The Russians Are Lying: There Were No Polish Guards at Auschwitz

The TASS report is based on a fabricated text prepared by the FederalSecurity Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation. It tells the story of Franciszek Pieczka, born in Silesia. Born in 1914 in what is now Chorzów.

Pieczka is said to have initially served in the Polish army duringSeptember 1939. Following his capture, he was reportedly held in a POW camp. After his release, he allegedly accepted German citizenship. A year later, due to his refusal to join the Wehrmacht, he was sent to Auschwitz, where he is claimed to have become a kapo before being released from the camp in 1943.

The story of Józef Pieczka, a functionary prisoner at Auschwitz—but not a kapo—was misappropriated by the Russian FSB to support the unfounded claim that Polish executioners and guards operated within this Nazi German extermination camp. Moreover, the Russian publication is riddled with inaccuracies and factual errors.

The Russians claim that Pieczka quickly “advanced” to the position of overseer of a transport commando (kapo), and assert that his alleged cruel behaviour during his time at Auschwitz is corroborated by his own confessions given after his arrest by Soviet counterintelligence in 1945.

What is the truth about Józef Pieczka? The archives of the Auschwitz- Birkenau State Museum contain a camp photograph of Józef Pieczka, two documents related to him, and a testimony in which he is mentioned. None of these documents suggest that Pieczka was a kapo. That term refers to a prisoner who oversaw a labour commando and was responsible for discipline and productivity among fellow inmates. Occasionally, kapos had subordinates (unterkapos), who in turn supervised foremen (vorarbeiters).

From the postwar testimony of former inmate Jan Żółtonos, we learn that at the end of 1940 or the beginning of 1941, Pieczka was a vorarbeiter of the rollwagen (a foreman supervising a cart pulled by prisoners, including Żółtonos himself). He likely received this lowest-ranking functionary role because, as a Silesian, he spoke German well. However, his promotion to this position does not imply that he behaved dishonourably or collaborated with the Germans. Among the 140,000 Poles sent to Auschwitz, there were
several thousand functionary prisoners (mostly block elders, foremen, porters, nurses, etc.). One reason they were selected by the Germans was their basic knowledge of the German language.

— “Although indeed, among the functionary prisoners, there were many who beat and were brutal to other inmates, there were also some who behaved humanely and did not abuse their positions,” emphasised Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz, head of the Research Centre of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, in an interview with PAP.

Żółtonos’ account portrays Pieczka as a vorarbeiter who behaved decently towards his subordinates. He described him as a good Pole from Silesia who helped organise food while removing waste from SS buildings. For this, Pieczka was allegedly punished by the Germans with two hours of hanging by hooks (a form of torture known as “the post punishment”). This detail is significant because although German criminal prisoners initially filled most kapo and block elder positions, as their numbers dwindled, the SS increasingly assigned these roles to other inmates, including Poles and, later, Jews. Many kapos were exceptionally brutal, deliberately instilling terror among prisoners.

Another document from the Auschwitz Museum archives — a card from the locksmith registry — reveals that from September 22, 1942, Józef Pieczka worked as a regular prisoner in the camp’s locksmith workshop, likely having given up his position as a vorarbeiter in exchange for an indoor job. Also, he lived in Block 15a, which further suggests he was not a high-ranking functionary, as kapos typically had more favourable accommodation in separate camp blocks.

Finally, Pieczka’s personal camp record confirms that he was released from Auschwitz on April 6, 1943. He is listed as a Volksdeutscher (ethnic German), but the document contains no details about when or under what circumstances he accepted German citizenship. Contrary to the Russian account, this could only have occurred while he was in Auschwitz—not earlier.

— “As a Silesian, Pieczka was likely offered the chance to be listed on the German ethnic list (Volksliste) while in the camp, and agreed to it to save his life. He was then indeed released from Auschwitz. Such releases did occur. Families sometimes petitioned for prisoners to be freed, bribed officials, or sent repeated appeals to German authorities, which would process them unless the Gestapo had strong evidence of anti-German activity. So far, we’ve identified around 2,000 such releases from Auschwitz,” Dr. Setkiewicz told PAP.

According to Dr. Setkiewicz, Pieczka likely returned to work in Chorzów and was arrested by Soviet authorities in 1945. During his interrogation in Moscow in 1946, he had—according to FSB materials—a release certificate from Auschwitz (Entlassungsschein) and a prewar ID card from the Federation of Polish Associations for the Defence of the Fatherland, which he likely carried in the hope they would aid in his release.

While Pieczka’s camp biography is undoubtedly complex, there is no evidence supporting the allegations of cruelty made against him by the Russian FSB. The author of the Russian publication bases the claim solely on testimonies given by Pieczka while under interrogation by the notorious SMERSH.

In a July 1945 interrogation, Pieczka is said to have claimed that as a kapo and unterkapo, he lived well and suffered no hardships in the camp, and that he had absolute authority over other prisoners. According to a 1946 interrogation transcript published by the FSB, Pieczka allegedly admitted to regularly beating inmates who worked too slowly and claimed that his group transported between 100 and 500 corpses nightly to the crematoria.

— “It’s highly suspicious that Pieczka would so willingly admit to mistreating other prisoners. Such testimony was likely coerced. If he had truly been a brutal kapo, other survivors would almost certainly have mentioned it—and no such testimonies exist,” stated Dr. Setkiewicz.

According to Russian sources, Pieczka developed schizophrenia during the investigation and was committed to a psychiatric hospital. In 1955, he was handed over to officials of the German Democratic Republic.

What is particularly outrageous in the TASS statement is that Pieczka’s story is used to promote a completely false narrative that Poles worked as guards at Auschwitz, allegedly recruited from the local population. This claim implies that Poles were involved in managing the camp—an outright fabrication presented in the context of supposed SMERSH efforts to investigate Nazi crimes and prisoner collaboration in early 1945.

In the original Russian and its translation, this passage reads:

“Еще до освобождения концлагеря сотрудники “Смерш” начали собирать и документировать свидетельства о преступлениях администрации концлагеря и согласившихся на сотрудничество с
нацистами заключенных, поскольку было известно, что нацисты, помимо охранников из местного польского населения, активно использовали в своих интересах так называемых капо (Kameradschaft-Polizei – “товарищеская полиция”), которыми становились старосты бараков, надзиратели, старшие рабочих команд.”

“Even before the liberation of the concentration camp, SMERSH officers began collecting and documenting evidence of crimes committed by the camp administration and prisoners who agreed to cooperate with the Nazis, as it was known that the Nazis, apart from guards recruited from the local Polish population, actively used so-called kapos (Kameradschaft- Polizei – ‘comrade police’), who served as block elders, overseers, and foremen of labour squads.”

The entire dispatch can be found here:

“This is a complete nonsense, and shows the author’s total lack of understanding of Auschwitz and occupied Poland. Camp guards were not recruited from the local population. Concentration camp guards were SS men—Germans, Austrians, or Volksdeutsche from various countries, but not Poles. One had to hold German citizenship to serve in SS formations”— concluded Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz in his interview with PAP.

Source: PAP

Auschwitz-Birkenau was established by the Germans in mid-1940 on the outskirts of Oświęcim, a town which had been annexed into the Third Reich by the Nazis. This happened after Poland’s defeat in September 1939, leading to the division of its territory between the occupying forces: Germany and the Soviet Union.

Initially, the camp was intended for Polish prisoners. Estimates suggest that approximately 130,000–140,000 Poles were transported to KL (Konzentrationslager) Auschwitz and registered with identification numbers, with approximately 10,000 more murdered without being documented. It is believed that at least half of the Polish inmates perished in the camp due to starvation,
beatings, disease, overwork, lack of medical care, executions by shooting or phenol injection, or in the gas chambers. Many others died after being transferred to other concentration camps.

Beginning in the spring of 1942, Jews were transported to KL Auschwitz in separate convoys, although some were deported alongside non-Jewish inmates from various prisons.

From 1942 to 1944, as part of the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question,” (Endlösung der Judenfrage), KL Auschwitz evolved into the largest Nazi centre for exterminating Jews from countries occupied by or allied with the Third Reich.

Most of the Jews sent to Auschwitz during this period — over 1.1 million, including more than 200,000 kids and teenagers — were killed immediately upon arrival or shortly thereafter in gas chambers. These transports were organised by the Reich Main Security Office.

Interior of the gas chamber at Auschwitz.
Fot. Paweł Sawicki/www.auschwitz.org

The largest single group of Jews deported by RSHA to KL Auschwitz consisted of approximately 430,000 men, women, and children deported from Hungary between late April and August 1944. Auschwitz also served as the final destination for about 300,000 Jews from the occupied Polish territories (particularly from areas annexed into the Reich), as well as 73,000 from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and Slovakia, 69,000 from France, 60,000 from the Netherlands, 55,000 from Greece, 25,000 from Belgium, 23,000 from Germany and Austria (many of whom were routed through the Theresienstadt ghetto-camp in Czechia), 10,000 from Yugoslavia, 7,500 from Italy, and 690 from Norway.
These deportations were primarily orchestrated by German authorities and their foreign representatives.

Source: History KL Auschwitz-Birkenau

The camp was liberated on January 27, 1945, by soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front, part of the Soviet army. Around 7,000 prisoners were still in the camp at that time. This very camp is still, though fortunately less frequently, referred to as a “Polish camp” in some international media. It is worth recalling that at the 31st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Zealand on June 27, 2007, at the request of Poland and Israel, the previous name — Auschwitz Concentration
Camp — was changed to: “Auschwitz-Birkenau. German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940–1945).”

A Brief History of Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is currently located in southern Poland, but until 1918, it was part of Germany. The native inhabitants spoke a dialect of Polish, although some were Germanised over time. For years, Polish and German influences clashed in this region, with Katowice at its centre. While most Upper Silesians identified as Poles, many considered themselves Germans.

Those who did not identify with either group referred to themselves as Silesians. Following the end of World War I, three Polish uprisings took place in Upper Silesia between 1919 and 1921, ultimately resulting in the majority of the region, including Katowice, being incorporated into Poland.

What was the Volksliste?

The Volksliste (German Nationality List) was a registry established by Nazi Germany during World War II to classify individuals of German descent living in occupied territories. It was divided into four categories:
Category 1 – Volksdeutscher (Polish: ethnic German) – individuals of German nationality who were politically active and worked for the Third Reich during the interwar period. This group was also referred to as the Reichslista.
Category 2 – Deutschstämmige (Polish: person of German origin) – individuals who declared German nationality, spoke German in daily life, engaged with German culture, and were politically passive during the interwar period.
Category 3 – Eingedeutschte (Polish: people who were Germanised) – indigenous individuals considered by the Germans to be partially Polonised (including Upper Silesians, Kashubians, and Masurians) and Poles of German descent (such as those married to Germans).
Category 4 – Rückgedeutschte (Polish: converted to Germanness) – individuals of German descent who had Polonised and actively collaborated with Polish authorities during the interwar period, or
participated in Polish socio-political organisations (commonly referred to as renegades by the Germans). This category also included Poles who, after undergoing skull measurements and other assessments, were deemed racially valuable.
Refusal to complete the Volksliste questionnaire —which determined an individual’s category—could result in the entire family being sent to a concentration camp or resettlement facility

Source: Wikipedia

History KL Auschwitz-Birkenau: https://www.auschwitz.org/en/history/