The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery
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Diem, Dr. Rudolf (102), 166, 244
“Diogenes’ barrel” escape, 262–265
discipline Kapos (Lagerkapos), 63, 138, 158
Dobrowolski, Stanisław (108), 167, 239, 241
dogs at Auschwitz, 13–14, 65, 67, 75, 114, 179, 209, 302
double, doing things at the (Laufschritt), 25–26, 34, 42, 63, 295
dreams of Pilecki prior to escape, 285, 287
Drozd, Franciszek, 71, 83
Dubois, Stanisław (former member of Parliament; 70), 139, 150, 187
dunce’s cap, 67
Dunikowski, Professor, 140–141
Durchfall (dysentery), 55–56
Dutch inmates at Auschwitz, 209, 278
dysentery (Durchfall), 55–56
Dziama, Lieutenant Colonel Teofil (122), 187, 232, 292
Dziedzic, Captain Tadeusz (88), 160, 239
Dziunko (Captain Dr. Władysław Dering or Władek; 2). See Dering, Captain Dr. Władysław
E
Easter at Auschwitz, 186, 281, 283, 285, 287, 289, 326
eating. See food and drink
Edek (Edward Ciesielski; 57), xlix, 129, 224–225, 254, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Effektenkammer (storeroom for inmates’ possessions), 70–71, 79
E.O. (Eleonora Ostrowska, sister-in-law of Pilecki), 100, 103, 153, 322, 325
Erik (Erik Grönke), 141–142, 145, 167, 203, 216, 229, 282
Erkennungsdienst (records office), 97, 99, 234
escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz (with Edward Ciesielski and Jan Redzej), lii, 279–323
bakery, via, 276–277, 279–281, 287–298
to border between Silesia (German Third Reich) and the Generalgouvernement, 301–308
from border to Bochnia, 314–319
clothing used in, 291–292, 301–302, 305, 307
crossing the border, 308–313
decision to escape, 279–281
dreams prior to escape, 285, 287
farewells and gathering of supplies for, 291–292
food and drink during, 306–307, 309, 311, 314
map of escape route, 300
medical issues during, 308, 309–310, 312, 316–318
plans for, 230, 251, 261, 266–268, 273–277
Serafińskis, Pilecki’s stay with, xix, xlix, 319–323
shot at by German soldiers, 301, 316–317
SS men and, 293–298, 301, 328
tobacco used to cover scent trail, 302
escapes from Auschwitz. See also collective responsibility for escapes
Bugajski and Wierusz’s plans for, 259–262, 265–266
Camp Commandant’s car, using, 204–205
captured escapees, punishment/execution of, 67–68, 206, 279
“Diogenes’ barrel,” 262–265
families of escapees, threats to, 261, 322
first case of, 65–66
Kommando change associated by camp authorities with, 266, 280
perimeter fencing, reinforcement and electrification of, 66–67
senior officers, planned camp revolt and escape by, 105–106
sewers, via, 259–260, 266–268
by SK inmates, 212–213
SS men drugged for purposes of, 261
SS uniforms used for, 204–205, 245–246
“wet job,” Pilecki’s protest against, 262
ZOW’s opposition to, 126, 262
ZOW’s organization of, 166–167, 226, 241
ZOW’s sending of reports via, 159, 167, 260
ethnic Germans (Volksdeutschen), 53, 60, 150, 184, 249, 268, 342
European territorial boundaries (1939), map vi
Exodus (Uris), 36n9
F
Fahrbereitschaft (motor pool), 116
“Falcon” (“Sokół”) organization of Czechs, 163
families, of Auschwitz inmates
death notices to, 155
escaped inmates, threats against families of, 261, 322
freedom of inmates bought by, 11, 91, 114, 123, 125
Jewish inmates’ letters home, 156, 188, 210
money sent by, 151
parcels sent by, 79, 150, 245, 246, 255–259, 270, 288–290
Pilecki’s post-escape contacts with, 324, 325
threat of accountability for inmate actions, 237–238
Volksliste, inmates urged by families to sign, 233
Zabawski’s family and Pilecki’s escape from Auschwitz, 276, 283, 317–318
family, Palitzsch’s execution of, 77–79
family, of Pilecki
background of, xliv, xlv
escape from Auschwitz, after, 322
failure of Pilecki to write letters to, questioning about, 98–104
letters of Pilecki to, 125
nephew of Pilecki sent to Auschwitz, family news from, 120
photographs of, xxviii, xlvi
Report, seldom mentioned in, liii
farming Kommando (Landwirtschaftskommando), 97
Fejkiel, Dr. Władysław (173), 287
female inmates at Auschwitz
arrival of, 176–179
Birkenau, moved to, 213, 215
Blocks 1–10 (new nos.), first housed in, 176
building construction, work on, 44
deterioration of, 176–179, 208–209, 213
escaped inmates, threats against families of, 261
fence built to block off area for, 157, 215
flea infestation, 213–215
gassing of, 213
German prostitutes and female criminals as authorities over, 173, 176, 282
Jewish women, 188, 209–210
Palitzsch’s sexual relationship with Jewish inmate Katti, 282
Polish political prisoners, arrival and execution of, 173–174
sexual experiments on, 252–254
shaving of heads and body hair of, 176
shot by Palitzsch, 76
in small group killed in crematorium, 247, 248
SS men and other inmates having sex with, 281–282
fencing, perimeter and interior. See Auschwitz— fencing, perimeter and interior
fish ponds, 167
“fives,” as Pilecki’s term for groups generally, 11, 13, 33, 39, 42, 46, 47
“fives,” ZOW organized in, xlviii–li, 36–38, 93
first five, 36–38, 47
second five, 105
third five, 106
fourth five, 138
in Baubüro (construction site office), 59, 166
Makaliński introduced to all 42 cells, 163
political cell, 139–140, 150
recruitment of, 47, 91, 97, 105, 121, 129, 138–140, 165–168, 183–184, 186–187, 218, 226, 232, 240
Silesians in, 70, 150
flea infestation in female barracks, 213–215
Florczyk, Heniek, 91
Flossenbürg, 272
food and drink
on admission and arrival, 18, 19
awo (camp slang for a broth), 27
barbers’ access to, 149
from “Canada,” 245
at Christmas, 72, 80, 245
cigarettes, trading food for, 27
collective responsibility for escapes and loss of access to, 67
dead inmates, parcels sent to, 257–259, 270
dog meat, consumption of, 114
dysentery and, 55–56
energy requirements versus, 57
escape from Auschwitz, during, 306–307, 309, 311, 314
experience of hunger, difficulty of describing, 72
family parcels to inmates and, 79, 150, 245, 246, 256–259, 270, 288, 290
Jewish arrivals, taken from, 188, 196
liquids, excessive reliance on, 26–27
livestock, as work detail, 113–114
local population, additional food provided by, 97
mangelwurzels, 55
salad dressing/vinegar, fed to inmates hung from poles, 75
second illness of Pilecki, extras provided by comrades during, 226
sickness, ability of Pilecki to eat while suffering from, 86
small carpenter shop, Pilecki’s receipt of extra food while working in, 64–65, 72
storerooms, smell of food from, 58
from Stubendiensts (room supervisors), 130
transport to Auschwitz, during, 12
turnips carried into camp, 143–144
use as test in recruiting inmates for ZOW, 130
vodka, 205, 262, 281, 287
football matches, 204–205
forced laborers, civilian, camp for (Gemeinschaftslager), 169
foremen (Vorarbeiteren), 34, 45, 47, 53, 60, 61, 69
Fred (Captain Ferdynand Trojnicki; 8), 60, 61, 64, 168
Fredek (Second Lieutenant Alfred Stössel; 4), 37, 91, 116, 168, 226, 241–242
“freedom” block, 124, 153
freezing of inmates by exposure after hot shower, 149
French inmates at Auschwitz, 209, 257
Fritzsch, Karl, 42, 281
Funkstelle (radio room), 168, 169
Fusek (friend of Janek Machnowski), 141
G
Gaik, Stefan (54), 129, 217
Gajowniczek, Franciszek, 127n35
garden of Camp Commandant, Pilecki’s work on, 45, 47–48, 51–53
Garliński, Jarek, xxii, xxiii, xxv, liv
Garliński, Józef, xx, xxi, 223n50
gas chambers
construction of, 160, 177
crematorium, Bolshevik POWs gassed in, 132–136
daily gassings, 173, 277
female inmates, gassing of, 213
hospital patients taken to, 207
ill or weak-looking inmates picked for, 220–221
interior photo, 161
Jews, gassing of, 195
pacification campaign in Lublin region and, 231–232
Prussic acid, 131–132
reputation of Auschwitz and, 279
sealed room, Bolshevik POWs gassed in, 131–132, 134
“sick tourists,” 207
typhus block patients taken to, 219–220
Zyklon B, 134, 194, 195
Gąska, Izak (“the Strangler”), 211
Gawron, Wincenty (Wicek; 44), 21, 106n29, 121, 128, 141, 150, 165–167, 322, 328
Gemeiner (refers to low-level SS man), 235
Gemeinschaftslager (camp for civilian forced laborers), 169
Generalgouvernement, maps x and 300, 308
Geniek (Captain Eugeniusz Triebling; 30), 106, 217–218
German cipher keys (verkehrsabkürzungen), 169
German citizens (Reichsdeutschen), 249, 268
German inmates, xlii–xliii, 23, 28, 42, 52, 65, 82, 93, 136, 159, 165, 173, 176, 205–206, 209, 212, 227, 249, 253, 258, 282–283, 286–287
German songs, inmates required to sing, 160
German words in Pilecki’s Report, xxi, xxiv
German–Bolshevik war, Russian POWs from, xvi, xxxix, li, 132–136, 134, 157
Germans, ethnic (Volksdeutschen), 53, 60, 150, 184, 249, 268, 342
Gestapo, map 10, 73n21, 90, 117, 146n42, 322–323. See also Aleja Szucha; political department at Auschwitz (Gestapo)
Gierych, Bolesław, 80
Gilewicz, Colonel Juliusz (121), xx, 186–187, 226–228, 244, 275
“go for the wires,” 28, 29
gold and diamonds, 203–204, 229–230, 243–244, 246, 257, 275, 282–283
gong, 136. See also bell at Auschwitz; siren at Auschwitz
morning, 25, 28, 33, 99
lunch/afternoon, 35
escapes, 68
evening, 35, 67, 154, 160
Gött-Getyński, Major Edward (150), 227, 249
Grabner, Maximilian, 90, 92, 166, 184–186, 233, 235, 239, 269
gravel in wheelbarrows, moving, 33–35, 63–64
gravel pit (Kiesgrube), 250
Greek inmates at Auschwitz, 209, 253
Grönke, Erik, 141–142, 145, 167, 203, 216, 229, 282
Gross-Rosen, 272
Grot (Lieutenant General Stefan Rowecki), 146, 323
GULag, xii
Gutkiewicz, Stanisław (45), 106n29, 121, 128, 150, 163
Gypsies in Auschwitz-Birkenau, 253, 262, 263, 264
H
Häftling, as term for inmate, 20n4, 23
Häftlingsküche (inmates’ kitchen), 257
hangings
of camp authorities by inmates, 53, 164–165
of inmates. See beatings and punishments of inmates; suicides by inmates
Harmense Kommando, 166–167
Hauptscharführer (the equivalent in the German SS of Master Sergeant), 69n19, 78
Hauptwache (main gate guard or guardhouse), 205, 235, 267
head inmates (Lagerältesters), 30, 31, 94, 158, 291
health issues. See Krankenbau; medical issues
hernia faked by Pilecki to avoid transport to another camp, 271, 273
Hilkner, Jan (assumed name of Lieutenant Colonel Kazimierz Rawicz; 64), lii, 139, 140, 162, 163, 183–184, 186
Himmler, Heinrich, 170, 171
Hitler, Adolph, xi
Hofman, Krzysztof (Krzyś), 91
Home Army. See Polish Home Army
homosexuals, 23
honorifics and titles, inmate abandonment of, 51
hospital. See Krankenbau
Hrebenda, Janek, 87, 91
“Hulajnoga” (“Scooter”; Kapo), 167, 215
humor, inmates’ sense of, 58, 169–173, 246
“hundreds,” 53, 54, 56, 108, 144, 151, 228, 235, 247
hunger. See food and drink
I
I. G. Farben works near Auschwitz, bombing of, 223n51
illnesses. See Krankenbau; medical issues
Industriehof I, Auschwitz, 60, 104, 122, 140, 169, 280
Industriehof II, Auschwitz, 53, 58, 65, 68
information box, sabotage of, 159–160
inmates’ resistance organization. See ZOW
insanity of camp life, 17–18, 32–33, 59
inspection of Auschwitz, 107, 164, 170
intellectuals/intelligentsia, 17–18, 34–35, 40, 118–120, 163, 250–251
interrogation. See torture and interrogation
“Isjago,” 218
Italy, Pilecki’s military service in, in 1945, xix, xxxv, xlix, lii
Iwo II, 240
J
Jabłoński, Major Karol (Wilk; Zygmunt), 325
Jagiełło, Konstanty (former member of Parliament, per Pilecki; 72), 139
Janek (Jan Dangel; 49), 125, 241, 247
Janek (First Lieutenant Jan Kupiec; 20), 105
Janek (Jan Machnowski; 97), 140–141, 165
Janek, Jasiek, Jasio, Jaś (Jan Redzej, in camp as Jan Retko; 170), xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Janek W. (Major Jan Włodarkiewicz; 82), xlvi, 17, 125, 146
Januszewski, Mieczysław (68), 139, 166, 168
Jaś, Janek, Jasiek, Jasio (Jan Redzej, in camp as Jan Retko; 170), xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Jasiek, Jasio, Jaś, Janek (Jan Redzej, in camp as Jan Retko; 170), xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Jasieński, Second Lieutenant Stefan, xliv
Jasio, Jaś, Janek, Jasiek (Jan Redzej, in camp as Jan Retko; 170), xlix, 276–277, 299, 319, 323, 325, 328. See also escape of Pilecki from Auschwitz
Jaster, Officer Cadet Stanisław (112), 168, 204
Jehovah’s Witnesses, 23
Jews at Auschwitz-Birkenau, 187–204
arrival and division of, 187–188, 189–193
change in attitude towards, 155–156
corpses dug up and burnt by, 175
deaths, number of, 329n72
gassing of, 195
letters sent home from, 156, 188, 210
new Jewish arrivals sent directly to Birkenau, 15
6
Palitzsch’s sexual relationship with Jewish inmate Katti, 282
parcels sent to dead inmates, 257
possessions of, 188, 195–204, 197–202
rollers, inmates attached to, 41
sexual experiments on, 253
SK, removal from, 155
SK, sent to, 32, 211
“the Strangler” (Izak Gąska), 211
stripping of, 188–195
testicles, crushing of, 65
ZOW’s reports on, xli, li
Jonny (Jonny Lechenich; inmate no. 19), 94–97, 158
Jurek (First Lieutenant Jerzy Poraziński; 27), 106, 116, 212
Jurek (name unknown; 10), 64
K
Kapos (inmates who were supervisors or “trusties”)
clothing of gassed Jews worn by, 196–203
experimentally drugged with barbiturates for escape purposes, 262
first thirty German inmates at Auschwitz, 93–97, 352–353
helpful, 94–97, 140–142, 158
killed by camp inmates, xl. See also killing of camp authorities by camp inmates
Lagerkapos (discipline Kapos), 63, 138, 158
mass shooting of Polish inmates (28th of October 1942), collection of names for, 233–234, 235
role of, 28–31
yellow armbands worn by, 20
Karcz, Colonel Jan (62), 138, 160–163, 167–168, 207–208
Katti (Jewish inmate having sexual relationship with Palitzsch), 282
Kazik (Kapo), 24, 36, 49
Kazio (Kazimierz Radwański, nephew of Pilecki; 39), 120, 184, 225, 250, 270, 271
Kazuba, Captain Stanisław (60), 138, 183, 227, 292
Kedyw, 324, 325
Kiesgrube (gravel pit), 250
Kiliański (first name unknown; former member of Parliament; 74), 139
killing of camp authorities by camp inmates, xl
by hanging, 53, 164–165
by typhus-infected lice, 159, 186, 216
KL Auschwitz (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz—Auschwitz Concentration Camp), map 10, 18. See also Auschwitz
Klehr (SS man), 179–182, 185–186, 207, 224, 226
knitting wool, use of, 228
Kocjan, Stanisław (33), 116
Kolbe, Father Maksymilian, 127n35
Koliński, Cavalry Captain Włodzimierz (162), 249
Koliński, Second Lieutenant Mieczysław (163), 249
Kommandos (work details), 25, 31, 111–112
Arbeitsdienst (work assignment office), ZOW members in, 166
Arbeitsdiensts (work assignment leaders), 42, 139, 166, 245, 265–266, 275, 281
Arbeitskommando (camp work detail), 33, 35, 39, 99, 138, 234
Aufräumungskommando (salvage Kommando), 197, 200–202
Auschwitz buildings and roads, construction of, 44, 56–58, 111–112, 122–123