Witold Pilecki: A War Hero

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When one thinks of the word hero, an image of a supernatural human being wearing a cape will most likely appear in his or her mind. However, there is more to a hero than how many villains he or she can take down in one day. People often associate values such as courage, selflessness, humility, patience, and caring with heroism, for these values mark the foundation of the honest hero. Throughout history, society has commemorated heroes for their heroic efforts. One of the many heroes one should be aware of is Witold Pilecki, a Polish soldier who infiltrated Auschwitz during World War II. Witold Pilecki honorably represents the true values of a war hero for his selflessness, courageousness, and compassion for concentration camp prisoners during World War II. Witold Pilecki nobly endangered his life by willingly entering Nazi Germany’s largest and most lethal concentration camp, Auschwitz, for the sake of sending information to the Allies and collecting record of the horrors within the camp for historical purposes. Pilecki knew that …show more content…

Removing SS agents from Auschwitz was an intimidating assignment for Pilecki, for he could not directly murder agents without severe consequence. Thus, Pilecki raised a lice colony, carrying typhus, to kill several SS agents. Additionally, Pilecki developed a plan for an uprising, which unfortunately was incapable of execution. If the SS agents ever discovered Pilecki’s intentions, they would have killed him instantly. Pilecki was aware of this, which makes his actions significantly nobler. It takes great skill and nerve to plan on willingly sneaking into Auschwitz, killing SS agents, and plotting an uprising within its walls. It takes a man with the audacity of a hero to be able to carry these actions out, which delineates Pilecki’s heroic

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