Jewish inmates stripped of, 188, 195–204, 197–202
parcels sent to dead inmates, 257–259, 270
Postenkette (security perimeter), 51, 137. See also Auschwitz—fencing, perimeter and interior
Postzensurstelle (mail censorship office), 100–104, 124
Potocki, Antek, 83, 84
POWs. See prisoners of war
priests
assistance to Pilecki during escape, 309–312
beaten to death, 17–18
change in attitude toward, 156
Dauchau, transports to, 156–157
Kolbe, Father Maksymilian, death of, 127n35
parish records, changed to protect Pilecki’s assumed identity, 152–153, 240, 321
rollers, inmates attached to, 41
self-sacrifice to save another inmate, 126–127
SK (Strafkompanie or Penal Company), sent to, 32
ZOW chaplain (Father Zygmunt Ruszczak; 87), 157
prisoners of war (POWs)
Bolshevik POWs at Auschwitz-Birkenau, xvi, xxxix, li, map 10, 16, 131–136, 134, 157, 159, 209. See also Soviet Union
Lamsdorf POW camp, lii
Murnau POW camp, lii
Pilecki as POW, lii
Polish officers spending war as, 72n20
promotions, military, of Polish inmates while at Auschwitz, xlvii, 145–146
Prussic acid, gassing with, 131. See also Zyklon B; gas chambers
psychological adjustments made by Pilecki, 13, 32–33, 46–47, 60, 86, 118, 124–125, 225, 229–230, 306, 331–332
punishments in Auschwitz. See beatings and punishments of inmates; torture and interrogation
punishment parade. See beatings and punishments of imates
Putek, Józef (former member of Parliament; 104), 167
PZP (Polski Związek Powstańczy or Polish Insurrectionary Organization), Home Army known as, xlviiin8
Q
quarantine
of inmates to be released, 98, 124, 153
of sick inmates, 219, 221, 226, 227, 286
Quo Vadis (Sienkiewicz), 61n17
R
radio room (Funkstelle), 168, 169
radio transmitter built and operated by ZOW, 168–169
Radwański, Kazimierz (nephew of Pilecki; Kazio; 39), 120, 184, 225, 250, 270, 271
Rajsko. See Birkenau
Rapportführer (SS officer responsible for discipline and roll calls), 69
Ravensbrück, 326
Rawicz, Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz (in camp as Jan Hilkner; 64), lii, 139, 140, 162, 163, 183–184, 186
records office (Erkennungsdienst), 97, 99, 234
Redzej, Jan (Jasiek, Jasio, Jaś, Janek; in camp as Jan Retko; 170). xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Reichsdeutschen (German citizens), 249, 268
Reklewski, Colonel Tadeusz (Colonel R; 11), 51, 81, 270–271, 291n66
relationships between men (both SS and inmates) and female inmates, sexual or romantic, 281–282
relationships between inmates at Auschwitz, 49–51
releases of inmates from Auschwitz
in 1940, 123–124
in 1942, 173
families arranging for, 11, 91, 114, 123, 125
for good behavior, 206
orchestra members, 173
quarantine of inmates to be released, 98, 124, 153
Surmacki released through influence of friend in German Army, 153–154
religion. See also priests; Christmas at Auschwitz; Easter at Auschwitz
church bells, 47, 136–137, 310
picture of Our Lady hanging in bush, 52
Pilecki, Christian faith of, xxxix–xl, xlvii, 157, 230, 254
praying man, Aloiz’s treatment of, 38–39
ZOW chaplain, 157
Report on Auschwitz (Pilecki, 1945)
character of, xxxv–xlii
coding of names and places in, xix–xx, xxv, 37
commercial offers made to Pilecki for, 3
composition of, xii, xix, xxiii, 325
covering letter, xxxv, 1, 3
editing and translation of, xix–xxi, xxiii–xxvi
facts and feelings, balancing, xvii, 7
family of Pilecki seldom mentioned in, liii
German words in, xxi, xxiv
importance of telling world about Auschwitz, 254
nicknames and diminutives, use of, xxiv
prior reports
June 1943, xii, xix
Autumn 1943 (Raport W), xix–xx, 37, 105n28, 106n29, 325
purpose of Pilecki’s mission and, xlii–xliv, 36
repetition in, 208
time period covered by, xvi
reserve arms store, under Baubüro or construction site office, 235
resistance organization among inmates. See ZOW
Retko, Jan (assumed name of Jan Redzej; Jasiek, Jasio, Jaś, Janek; 170), xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
road-construction Kommando (Strassenbaukommando), 58
roll call, 16, 19, 28, 31–32, 35, 48, 57, 68–69, 154, 160, 277–278, 289
rollers, inmates attached to, 40–41
Roman, Józef (181), 323
Romanowicz, Captain Michał (Michał or Captain Michał; 7), 47, 53–54, 56, 58
romantic relationships between men (both SS and inmates) and female inmates, 281–282
Romek (inmate), 230
Romek G. (inmate), 212
room supervisors (Stubendiensts), 24–25, 26, 27, 130, 146, 149
Rosa, Antoni (Antek; 22), 105
Rowecki, Lieutenant General Stefan (Grot), 146, 323
Różak, Zbigniew (56), 129
Różycki, Adam, 24n7
Różycki, Witold, 24
Russia. See Soviet Union
Ruszczak, Father Zygmunt (87), 157
Ruszczyński, Zbigniew (77), 140, 168, 243
Rybarski, Professor Roman (former member of Parliament; 69), 139, 150, 166
Rzeczkowski, Warrant Officer Szczepan (Szczepan; 28), 106, 280
S
Sachsenhausen, 146n42, 272
salad dressing/vinegar, fed to inmates hung from poles, 75
salvage Kommando (Aufräumungskommando), 197, 200–202
Salwa, Edek, 86
Scharführer (equivalent in the German SS of Staff Sergeant), 293
Schreibers (clerks), 234, 309
Schreibstube (office), 118, 136, 150, 155, 182, 210, 256, 265, 272, 287
Schonungsblock (convalescence block), 120, 138, 220
Schudrich, Rabbi Michael, xv–xvii
Schutzhäftling, as term for inmate, 20
“Scooter” (“Hulajnoga”; Kapo), 167, 215
Second World War, misconceptions about, xi–xiii
Seidler, Fritz, 19, 22, 73, 154
“Seidler week,” 154
Sęp II (Major Chmielewski, first name unknown; 38), 117, 241
Serafiński, Lieutenant Tomasz (Tomek; 84; with wife referred to as 179)
Pilecki’s assumption of identity of, xlviii, 61, 98, 100, 117, 152–153, 320–323
Pilecki’s plan to attack Auschwitz with, 321–323
Pilecki’s post-escape stay with family of, xix, xlix, 319–323
pronunciation of name, xxvii
Serafiński, Mr. and Mrs. (179), 321–323. See also Serafiński, Lieutenant Tomasz
sewers as possible escape route, 259–260, 266–267, 276–277, 280
sexual abuse of inmates
boys abused by Leo (Leon Wietschorek), 80–81
female inmates forced to strip and run while being shot by Palitzsch, 76
Jewish women saved from gas chambers for purposes of, 209–210
SS men having sex with female inmates, 281–282
sexual experiments on Auschwitz inmates, 252–254
sexual relationships between men (both SS
and inmates) and female inmates, 281–282
shoes, 228, 231, 232, 255
shooting, death by. See beatings and punishments of inmates
sickness. See Krankenbau; medical issues
Siegruth, Johann (Sigrod, Kapo), 53, 164–165
Sienkiewicz, Henryk, 61
Sigrod (Johann Siegruth, Kapo), 53, 164–165
Sikora, Czesław (157), 239, 241, 242
Sikorski, General Władysław, 146
Silesians at Auschwitz, 69–70, 150, 151, 163, 184
siren at Auschwitz, 68, 137, 145. See also bell at Auschwitz; gong
SK (Strafkompanie or Penal Company; located in Block 11 [new no.], Block 13 [old no.]), 19, 32, 65, 155, 158, 211–213, 266, 280, 281, 326
Skornowicz, Mikołaj, 105n28
Skrzypek, Alfred, 70
sleeping at Auschwitz. See also gong
arrangements, 11, 25, 91, 143, 213. See also blocks/barracks—bunks in
lice and, 83–86
SS men, 259, 296, 298, 301
time on Sundays, 158
Słowiaczek, Tadeusz (Tadek; 19), 105, 131–132, 215, 309, 311
smoking, 27, 145, 302
Smyczek, Wilhelm, 70
Śniegucki, Wiktor (46), 121
Sobibor, 264
“Sokół” (“Falcon”) organization of Czechs, 163
Sokołowski (first name unknown; 113), 168
solidarity of Polish inmates in Auschwitz, xxxvi, xxxix–xl, 32, 33, 92, 139–140
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr, xxxvi
Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.)
Bolshevik POWs in Auschwitz-Birkenau, xvi, xxxix, li, map 10, 16, 131–136, 134, 157, 159, 209
concentration camps in, xii
German–Bolshevik war (beginning June 1941), 131
location in Europe (1939), map vi
Polish–Bolshevik War of 1919–1920, xliv
in WWII and after, xi–xiii, xxiii, liii-liv, 131, 133, 147, 159n44, 223n50
invasion, partition and occupation of Poland (1939–1941), maps ix and x, xi, xlvii
spade used by “the Strangler” to kill Jews in SK, 211
spoons made by woodcarving shop, 167, 215, 302
spring, strongest sense of imprisonment felt in, 175–176
SS (Schutzstaffel—Protective Guard) garrison at Auschwitz
bakery, escape of Pilecki, Edek, and Janek via, 293–298, 301, 328
bombings of Auschwitz, reaction to, 223
burial of inmates alive by, 71–72
escapes using uniforms of, 204–205, 245–246
female camp authorities in SS uniforms, 282
Gawron’s painting of portraits of, 166
human feelings, Pilecki’s consideration of, 46–47
inmates, SS men killed by, xl
liquidation of inmates by, fears of, xliii, xliv
parcels of dead inmates consumed by, 257–258
possessions of gassed Jews commandeered by, 196–204, 200–202
private arrangements with Auschwitz workshops, 42–47, 108–109
relationship to inmates and internal camp authorities, 31
stove fitting at SS apartment, 42–47
strength of, xliii
Totenkopf (Death’s Head) cap badge, 22
typhus-infected lice released by inmates on, 159, 186, 216
ZOW, SS men working with, 268
Stach (Stanisław Ozimek; 48), 125, 241
Stalin, Joseph, xi
Stammlager (main camp at Auschwitz), 122, 163, 180, 279. See also Auschwitz
standing bunker (Stehbunker), 74, 158
Stasiek (Officer Cadet Platoon Sergeant Stanisław Maringe; 26), 106, 116, 212, 240
Stasiek (Second Lieutenant Stanisław Wierzbicki; 156), 232, 239–242, 250–251, 274
Stawarz, Colonel Aleksander (23), 105, 165, 184, 187
Stawiszyński, Stanisław (41), 106n29, 121, 207, 233, 239, 241
Stehbunker (standing bunker), 74, 158
Stępień, Senior Uhlan Stefan (123), 204
sterilization experiments on Auschwitz inmates, 252–254
storerooms
Bekleidungskammer (clothing storeroom), 196, 248–250, 251
“Canada,” 196–204, 197–202, 218, 220, 225, 245, 257, 270, 278
Effektenkammer (storeroom for inmates’ possessions), 70–71, 79
smell of food from, 58
Stössel, Second Lieutenant Alfred (Fredek; 4), 37, 91, 116, 168, 226, 241–242
stove fitter (Ofensetzer), Pilecki’s work as, 42–47
Strafkompanie (SK; Penal Company), 19, 32, 65, 155, 158, 211–213, 266, 280, 281, 326
“the Strangler” (Izak Gąska), 211
Stransky, Karel (89), 163
Strassenbaukommando (road-construction Kommando), 58
straw, making shoes out of, 255
Stubendiensts (room supervisors), 24–25, 26, 27, 130, 146, 149
Stulgiński, Tadeusz (96), 165
“subhumans” (Untermenschen), 108, 282
submarine, rumors of, 268
Suchnicki, Captain Dr. Henryk (146), 224, 226, 239
suicides by inmates, 28
Sundays at Auschwitz
concert, 121, 172
free time/Blocksperre (confinement to blocks), 121, 157–158
letter writing, 102, 210
roll call, 278
work on, 143–145, 157–158
“supermen” (Übermenschen), 108, 113, 257
Surmacki, Colonel Władysław (Władek; 1), xx, xxvii, 36–37, 59, 106, 149, 153–154, 165, 240
surveyors’ Kommando, 260
survival expectations/death rates at Auschwitz, 19, 49, 150–151, 186, 328–329
Świerczyna, First Lieutenant Bernard (76), 140, 184, 225–226, 240, 243, 249, 275, 291, 292
Świętorzecki, Karol (31), 24, 113
Szczepan (Warrant Officer Szczepan Rzeczkowski; 28), 106, 280
Szczerbowska, Zofia (13), 97
Szelągowska, Maria, xlix
Szklarz, Second Lieutenant Henryk (165), 259
Szpakowski, Sławek, xxvii, 12, 49, 54–55, 58–60, 63, 97–98, 102, 324
Szydlik, Platoon Sergeant Tadeusz (40), 120–121, 291
Szymkowiak, Officer Cadet Witold (Witold; 15), 105, 186
Szyszko-Bohusz, Second Lieutenant Marian, xlix
T
Tadek (Second Lieutenant Tadeusz Burski; 6), 37, 87, 91
Tadek (Tadeusz Myszkowski; 52), 128, 167, 168, 215
Tadek (Tadeusz Pietrzykowski; 21), 105, 114, 206
Tadek (Tadeusz Słowiaczek; 19), 105, 131–132, 215, 309, 311
Tajna Armia Polska or Polish Secret Army (TAP), xlviii, 36, 145, 239–240, 280
tannery (Lederfabrik), 114, 140–142, 169–170, 196, 215–216, 228–229
TAP (Tajna Armia Polska or Polish Secret Army), xlviii, 36, 145, 239–240, 280
“Tata” or “Daddy” (Hans Bock; inmate no. 5), 94
tattooing of inmates, 16
10 z Pawiaka (10 from the Pawiak Prison) (film), 204
testicles, crushing of, 65
Third Reich, xi, 17, 23, 35, 80, 87, 158, 187–188, 308
Tierpflegers (animal or veterinary nurses), 146
time, sense of passage of, 49
titles and honorifics, inmate abandonment of, 51
tobacco, 27, 145, 302
toilets, 25–26, 214, 229
Tomek (Lieutenant Tomasz Serafiński; 84). See Serafiński, Lieutenant Tomasz.
torture and interrogation
of Auschwitz inmates, 23, 46, 48, 75, 76, 174, 242, 248, 250, 251
of Karcz, 160–163
of Pilecki on return to Poland, xvi, liv
ZOW’s efforts to avoid discovery via, li, 106
toys, woodcarving inmates making, 142, 167
transports to Auschwitz, xii, xlviii, 12–13, 17–19, 48n12, 70, 93, 106, 149, 151, 165, 175–176, 184, 187–195, 189–193, 232, 239, 257, 259
transports from Auschwitz, 125, 156-157, 186, 269–27
3, 291n66
Treblinka, xii, 156, 264
Triebling, Captain Eugeniusz (Geniek; 30), 106, 217–218
Trojnicki, Captain Ferdynand (Fred; 8), 60, 61, 64, 168
truss worn by Pilecki to fake hernia, 271, 273
Trzęsimiech, Julian (assumed name of Captain Zygmunt Pawłowicz; 116), 183–184, 227, 327
tunnel from Block 28 as possible escape route, 226, 241
turnips carried into camp, 143–144
“twenties,” 47, 53, 56, 99, 121, 132, 142
Tyniec (location IV), map 300, 313
typhus, 159, 169, 182, 186, 216–220, 221–224, 242, 283–284
U
Übermenschen (“supermen”), 108, 113, 257
Uhlan regiment colors, hiding place of, 204
Uhlan, Senior (rank in a Polish uhlan cavalry regiment equivalent to Private First Class), 204
underground fuel tank converted to submarine, rumors of, 268
Unterkapos (deputy Kapos), 47, 144, 278, 281, 292
Untermenschen (“subhumans”), 108, 282
Uris, Leon, 36n9
V
Verkehrsabkürzungen (German cipher keys), 169
Vernichtungslager (extermination camp), 279. See also Auschwitz
vinegar/salad dressing, fed to inmates hung from poles, 75
Virion, Cavalry Captain Jerzy de (3), 37, 59, 102, 240
Virtuti Militari (Poland’s highest award for gallantry), 250
vodka, 205, 262, 281, 287
Volksdeutschen (ethnic Germans), 53, 60, 150, 184, 249, 268, 342
Volksliste (German People’s Register), 233
Vorarbeiteren (foremen), 34, 45, 47, 53, 60, 61, 69
W
Wagner, Mieczysław (55), 129
“Wall of Tears,” 75–79, 77, 242
Walter (Walterscheid; Kapo), 121, 141, 145, 229, 283
Wandasiewicz, Leon (178), 319–321
Warsaw, Pilecki’s post-escape work in, 323–327
Warsaw Rising. See Warsaw Uprising of 1944
Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (Warsaw Rising), xii, xvi, xxi, lii, 12, 327–328
Waschraum (washroom), 26, 84, 180. See also washing facilities; latrines; toilets
washing facilities, 20, 26, 84, 141–142, 149, 214
Wąsowski, Corporal Czesław (Czesiek; 9), 62–64, 104, 153
Ważyński, Zygmunt (158), 239–242, 320
weather, 48
Weinhold, Reinhard, 283
“went for the wires,” 28, 29
Wernyhora (Jan Mielcarek; 50), 129, 216, 217
Wesele (play by Stanisław Wyspiański), 129n39
Westrych, Wilhelm, 60–62, 64, 80–82, 98, 104, 328
Weszke, Wacław (92), 165, 216, 281, 292
wheelbarrows
corpses on, 70, 195
carrying coal in, 297