Kazimierz Piechowski escaped from Auschwitz camp

One of the most audacious escapes in history from the Auschwitz camp took place on June 20, 1942. Four prisoners, including Kazimierz Piechowski, dressed in stolen uniforms and in Rudolph Hoss’s misappropriated car, escaped from Auschwitz. Kazimierz Piechowski or Kazik will tell a story that few have heard. During the occupation, he was sent to a concentration camp to witness the horrors of Hitler’s final dissolution. Kazik spent his happy childhood in Tczew, playing with his families in a nearby park.

My father worked on the railroad and his family belonged to the production class. Piechowski at the age of 10 danced to the scouts. In 1939, when the Nazis invaded the country, the scout movement was considered a symbol of nationalism and was a conspiratorial resistance. A few days after the German declaration of war, they came to Tczew (their home place) and started shooting at the scouts. Kazik’s friends were among those killed or captured. He knew that sooner or later he would be killed too, so he decided to run away. He tried to flee to Hungary but was caught and after a few months in various prisons he ended up in Auschwitz. Piechowski was the second transport that reached the camp, so he helped in its construction. Inmates worked 12-15 hours a day to build options for a Nazi extermination camp. After the first few months, Kazik was shocked when the SS men killed prisoners by beating them to death with truncheons. It was the easiest way to deal with overcrowding in the camp. Each seated spoon and tin bowl – not only for consumption and drink, but also for nighttime urination. Piechowski worked for several weeks bearing a corpse from under the “Wall of Death”. The executed prisoners, including women and children, were taken to the crematorium. Kazik danced to the resistance movement in the camp. Many scouts spoke German as well as being in positions among the prison police. Piechowski met a talented mechanic who worked in the camp garage of Eugeniusz Bender. Those who had access to the prison records said he was on the list and would be killed. The man had access to cars so it was an escape route. Piechowski could not reject his friend’s request, thinking that they would put Gienek [Bender] against the wall of death and shoot him. The idea of ​​escaping was taking shape because Kazik worked in a shop block, where uniforms and ammunition were stored. However, he was overwhelmed by the thought that for every single person who escaped, the guards would kill 10 people.To prevent the Nazis from blaming their real working group, Piechowski and Bender formed a fake group of four, recruiting another scout, Stanisław Gustaw Jaster and priest Józef Lempart, for their spectacular escape.It was Saturday, the conspirators met in the attic of one of the blocks to review the escape plan. One of the main reasons for the escape was the awareness that Gienek would be killed. The four of them headed towards the Arbeit Macht Frei gate carrying a garbage truck with kitchen waste. Piechowski told the guard that he was part of the garbage collection unit, praying that the guard would not check it. They managed to go to the warehouse block. Kazik thought that not only would they need luck but also intelligence to make an escape plan. In stores, three of them broke through to close the door covering the chutes to the coal cellars. This morning, while at work, Piechowski unscrewed the latch blocking the door so that they could enter. They went to the storehouse upstairs, broke open the door, and put on their officers’ uniforms. Meanwhile, Bendera entered the garage with the key copied and brought the commandant’s fastest car. The biggest problem they had was the lack of a pass. Piechowski had a plan to play the role of SS-man. As they approached the main gate, he started shouting in German. The SS guards obeyed and the car set out, allowing four prisoners to be the first to do so.Staying away from the main roads, they drove to Wadowice for two hours and then on foot. Lempart stayed with the parish priest because he fell ill, Jaster returned to Warsaw and Piechowski and Bendera spent time in Ukraine, followed by Kazik returning to Poland, joining the partisans of the Home Army. A month after the escape, an order was issued to have each person tattooed a prison number. Visit our offer and go to Auschwitz camp.

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