I want to make Pilecki’s story better known outside of Poland

The Warsaw-based film-maker Patrick Ney has released a powerful short film about the Polish war hero Witold Pilecki which has already been viewed by over six million people worldwide.

Ney, originally from Britain, spoke about his passion for Polish history in an interview published in Tydzień Polski earlier this year. His latest film focusses on the extraordinary life of one of Poland’s (and arguably Europe’s) most significant war-time figures. Ney married into a Polish family, and is now a popular blogger, as well as being an expert in the use of social media to distribute films to a mass audience.

In the first fortnight following its launch the Pilecki film – which Ney describes as his most important yet – was viewed on Facebook alone more than six-and-a-half million times, with over 146,000 people sharing it to their own timelines for others to enjoy. Among these were staff at high profile institutions such as the Polish Embassy in the UK and its equivalent in the USA.

Brin Best interviewed Ney to find out more about his motivations for making the film, and some of the wider issues it raises.

What drew you to Pilecki’s story?

“I’d read about Pilecki in various books on Polish history and then started to read more in Polish. Originally, I’d planned to write about his life in English, so I commissioned a researcher to support me and review as many sources as possible. I think Pilecki’s life story IS the story of Poland. It contains all of the drama, heroism, betrayal and sacrifice that Poland’s history has required of it. It was the obvious first place for a series of portraits I wanted to make about heroic Poles who’ve done something for their nation.”

What do you hope to achieve through your film?

“I was very conscious that Pilecki’s incredible story was very little known outside of Poland – there’s almost nothing written in English. So instead of taking months to write a book about him I decided to do what I do best: record a short film for social media. My aim from the outset was to tell his story in the most accessible way possible, for the ‘Facebook generation’. I knew from successes and mistakes in the past that it had to be quick, powerful and tightly edited. On this occasion, the facts alone would suffice. His story is breathtaking. I only wanted to make sure that I did it justice and in a format that would ensure it got millions of views. I chose places associated with Poland and Pilecki – so in particular the Powązki Military Cemetery where Pilecki’s remains were suspected to have been buried, as well as the Kabacki Forest. Forests are important places for Poles, and Pilecki himself in his report wrote of his joy when he escaped from Auschwitz and returned to the forests that he had loved all his life.”

What was it like to meet Pilecki’s son and to look through the family albums with him?

“Meeting Andrzej Pilecki was one of the signal honours of my life. He bears a striking resemblance to his father and I was very emotional both before and after. Like that of his family, Andrzej’s life under communism was severely curtailed. My operator and editor, Agnieszka, was with me and we were both very moved. I looked Andrzej in the eye and told him, ‘I hope to make the most popular film about your father to date, so the world learns about him.’ I can’t wait to show him the results of the film and the thousands of messages I’ve received from around the world of people amazed by what Witold Pilecki did for his country and mankind. It was an honour that will live long in my memory.”

If you had been able to meet Pilecki, what would you have said to him?

“That’s a tough question indeed. Frankly, I think I would be completely overawed. But I think I would ask him how he thought we should build a better Poland in 2017. We often hold to the past in Poland, rightfully. So I’d be most interested in finding out what someone who played such a critical role in our shared past thought about our shared future.”

You talk about Pilecki’s legacy at the end of the film. How do you feel his legacy is alive in the everyday lives of people around the world today?

“I wasn’t planning to add my personal reflections to the film at the end. But it’s no understatement to say that creating this film changed my life. Standing in front of the Pilecki monument in Warsaw, at the start of the film, I asked myself a question, ‚What contribution have you made to your society, your country?’ I spent many hours thinking about this during the course of the filming. And, frankly, I don’t feel I’ve lived up to my potential to help others. So on the spur of the moment, I recorded a short piece on what we can learn from Witold Pilecki. I really do believe that because of the uniquely dark circumstances in which he lived, his war-time exploits are no guide for us. We are fortunate to live in a free, peaceful society. We never have to find out how brave Pilecki really was or how we would react in similar circumstances. But we can, every day, ask ourselves whether what we’re doing today is making the world a better, safer, happier place. And that’s something I’m very glad I added to this film, even though it made it much longer.”

WITOLD PILECKI [1901-1948]

Some significant milestones in a remarkable life

• Born 13 May 1901
• Prior to World War II he worked as a community leader, set up an agricultural cooperative and was the head of a local fire brigade.
• His many significant war-time roles included time serving as a Captain, Cavalryman and Intelligence Officer, and he saw active service in the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921) and World War II.
• He founded the Secret Polish Army and was also a member of the Home Army.
• After allowing himself to be captured and taken to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in 1940 as part of a Polish resistance operation, he gathered intelligence that exposed the Nazi German atrocities. He also worked to improve conditions for people held captive there.
• He escaped from Auschwitz in 1943 after almost two and a half years inside the concentration camp, and remained loyal to the London-based Polish government-in-exile, taking part in the Warsaw Uprising.
• After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 he spent time in the UK and Italy, and began writing a monograph about Auschwitz.
• He was sent to Poland in late 1945 to report on the military and political situation under Soviet occupation, and organised an intelligence gathering network.
• He was arrested in 1947 on suspicion of espionage and of working for ‘foreign imperialism’ (which is thought to mean British Intelligence).
• Following a show trial he was executed inside Warsaw’s Mokotów Prison on 25 May 1948.
• Until the late 1980s information about his heroic activities and fate was suppressed by the Polish Communist regime.
• He was given several major medals and awards by the Polish government, including two awards for gallantry and the Order of the White Eagle, the country’s highest honour (awarded posthumously in 2006).

 “If there was an Allied hero who deserved to be remembered and celebrated this was a person with few peers.”

British historian Norman Davies on Witold Pilecki

 FIND OUT MORE

The film can be viewed on Patrick’s Facebook fan page at: www.facebook.com/PaddislawWedrowniczek/videos/1298052456973869/

Brin Best is the founder of the POLES IN THE UK Project and the co-author of ‘Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation’. A free PDF eBook version of this publication can be downloaded from www.polesintheuk.net.