# Pilecki enters Auschwitz (1940)

URL: https://poland-history.com/timeline/1940-pilecki-enters-auschwitz
Location: Auschwitz

Home Army officer Witold Pilecki allowed himself to be captured and sent to Auschwitz to organise resistance and send reports on the camp; he escaped in 1943. Within the broader World War II period: Invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland suffered brutal occupation and the Holocaust, while its underground state and armed forces fought on every front of the war. At this point in the timeline (1940), the governing authority was Władysław Raczkiewicz (President of Poland (in exile)). President of the internationally recognised Polish government-in-exile in France and London during World War II. Pilecki enters Auschwitz mattered because it shaped the armed forces through which Poles defended or fought to regain their statehood. The event is placed here so readers can follow it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion and culture across Polish history.

## Why it matters
Pilecki enters Auschwitz mattered because it shaped the armed forces through which Poles defended or fought to regain their statehood.

Ruler at the time: [Władysław Raczkiewicz](https://poland-history.com/rulers/wladyslaw-raczkiewicz)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Witold Pilecki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Pilecki enters Auschwitz](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Pilecki+enters+Auschwitz)
- [Wikipedia — History of Poland (1939–1945) (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_(1939%E2%80%931945))