Witold Pilecki

In its painful history of two totalitarian regimes within just one century, Europe also witnessed spectacular acts of heroism on the part of individuals, who fought an uneven fight against the regimes - for freedom and justice, until the very end. Their fate was doubly tragic. Not only did they lay their lives for others, but their memory was later silenced and falsified by totalitarian propaganda, while their families suffered persecution.

Joanna Najfeld reports

Such was the fate of many Eastern European heroes, whose memory and honor has yet to be restored. Among them, the notable example of Witold Pilecki, a volunteer to the German Nazi concentration camp Aushwitz, murdered by communists following  a kangaroo trial in 1948. Because Witold Pilecki is considered such an outstanding example of a silenced hero, recently, an attempt was made at the European Parliament to honor the memory of fighters against totalitarianisms and Polish MEPs suggested Witold Pilecki to be the honorary patron of the event.

Although a compromised version of the resolution was finally passed, the attempt to mention Witold Pilecki by name failed, which caused heavy criticism in Poland. Still, the disappointment gave rise to another campaign initiated by a foundation educating about forbidden historical truths. So the idea of 'Let's name them' campaign was born and quickly spread outside Poland.

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Joanna Najfeld.

To find out more about the idea, go to www.lastsoldiers.pl