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My Auschwitz

 The book “Mój Auschwitz” (“My Auschwitz”) written by Władysław Bartoszewski came onto the market on the 9th of August. The publication contains, among the others, the text “Oświecim. Pamiętnik więźnia” (“Auschwitz. The Diary of a Prisoner.”), which was first published illegally in the Spring of 1942. Furthermore, the book includes unique confessions of Bartoszewski, who in an interview with Piotr M. Cywiński and Marek Zając gives a detail description of his life in the camp. The conversation is supplemented by texts chosen by Bartoszewski. Those texts were not reissued but they truly make the reader aware of the reality of the concentration camps. Among the texts are: “Apel” (“The Appeal”) by Jerzy Andrzejewski, Fathers Augustine’s brochure “Za drutami obozu koncentracyjnego Oświecim” (“Behind the barbed wire of the Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau”), Zofia Kossak’s text “W piekle” (“In Hell – A Document”) and written by Halina Krahelska “Pamietnik więźnia” (“The Diary of a Prisoner”).

18 years old Bartoszewski came to Auschwitz on September 22, 1940 with the so called second transport from Warsaw. Just like other 500 prisoners during an assembly he heard that there is only one way out of the camp, “through the chimney”. However, due to the efforts made by the Polish Red Cross Bartoszewski was released from the camp on April 8, 1941. He immediately became engaged in the fight with the Germans. He joined the Home Army and in 1942 he became a member of The Council to Aid Jews “Żegota” . He co-organized aid to the participants of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. He also took part in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and was later awarded the Cross of Valour.

After the war Bartoszewski began his cooperation with the Main Committee to Examine German Crimes in Poland. His knowledge about the Nazi crimes, the situation in the concentration camps and the testimonies concerning the extermination of Jews proved highly beneficial for his work.