Deciding to emigrate from Poland in 1956, he escaped his homeland by tracing the route used by underground resistance couriers during World War II through the Tatra Mountains. He arrived in Hungary in time for the Revolution of 1956 and became actively involved. After Soviet armed forces crushed the rebellion, he fled to Austria and was briefly detained. He worked as a laborer on road construction. Later, Piekalkiewicz became a broadcast reporter in Vienna. He then worked in Paris, London, and Germany as a television producer, as well as a writer and director for films.