Today, I want to remember one of those victims.
Witold Pilecki, in many ways, embodies the story of Poland in the 20th Century. Caught between the malignancies of Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, his life, like his country, seemed doomed from the outset. Yet Poland, like Pilecki, stands as a testament that the will to life and nobility exists even when all hope is gone.
His Wiki entry can be found here.
It's fascinating to note, that until Pilecki chose to " voluntarily insert" himself into Auschwitz(he also had a wife and two kids), no one actually knew what was going on there. Pilecki's reports back to the Polish Underground were initially met with disbelief. Seeing the desperateness of the situation, Pilecki actually wanted to organise a rebellion in the camp to liberate the prisoners, but realised that it would be doomed without outside support. The intelligence he obtained was passed to the Polish High Command in exile, who in turn passed it to the Americans and the British, and pressed them to help. They weren't interested.
Pilecki escaped from Auschwitz and then joined up again with the Polish Underground to fight the Germans and then, after they had been beaten, against the Communists. He was eventually caught by the Polish Communists, tried on false charges, brutally tortured and executed. Ironically, his torturers and executioner were communist Jews. Life is stranger than fiction.
He, like many fellow Poles, were cursed soldiers. Men who fought valiantly against the Germans only to die at the hands of the Communists. Unlike the Danes, who yeilded to the Germans after 16 dead, the Poles fought like lions, suffering terrible persecutions, millions dead and hopeless odds.
These truly were the "Best and Brightest."
A photo gallery of his life can be found here.
Men like this should never be forgotten.
Say a prayer for him in honour of his memory, go to Church if you can,.......... then live the example.
That's a nice idea, Dr. Pathologist. Unfortunately the son-of-a-white-bitch in the White House has said this about May 1st.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/01/presidential-proclamation-loyalty-day-2012
Unbelievable. Obama not only lacks subtlety, he lacks class.
Poland's story is the great unwritten story in World War II. It's unfortunate that nobody's memories stretch back more than seventy years because the Poles have a valiant history. 1683, of course, but they did have a war with the Soviets in the twenties--and won.
I remember having a chat with a British coworker (Cambridge-educated, no less) about Polish prowess and all he could think of was how quickly they lost to Nazi Germany.
Poland needs a wide, paved road around their border with nice direction signs so Russia and Germany can invade each other without bugging them.
ReplyDeleteThen they should mine, moat, wall, wire their border, start a crash nuke program, and issue guns to all citizens over 16 yo, with mandatory target practice...and only then start stockpiling food and ammo.
Can you tell I'm an American? :-)
But no worries. If we just wait a few hundred years all three of those nations should have bred themselves out of existence. I think Poland's TFR is 1.3 and Germany 1.4, with Russia a bit higher but a third-world death rate knocking that down.
Never heard of Pilecki, thank you for bringing him to our attention.
ReplyDeleteI like how you wish to seperate such a day away from the Black Ribbon one. We need to remind people that all forms of totalitarianism, be it Right or Left in nature, are cultures of death and reduce humanity rather than elevate.
I pray Poland remains a Christian holdout in Europe, along with Croatia. I still pray for Italy (my nationality), France and Spain for recovery and renewal.
@mdavid
ReplyDeleteCan you tell I'm an American? :-)
I'm not American and I'd do exactly the same thing.
The former Hapsburg countries need to unite, a least in some way, and threaten anyone who crosses the line with a nuking.
@Durandel.
There are still pockets in all of Europe where the Faith is still held seriously. I think the world is about to enter a great period of social disruption, and it will be these little pockets that will serve as sources for renewal.
@Ingemar
Obama will end up being another Gerald Ford; his memory will be in his being the first black Pres. He really hasn't distinguished himself in any other way to be taken seriously. I don't take him seriously either.
As for the British, history as shown their intelligentsia's worth. With a few a exceptions, their entire upper/middle class has served as a nursery and refuge for the worst excesses of socialism. English intelligentsia is an oxymoron.
I think that when it comes to Poland, the Brits should hang their heads in shame. Still, to be fair, Churchill was far more sympathetic to their plight than his generals. Roosevelt was just plain evil.
"I remember having a chat with a British coworker (Cambridge-educated, no less) about Polish prowess and all he could think of was how quickly they lost to Nazi Germany.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're overwhelmed by odds of at least 10 to 1, and using outmoded/obsolete equipment (e.g., airplanes) or using obsolete technology and tactics (e.g., cavalry against tanks), it's amazing that the Poles held out as long as they did.
"Men like this should never be forgotten."
Indeed not. If you want a brief look at how the Poles were eager to fight the Nazis during the Battle of Britain, a VERY small portion was featured in the movie, "The Battle of Britain" (1969).
The courage of the Polish squadrons that fought in the RAF is legendary, and their records of valor are likely second to none. But those fliers had seen what the Nazis did to their country, and could only guess what the Gestapo barbarians were probably doing to their families; they largely lived to fly so that they could go up and kill Germans, rested only when they were exhausted, and went back up so that they could kill more Germans.
Even the British RAF pilots and aircrews, though they were filled with admiration for the Poles' skill and courage, were astonished by their ferocity and hate for the Nazis.
@PJ
ReplyDeleteit's amazing that the Poles held out as long as they did.
They never actually surrendered. They kept fighting from exile.
Even the British RAF pilots and aircrews, though they were filled with admiration for the Poles' skill and courage, were astonished by their ferocity and hate for the Nazis.
Being close to the indiscriminate slaughter of your loved ones tends to do it to you. I know Australian Soldiers from WW2 who still hate the Japs. Will not buy a Japanese car or product at all. But then again they saw the first hand consequences of what the Japs did to their colleagues.
Same in Yugoslavia. The ferocity of the war there is not because people are savages, it's because they've felt the atrocities first hand.
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ReplyDeletePoland's resistance was continuing. Their air force was never really defeated. It was the invasion from the east that ended Polish campaign.
ReplyDeleteHad the Russians not invaded, the Poles would still be resisting and the worthless Brits and French would be still contemplating how not to fight.