In 1940, Witold Pilecki, a Polish Army officer and member of the Polish underground resistance, volunteered to be captured by the Gestapo.

In the year of the 120th anniversary of Witold Pilecki’s birthday and on the day of the 73rd anniversary of his death, the award-winning writer and journalist Jack Fairweather, author of the bestselling biography of Pilecki titled “The Volunteer: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Infiltrated”, will bring you the remarkable story of bravery and selflessness, which saw a Polish officer sacrifice himself to save thousands of others. Published in 2019, Fairweather’s book draws on unpublished family papers, newly released archival documents and interviews with surviving resistance fighters.

Fairweather will be joined by Director of the Pilecki Institute Dr Wojciech Kozlowski who will build on the significance of the story of Witold Pilecki and how his story and the story of totalitarianism is brought to the public; how Pilecki is observed in Poland; how the Pilecki Institute tells the story of not only Pilecki, but also other people like Aleksander Ładoś who gave aid to those persecuted.

In partnership with Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London.