The volunteer: the true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz

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Publisher:
Custom House
Publication Date:
2020
Edition:
First Custom House paperback edition
Language:
English

Description

"To uncover the fate of the thousands being interred at a mysterious Nazi camp on the border of the Reich, a thirty-nine-year-old Polish resistance fighter named Witold Pilecki volunteered for an audacious mission: assume a fake identity, intentionally get captured and sent to the new camp, and then report back to the underground on what had happened to his compatriots 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 amassed evidence of shocking abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying truth that the camp was to become the epicenter of Nazi plans to exterminate Europe's Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible--an escape from Auschwitz itself. Completely erased from the historical record by Poland's postwar 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 offers an unflinching portrayal of survival, revenge, and betrayal in mankind's darkest hour. And in uncovering the tragic outcome of Pilecki's mission, he reveals that its ultimate defeat originated not in Auschwitz or Berlin, but in London and Washington."--Jacket

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ISBN:
9780062561534
9780062561428

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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID940d34c9-5be8-6169-d3a4-69cdac5dec52
Grouping Titlevolunteer the true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated auschwitz
Grouping Authorjack fairweather
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2025-07-10 22:09:29PM
Last Indexed2025-07-16 23:00:24PM

Solr Fields

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0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
author
Fairweather, Jack
author2-role
hoopla digital
author_display
Fairweather, Jack
available_at_ex
Essex Library Association
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Essex Adult Paperback
display_description
"To uncover the fate of the thousands being interred at a mysterious Nazi camp on the border of the Reich, a thirty-nine-year-old Polish resistance fighter named Witold Pilecki volunteered for an audacious mission: assume a fake identity, intentionally get captured and sent to the new camp, and then report back to the underground on what had happened to his compatriots 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 amassed evidence of shocking abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying truth that the camp was to become the epicenter of Nazi plans to exterminate Europe's Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible--an escape from Auschwitz itself. Completely erased from the historical record by Poland's postwar 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 offers an unflinching portrayal of survival, revenge, and betrayal in mankind's darkest hour. And in uncovering the tragic outcome of Pilecki's mission, he reveals that its ultimate defeat originated not in Auschwitz or Berlin, but in London and Washington."--Jacket
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Books
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Book
id
940d34c9-5be8-6169-d3a4-69cdac5dec52
isbn
9780062561428
9780062561534
itype_ex
ADULT PAPERBACK
last_indexed
2025-07-17T05:00:24.696Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Non Fiction
literary_form_full
Non Fiction
local_callnumber_ex
PBK 940.53 FAI
owning_library_ex
Essex Library Association
owning_location_ex
Essex Library Association
primary_isbn
9780062561534
publishDate
2019
2020
publisher
Custom House
HarperCollins
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
Biographies
Biography
Electronic books
Europe
History
History, Modern
Holocaust
Nazi concentration camp inmates -- Poland -- Biography
Pilecki, Witold, -- 1901-1948 -- Imprisonment
Poland
Poland -- Armed Forces -- Officers -- Biography
Poland. -- Polskie Siły Zbrojne. -- Armia Krajowa -- Officers -- Biography
Twentieth century
World War, 1939-1945 -- Underground movements -- Poland
title_display
The volunteer : the true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz
title_full
The Volunteer : The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz [electronic resource] / Jack Fairweather
The volunteer : the true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz / Jack Fairweather
title_short
The volunteer
title_sub
the true story of the resistance hero who infiltrated Auschwitz
topic_facet
Armed Forces
Biography
Electronic books
History
History, Modern
Holocaust
Imprisonment
Nazi concentration camp inmates
Officers
Pilecki, Witold
Twentieth century
Underground movements
World War, 1939-1945

Solr Details Tables

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ils:.b27160336.i67405034Essex Adult PaperbackPBK 940.53 FAI1falsefalseOn Shelfexak
hoopla:MWT16737052Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeBookeBook1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/16737052?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435Available Online

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
ils:.b27160336BookBooksFirst Custom House paperback editionEnglishCustom House2020xvi, 505 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 20 cm
hoopla:MWT16737052eBookeBookEnglishHarperCollins20191 online resource (495 pages)

scoping_details_ex

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ils:.b27160336.i67405034On ShelfOn Shelftruetruetruefalsefalsetruefalse9999