“Pilecki” | multimedia report - Instytut Pileckiego
13.05.2021 (Thu)
“Pilecki” | multimedia report
A soldier who volunteered to be imprisoned in KL Auschwitz, the author of reports on the Holocaust. Today we celebrate the 120th anniversary of the birth of Witold Pilecki. We invite you to see the report prepared by journalists of the Onet.pl website.
The multimedia project, made in cooperation with the Pilecki Institute and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, can be found here: pilecki.onet.pl
Captain Witold Pilecki defied both the Nazi and the Soviet totalitarianisms. He is a symbol of patriotism, courage, love of freedom and solidarity with the persecuted – universal values shared by all people and fundamental to Western tradition. “Pilecki is a modern hero. Even though he is a historical figure, his choices are a testimony to future generations. His courage, valor, faith in his ideals, love for freedom, solidarity with the persecuted and fight for the greater good represent a challenge for our bearing in today's society,” said the director of the Pilecki Institute Dr Wojciech Kozłowski.
The report, entitled “Pilecki”, fuses elements of animation, TV and printed journalism, and a radio broadcast. This modern and immersive visual form is the result of the joint efforts of historians, cinematographers, editors, graphic designers and Onet journalists Mateusz Baczyński, Katarzyna Barczyk-Sikora, Przemysław Mosur-Darowski, Daniel Olczykowski, Szymon Piegza, Janusz Schwertner, Kamil Turecki and Marcin Wyrwał. The report is also available in both English- and German-language versions.
The director of the Pilecki Institute, Dr Wojciech Kozłowski, stresses that the “Pilecki” report is yet another of the Institute’s efforts to popularize one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War: “we strive to tell his story in a modern way, using every possible means to reach the audience. Examples of this include international publications, including Jack Fairweather's book, of which we are the co-publisher, and exhibitions such as "The Volunteer. Witold Pilecki and his Mission in Auschwitz" at our branch in Berlin. The time has now come for another incredible project: a multimedia report that tells the captain's tale in a way that is accessible for the younger generation and presents his story as something universal. We hope that, by cooperating with Onet.pl, Witold Pilecki's story will become a lesson and an inspiration for future generations.”
See also
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- „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
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- The hitherto unknown memoirs of a German official from occupied Poland have been donated to the Pilecki Institute
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- Evil Woven into Everyday Life | Dr Joanna Nikel on the Memoirs of a German Official from His Stay in the General Government
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"It is rare for a document to find its way into archival collections in which the voice of an official of the occupation apparatus himself – written down without any intention of accusation, and even stressing his own sense of normality – becomes one of the most eloquent testimonies to the criminal nature of the system he served", writes Dr Joanna Nikel in her initial commentary on the materials received by the Pilecki Institute.
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On Saturday, 5 September, at the Autumn Book Fair in Warsaw, the Pilecki Institute announced the titles and authors of 14 books nominated for this year’s Witold Pilecki International Book Award.
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- „Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” - international academic conference
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- Karol Madaj appointed Director of the Witold Pilecki Institute of Solidarity and Valor
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- Hacker attack on the websites of the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, Berlin, and Augustów
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On the night of August 13–14 our websites suffered another serious hacking attack. Content bearing the hallmarks of Russian propaganda and disinformation — targeting Polish history and reinforcing anti-Ukrainian narratives — was deliberately placed on the Institute's pages devoted to Augustów, Berlin, and Warsaw.
- Academic conference “Oppositional Engagement of Women in Authoritarian and Totalitarian Systems of the 20th Century: Poland in a Comparative European Perspective (1919–1989)”
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- Accountability for War Crimes. New book from Pilecki's expert
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It is an expanded English-language edition of the monograph "Problem odpowiedzialności karnej za zbrodnie wojenne w pracach rządu polskiego na emigracji (1939–1945)", which in 2023 was awarded a grant under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s “Excellent Science II” program for the translation and open-access publication of the book abroad.
- 12 July | Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Roundup
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12 July is celebrated as the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Augustów Roundup. The roundup began 81 years ago on this day – on 12 July 1945, two months after the end of the Second World War.