The Volunteer
The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz
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The Volunteer
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Narrated by:
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David Rintoul
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By:
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Jack Fairweather
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
The 2019 Costa Book of the Year and Biography Winner.
How do you keep fighting in the face of unimaginable horror?
Narrated by David Rintoul, this is the untold story of one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War.
In the summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interred at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich.
His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. The name of the detention centre - Auschwitz.
It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazis' terrifying designs. Over the next two and a half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities, culminating in the mass murder of over a million Jews, to the West. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust - yet his story was all but forgotten for decades.
This is the first major account of his amazing journey, drawing on exclusive family papers and recently declassified files as well as unpublished accounts from the camp’s fighters to show how he saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
The result is an enthralling story of resistance and heroism against the most horrific circumstances and one man’s attempt to change the course of history.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio on our Desktop Site.
©2019 Jack Fairweather (P)2019 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Volunteer
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew Vail
- 30-07-19
Awesome Book
This is a superb listen
Brilliantly written
I was truly engaged through out
The horrors endured and the bravery of individuals
A story of a man who loved his country and stood up against tyranny
David Rintoul narrates this book wonderfully
I shall be seeking out other books he has narrated
You won’t be disappointed
Sit down relax and enjoy
Witold’s story needs to be heard
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- frances bell
- 02-07-20
So sad
For a man to live through the atrocities of Auschwitz only to be betrayed by his own country
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-06-20
What a story of a truly brave unsung hero
loved it
amazing story
heart breaking
hero
legend
nearly brought a year to my eye.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Pam
- 04-10-20
Illuminating
This book should be read by anyone who wants to know and understand more about WW2 and the development of the camps. The story felt so important to me, I have bought the written version as well. The events that Witold witnessed and reported on and the subsequent reception of his information by the Allies provided answers to many questions I had wondered about for years.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 28-02-20
Extraordinary. Absolutely astonishing.
The nazi machine of stripping people off their humanity. And beyond: Stripping people of their living substance and existence. The nazi torture, zombification and slow murder system at industrial scale. You would never believe the depths of the abyss that the collective human mind can sink into. You would never think of the despicable things that people can do to other people. On a psychological and physical level. In a systematic and "optimised" way. Welcome to Hell on earth. An astonishing real story. A totally extraordinary and exceptional book. A magnificent audio performance.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eamonn
- 06-08-20
A hero’s story
A great listen, about the horrors of WWII and an amazing mans selfishness for his nation and people in need
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Olivia S.
- 04-04-20
interesting book.
Liked the narrator. A good story. i would recommend this if you enjoy this period of history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alv
- 12-11-20
Based on diaries and recently released documents
This is brilliantly written and researched by Jack Fairweather. I'm grateful to the author for his painstaking work in bringing this tragic story of heroism alive. This is the story of WITOLD PILECKI, a man who did the right thing and paid the highest price. The writing brings alive these historical events in a way which echoes the stories I have personally heard from survivors and which places them in the context of the political climate of the time. Pilecki's mission was to get out the story to the allies but shockingly this fell on deaf ears.
The narrator reads extremely well but I was disappointed with the fact that he flubbed almost every single non English word.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- dominic
- 17-04-20
Harrowing
A window into a different time which should not be forgotten. Far from the modern world where armchair warriors take to social media to correct the opinions of others with their own uneducated ideas, this book follows one man's very real struggle against very real injustice. An expertly read harrowing listen that I highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Lisa H.
- 05-05-20
The Volunteer
Loved it going to listen to it again
very compelling and informative
couldn't wait to listen for the next chapter so always ended up listening till late
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