Daring Escape from Auschwitz: Courage, Ingenuity, and the Desire for Freedom

In the dark annals of Auschwitz's history, through which over a million innocent souls passed, only a handful dared to attempt escape. It is estimated that at least 802 individuals attempted escape, with the majority being Poles - a staggering 396. Among them, we know of only 144 who survived the war. Behind each of these numbers lies a story of courage, determination, and desperation, where fear of reprisal and revenge on fellow inmates often acted as a strong deterrent against taking the risk. The Auschwitz prisoners were well aware that for every escape attempt, the SS would exact death upon tens of others.

The Audacious Escape Plan

Kazimierz Piechowski and Eugeniusz Bendera were the instigators of one of the most spectacular escapes. Upon discovering that he was on the list for extermination, Bendera decided that escape was his only option. As the saying went, "Escape or die." Together with Piechowski, they devised a plan to create a fictitious work detail. Piechowski recalled, "We came up with the idea that we needed to create a fake work detail. If we escape, there will be no one to punish. Within the camp, all transportation was human-powered. There were many so-called Rollwagenkommandos (wheeled work commandos), and the smallest group had to consist of four people." The plan also involved the participation of Father Józef Lempart and Stanisław Jaster, completing the four-person team.

A Hollywood-Style Escape

On Saturday, June 20th, in broad daylight, the four prisoners embarked on their audacious escape. Pushing a cart under the gate bearing the inscription "Arbeit macht frei" (Work sets you free), Piechowski boldly reported about their fictitious work detail. Recounting the event later in the document "Uciekinier" (The Escapist), he described, "I wore a yellow Vorarbeiter (foreman) armband. I reported: Rollwagenkommando, Vorarbeiter 918, and three prisoners. Fortunately, the SS fool didn't check the book to see if our detail existed. He let us through."

After equipping themselves with uniforms and weapons from a nearby storeroom, Bendera drove a Steyer 220 car. "A guard in the watchtower spotted him, but didn't react; I was already wearing an SS uniform," Piechowski recalled. During the escape, the SS officers saluted the escapees, mistaking them for genuine SS officers. They finally reached the last obstacle on the road to freedom - a barrier at the end of the road leading away from the camp. Piechowski recounted, "At that moment, I believed that we had failed. In my thoughts, I already bid farewell to my mother. During this time, I received a strong blow to my neck. I heard Józek's hissing voice: Kazek! Do something. This woke me up. I saw the barrier up ahead. I opened the right doors and stuck out to be seen, I charged and said, 'For heaven's sake! Are you sleeping back there, or what? Open that barrier, or I'll wake you up.' The SS man jumped. The barrier went up. Gienek shifted into gear and we moved forward. Freedom!"

It's worth noting that the escape was carried out with the knowledge of Witold Pilecki, a soldier of the Home Army (AK) who voluntarily infiltrated Auschwitz to establish a resistance movement there. Before the escape, he delivered a report on the camp to the AK High Command.

The escapees damaged a car near Maków Podhalański, changed into civilian clothes, and continued to flee on foot. They soon separated. Many legends circulate about these events. One of them suggests that the escapees sent an ironic letter of apology to the camp commander Rudolf Höss for depriving him of a car - although it sounds marvelous, Kazimierz Piechowski denied this story in later years. "Those are fairy tales. We didn't send anything," he emphasized.

Further Fates: Not All Endings Were Happy

The camp authorities sent out wanted posters for the escapees. After the escape, the German prisoner-kapo Kurt Pachala, who was wrongly suspected by the Gestapo of aiding the escape, was sentenced to death by starvation and imprisoned in Block 11. Besides him, seven officers and non-commissioned officers were punished for neglecting prisoners sent to the Eastern Front. However, for the prisoners in the camp, the escape was an event that lifted their spirits.

During the escape on foot, Józek fell seriously ill, yet his comrades didn't abandon him to fate. Despite the risk of capture - the Nazis offered half a million złotys in their wanted posters for information leading to the capture of escapees - they found shelter for him on a rural farm, where kind-hearted people helped him recover. During this time, the Nazis captured and killed his mother in the camp. Józek survived the war, left the priesthood, and started a family. He later died in a car accident.

Staszek traveled to Warsaw to deliver Pilecki's report to the Home Army. Unfortunately, his story is exceptionally tragic. He disappeared under mysterious circumstances, likely killed without trial by fellow conspirators. He was accused of betrayal based on unjustified assumptions. Theories even suggested that he had been recruited by the Gestapo while in the camp and that the escape had been allowed solely for Stanisław to infiltrate the underground and betray the resistance movement. However, it is known that on the day after the escape, the Nazis captured and later executed Jaster's parents in the camps. It's hard to believe that, in return for the harm inflicted, he would later work as a spy. Unfortunately, this version persisted for 70 years. Piechowski devoted his entire life to restoring his colleague's good name. Many veterans and historians were convinced of Jaster's innocence as well. Official rehabilitation is not formally possible due to the lack of documents indicating any trial against Jaster. However, on September 25, 2019, Jaster was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, which can be seen as a symbolic rehabilitation.

Initially, Bendera and Piechowski hid together in the east, then in the Końskie county, where Piechowski joined the partisans. After the war, Bendera returned to Przedbórz, where he worked in his profession. After a divorce in 1959, he moved to Warsaw and passed away on July 7, 1988. Kazimierz Piechowski returned to his hometown on the Pomorze region after the war. After being reported for his Home Army past, he was sentenced by the communist authorities to 10 years in prison, of which he served seven. After his release, he completed his studies and worked in a shipyard. He described his experiences and observations in books such as "Byłem numerem... historie z Auschwitz" (I Was a Number... Stories from Auschwitz) and "My i Niemcy" (Us and the Germans). He also appeared in several documentary films, including "Jaster. Tajemnica Hela" (Jaster: The Hela Mystery) - recounting Józef Jaster's unjust accusation. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. During his retirement, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of traveling the world. Along with his wife, he visited over 60 countries. He passed away on December 15, 2017, at the age of 98.

In Conclusion

Stories like those of Piechowski, Bendera, Lempart, and Jaster are a testament to unwavering human courage in the face of extreme cruelty. We encourage you to visit the Auschwitz Museum to learn more about such stories and pay tribute to those who fought for freedom under the most challenging conditions.