The Volunteer audiobook cover - One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz

The Volunteer

One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz

Jack Fairweather

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Biography & MemoirHistory

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The Volunteer
Motivations & Infiltration+
Auschwitz: The Mission+
Evolution of the Holocaust+
The World's Complicity+
Escape & Betrayal+
Final Stand & Legacy+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
Why did Witold Pilecki end up in the Auschwitz concentration camp in September 1940?
  • A. He was randomly swept up in a Nazi raid on his family's estate.
  • B. He volunteered to be captured in order to gather intelligence and organize a resistance cell.
  • C. He was sent there as punishment for fighting on the frontlines in 1939.
  • D. He was targeted specifically because of his Jewish heritage.
Question 2 of 8
After realizing that orchestrating a mass breakout from Auschwitz would be impossible, what twofold purpose did Witold devise for his resistance cell?
  • A. To assassinate high-ranking SS officers and sabotage the camp's infrastructure.
  • B. To secure better rations for the prisoners and negotiate with the camp commandant.
  • C. To foster a spirit of collectivity among prisoners and smuggle intelligence about camp conditions to the outside world.
  • D. To stockpile weapons and build an underground tunnel system for a future escape.
Question 3 of 8
What specific trait did Witold look for when recruiting the first members of his underground resistance in the camp?
  • A. Military combat experience
  • B. Fluency in the German language
  • C. Signs of altruism, such as sharing food
  • D. Access to the camp's record office
Question 4 of 8
How did the British government respond to Witold's early reports of Nazi war crimes and his request to bomb Auschwitz?
  • A. They immediately mobilized Bomber Command to target the camp's infrastructure.
  • B. They dismissed the reports, partly due to prejudice and a fear of stirring up anti-Semitism at home.
  • C. They publicly condemned the atrocities but claimed the camp was out of range for their aircraft.
  • D. They sent an elite paratrooper unit to assist the Polish underground in a rescue mission.
Question 5 of 8
According to the text, what event initially prompted the SS to experiment with mass extermination via gassing at Auschwitz?
  • A. The Wannsee Conference's official mandate to begin the Final Solution.
  • B. A direct order from Adolf Hitler to eliminate the Polish resistance.
  • C. An influx of Soviet POWs that caused the camp to fill up faster than it could be expanded.
  • D. The discovery of a widespread typhus outbreak among the SS guards.
Question 6 of 8
Why did Witold ultimately decide to escape from Auschwitz in the spring of 1943?
  • A. He learned that his true identity had been discovered by the Gestapo.
  • B. He realized the international community was ignoring his reports and felt he had to personally advocate for an attack.
  • C. He was ordered by the Warsaw underground to return and lead the upcoming city-wide uprising.
  • D. He had contracted a deadly lung infection and needed to find medical treatment outside the camp.
Question 7 of 8
How did the Warsaw underground respond to Witold's demand for an immediate attack on Auschwitz following his successful escape?
  • A. They agreed to the plan and began mobilizing troops for a joint assault.
  • B. They ignored his request entirely and instead offered to award him a medal.
  • C. They attempted the attack but were quickly defeated by heavily armed SS guards.
  • D. They exiled him from the underground for abandoning his post at the camp.
Question 8 of 8
What was Witold Pilecki's ultimate fate after surviving both Auschwitz and the Warsaw Uprising?
  • A. He lived a quiet life in exile in London, publishing his memoirs.
  • B. He was assassinated by former Nazi officers who had escaped prosecution.
  • C. He was arrested, tortured, and executed for treason by Poland's Soviet-backed communist government.
  • D. He died in a Bavarian concentration camp just days before the Allied liberation.

The Volunteer — Full Chapter Overview

The Volunteer Summary & Overview

The Volunteer (2019) is an account of Witold Pilecki’s extraordinary life and death. A patriotic Pole, Pilecki volunteered to be sent to Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp. Not only did he bear witness to the camp’s atrocities; he smuggled out reports of what he’d seen, alerting the world to the horrors of the Holocaust.

Who Should Listen to The Volunteer?

  • Anyone interested in WWII history
  • People thrilled by tales of derring-do
  • Lovers of biography

About the Author: Jack Fairweather

Jack Fairweather is a British journalist and author. The Volunteer, which has been translated into 25 languages, won the 2019 Costa Book Award for biography.

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