[maxxxxx]

Pilecki was one tough dude. I always thought he got in, looked around and quickly left. But his biography describes how he participated in camp life for more than 2 years like other prisoners and with the same risk to his life.

This guy was a true hero.

[NeedMoreTea]

> This guy was a true hero.

Absolutely. Nor did he stop. Having left Auschwitz he volunteered to fight in the Warsaw uprising. He hid his rank so fought as a private but later took command of a unit. At war's end he tried to rebuild his network to seek evidence of Soviet atrocities in Poland. That eventually resulted in his capture, show trial and execution.

There are very few of his mould.

[anonymouzz]

(this is based on chats with guides in Auschwitz)

Apparently survival inside the camp for this long was only possible if you knew how to climb the hierarchy, and Pilecki did it well. For example - on the day he (and a few of his friends) fled they were assigned to a job in a bakery. A job in a bakery is one of the best jobs you could possibly get there, as you can steal enough food to not die of starvation.

[maxxxxx]

True. He was very smart and built up a network that kept him alive.

[tomjen3]

Which biography is that (I assume he never got a chance to write his own?)

[maxxxxx]

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/books/review/the-auschwit...