiB2hX_FNGo005FMsDCDxFUoUTAdga1SU7pQEDUwJgbWdCCMjFQowI-rg9-K1MZf A short film about Pilecki uploaded on 30 November 2021, BBC Reel]

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