In the area of the Wujek Coal Mine, a dramatized scene for a documentary about Witold Pilecki was created. The Staszic-Wujek Coal Mine, now managed by the Silesian Center for Freedom and Solidarity, transformed an old workshop building into a packaging center from the time of World War II at the Auschwitz concentration camp. “Brzemię” is a historical documentary about Captain Pilecki directed by Piotr Owcarz and Grzegorz Rosengarten. Marek Probosz once again portrays Captain Pilecki in the film.
“Brzemię” tells the story of Witold Pilecki’s connection to Silesia. We live in Silesia, and this story fascinated us because Captain Pilecki was not originally from here. However, it turned out that in Auschwitz, where he ended up after voluntarily organizing a military conspiracy, he had a lot to do with the people from Silesia. That’s why after the war, he came to Silesia, to Chorzów, to build resistance against the communists. It’s an interesting and little-known aspect, so we wanted more people to learn about it,” emphasized director Piotr Owcarz.
Grzegorz Rosengarten, the co-director of the documentary, has been raising awareness about Captain Pilecki’s story for years. Thanks to his efforts, a Witold Pilecki Square was established in Chorzów. The film crew also visited Chorzów and the first school in Poland named after Captain Witold Pilecki, which is the School No. 3 in Zabrze.
At the Wujek Coal Mine, the filmmakers recreated a scene from Auschwitz. In the packaging center, Witold Pilecki and Henryk Szklarz, a Silesian, worked on unpacking packages sent to the camp. The SS men left only what could be useful to them and ordered the rest to be thrown away. However, Captain Pilecki and Szklarz tried to smuggle some of it to their fellow inmates.
Marek Probosz, who was born in Żory and has Silesian roots, portrayed Pilecki once again, flying in from the United States for the role. He emphasizes his connection to Silesia, having been a five-time cycling champion and winning the title of Silesian champion in 1975 in Chorzów. During his studies at the Łódz Film School, he learned about the tragedy that unfolded at the Wujek Mine.
“I’m very pleased that we’re filming a scene for the film about Captain Pilecki in such an important place as the Wujek Mine, where heroic blood was shed. In 1981, the news of the pacification of the mine deeply affected me. When a Pole is killed by another Pole, that wound hurts very, very much, and it leaves a scar. Returning to that place after years, where those dramatic events took place, is like touching that scar; it still hurts. And the fact that we’re reenacting the Auschwitz camp scene here, and I’m playing the role of a prisoner with the number 4859, which was Captain Witold Pilecki’s camp number, is incredibly significant. I’m portraying Captain once again, but this time in a story that unfolded in Silesia and was overlooked. We have unearthed it like coal from the seam. We bring it out of the darkness into the light,”.
actor Marek Probosz said
The documentary “Brzemię” is produced by the Silesian Museum. The film will be available for viewing at the end of the year, and distribution decisions have not yet been made.
Witold Pilecki, born in 1901, was a cavalry captain in the Polish Army, a co-founder of the Secret Polish Army, a soldier in the Home Army, a prisoner, and an organizer of the resistance movement in Auschwitz concentration camp. He compiled reports about the Holocaust there. After the war, he was accused, sentenced to death, and executed by the communist authorities of People’s Poland in 1948. Posthumously, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle in 2006 and promoted to the rank of colonel in 2013.