70th Anniversary of a WWII Milestone

The Witold Pilecki Report

News Lead:

This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of a World War II milestone that few people know about: the 1943 Witold Pilecki Report. This report, prepared by Captain Witold Pilecki, was the first official account of the Nazi atrocities at Auschwitz concentration camp. Pilecki's report was smuggled out of the camp and sent to the Polish government-in-exile in London. It was one of the first pieces of evidence of the Holocaust and helped to alert the world to the horrors that were taking place in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Pilecki was a Polish army officer who volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz in order to gather intelligence about the camp and to organize resistance among the prisoners. He spent two and a half years at Auschwitz, during which time he witnessed firsthand the horrors of the camp. He escaped in 1943 and wrote the report based on his experiences.

The Witold Pilecki Report is a powerful and moving document that provides a firsthand account of the horrors of the Holocaust. It is a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of those who fought against the Nazis and of the importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust.