The Volunteer cover art

The Volunteer

The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz

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The Volunteer

By: Jack Fairweather
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The 2019 Costa Book of the Year and Biography Winner.

How do you keep fighting in the face of unimaginable horror?

Narrated by David Rintoul, this is the untold story of one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War.

In the summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interred at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich.

His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. The name of the detention centre - Auschwitz.

It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazis' terrifying designs. Over the next two and a half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities, culminating in the mass murder of over a million Jews, to the West. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust - yet his story was all but forgotten for decades.

This is the first major account of his amazing journey, drawing on exclusive family papers and recently declassified files as well as unpublished accounts from the camp’s fighters to show how he saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

The result is an enthralling story of resistance and heroism against the most horrific circumstances and one man’s attempt to change the course of history.

PLEASE NOTE: This title comes with an accompanying PDF.z

©2019 Jack Fairweather (P)2019 Penguin Audio
20th Century Historical Military Modern War Crime Scary Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Holocaust

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All stars
Most relevant
A gripping and unique narrative brilliantly wending the story of an incredible man at the epicentre of one of the darkest times of human history with the broader political setting. And a call to moral courage which surpasses history.

Absolutely brilliant

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I found this to be a compelling and insightful account. I have read a number of Jewish accounts of Auschwitz so it was fascinating to read a different perspective. Witold Pilecki, the hero of this account, was a Catholic Pole, and so his experience of the horrors of Auschwitz was necessarily different from that of Jewish victims, to whose murder he was a crucial witness. I learnt a great deal about daily life in the camp and about Poland's experience of occupation. Anyone with an interest in Nazi Germany, the Second World War, Polish history or the Holocaust will appreciate this book. The narrator also does an excellent job.

Great story, well told.

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Completely gripping story of courage and, indeed, dignity in the face of an unfolding horror which would be completely unbelievable unless it were so well documented. And delivered in a restrained yet powerful way by Davod Rintoul, who not once stumbled over a Police surname or placename. Left me feeling strangely stunned, emotional and empty at the same time.

Astonishing story, brilliantly told

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Incredibly well narrated, with certain part almost feeling that you’re in there.
It come to light not only one forgotten Poland hero but a different perspective that isn’t the Jewish view of the holocaust, helping us to broaden our view about what was done and said during this war.

Impressive book

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Amazing story which should never be lost and will remind us how fragile civilization is.

Amazing story

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