The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz
People Who Made History
•
32m
In 1940 the Polish resistance decided it needed to send an agent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were desperate to find out what was going on in a place that even by that stage of the war had an evil reputation. Historian Jack Fairweather tells the story of Witold Pilecki the Pole who volunteered for the job. He smuggled out the first accounts of the camp to the rest of the world. He chronicled its transition from a concentration camp for Polish political opponents to a factory of genocide.
Up Next in People Who Made History
-
Rise of Caesar
A special film to mark the Ides of March.
Julius Caesar lived a dramatic life filled with battles, conspiracies and unparalleled ambition. He sits amongst the greatest military leaders of all time but what made him cross the Rubicon and march on his own city, Rome? This documentary reveals the t...
-
Alexander the Great in Egypt
History Hit's Tristan Hughes travels to Egypt to explore its extraordinary links to one of the most famous names from antiquity, Alexander the Great. Of all the lands in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is Egypt that has the most fascinating - and enduring - connection to this ancient conqueror.
I...
-
The Life and Times of Avi Shlaim
Avi Shlaim is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at St Antony's College, Oxford. Here he discusses his life - from his birth in Baghdad, to studying in Britain and his ongoing historical research.