Związek Organizacji Wojskowej
Związek Organizacji Wojskowej (Polish: [ˈzvjɔ̃zɛk ɔrɡaɲiˈzat͡sji vɔj'skɔvɛj], Military Organization Union), abbreviated ZOW, was an underground resistance organization formed by Witold Pilecki at Auschwitz concentration camp in 1940.
Beginning
In 1940, Witold Pilecki, a member of the Polish resistance organisation Tajna Armia Polska (Secret Polish Army, TAP, later known as Armia Krajowa or Home Army), presented a plan to enter Germany's Auschwitz concentration camp, gather intelligence from the inside, and organize inmate resistance. His superiors approved this plan and provided him with a false identity card in the name of "Tomasz Serafiński". On 19 September 1940, he deliberately went out during a łapanka in Warsaw, and was caught by the Germans along with other civilians and sent to Auschwitz. He was the only known person ever to volunteer to be imprisoned in Auschwitz.
Forming ZOW in Auschwitz
In the camp Pilecki was known as Tomasz Serafiński (Prison Number 4859) and began the work of organising the Związek Organizacji Wojskowej (ZOW). ZOW would become the Auschwitz branch of Armia Krajowa and its aims were to improve inmate morale, provide news from outside, distribute extra food and clothing, and set up intelligence networks.
