A powerful new film telling the extraordinary story of the Polish champion boxer Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, who spent over two years inside the Auschwitz concentration camp, will be released in cinemas across the UK and Poland today.

Using archival statements of former prisoners of Auschwitz – together with memories of the boxer himself and his family – the filmmakers have brought to life the incredible battles that took place in the Nazi German concentration camp, for Pietrzykowski and the other prisoners. Each time Pietrzykowski beat a German opponent it strengthened the hope among prisoners that the Nazis could be overcome.

His daughter, Eleonora Szafran, said of her father: “In order to survive the camp, he had to prove himself in some way. The only thing he could do was box.”

The film, entitled ‘The Champion of Auschwitz’ (MITRZ in Poland), is being distributed in the UK and the Republic of Ireland by Parkland Entertainment. Their acquisitions director Tom Stewart told me that the film will be the company’s first Polish production, and they hope it will ignite interest in other films from Poland in 2022. He said the company is thrilled to be bringing this powerful true story of incredible human spirit to audiences in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Director Maciej Barczewski, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, was the person trusted to bring to the screen the pulsating drama of the boxer who fought for survival inside a Nazi death camp during World War II. A graduate of Gdynia Film School, Barczewski’s directorial debut came in 2017 with a short feature adaption of Stephen King’s story ‘My Pretty Pony’.

He said: “The Champion of Auschwitz is a story about an extraordinary man who, thanks to his skills, not only fought for his life in the place of extermination, but also gave others hope that their tormentors were not invincible. It’s a tale of courage, hope and strength.” 

Lead actor Piotr Głowacki added: “Tadeusz Pietrzykowski was a man who, thanks to a strong will to survive and a passion for boxing, has shown that even the greatest, unimaginable evil can be defeated.”

I was able to view a press screening of ‘The Champion of Auschwitz’ ahead of its launch. It is a hugely powerful – and of course a savagely brutal – film. Any film that faithfully brings to the screen the reality of life in a Nazi concentration camp is not going to be an easy watch. I found Głowacki’s performance captivating and thought-provoking, and the final scene in which he achieves a long-held dream will surely move every viewer.

You can watch the film at selected UK cinemas from today, the day it also goes on general release across Poland. Pietrzykowski’s story is not well known in the UK, even within the Polish community, and this gripping film – with its ultimate message of hope – deserves a wide audience. 

Brin Best

THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF TADEUSZ PIETRZYKOWSKI

An early interest in boxing 

Born in Warsaw in 1917, Pietrzykowski’s interest in boxing began at an early age. While still a youth he joined the boxing section of the Legia Warsaw sports club, where he trained with the celebrated coach Feliks Stamm, considered by many to be the father of Polish boxing. During the interwar period he received several positive write-ups in the Polish sporting press, and was given the nickname ‘Teddy’. He competed at the Polish Boxing Championships in 1937, where he became Warsaw Champion in the bantamweight class. 

Auschwitz and other concentration camps

After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 he took part in the Siege of Warsaw after volunteering for a light artillery regiment. The following year, after the Polish defeat, he tried to travel to France, where the Polish Army was being reformed. However, he only made it as far as the Hungary-Yugoslavia border, where he faced arrest and deportation back to Poland. The Gestapo interrogated and tortured him, and he ended up in prison in Tarnów. From there he was moved to Auschwitz concentration camp on 10 June 1940 as part of the first mass transport to the camp, were he received prisoner number 77. He was 23 years old.

Pietrzykowski became a member of the Auschwitz resistance movement in March 1941, working under the direction of Witold Pilecki, who became a legendary figure for his extraordinary efforts to reveal the extent of the atrocities taking place at Auschwitz (Pilecki’s story was told in another article in my series for Tydzień Polski). Later that year he took part in an assassination attempt against Rudolf Höss, at that time a high-ranking German officer working at the camp. He also engaged in resistance actions that included passing on information and sabotaging labour activities.

After taking part in his first unofficial boxing match at Auschwitz in March 1941, motivated by the promise of extra food rations, Pietrzykowski gained the approval of camp personnel for his impressive performance. So began his ‘career’ as a boxer at the camp, and although the fights were meant to bring amusement for camp personnel, they also became popular with prisoners. And Pietrzykowski’s victories against German opponents – some of whom were professional boxers – understandably boosted morale among prisoners. 

Pietrzykowski showed particular compassion towards his Jewish opponents, for whom the fights were even more dangerous. On more than one occasion he tied a fight on purpose, allowing him to maintain his winning streak while avoiding drawing the guards’ negative attention to his Jewish opponents.

During his time at Auschwitz, Pietrzykowski fought in over 40 boxing matches, only losing once. As a reward for winning he was given the right to choose where he worked, and extra food, which he frequently shared with other prisoners. He was once given the chance to sign the Deutsche Volksliste, a document attesting to German ancestry which would have allowed him to leave the camp, but refused.

He accepted the opportunity to be transferred to Neuengamme concentration camp in March 1943, where his boxing fights continued and where he was never defeated in around 20 bouts. Several prisoners mentioned in their diaries that these fights were the cultural and sporting highlight of their otherwise grim lives in the camps. 

He then spent time at the Salzgitter camp before being transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945, where he survived until it was liberated the following month by British and Canadian forces.

Life after the war

Following liberation Pietrzykowski joined the Polish 1st Armoured Division, where he was responsible for organising sporting activities for his fellow soldiers. He returned to Poland in 1947 and testified in the trial of Rudolf Höss. Although he tried to restart his boxing career he became ill and his official post-war match record stood at 15 victories and two ties. 

He married three times and in 1959 completed his studies at the University of Physical Education in Warsaw. He later settled in Bielsko-Biała in southern Poland, where he taught sport and physical education to children and young people, as well as being a boxing instructor. 

His legacy

Pietrzykowski died in 1991, age 74, and his life has been the subject of several books and films, including ‘The Champion of Auschwitz’ – released in cinemas today. However, it appears that his life and legacy has not yet been formally recognised in Poland, for example through a public statue in the country. Thankfully, a proposal is currently being discussed by city leaders in Bielsko-Biała to establish a permanent memorial to Tadeusz Pietrzykowski in the city where he lived and worked with distinction for many years after the war.

DEDICATION

As I was researching this article I received the very sad news that both my dad and my brother had died. Both would have loved the extraordinary, real-life story told in ‘The Champion of Auschwitz’. My dad was a lifelong boxing fan and my brother was the film critic for his local newspaper for some time. I dedicate this article to them both.

Brin Best is the leader of the POLES IN THE UK Project and co-author of the book ‘Poles in the UK: A Story of Friendship and Cooperation’. You can download a free eBook version from www.polesintheuk.net.