bakery, 276–277, 279–281, 289–298
barbers, 146–149, 176
basket-weaving, 255
Bekleidungskammer (clothing storeroom), as work detail, 248–250, 251
Bekleidungswerkstätte (clothing workshop), 255
Brotabladungskommando (bread-unloading Kommando), 276
carpenter’s shops, 60–65, 72, 80–82, 104–105, 114–116, 120–121, 123, 127–129, 132, 140–141, 167, 215–216
Camp Commandant’s garden, 45, 47–48, 51–53
crematorium, building of, 34
escape attempts associated by camp authorities with change in, 266, 280
Landwirtschaftskommando (farming Kommando), 97
fish ponds, 167
gravel in wheelbarrows, moving, 33–35, 63–64
Harmense, 166–167
houses in vicinity of Auschwitz, destruction of, 52–55
indoor work, advantages of, xlii, 48, 60, 104, 110, 112, 116
inspections of camp, during, 164
Kiesgrube or gravel pit, 250
length of time spent in camp and, 48–49, 255
livestock, work with, 113–114, 146
orchestra playing in and out of camp, 107–109
organization of, 31, 33, 39, 104
parcel Kommando, 255–259, 272, 273, 283, 289
“physical exercise” (PE) instead of, 39–41, 71
Poles removed from, prior to transport, 254–255
rollers, inmates attached to, 40–41
stove fitter (Ofensetzer), Pilecki’s work as, 42–47
Strassenbaukommando (road-construction Kommando), 58
surveying, 260
tannery (Lederfabrik), 114, 140–142, 169–170, 196, 215–216, 228–229
woodcarving shop, 127–129, 140–141, 167, 215
ZOW control of, 92–94, 116, 166, 168
Konfederacja Zbrojna Narodu or Nation’s Armed Alliance (KZN), 145–146
Konrad (Konrad Lang, inmate no. 18), 94, 96, 140–142, 158, 167, 215
Koprowiak, Stanisław, 71, 103
Kostecki, Zygmunt, 144
Koszczyński, Antoni (43), 121
Kosztowny, Witold (101), 166, 224, 252–254, 291
Kownacki, Piotr (former member of Parliament; 73), 139, 216, 217
Krankenbau (hospital). See also medical issues
admission to, 138, 179
barbiturates used to drug SS men for escape purposes, 262
beds constructed by Pilecki in, 82
Dering’s work at, 98–99, 116, 143, 166
gassing of patients from, 207–208
murdered inmates added to mortuary list of, 149–150
Pflegers (nurses), 37, 87, 91, 131, 138, 146, 219–220, 252, 286
phenol, murder of inmates with, 179–182
Pilecki’s faking of typhus as part of escape, 283–287
Pilecki’s first fever and convalescence (in early 1941), 83–91, 97, 104
Pilecki’s second fever and convalescence (in mid-1942), 221–227
Schonungsblock (convalescence block), 120, 138, 220
in ZOW plan of eventual action, 227
Krankenmann (block chief), 32, 41, 164–165
Kriegsgefangenenlager (prisoner of war camp), 136. See also prisoners of war (POWs).
Krzyś (Krzysztof Hofman), 91
Kuc, Father (160), 240, 320, 321
Kuczbara, Bolesław (161), 244–245, 275, 324
Kukiełka, Leon (129), 218, 226, 239, 241
Kumuniecki, Lieutenant Colonel Karol (24), 105, 165, 184, 232, 249
Kupiec, Antoni, 105n26
Kupiec, Bolesław (Bolek; 18), 105
Kupiec, First Lieutenant Jan (Janek; 20), 105
Kupiec, Józef, 105n26
Kupiec, Karol, 105n26
Kupiec, Władysław (Władek; 17), 105, 115
Küsel, Otto (inmate no. 2), 42, 43, 47, 94, 245, 246
KZN (Pilecki conflates the Konfederacja Zbrojna [KZ—The Armed Confederation] with the Konfederacja Narodu [KN—The Confederation of the Nation]), 145–146
L
labor camp (Arbeitslager), 279
Lachmann (SS man), 241–242, 249, 251
Lagerältesters (head inmates), 30, 31, 94, 158, 291
Lagerführers (camp heads), 41, 42, 154, 205, 338, 343
Lagerkapos (discipline Kapos), 63, 138, 158
Lagerkommandant (Camp Commandant), 103
Lamsdorf POW camp, lii
Landwirtschaftskommando (farming Kommando), 97
Lang, Konrad (inmate no. 18), 94, 96, 140–142, 158, 167, 215
latrines, 25–26, 214, 229
Laufschritt (doing things at the double), 25–26, 34, 42, 63, 295
Lech, Tadeusz (42), 121, 128–129
Lechenich, Jonny (inmate no. 19), 94–97, 158
Lederfabrik (tannery), 114, 140–142, 169–170, 196, 215–216, 228–229
Leo (Lagerältester Leo Wietschorek/Leon Wieczorek; inmate no. 30), 30, 31, 65, 80–81, 94, 353n2
Leon (Leon Wandasiewicz; 178), 319–321
letters to families. See families, of Auschwitz inmates; family, of Pilecki; Jews at Auschwitz-Birkenau—letters sent home from
lice infestations, 83–91, 159, 186
livestock, as work detail, 113–114, 146
Lublin pacification, 231–232, 234, 235
Lublin prison, 18
M
Machnowski, Jan (Janek; 97), 140–141, 165
Machowski, Captain Stanisław (159), 240, 274
Majdanek, xii, 156, 264
Makaliński, First Lieutenant Włodzimierz (Włodek; 29), 106, 117, 163, 204, 240
Makowski-Gąsienica, Andrzej (110), 167, 266
mail censorship office (Postzensurstelle), 100–104, 124
main gate guard or guardhouse (Hauptwache), 205, 235, 267
mangelwurzels, 55
Marduła, Andrzej (58), 129, 217
Maringe, Officer Cadet Platoon Sergeant Stanisław (Stasiek; 26), 106, 116, 212, 240
“Mateczka” or “Mom” (Fritz Biessgen; inmate no. 4), 94, 95, 228
Mauthausen, 186, 273, 359
Mazurkiewicz, Piotr (175), 314–315
medical experimentation at Auschwitz, 36n9, 252–254
medical issues. See also Krankenbau
Aloiz’s treatment of sick inmates, 38–39
dysentery, 55–56
escape from Auschwitz, during, 308, 309–310, 312, 316–318
hernia faked by Pilecki to avoid transport to another camp, 271, 273
lice infestations, 83–91, 159, 186
liquid foods, excessive reliance on, 26–27
meningitis, 98, 218
Pflegers (nurses), 37, 87, 91, 131, 138, 146, 219–220, 252, 286
Pilecki’s first fever and convalescence (in early 1941), 83–91, 97, 104
Pilecki’s second fever and convalescence (in mid-1942), 221–227
typhus, 159, 169, 182, 186, 216–220, 221–224, 242, 283–284
Meldung (report), 142
meningitis, 98, 218
Michał (Captain Michał Romanowicz; Captain Michał; 7), 47, 53–54, 56, 58
Mickiewicz, Adam, 119n32
Mielcarek, Jan (Wernyhora; 50), 129, 216, 217
Mietek (Arbeitsdienst), 245, 281
Miksa, Cavalry Sergeant Jan (119), 184, 186
military attacks on Auschwitz
bombing raids, 223
I. G. Farben works near Auschwitz, bombing of, 223n51
lack of, xli, xliii–xliv, li, 230–231, 321–323, 325
Pilecki’s post-escape efforts regarding, 321–327
ZOW plan of eventual action, 183–184, 226–227, 231–232, 243, 268. See also ZOW
military career of Pilecki prior to Auschwitz, xliv–xlviii
military promotion of Polish inmates while in Auschwitz, xlvii, 145–146
Młynarski, Janusz (172), 284, 286
“Mom” or “Mateczka” (Fritz Biessgen; inmate no. 4), 94, 95, 228
m
oney allowed to inmates, 151. See also paper money
Montelupich prison, 18, 259
Mosdorf, Jan (former member of Parliament, per Pilecki; 71), 139, 216, 217
motor pool (Fahrbereitschaft), 116
Możdżeń, Andrzej (180), 321–322
Murnau POW camp, lii
Murzyn, Leon, 326
Muselmänner, 120, 138, 179, 208, 220–221
Myszkowski, Tadeusz (Tadek; 52), 128, 167, 168, 215
N
Narkun (Auschwitz inmate), 85
Neuengamme, 272
NIE (Niepodległość or Independence), lii
“Nie dbam jaka spadnie kara” lyrics, 54–55
Niebudek, Stefan (former member of Parliament; 75), 139
Niepodległość (NIE; Independence), lii
Niepołomnicka Forest (location VIII), map 300, 315
Nierychło, Franciszek (Franz), 107
Niewiarowski, Officer Cadet Remigiusz (35), 116, 240
Norwegian inmates at Auschwitz, 209
Nowak, Dr. Edward (12), 87–88
Nowy Wiśnicz (location X), xix, xlix, map 300, 319–320, 323
numbers issued to inmates, 16, 20, 21
nurses (Pflegers), 37, 87, 91, 131, 138, 146, 219–220, 252, 286
O
Oberkapos (senior Kapos), 94, 95, 104, 115, 121, 140–142, 158
Obersturmführer (the equivalent in the German SS of First Lieutenant), 69
Obojski, Eugeniusz, 37n10
Obora, Mr. and Mrs. (176), 318–319
“Oda do Młodości” (“Ode to Youth,” Mickiewicz), 119n32
Ofensetzer (stove fitter), Pilecki’s work as, 42–47
office (Schreibstube), 118, 136, 150, 155, 182, 210, 256, 265, 272, 287
“old numbers,” 48, 108, 117, 150–151, 255, 281, 287, 288, 290, 292
Olek (Second Lieutenant Aleksander Bugajski; 167), 259–262, 265–266, 280, 289, 326
Olszowski, Second Lieutenant Jan (174), 293
orchestra, 106–107, 121, 146, 164, 172, 173, 246
organization of inmates. See ZOW
organization of inmates, camp authorities’ efforts to uncover, 160–163, 184–185, 243–244, 249–250
“organizing,” new meaning of word spread by ZOW, 92–93
Ostrowska, Eleonora (sister-in-law of Pilecki; E.O.), 100, 103, 153, 322, 325
Oświęcim (in German, Auschwitz), town of, xxi, xxvii, maps 9, 10 and 300, 18, 136, 169, 274–275, 303
Otto (Otto Küsel; inmate no. 2), 42, 43, 47, 94, 245, 246
Our Lady, picture of hanging on bush, 52
Ozimek, Stanisław (Stach; 48), 125, 241
P
pacification campaign in Lublin region, 231–232, 234, 235
Paliński, Aleksander (86), 154, 325
Palitzsch, Gerhard
execution of inmates by, 76–79, 92, 103, 219, 224, 238, 247
feared by SS and inmates, 69, 71
“gold lust” of, 282–283
Grabner, Maximilian, cooperation with, 92
information box, sabotage of, 160
Kiesgrube or gravel pit of, 250
mass shooting of Polish inmates and, 236, 238
paid “by the head” for shooting inmates, 92
photo of, 78
Pilecki’s pictures destroyed and confiscated by, 219
rank of, 69n19
Seidler substituting for, 154
sexual relationship with Jewish inmate Katti, 282
transport of Polish inmates and, 269
Pańszczyk, Mieczysław, 181
Paolone, Captain Tadeusz (114), 183, 227, 291n66
paper money, 229
parcel Kommando, 255–259, 272, 273, 283, 289
parcels sent by families of Auschwitz inmates, 79, 150, 245, 246, 255–259, 270, 288–290
Parliament, Polish, former members inmates at Auschwitz, 139–140, 167, 187
Pawiak prison, 18, 106, 117, 165, 204, 239, 275, 324
Pawłowicz, Captain Zygmunt (116; in camp as Julian Trzęsimiech), 183–184, 227, 327
Pawłowska, Dr. Helena (83), 152–153, 321
PE (“physical exercise”) instead of work assignment, 39–41, 71
“Pearly” (“Perełka,” SS man), 65, 75
Pełczyński, Major General Tadeusz, xix, xxxv, 1, 3
Penal Company (SK or Strafkompanie), 19, 32, 65, 155, 158, 211–213, 266, 280, 281, 326
“Perełka” (“Pearly,” SS man), 65, 75
perimeter fencing, Auschwitz. See Auschwitz—fencing, perimeter and interior
personal details of inmates, camp check on, 150–153, 240
Pflegers (nurses), 37, 87, 91, 131, 138, 146, 219–220, 252, 286
phenol, murder of inmates with, 179–182, 185–186, 226, 232, 242, 254, 277
“physical exercise” (PE) instead of work assignment, 39–41, 71
pictures made by Pilecki of camp life, 219
Piekarski, Second Lieutenant Konstanty (61), 138, 145, 168, 183, 226, 228, 244, 266, 271
Pietrzykowski, Tadeusz (Tadek; 21), 105, 114, 206
Pilecki, Andrzej (son), xx, xlvi
Pilecki, Captain Witold, xliv–liv. See also beatings experienced by Pilecki; escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz; family, of Pilecki; Report on Auschwitz; ZOW
anti-communist Polish resistance movement, involvement with, xvi, xxiii, lii, liii–liv
arrest of, sent to Auschwitz, xlviii, 11–12
assumed name, use of, xlviii, 3, 61, 98, 100, 117, 152–153, 320–323
in Auschwitz, xlviii–liii. See also Auschwitz, and more specific entries
birth, family background, and education, xliv, xlv
Christian faith of, xxxix–xl, xlvii, 157, 230, 254
dangerous game in Auschwitz, 124–125
final mission and execution of, xiii, xvi, l, liii–liv, 3n1
illnesses while in Auschwitz, 83–91, 221–227
in Italy in 1945, xix, xxxv, xlix, lii
marriage and children, xlvii, liii, liv
military career prior to Auschwitz, xliv–xlviii
number 4859 issued to, 20
personal qualities of, xii–xiii, xvi–xvii, xxxvi
pictures of camp life made by, 219
political views of, xlvii
as POW, lii
pronunciation of name, xin1, xxvii
psychological adjustments made by Pilecki, 13, 32–33, 46–47, 60, 86, 118, 124–125, 225, 229–230, 306, 331–332
suppression of story of, xv–xvi
transport of Poles to other camps, decision to avoid, 270, 271, 273
on twentieth century “civilization,” 109–110
Warsaw Uprising of 1944, role in, xii, xvi, xxi, lii, 12, 327–328
weakening of, exertion of willpower to conceal, 58–60
world outside of Auschwitz after escape, reaction to, xlii, 306–307, 331–332
Pilecki, Captain Witold, photographs of
after Auschwitz, xxviii, xlix, l
before Auschwitz, xiv, xviii, xxxvii, xlv, xlvi, 1
as Auschwitz inmate no. 4859, xxxviii, 21, 97, 323
with family, xxviii, xlvi
Pilecki, Jan (16; no relation to Witold Pilecki), 105
Pilecki (Pilecka), Maria Ostrowska (wife), xxviii, xlvi, xlvii, liii, liv
Pilecki (Pilecka), Zofia (daughter), xlvi
Piłsudski, Marshal, xlvii
Pohl, Alojz (81), 150
Poland
anti-communist Polish resistance movement, Pilecki’s involvement with, xvi, xxiii, lii, liii–liv
invasion of (September 1939), map ix, xlvii
location in Europe (1939), map vi
occupied (1939–1941), map x
pole, inmates hung by arms from, 75
Polish–Bolshevik War of 1919–1920, xliv, 285n65
Polish conscience, 233
Polish Constitution, execution of Poles on anniversary of ratification of (Ma
y 3rd), 127
Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa or AK)
Auschwitz inmates and ZOW not considered as active asset by, 242–243
Auschwitz reports sent to Polish government-in-exile via, xli
escapes from Auschwitz, response to, 250–251
formation of, xlviii
Kedyw, 324, 325
military attack on Auschwitz, failure to organize, xli, xliii–xliv, li, 230–231, 321–323, 325
photo of soldiers from, 148
Pilecki’s letters to family via, 125
Pilecki’s work with, after Auschwitz, xvi, lii, 323–328
PZP (Polski Związek Powstańczy or Polish Insurrectionary Organization), known as, xlviiin8
Polish language, pronunciation key for, xxvi–xxvii
Polish Parachute Brigade, xliii
Polish inmates in Auschwitz
active asset, not considered by outside world to be, 242–243
as best workers, 255, 273
female inmates, arrival and execution of, 173–174
frozen by exposure after hot shower, 149
Kommandos, removal from, 254–255
Lublin region, pacification campaign in, 231–232, 234, 235
mass shooting of Polish inmates (28th of October 1942), xl, 233–239
Pilecki’s post-escape efforts regarding, 321–327
political party members, rapprochement between, xl–xli, lii, 139–140, 150
political prisoners, Auschwitz used for, xxxix, xlii–xliii, 23
politicians, as inmates at Auschwitz, xl–xli, lii, 139–140, 150, 167, 187
sexual experimentation on, 253
solidarity of. See solidarity of Polish inmates in Auschwitz
survival rates of, 19, 49, 150–151, 186
transport to other camps, 254–255, 268–274
political department at Auschwitz (Gestapo), 73, 92, 99, 103, 150, 151–153, 160, 166, 182, 184, 212, 233, 240, 249, 268, 269
politicians, as inmates at Auschwitz, xl–xli, lii, 139–140, 150, 167, 187
Polkowski, Corporal Stanisław (91), 165, 216, 217
Polkowski, Stasiek (barber), 65
Polski Związek Powstańczy or Polish Insurrectionary Organization (PZP), Home Army known as, xlviiin8
Poraziński, First Lieutenant Jerzy (Jurek; 27), 106, 116, 212
possessions of inmates
Bekleidungskammer (clothing storeroom), 196
burnt in tannery, 196, 228
“Canada,” 196–204, 197–202, 218, 220, 225, 245, 257, 270, 278
commandeered or recycled, 196–204, 200–202, 228–229
diamonds and gold, 203–204, 229–230, 243–244, 246, 257, 275, 282–283
Effektenkammer (storeroom for inmates’ possessions), 70–71, 79
inmates allowed to wear civilian clothes taken from, 278