Jack Fairweather

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 'Totally gripping'-- Simon Sebag Montefiore Would you sacrifice yourself to save thousands of others? This is the unsung story of one of the greatest heroes of the Second World War. In the Summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, an underground operative called Witold Pilecki accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands of people being interned at a new concentration camp on the border of the Reich. His mission was to report on Nazi crimes and raise a secret army to stage an uprising. The name of the detention centre -- Auschwitz. It was only after arriving at the camp that he started to discover the Nazi's terrifying plans. Over the next two and half years, Witold forged an underground army that smuggled evidence of Nazi atrocities out of Auschwitz. His reports from the camp were to shape the Allies response to the Holocaust - yet his story was all but forgotten for decades. This is the first major account to draw on unpublished family papers, newly released archival documents and exclusive interviews with surviving resistance fighters to show how he brought the fight to the Nazis at the heart of their evil designs. The result is an enthralling story of resistance and heroism against the most horrific circumstances, and one man's attempt to change the course of history.

The True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Infiltrated Auschwitz

The Volunteer

From the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Volunteer, the powerful true story of a Jewish lawyer who returned to Germany after World War II to prosecute war crimes, only to find himself pitted against a nation determined to bury the past.

At the end of the Nuremberg trial in 1946, some of the greatest war criminals in history were sentenced to death, but hundreds of thousands of Nazi murderers and collaborators remained at large. The Allies were ready to overlook their pasts as the Cold War began, and the horrors of the Holocaust were in danger of being forgotten.

In The Prosecutor, Jack Fairweather brings to life the remarkable story of Fritz Bauer, a gay, Jewish judge from Stuttgart who survived the Nazis and made it his mission to force his countrymen––and the world––to confront their complicity in the genocide. In this deeply researched book, Fairweather draws on unpublished family papers, newly declassified German records, and exclusive interviews to immerse readers in the shadowy, unfamiliar world of postwar West Germany where those who implemented genocide run the country, the CIA is funding Hitler’s former spy-ring in the east, and Nazi-era anti-gay laws are strictly enforced. But once Bauer landed on the trail of Adolf Eichmann, he wouldn’t be intimidated. His journey took him deep into the dark heart of West Germany, where his fight for justice would set him against his own government and a network of former Nazis and spies bent on silencing him.

In a time when the history of the Holocaust is taken for granted, The Prosecutor reveals the courtroom battles that were fought to establish its legacy and the personal cost of speaking out. The result is a searing portrait of a nation emerging from the ruins of fascism and one man’s courage in forcing his people––and the world––to face the truth.

One Man's Battle to Bring Nazis to Justice

The Prosecutor 

why we couldn't win the war or the peace in Afghanistan

The good war

La vera storia dell’uomo che entrò nel più spietato campo di concentramento di sua spontanea volontà Settembre 1940. Dal momento in cui si hanno notizie dell’inizio dell’attività nel campo di prigionia nazista di Auschwitz, ben poco filtra su quello che succede davvero oltre il filo spinato. Witold Pilecki, membro della resistenza polacca, si offre volontario per una missione ad altissimo rischio: farsi catturare dalle SS, entrare nel lager e raccogliere quante più informazioni su ciò che avviene lì dentro. Se possibile, dovrà anche sabotare le attività che vi si svolgono. Ma una volta all’interno di Auschwitz, Pilecki capisce che quello non è un normale campo di prigionia. L’orrore della Soluzione Finale nazista lo spinge allora a tentare il tutto per tutto: evadere, raggiungere l’Europa dell’ovest e informare gli Alleati delle mostruosità che avvengono in quel posto. Una missione che sembra un vero e proprio suicidio. Censurata dal governo comunista polacco nel dopoguerra, la straordinaria storia di Pilecki viene riportata alla luce in questo libro. Attraverso diari, testimonianze e documenti a lungo secretati, Jack Fairweather ricostruisce una delle vicende più scioccanti della seconda guerra mondiale. La tragica fine della missione di Pilecki, infatti, non fu decisa ad Auschwitz, ma nelle stanze segrete di Londra e Washington... Vincitore del Costa Book Award In corso di traduzione in 18 Paesi Bestseller n°1 del Sunday Times Presto un film da questo straordinario romanzo «Un racconto straziante... Il giusto omaggio a uno dei più grandi eroi di guerra e una feroce accusa all’incapacità di agire degli Alleati occidentali.» Sunday Times «Straordinario.» The Times «Il racconto dell’Olocausto da una prospettiva inedita.» Publishers Weekly «Una capacità di coinvolgere il lettore che non ha pari nelle altre testimonianze su Auschwitz. [...] Il libro di Fairweather è sostenuto da una ricerca impressionante ed è scritto con l’eleganza e il ritmo dei migliori thriller.» The Guardian «Witold Pilecki è uno dei più grandi eroi sconosciuti della seconda guerra mondiale – se non il più grande in assoluto –, e il profondo e accurato libro di Jack Fairweather è il racconto più esaustivo della sua straordinaria vita.» The Economist Jack Fairweather Ha lavorato a lungo come reporter di guerra, prima in Iraq, come inviato del «Daily Telegraph», e poi in Afghanistan per il «Washington Post». Per la sua attività giornalistica è stato insignito del prestigioso British Press Award. Con Volontario ad Auschwitz ha vinto il Costa Award per la miglior biografia.

Volontario ad Auschwitz

Witold Pilecki, de man die in Auschwitz infiltreerde

Vrijwillig naar Auschwitz

With exclusive access to previously hidden diaries, family and camp survivor accounts, and recently declassified files, critically acclaimed and award-winning journalist Jack Fairweather brilliantly portrays the remarkable man who volunteered to face the unknown in the name of truth and country. This extraordinary and eye-opening account of the Holocaust invites us all to bear witness. Occupied Warsaw, Summer 1940: Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative, accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands interned at a new concentration camp, report on Nazi crimes, raise a secret army, and stage an uprising. The name of the camp -- Auschwitz. Over the next two and half years, and under the cruellest of conditions, Pilecki's underground sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi officers, and gathered evidence of terrifying abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying Nazi plans to exterminate Europe's Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible -- but first he would have to escape from Auschwitz itself...

A Rebel in Auschwitz: the True Story of the Resistance Hero Who Fought the Nazis' Greatest Crime from Inside the Camp (Scholastic Focus)

A gripping account of the moral and political challenges posed by the Iraq war from the Costa Award winning author of The Volunteer. When Tony Blair plunged Britain into war he thought that, shortly thereafter, Iraq would emerge as a peaceful democracy. Instead the invasion sparked the worst foreign policy disaster since the Suez crisis in 1956. A War of Choice is a compelling and authoritative portrayal of Britain's war in Iraq. At the outset, Blair insisted that Britain went to war to influence American decision-making. Based on over three hundred interviews, A War of Choice gives the inside story of Blair's war cabinet, Whitehall power struggles and intrigue at the White House, and traces the evolution of the special relationship, from the secret deals struck by Blair, to Brown's desperate bid to save his premiership, which brought already-strained relations with America to the verge of collapse. A story of hubris and honour, betrayal and the ultimate sacrifice, A War of Choice provides powerful insight into one of Britain’s most controversial conflicts. ‘A timely work that offers a considered appraisal of what went wrong’ Times Literary Supplement

The British in Iraq 2003-9

A War of Choice

With exclusive access to previously hidden diaries, family and camp survivor accounts, and recently declassified files, critically acclaimed and award-winning journalist Jack Fairweather brilliantly portrays the remarkable man who volunteered to face the unknown in the name of truth and country. This extraordinary and eye-opening account of the Holocaust invites us all to bear witness. Occupied Warsaw, Summer 1940: Witold Pilecki, a Polish underground operative, accepted a mission to uncover the fate of thousands interned at a new concentration camp, report on Nazi crimes, raise a secret army, and stage an uprising. The name of the camp -- Auschwitz. Over the next two and half years, and under the cruelest of conditions, Pilecki's underground sabotaged facilities, assassinated Nazi officers, and gathered evidence of terrifying abuse and mass murder. But as he pieced together the horrifying Nazi plans to exterminate Europe's Jews, Pilecki realized he would have to risk his men, his life, and his family to warn the West before all was lost. To do so meant attempting the impossible -- but first he would have to escape from Auschwitz itself...

A Rebel in Auschwitz: The True Story of the Resistance Hero who Fought the Nazis from Inside the Camp (Scholastic Focus)

Urhean vastarintataistelijan henkeäsalpaava soluttautuminen Auschwitziin.

Mies joka murtautui Auschwitziin

Em setembro de 1940, Witold Pilecki, um combatente da Resistência polonesa, se ofereceu para uma missão audaciosa: assumir uma identidade falsa, ser intencionalmente capturado e enviado a um campo de concentração e executar um ataque lá de dentro. Nos dois anos seguintes, Pilecki forjou um exército clandestino dentro de Auschwitz, que sabotou instalações, assassinou informantes e oficiais nazistas e reuniu evidências de abusos terríveis e assassinatos em massa. Apesar da tarefa árdua e necessária, ele foi completamente apagado do registro histórico pelo governo comunista polonês do pós-guerra, permanecendo quase desconhecido para o mundo. Agora, Jack Fairweather, que teve acesso exclusivo a diários escondidos, depoimentos de familiares e arquivos recentemente liberados, oferece um retrato inflexível de sobrevivência, vingança e traição em um dos momentos mais sombrios da história da humanidade.

O Voluntário de Auschwitz

In its earliest days, the American-led war in Afghanistan appeared to be a triumph - a âe~good warâe(tm) in comparison to the debacle in Iraq. It has since turned into one of the longest and most expensive wars in recent history. The story of how this good war went so bad may well turn out to be a defining tragedy of the twenty-first century - yet, as acclaimed war correspondent Jack Fairweather explains, it should also give us reason to hope for an outcome grounded in Afghan reality. In The Good War, Fairweather provides the first full narrative history of the war in Afghanistan, from the 2001 invasion to the 2014 withdrawal. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, previously unpublished archives, and months of experience living and reporting in Afghanistan, Fairweather traces the course of the conflict from its inception after 9/11 to the drawdown in 2014. In the process, he explores the righteous intentions and astounding hubris that caused the Westâe(tm)s strategy in Afghanistan to flounder, refuting the long-held notion that the war could have been won with more troops and cash. Fairweather argues that only by accepting the limitations in Afghanistan - from the presence of the Taliban to the ubiquity of poppy production to the countryâe(tm)s inherent unsuitability for rapid, Western-style development - can we help to restore peace in this shattered land. A timely lesson in the perils of nation-building and a sobering reminder of the limits of military power, The Good War leads readers from the White House Situation Room to Afghan military outposts, from warlordsâe(tm) palaces to insurgentsâe(tm) dens, to explain how the US and its British allies might have salvaged the Afghan campaign - and how we must rethink other âe~goodâe(tm) wars in the future.

Jack Fairweather

About

Books

Join the club