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The Spy Who

The Spy Who Infiltrated Auschwitz | The Message | 2

The Spy Who

Wondery

History

4.6669 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Witold Pilecki scolds a new arrival for calling him by his real name. But then he realises: this new arrival might know if his messages are reaching the Allies. And if the Allies are going to act.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Wonderry Plus subscribers can binge full seasons of the Spy Who early and add free on Apple Podcasts or the Wondry app.

0:09.2

Please be advised. This episode is set inside the Nazi death camp Auschwitz and includes descriptions and references to violence, suicide, mass murder and the Holocaust.

0:26.6

Thank you. violence, suicide, mass murder and the Holocaust. March 1941, Nazi occupied Poland.

0:31.0

Straight down the lens. Don't smile. Don't cry.

0:35.0

In a small building in the Auschwitz concentration camp,

0:38.3

Polish by Vitold Pieletsky sits blinking on a stool in front of a powerful light.

0:44.3

An SS photographer adjust the focus on his camera,

0:48.3

then takes Pelletsky's picture for the camp's records.

0:52.3

It's been six months since Pelletsky allowed himself to be arrested by the Nazis.

0:59.0

He came to Auschwitz with a secret mission to smuggle out intelligence about this new German concentration camp

1:06.0

and build a resistance organization among the inmates with the ultimate goal of liberating the camp.

1:12.6

Now he has a secret resistance network consisting of several hundred prisoners.

1:16.6

But with the camp's brutal conditions making a breakout seem impossible,

1:20.6

the priority is on keeping each other alive and smuggling out information about the war crimes taking place here.

1:28.8

Turn to the side.

1:33.5

You're chewing a wasp, relax your face.

1:41.4

To protect his family, Piletsky entered the camp using the identity of a lawyer called Tomash Serafinski.

1:47.8

But now he fears that these photographs could expose him. If the SS compare them to photos of the real Serafinski, his true identity could be exposed, bringing the risk of

1:53.9

immediate execution and retribution for his family. So he's puffing out his cheeks and pulling

2:00.7

his chin downwards to distort his appearance.

2:03.6

The ploy risks attracting attention, but it's less dangerous than allowing his true face to appear on German documents.

2:15.6

A couple of days after the photo shoot, Piletsky strides through the camp courtyard.

...

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