Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp

"The definitive study of the topic." --Prof. Antony Polonsky, Emeritus Professor of Holocaust Studies, Brandeis University, and Chief Historian, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The incredible story of underground resistance among the prisoners at the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp.

When the Germans opened Auschwitz in June 1940, it was a concentration camp for political prisoners, who were told on arrival that they would live no longer than three months--expanding two years later to also become a death camp for Jews.

Underground resistance appeared at Auschwitz very quickly, spearheaded in 1940 by one of the bravest men ever to live, Polish army officer Captain Witold Pilecki.

In this meticulously researched and highly readable work, Józef Garliński traces the evolution and operations of the principal resistance organizations among the prisoners (including communist as well as non-communist groups). He delves into the relationships among these groups, as well as their relationships with the various political and multinational factions in the prisoner population, including both male and female, and with the underground outside the camp. He describes their efforts against the brutal SS men and informers. In parallel, he documents the growth and evolution of Auschwitz itself, and the horrors of the industrialized death factory for Jews created by the Germans.

First published in English in 1975, but out of print for decades, this seminal book is now being released in a new 2nd edition with more than 200 photos and maps, and a new introduction by Prof. Antony Polonsky, Emeritus Professor of Holocaust Studies, Brandeis University, and Chief Historian, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. .

Garliński, a member of the Polish underground during WWII, was himself a prisoner at Auschwitz.

With more than 200 photos and maps, five Appendices, extensive Bibliography and detailed Indexes.

SHORT BIO:

Józef Garliński (1913-2005) was a preeminent author, historian and chronicler of World War II, and particularly of Poland's less well-known role as one of the Western Allies. On many topics his work was seminal, laying the foundation for later research and histories. A member of the Polish underground during the war, Garlinski was arrested by the Germans and sent to Auschwitz. He survived, and after the war Garliński settled in England. Retiring from a successful business career, Garliński obtained his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. His dissertation topic, the resistance movements at Auschwitz, became the book Fighting Auschwitz. Garliński was prominent in the Polish émigré community in the UK, and continued as an active author and speaker throughout the remainder of his life.

LONG BIO:

Józef Garliński (1913-2005) was a preeminent author, historian and chronicler of World War II, and particularly of Poland's less well-known role as one of the Western Allies. On many topics his work was seminal, laying the foundation for later research and histories. Fighting Auschwitz: The Resistance Movement in the Concentration Camp, is one such book, being the first to disclose to the public the existence, structure, principal participants and other details of resistance movements among the prisoners at Auschwitz. Originally published in the mid-1970s, the English-language version of the book has been out of print for decades and is now being reissued in this new edition.

Born in Kiev, at that time part of the Russian Empire under the last Tsar, Garliński was educated in Poland after that country regained its independence in 1918. He completed his military service at the cavalry school in Grudziądz, and had begun to study law at the University of Warsaw when World War II broke out.

He fought and was wounded in the September 1939 campaign. When Poland was soon overrun by both the Germans and the Soviets, Garliński joined the Polish underground where he held several positions, including intelligence liaison with underground members confined in Pawiak prison. In 1943, he was arrested by the Germans and sent to Auschwitz, where he was incarcerated in the Penal Company in Birkenau, and eventually transported to concentration camps at Neuengamme and Wittenberge.

Following the war, Garliński settled in England with his Anglo-Irish wife Eileen, whom he had married in Warsaw during the first week of the war (and who herself was a member of the Polish underground throughout the war). Retiring from a successful business career, Garliński obtained his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics. His dissertation topic, the resistance movements at Auschwitz, became the book Fighting Auschwitz. Garliński was prominent in the Polish émigré community in the UK, and continued as an active author and speaker throughout the remainder of his life.

OTHER BOOKS BY JOZEF GARLINSKI:

English-language:

Poland, SOE and the Allies (1969)

Hitler's Last Weapons (1978)

Intercept: The Enigma War (1979)

The Swiss Corridor (1981)

Poland in the Second World War (1985)

The Survival of Love (1991)

Polish-language:

Miedzy Londynem I Warszawa (Between London and Warsaw)

Dramat I Opatrznosc (Drama and Providence)

Matki I Zony (Mothers and Wives)

W Czterdziesta Rocznice (On the 40th Anniversary: The Agony, Battle and Death of the
Warsaw Ghetto--Marek Edelman: The Ghetto Fights)

Ziemia (Earth)

Swiat Mojej Pamieci (The World of My Memory)

Niezapomniane Lata (The Unforgettable Years)

Polski Panstwo Podziemne 1939-1945 (The Polish Underground State, 1939-1945)