The Volunteer, Jack Fairweather
The Volunteer, Jack Fairweather
7 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

The Volunteer
One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz

Author: Jack Fairweather

Narrator: David Rintoul

Unabridged: 9 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 06/25/2019


Synopsis

The incredible true story of a Polish resistance fighter’s infiltration of Auschwitz to sabotage the camp from within, and his daring escape to warn the Allies about the Nazis’ true plans for a “Final Solution.”

To uncover the fate of the thousands being interred at a mysterious Nazi camp on the border of the Reich, a young Polish resistance fighter named Witold Pilecki volunteered for an audacious mission: intentionally get captured and transported to the new camp to report back on what was going on there. But gathering information was not his only task: he was to execute an attack from inside—where the Germans would least expect it. The name of the camp was Auschwitz.Over the next two and half years, Pilecki forged an underground army within Auschwitz that sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi informants and officers, and smuggled out evidence of terrifying abuse and mass murder. But as the annihilation of innocents accelerated, Pilecki realized he would have to attempt another perilous mission: escape Auschwitz and somehow—with more than 900 miles of Nazi-occupied territory in the way—deliver his alert to London before all was lost. . . Completely erased from the historical record by Poland’s Communist government, Pilecki remains almost unknown to the world. Now, with exclusive access to previously hidden diaries, family and camp survivor accounts and recently declassified files, Jack Fairweather reveals Witold’s exploits with vivid, cinematic bravura. He also uncovers the tragic outcome of Pilecki’s mission, in which the ultimate betrayal came not on the Continent, but England.

About Jack Fairweather

Jack Fairweather has been a correspondent for the Washington Post and the Daily Telegraph, where he served as the Baghdad and Persian Gulf bureau chief. His reporting during the Iraq War earned him Britain’s top press award. The author of A War of Choice and The Good War, he splits his time between the UK and Vermont.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Steven on July 19, 2019

In 2003 my wife and I visited Krakow, Poland as part of a trip to locate where my father’s family lived before immigrating to the United States in the 1930s to escape the dark clouds that were descending upon Europe. During our visit I hired a driver and spent hours visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau t......more

Goodreads review by Eric on January 27, 2020

Although it feels like events of the Holocaust and WWII have been comprehensively written about in numerous accounts, it’s astounding that new stories continue to emerge which present a different angle on this complex history. Virtually unknown accounts of heroism and tragic defeat continue to emerg......more

Goodreads review by Mike on September 21, 2023

An extremely powerful book. 385 pages that passed in a blink of an eye - well a day anyway. The story of Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative who infiltrates Auschwitz to try and tell the world what is going on there and lead an uprising. Unfortunately, he fails in both. Whilst Pilecki man......more

Goodreads review by Barry on May 08, 2020

pretty ballsy move by the Costa Awards to name this 'book of the year' when it's essentially an account of the total incompetence displayed by the Allied powers and, especially, Britain.......more

Goodreads review by Robert on December 03, 2019

This is the story of Witold Pilecki, which remained lost for many years after the conclusion of WWII. Pilecki was a member of the Polish resistance who volunteered to get arrested and sent to Auschwitz before anyone–not even the Germans–knew what Auschwitz was to become. It recounts his years there,......more