On December 29, 1942, in the afternoon, four prisoners escaped from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp: Otto Küsel, Jan Baras, Mieczyslaw Januszewski, and Dr. Boleslaw Kuczbara. Otto Küsel, a German Jew who worked as a horse cart driver, loaded four cabinets with the other three prisoners hidden inside. Since this was part of his usual work, the SS guards didn’t check him, and he was able to reach an open field without being stopped. Mieczyslaw Januszewski, who was dressed in an SS uniform and carrying a rifle, sat next to Küsel as they left the camp. Januszewski showed a fake SS identification, which helped them escape.
After leaving, they contacted a Polish resistance group called the Polish Home Army for help.
Many escapes from Auschwitz took place from outside work sites. The support of local civilians was crucial for the success of these escapes. The Auschwitz camp commander wrote in 1940 that the local Polish people were strongly against the SS and would do anything to help escapees. He noted that any prisoner who escaped could count on the help of the local population.
The first escape from Auschwitz happened on July 6, 1940, when Tadeusz Wiejowski, a Polish man, escaped with the help of Polish civilian workers in the camp. He disguised himself as a worker, and although five Polish workers were arrested for helping him, only one survived the war.
In total, 667 prisoners escaped from Auschwitz, but 270 of them were caught nearby and executed right away.
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