OPERATION AUSCHWITZ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OPERATION AUSCHWITZ — THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF WITOLD PILECKI Los Angeles, CA (October 16, 2013) - Producers Samuel V. Franco and David Aaron Gray have partnered to form Franco / Gray Entertainment, a fund specializing in developing film and television projects based on events of historical significance. The company’s first project, “Operation Auschwitz,” focuses on the remarkable true story of Witold Pilecki, the only person to voluntarily be imprisoned at the notorious Nazi death camp. ABOVE: Pilecki pre-1939 Surviving the Nazi Inferno: At the onset of German occupation, Pilecki, an officer in the Polish Army, embarked upon an extremely perilous mission to enter the newly constructed concentration camp in order to gather intelligence on the prison’s facilities, and organize inmate resistance. From September 1940 until his extraordinary escape in April 1943, Captain Pilecki watched Auschwitz transform from a small detention center (intended to house Polish political prisoners) to what would become the largest site of mass murder in human history. As early as October 1940, Pilecki began to compile written reports on camp activities and transmitted his observations via the Polish resistance to Allied forces based in London. The collection of his reports, became the first recorded evidence informing the world about the existence of the Holocaust. ABOVE: Auschwitz concentration camp photos of Pilecki (1941) The film will also draw attention to the tragic betrayal that befell Captain Pilecki and the millions of innocent people he risked his life to save. Entering Soviet Hell: The Red Army’s re-entrance into Poland at the end of the war brought with it the installation of a pro-Soviet regime. Pilecki returned to his homeland in October 1945 to report on the takeover, but in 1947 the Polish secret police arrested him. He was given a show trial where he was convicted of espionage and promptly executed in May 1948 at the age of 47. ABOVE: Pilecki in court (1948) Volunteering for Auschwitz and remaining there for almost three years was, as Yale historian Timothy Snyder put it, “perhaps one of the most courageous things anyone has ever done.” Yet, it was not his only deed of bravery, and ironically, not the one that cost him his life. Producer, David Aaron Gray had this to say regarding the importance of bringing Pilecki to the silver screen: I can think of no individual more deserving of a feature length film. The bravery of this man represents one of the greatest examples of virtue humanity has to draw upon. As students of history, armed with the powerful medium of film, we not only have an opportunity, but an obligation to communicate and solidify the legacy of Witold Pilecki in the hearts and minds of as many people as possible. Producer, Samuel V. Franco continues: Our mission is to bring this remarkable story of a real hero back to life. It is the hope of Franco / Gray Entertainment that “Operation Auschwitz,” will invite audiences worldwide to get acquainted with a relatively unknown hero who represented a system of values that is rarely (if at all) practiced today. The project, set to film in Poland, will be produced in association with
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:12:07 +0000
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