Fighting Auschwitz

When the Germans opened Auschwitz in June 1940, it was a concentration camp for Polish political prisoners, who were told on arrival that they would live no longer than three months. Two years later, the Germans expanded Auschwitz to also become a death camp for the Jews of Europe.

Underground resistance appeared at Auschwitz very quickly, spearheaded in 1940 by one of the bravest men ever to live, Polish Army officer Captain Witold Pilecki.

In this meticulously researched and highly readable work, author Józef Garlinski traces the evolution and operations of the principal prisoner resistance organizations inside the camp. He delves into the relationships among the various political and multinational factions within the prisoner population, including both male and female, and with the underground outside the camp. He describes their efforts against the brutal SS men and informers.

In parallel, he documents the growth and evolution of Auschwitz itself, and the horrors of the industrialized death factory for Jews created by the Germans.

Garlinski, a member of the Polish underground during WWII, was himself a prisoner at Auschwitz.