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On 8 May, the German delegation led by Field Marshal Keitel
signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender of the Third Reich to the Allies.
The next day was a joyful celebration in Poland and in the whole world.
Members of guerilla units lay down their weapons
in compliance with the regulations of the newly established government.
CERTIFICATE
The campaign to legalize the former Home Army
involved thousands of its members all over the country.
The leaders of the underground organization codenamed WiN,
who are accused of treason and espionage instigated by foreign agents,
appeared before a military court in Warsaw.
They pleaded guilty to transferring classified materials
to a Western country ambassador currently serving in Poland.
I hereby accuse Witold Pilecki
of organizing a Polish intelligence network for General Anders;
of preparing an armed attack on a group of Public Security officials
of accepting money from agents acting on behalf of a foreign government;
of organizing three weapons depots
and of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, and explosives;
of not registering at the Regional Draft Office;
of using false documents in the name of Roman Jezierski.
10 MONTHS EARLIER ELEONORA OSTROWSKA'S FLAT
ALCHIMOWICZ GOT ARRESTED
Daddy?
Why are you leaving so early?
- I have some errands to run. - Will you be back for dinner?
I will.
Get back to bed. It's still early.
"Life of Warsaw"! Latest news!
The merger of socialists and workers' party! Second anniversary of victory!
- Thank you. - Latest news! "Life of Warsaw"!
UNIFICATION CONGRESS COMING SOON
- Please tell the Prime Minister… - Citizen Prime Minister.
- I'm a former Auschwitz prisoner. - Comrade Prime Minister is away.
If you go to the reception desk, we may arrange a meeting soon,
after you submit a statement about the purpose of the visit.
Notify everyone: the name day party is cancelled,
uncle Michał got sick.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
We'll always be by your side.
But could you?
Leave? Give up?
I don't believe it.
Come in.
Please come in, Cavalry Captain.
Please sit.
- Would you like a cigarette? - Thank you. I'm trying to quit.
That may be the right thing to do.
My name is Józef Różański. I'm a colonel in the Polish army.
And this is my colleague, Lieutenant Eugeniusz Chimczak.
- He will talk to you, Captain. - Colonel…
…can I ask for a favor? Officer to officer.
We're listening.
I am ready to reveal all the details of my activities,
as long as they are recognized to be my sole responsibility.
Is it enough if I swear on my honor as a colonel of the Polish army?
AUGUST 1945, NEAR ANCONA
I'll miss the warm sea.
The English pride themselves on Brighton. They say it's like the Riviera.
I won't get to see it. I'm going back to Poland.
- Is it an order? - No.
And you shouldn't take it like an order either. I had a choice.
You do, too.
Can't you be different?
Apparently not.
I was an informant for the government in London
From my point of view, it was the legal government of the Republic of Poland
to whom I swore allegiance as an officer of the Polish army.
Who else was involved in this?
Maria Szelągowska.
She was my typist.
She copied my reports. I paid her in cash.
Who else?
ALCHIMOWICZ GOT ARRESTED
Wacław Alchimowicz.
An employee of the Security Office.
He gave me inside information about your department.
- Did you pay him too? In dollars? - I bought him food and vodka.
- Anybody else? - No.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
Płużański.
We were together in the Polish II Corps.
We met socially after his return to Poland,
but he didn't participate in my activities.
Jamontt-Krzywicki.
Associated with the High Command of the Home Army during the occupation.
He urged me to come clean.
Różycki.
We talked about the economy,
we discussed news and statistics from the daily papers.
I rented a room from the Sieradzki family.
I'm positive that Sieradzki didn't care about my activities.
Is that all?
No.
I'd like to make a statement to explain my motivations.
If I am to be held responsible, I would like
for my family to be able to live
here, in Poland.
Enough!
He's palming us off with what we already know.
If he keeps it up, it may not be enough for the death penalty.
- Even for our judges. - Should we press him?
We need to cook him a black resume.
A war veteran and an Auschwitz prisoner? It will take some effort.
You'll figure something out, Lieutenant. Go ahead.
I buy gold…
Are you Mrs. Płużańska? I'm Maria Pilecka.
My husband was also detained.
I don't know how I can cope with this pregnancy on my own.
Think about the child and keep calm.
Would you be able to contact your husband's old couriers?
Do you…
- Do you want to run away? - I want to send a message.
To the II Corps in Italy.
I don't know what they can do.
But they should move heaven and earth to get our husbands out.
SEPTEMBER 21-22 1940, KL AUSCHWITZ
I was done ordinary human affairs with things of this Earth.
And I started this venture in a place that seemed beyond Earth.
Our heads were struck not only by the blows of the SS henchmen.
Something else struck them.
All the concepts to which we were used have been brutally pushed aside.
The usual order of things, our trust in the law.
All of that evaporated.
Stop!
Water!
What's your job?
- You? - I'm a lawyer.
- What's your job? - A priest.
- What's your job? - A tanner.
- And you? - A construction worker.
You filthy swine!
Suddenly you're all physical laborers?
Watch me!
Keep reading and you'll grow a hump!
You don't know anything about it, you're straight as a ramrod!
Be careful with the whip, Maria!
VILLAGE OF SUKURCZE, VILNIUS AREA, 1931
Work is sacred! Work is sacred!
Make these words your motto!
ALEKSANDER FREDRO "LADIES AND HUSSARS"
Płużańska received a message from the II Corps. It's about Wiktor.
- Will Anders help Daddy? - Hush, you can't mention Anders to anyone!
Tell me, Mum.
Zośka, don't be stupid. How can Anders help Dad?
He's away in Italy, without his army!
They'll help Dad when a new war breaks out.
Andrzej!
They'll publicize your father's case in the West.
His war record will be published in Western press.
His reports from Auschwitz.
The Western ambassadors will talk to the Soviets.
We must hope.
We'll write down your resume.
- I was born in Olonets on May 13, 1901. - You can skip your childhood.
The war of 1920, decorated with the Cross of Valor. Twice.
Stop! Did they also give you a medal in September 1939?
You know perfectly well that they did not.
Continue, then. The war years.
In the September campaign, I served in the cavalry squadron
of the 19th Infantry Division of the "Prusy" Army.
What a pity, you didn't cover yourself with glory.
The "Prusy" Army collapsed after 3 days, and your commander ran away.
If you already know everything, why do you need the typist?
It's not your worry.
Carry on. Maybe today we'll learn something new.
Attention!
AUGUST 1939
Draw sabers!
Trot!
Charge, charge, charge!
ALL FOR MY BELOVED COUNTRY
May God protect you.
Forward march!
SEPTEMBER 1939, NEAR TOMASZÓW MAZOWIECKI
- Off your horses! - Everybody! Dismount!
- Get a medic! - Medic!
Take the Major somewhere dry! Put the anti-tank guns in position!
We are here to replace you, Władyś. Get back before it starts for real.
- It's too late now. They want to fight. - "Poland is not yet lost"!
You know what hurts me the most about this campaign?
On our way to here we found boxes full of antitank rifles.
Unopened! Do you understand?
We knew that the Germans were stronger,
but to lose due to incompetence at the top…
Lieutenant, please refrain from such comments.
Gun in position!
Apparently they've got a whole armored division there.
Gosh, Władyś, if we had only one more brigade…
I'll go get my men. Good luck!
Level the gun!
More!
Wait for my order!
We destroyed nine German tanks.
In our section of the front, the attack was successfully repelled.
Did you also fight so bravely with the Soviets?
- In 1920. I already told you. - What about 1939?
I didn't get the order.
What if you had?
I didn't believe in the two enemies theory.
Write that down.
Maybe we should also write down
that you were happy when in 1939 the Red Army showed up to offer help?
Lieutenant, let's say I understood the Soviet Union's rationale.
They secured their interests at the expense of our country.
Alright. Let's talk about your activities in the Resistance.
But please don't tells us tall stories like with the German tanks.
Who were your contacts?
Here, the files of the former patients.
OCTOBER 1939, NAZI-OCCUPIED POLAND
He was an officer from Kraków. He used to be my patient.
He suddenly disappeared. Dead, probably.
LAST NAME: SERAFIŃSKI FIRST NAME: TOMASZ
Why did you need to hide your identity from the Germans?
Isn't it obvious?
Would you prefer to end up in an Oflag, Colonel?
Was it because the Germans intercepted the pre-war Polish intelligence files?
You collaborated with the intelligence before the war.
You lived in the east and worked against the Soviets, yes or no?
Yes or no?!
I never acted against the Soviets.
I organized a spy ring against the Germans when they invaded.
OCTOBER 1939, WARSAW
- I'm here to try on a suit. - Double-breasted, herringbone?
Single-breasted, plain, with a vest.
Organizing our courier route to the army in France.
Collecting intelligence for the government.
We have to tell the Allies what the Germans are doing here.
They need to know about the mass arrest of the university professors in Kraków.
I'll send the message.
- What's the name? - No idea.
We'll immediately find people to start anti-German sabotage.
Let's show our guests they're unwelcome.
- Secret Polish Army. - Pompous. Megalomaniac.
Now the organization has to match the name.
The acronym is "SPA." Sounds good.
All right?
I'm coming, Mr. Scherfke!
I'll pass everything to Sikorski. They shouldn't think we're idle.
SPA took its inspiration from nationalist ideals.
Like the pre-war Polish fascists?
Christian ideals, rather. Chauvinism was never encouraged.
And neither was anti-Semitism, to answer your next question.
Christian and chauvinistic ideas are incompatible; Christ was a Jew.
Don't you think, Colonel?
What use can you have for a gynecologist in the Resistance?
Are you creating a girls' army?
If we need to.
You won't sit back and do nothing?
Unless your German heritage proves stronger, Herr Dering?
What's your name now? Smorawiński?
Serafiński.
Tomasz Serafiński.
And seriously, you will start your "five".
They know only you. Each of them will start their own five, and so on.
You are well placed here.
A convenient address, chatty women clients.
German women will come to a doctor with a German name.
Should I take the oath?
You are to administer such oaths.
You don't have to take one. We know each other too well.
Apparently, they round up the intellectuals and bring them here.
APRIL 1940, FOREST OF PALMIRY
KILLED IN PALMIRY: RATAJ, NIEDZIAŁKOWSKI, KUSOCIŃSKI, STARZYŃSKI
The government has to publicize this atrocity in the West.
The world must hold these German bastards to account.
How are things?
There are already branches in the main districts of Warsaw.
I'm recruiting two more battalions.
In larger cities outside the capital we have good networks.
There's one sabotage unit in the east.
Several thousand members. That's something!
Indeed.
Władyś!
- They've found you! - Step away from the window!
A snitch.
He's been spying on the doctor. He knows our contact network.
What should we do?
Without a trial, it's murder.
There was no time, doctor.
My friend, Władysław Surmacki.
He'll help me out in the field.
I don't know what moved me more:
the murder, or the fact that this rat came so close.
- Got any news from your family? - I lose myself in work not to think.
I can only hope that the Soviets found no reason to hurt them.
Good morning, neighbor! I see you're new to the area.
- How about a studio portrait? - I'm not handsome enough.
Are you looking for someone?
- In total, we've got 60 pieces. - Do you know him, Mr. Kiliański?
He's a painter. A crazy artist. He offers to paint everyone, even me.
In the living room.
Dad!
- Daddy! - How did you get through?
Promise me nothing will keep us apart.
It's my reward for all we've been through.
Witold! Promise me!
Your family came to you from the safe Soviet Union to the Nazi hell,
and you gave them up.
You ran away to Auschwitz?
Is this wife of yours such a harridan? Is she fat or ugly?
Are your kids so naughty that you couldn't stand it?
You couldn't sit still at home, that's what happened!
Now you come here and play dumb.
Were you so ignorant, or just blindly following orders?
You volunteered for Auschwitz? I can't wrap my head around it.
What's the matter? Why so silent?
Explain it to me like I'm stupid!
Back then…
Hardly anyone knew what the German camps were like.
Just like hardly anyone expected what people like you,
calling themselves Poles, would do to other Poles.
Get up.
What the fuck are you doing?
- I'm turning the other cheek. - Please take a break, Lieutenant.
Too bad you provoked him, Captain.
Did you talk back like that in Auschwitz, too?
Please forgive me.
You're right.
The lieutenant will be reprimanded. It won't happen again, Captain.
Please write about Auschwitz. About your motivations.
We want to understand you.
After all, your entire track record will have an impact
on the assessment of your recent activities.
Besides…
that's why you came here, to tell us everything.
Correct?
Good morning. Everything alright, Comrade Davydov?
Yes, I'm fine.
Mr. Secretary!
My name is Pilecka.
Please… Could you pass this letter to the Prime Minister…
To Comrade Prime Minister.
It's about his fellow prisoner from Auschwitz.
Why didn't you leave this letter at reception?
It was important…
It's important to me that this letter reach
Comrade Prime Minister by the shortest possible route.
This man organized the resistance network in Auschwitz.
He documented German atrocities.
He's your husband, right?
I'll pass on the letter. Please wait for a reply.
The Prime Minister is waiting, Comrade Colonel.
Well, what does this prisoner of yours say about Auschwitz?
About the resistance movement?
With respect…
The unification of the socialist party
and the workers' party is a priority.
You are the former… the only…
leader of the resistance movement in Auschwitz.
You're the Prime Minister. There is no need to worry.
Especially because of one prisoner.
Even if he was in the camp at the same time as you.
But we never met in Auschwitz.
He wasn't my companion.
Colonel Davydov…
Did he have nits on his balls in the camp? How many?
Did he fuck anyone? Or vice versa? Go and find out.
- We'll find out, Comrade Colonel. - Good, Comrade Colonel.
We need to know everything he says about Cyrankiewicz in Auschwitz.
Of course.
MAY 1940, WARSAW
There's a roundup on Mostowa Street. You should turn around.
Damn, I'm already half an hour late. Go!
Quick!
Out!
You got lucky.
They've just arrived.
Thank you.
What happened?
You promised me not to keep secrets.
Dering… Władyś Surmacki…
If they weren't waiting for me, they wouldn't have been arrested.
Do you blame yourself?
Witold! Not a day goes by without new arrests.
You won't understand.
SEPTEMBER 1940, WARSAW
Bread! Fresh bread!
- My name's Rowecki. - Pilecki. We've been acquainted.
War games in 1938, we were billeted in the same barracks.
In just one year, you've recruited several thousands people
without getting compromised or betrayed.
We want to act.
Dering and Surmacki were sent to Auschwitz.
They're building a second Dachau there, or something even bigger.
- We need to know what to tell the West. - We keep telling them things.
"Sonderaktion" in Kraków, Palmiry… And nothing has changed so far.
We have to start fighting back. We have to bite the Germans.
We need someone in Auschwitz. Someone to start a resistance network.
How do you imagine organizing a network in a closed camp?
The Major is of the opinion that if you can't do this, no one can.
We need to give hope to the inmates in Auschwitz.
- Is this an order? - A request.
- For the sake of Dering and Surmacki… - Understood. I'll carry it out.
- Is that all? - Yes.
Are you sure you'll manage on your own?
And if I tell you that the peasants will mutiny during harvest,
or that I will die in childbirth, will you stay?
Come on, don't even joke about that.
The Belarusians are a peaceful people.
- For now. - Yeah.
I know that you volunteered for these war games.
You'll take any opportunity to scram out of here.
Sometimes I think you don't love us as much as I love you.
- Should I prove it to you and stay? - Yes.
They go from door to door, taking all men.
Are there men here? Go out!
Quick!
Are there men here? Go out!
Do any men live here?
- Are there men in this apartment? - Do you understand German?
I don't know… My husband is in the Oflag…
You don't understand German? Are there any men in this apartment?
- Hands up! - Report that I've carried out the order.
From that moment on, we became numbers.
I was number 4859.
If you added the middle and outer digits, you got two thirteens.
Other inmates were convinced that it meant I would die.
But it gave me confidence.
The badges came in five colors.
Political prisoners wore a red one.
Criminals, a green one.
The "asocials" and "work-shy", a black one.
Jehovah's Witnesses, a purple one.
And homosexuals, a pink one.
Get on your feet, you scum!
Form a row!
Won't you give it back?
I'm sure you will.
What's your name?
Czajkowski!
What's your name?
Father Czajkowski!
Will you give it back, or should we fuck him up?
Enough.
Wait…
See? We didn't even touch you.
Get ready for delousing!
And how is Doctor Dering? Are you two still in contact?
Dering is in London.
We are not in touch.
Do you know that there is an indictment
being prepared against Dering for experiments on humans?
It's based on testimonies of Auschwitz prisoners.
Have a look.
Read it!
Did you help him, Pilecki, or did you just watch?
Or maybe you didn't know anything? Maybe you looked the other way when he
sterilized female prisoners, cut open pregnant bellies to examine the fetuses?
This is slander.
Dozens of people owe their lives to Dering.
- His "five"… - Not these fucking "fives" again!
"Fives" in Auschwitz?! Have you also started a five here, you fucking liar?!
Attention! All prisoners report to their units immediately!
I repeat!
All prisoners report to their units immediately!
- He has to go to hospital! - Thank you.
We were all united by rage and a desire for revenge.
It was the perfect setup for my work and I found myself elated.
The next second, I doubted my own sanity.
How can I feel joy in this place?
And yet, I felt it.
I wanted to start building the network. That's what kept me going.
You're here. Good.
I know you well, buddy. I can guess why you're here.
But you have to put your life first. Surviving will be victory enough.
Surmacki… de Virion… Are you in touch?
Of course. Surmacki's in a surveyor unit, working behind the wires.
He has contact with civilians, gets us medicines. De Virion was broken.
He'll pick himself up. That's three of you for the top five.
Do you want to organize "top fives" here?
Names.
Who did you contact in Auschwitz, apart from the war criminal Dering?
Who else was in those "fives"?
- Witek! - I'm Tomasz Serafiński.
- Surmacki. How do you like Auschwitz? - It's a bloody circus.
Dering told me you're here too.
I'd never have supposed that you'd get caught.
- Report to Władyś to be in his "five". - Just like in Warsaw? In this hell…
I swear by God Almighty and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus…
and by this Holy Cross, symbol of Christ's Passion.
I solemnly swear my allegiance to the Republic of Poland.
I will remain steadfast in guarding her honor.
I will fight with all my might to free Poland from oppression,
even at the cost of my life.
I will keep the organization's secrets, whatever might happen to me.
I started recruiting like in 1939.
I was joined by the people I had already recruited into SPA.
Dering was in charge of breeding typhoid lice.
We used them to infect the SS uniforms.
These "Übermenschen" died of typhus in the same way as we subhumans.
The task was to set up an intelligence and support network.
We delivered and disseminated news from the outside.
When possible, we provided extra food and clothing to those in need.
We smuggled messages to the outside.
What are you doing?
Give it!
Our organization carried out punishments when we could.
Some kapos were sadists by nature, like "Kozik"…
- Or broken opportunists… - Enough!
Transfer routes to Anders, to Italy!
Names of couriers, accommodation addresses! Talk!
Are you deaf?
Transfer routes, couriers, accommodation… Now!
I went myself.
He maintains that
he was the main founder of the resistance organization in Auschwitz.
He apparently wrote dispatches and reports
He still didn't say even a single word about you at Auschwitz.
I wonder…
I wonder how it's possible
that your paths never crossed,
given that you were both involved in the camp resistance.
Well, unless Pilecki lies about everything.
Auschwitz was a big place.
Should I ask him about you directly?
No, not yet. I need to think about it.
Allow me, Comrade Colonel.
How's it possible?
I'm too weak to move my feet but I keep walking…
It's all right… You can take a nap… Sleep even for several steps…
Faster, faster!
WORK SETS YOU FREE
Indeed, work sets you free.
We need to feed Sławek.
When someone stole margarine or bread from the warehouse,
we called it "organizing" food.
One man organized himself shoes, another organized some tobacco.
The word "organization" was popping up everywhere.
It was part of the slang.
Even if someone undesirable heard something about our "organization",
they assumed it meant "stealing" or "looking after yourself".
No more and no less. Eat it all.
Is it true that yesterday you stuck the leftover porridge into a mouse hole?
Pilecki!
That's strange! Where did they take the chairs?
Oh well. We can talk standing up. Tell me about your cooperation
with the Germans in Auschwitz.
Under what circumstances did you become a kapo?
You were a well-treated prisoner, you worked in the bakery.
Your pal Jan Redzej was a kapo in the bakery, right?
Hands up.
Enough!
Hands.
Good.
You'll be standing like this from now on, Captain.
Every time you fall, we will break your bones,
then we will put you back together in the next room.
Tell me, Captain…
Did you serve as an informant for the German authorities
in return for better jobs?
After it was established that one prisoner was missing,
all the prisoners had to stand at attention for 18 hours.
They won't make it.
Our legs and arms, sticking out
from under our uniforms, turned blue from the cold.
They didn't touch us. We had to stand there and freeze.
The real torturer was the cold.
Kapos and block elders who were passing by would laugh.
They would make hand gestures imitating a puff of smoke, and said:
"This is how life vaporizes".
Upon the doctor's entreaties, the commander replied: "Let them die".
"When half of them die, I'll let the rest go."
Do you think they'll eat me when I die?
I saw a mutilated corpse from which they ate the liver…
You'll get better.
Attention! Ward ready for inspection!
Whoever doesn't stand at attention will be considered terminally ill!
Get up! Any prisoner who doesn't stand at attention,
will be considered terminally ill!
- What's he doing here? - He's a carpenter.
He's been assigned to work here.
The Red Cross is coming for an inspection.
Their machinations are coming to light. Go get some new clothes.
What's up, buddy?
Be glad that you're not lying on a pile of corpses to be buried tomorrow.
Tell me the truth of what you did in Auschwitz.
We have witnesses who saw you beating up…
Look! The boys brought a stool. Sit down.
We have to write his testimony.
He'll just sign it. It'll be easier this way.
Get yourself some soup, Lieutenant.
You look tired of this investigation.
The sorrel soup's really good.
You're going to need a lot of strength now.
I agree that we need to speed up with Pilecki.
His wife started meddling.
- Mrs. Serafińska? - Pilecka.
My husband went to Auschwitz under the name of Serafiński.
I understand.
Is your husband at the Rakowiecka Prison?
Comrade Cyrankiewicz hasn't replied to your letter yet.
You have to be patient.
But please be hopeful.
By the way, I wanted to ask…
…do you know anything about…
the report your husband wrote while in Auschwitz?
I know he wrote reports.
He managed to get them out of Auschwitz.
Some he gave to the II Corps.
Some of them he hid,
but I don't know where.
So this is of interest to Comrade Prime Minister?
As evidence of Nazi crimes.
Comrade Prime Minister takes an interest in anything that concerns Auschwitz.
My husband would give you the remaining reports from Auschwitz
in return for ensuring that he and our family can go abroad, even one way.
Did something happen?
They're afraid of what Witold might have written in the reports.
What are you talking about?
What he wrote about Cyrankiewicz.
I know what the Prime Minister looks like.
We didn't meet at the camp. I have nothing more to add.
Then why is your wife pestering him, you fucker?!
I don't know.
Maybe she wants to appeal to the Prime Minister's sense of solidarity?
Citizen Prime Minister's?
- Comrade Prime Minister's? - You mentioned…
You mentioned, Captain…
that you wrote dispatches and reports while in Auschwitz.
Let's say that this may be a mitigating circumstance in your case.
DECEMBER 1941, KL AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
Jews from France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands
and other European countries were coming.
A large part of the transports went straight to Birkenau, where people
were quickly and without any paperwork transformed into smoke and ash.
Women and children were separated from men and sent to shacks,
which were supposed to be bathhouses, but were gas chambers.
After the insulated door was closed, a mass murder took place inside.
On average, about a thousand Jews were burned daily.
If you find any scrap of paper
from the time of occupation or from the camp,
on which the name of Cyrankiewicz appears,
you will bring it directly to me.
Understood?
Where are these documents now?
So that's what you want…
I passed the reports from the camp to the outside.
The memos I wrote after leaving the camp…
…I handed some of them over during my stay in the II Corps.
- Some of them got lost. - What about the report?
Your wife claims you hid it.
Why don't we invite your wife here?
We'll talk together.
- You will get your story straight. - My wife is bluffing.
She wants to get me out of here, which is understandable.
You can bludgeon both of us to death. The reports have been lost.
Even if it were otherwise,
I never involved my wife in my work for the resistance.
It was in order to protect her against a situation such as this.
Write it down.
I want to have it in writing.
Sign it with your first and last name.
We'll invite your wife anyway.
They say she's easy on the eye. You never said, Captain.
Take him away.
Do you recognize me?
My name's Płużańska.
They finally allowed me to see my husband.
- We're expecting a baby any day. - Let's go, lady. Move!
- Don't you recognize me? - Let's go!
What are you staring at? Haven't seen a piece of ass in a while?
My baby!
Entire trains full of women started arriving one by one.
The excitement of prisoners cutting their hair soon turned into indifference.
They were weary of the surfeit of sights which they have previously missed.
From our block we could hear their shrill screams.
Cries and groans which ended abruptly.
Those who didn't see the victims' faces were never free from thinking
that it might have been their mother, wife, or daughter.
We're bringing a message from Witold.
GIVE THEM EVERYTHING, INCLUDING ALL DOCUMENTS. WITOLD
This is Witold's writing. It's all right.
We are to destroy everything.
Is that all?
Would you like to eat something?
Some tea, maybe?
Maybe some other time.
- Is that all? No more papers? - That's everything, Lieutenant.
All right.
Go wash, shave, and get back to work.
Marked with the letter "W". Not a word about Cyrankiewicz.
If he marked them with consecutive letters,
there have to be more reports.
Hello. May we come in?
Gentlemen.
Maybe we could eat something now. And have some tea.
We have time. Please try to remember if your husband left any more papers.
It'd be a pity to wreck the apartment. It belongs to your cousin, doesn't it?
I, Tadeusz…
- take you, Stanisława, to be my wife, - take you, Stanisława, to be my wife,
- to have and to hold, - to have and to hold,
- from this day forward, - from this day forward,
- for better, for worse, - for better, for worse,
- for richer, for poorer, - for richer, for poorer,
- in sickness and in health, - in sickness and in health,
- until death do us part. - until death do us part.
- So help me… - So help me…
- God Almighty… - God Almighty…
- The Trinity… - The Trinity…
- …and all the Saints. - …and all the Saints.
Has Płużański already briefed you?
We have plans to assassinate key people from the secret police.
We know their daily schedules, bodyguards' routines, and so on.
Perhaps it's worth presenting to our superiors.
You will sign a statement that you acquired firearms
in order to carry out attacks on the most important people in Poland.
These firearms were from the uprising. I never planned any attacks.
Why didn't you give them back after the war?
If I brought them to the authorities, you would have arrested me.
We're wasting time, Pilecki.
You'll sign a statement that you had a stash of firearms.
I won't sign shit.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES WARD CAUTION! TYPHUS
Let's take him away.
There will be a selection soon.
Chop-chop, get out of here!
Out! Move it!
The camp was the test of our mettle.
Some fell into a moral swamp, others shone like crystals.
We were hacked with sharp tools.
The blows cut into the flesh, but the real harm came to the soul.
Everyone went through this process.
Your health, Comrade Prime Minister!
Do you know why Comrade Stalin values you so much?
Because you're loyal.
You tamed those pre-war independent socialists.
For sure!
But mostly, Comrade Stalin values you for Auschwitz.
Comrade Cyrankiewicz,
prisoner number 62 933.
The only leader of the resistance movement
in the fascist German death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Now everyone must understand that the unification of the pre-war socialists
with war communists in Poland is a historical necessity!
Come on, Mr. Cyrankiewicz.
You're as quiet as a mouse. Won't you have a drink?
Move!
Forward!
What the fuck?
He's already dead. Don't waste your strength.
- Please tell the Prime Minister… - Citizen Prime Minister.
- I'm a former prisoner from Auschwitz. - Comrade Prime Minister is away.
If you come to the reception, we may arrange a meeting soon,
after you submit a statement about the purpose of your visit.
- Comrade, is everything alright? - Yes. We have a lot of work today.
Frequent escape attempts caused the camp authorities
to apply collective liability.
If one prisoner escaped, ten were shot.
Choosing the 10 to die after each escape was a harrowing experience.
Especially for the block from which they were selected.
It's high time you ran away.
There is this guy in the bakery, looking for a partner to run away with.
…to run away with… …to run away with…
I'm impressed with how much you endured, Captain.
I regularly read "The Imitation of Christ".
By Thomas à Kempis.
I recommend it, Colonel.
You'll sign the interrogation report.
There's nothing in it that you didn't say.
Then you can go, Captain.
Go on, scram.
APRIL 1943, BAKERY AT KL AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
What's the difference between "to be" and "not to be"?
Those working in buildings, in stables or warehouses, could survive.
Those who worked outside died in all sorts of ways.
The former were considered valuable.
The latter died in droves. The mission of this hellish place
was to finish off as many people as possible.
Got a cig?
Thanks.
Alarm! Alarm!
Let me out!
You're dead!
Wait.
No, no! I can't!
- Come on! - I can't do it!
- No! - Let's leave him.
- I'll smash your head. Take him! - No, go alone… No!
- Is it there? - Wait!
- We're done for! - Witek!
Found it! It's here!
I outlined to Home Army command my plan to liberate Auschwitz.
A guerrilla attack from the outside coordinated with a prisoners' revolt.
The command knew the situation in Auschwitz,
but said that such an operation wasn't possible.
The Allies did not agree to our proposal to bomb the camp.
They said it was not feasible and there were also political obstacles.
So…
Your sacrifices and suffering were all for nothing.
You didn't save anyone in this war, Captain.
In the Warsaw Uprising, I was in the "Chrobry II" Unit.
First as a sniper, then as commander.
Take them down.
Faster! Hurry up!
Quick!
Faster! Come!
Come on! Quick!
Quick! Here, boy!
Against the wall!
Keep your heads down.
Against the wall!
Careful!
To the basement! Quick!
Run!
You can do it. Come on.
Secure that alley!
Clear! Aim at the street! Check on your right!
Cover! Come on!
Gentlemen, faster!
What a beautiful life story that would be.
If not for this short period…
right after the war.
The judge and the prosecutor are also ex-members of the Home Army.
You'll have a fair trial, Captain.
Colonel! Here, Colonel!
I can testify that I don't remember…
…from Auschwitz…
…anyone called Pilecki or Serafiński.
If he had been in the resistance…
…then as its leader…
…I would have known about it.
Even if your husband Witold Pilecki…
…behaved heroically…
…during the war,
it shouldn't cancel out…
…his later misdeeds…
…against his motherland.
Why did you go there voluntarily?
I can't forgive you for that.
You could… We could…
Flee… Go away, live…
And now you have to be the hero again…
Tell the children
that it was the right thing to do.
You'll tell them yourself!
I don't think so.
You survived Auschwitz and you won't survive a Polish prison?
Compared to this prison, Auschwitz was child's play.
You have to be strong, all of you.
Aren't you scared?
I am. But not of death.
I'm scared they'll kill me like an animal, not a human being.
A rag on my head, sawdust choking me. First Auschwitz, now Rakowiecka…
For years I've prayed for a noble death.
Tell it to our children as well.
These people either carried out my orders,
like Mrs. Szelągowska or Mr. Płużański,
or they were ignorant,
like Mr. Jamontt-Krzywicki, Mr. Sieradzki, Mr. Różycki…
They were just tools in my hands.
It was me who used their loyalty
to gather intelligence about what is really happening in Poland
and pass it on to the government in exile.
I've never been released from my oath of allegiance to that government.
The accused pleaded guilty as charged. We have the confessions here, right?
Yes or no?
During the questioning, the investigators tired me quite a lot.
I deny signing it consciously.
One last thing.
The Colonel present here in the room…
swore on his officer's honor that in Pilecki's trial…
In my trial…
I'll be the only person held accountable.
Looking at the state of my supposed co-conspirators,
it's clear how much we differ in the understanding of honor.
MAY 25, 1948
While in Auschwitz, we thought that if any of us
made it out of there alive, it would be a miracle.
And that it would be difficult for such a person to communicate
with people who lived ordinary lives on Earth during that time.
Some of their affairs would seem too trivial to him.
He wouldn't be understood by them either.
But if someone managed to survive,
it would be his duty to tell the world about the horrors of that place.
Turn around.
Face the wall!
I've been trying to live my life
so that in the hour of my death
I would feel joy rather than fear.
PILECKI'S REPORT, CONFISCATED IN 1947 BY THE MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY,
WAS CLASSIFIED UNTIL 1990.
ANY INFORMATION ABOUT WITOLD PILECKI WAS BANNED BY CENSORSHIP.
THE FULL TEXT OF THE REPORT WAS PUBLISHED IN POLAND ONLY IN 2000.