Global artists to commemorate Polish war-time hero

It is open to graphic designers from across the world. Each submitted project has to contain the inscription: “Witold Pilecki 13.05.1901-25.05.1948”, the dates of his birth and death.

Małgorzata Kupiszewska of the Kraków-based ‘Gdzie’ Foundation, which is coordinating the “Pilecki – an invincible hero” project, told the Polish Press Agency the idea of the competition can be summed up in three words: “truth, memory, pride”.

“It is our hope that having this motto in mind, artists will be able to capture the story of Captain Pilecki in a way that proves accessible to people in Poland and abroad,” Kupiszewska said.

The projects will be judged by a jury chaired by the prominent Polish artist Rosław Szaybo, former artistic director for CBS Records Great Britain. Prizewinners' names will be announced on 9 October.

Witold Pilecki fought in the Polish-Soviet War of 1920.

In September 1940 he allowed himself to be arrested by the Germans and sent to Auschwitz, where he organised a conspiracy among the prisoners with the idea of an insurrection at the Nazi German death camp.

He managed to send reports indicating that extermination of European Jews was being planned by the Nazi Germans. In 1943, having escaped from Auschwitz, Pilecki reached Warsaw, and a year later fought in the Warsaw Uprising.

After the war he went to Italy and joined the Second Corps. He was sent by Polish intelligence services to Poland. However, he was captured and executed by the communist authorities. His burial place has never been found. In 1990, he was rehabilitated and in 2008 posthumously received the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish state distinction. (mk/rg)