Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz
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| Born | 14 December 1911 Warsaw, Poland
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| Died | 4 January 1943 (aged 31) Athens, Greece
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| Nationality | Greek/Polish |
| Occupation | Athlete |
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz (Greek: Γεώργιος Ιβάνωφ-Σαϊνόβιτς, Georgios Ivanof-Sainovits; 14 December 1911 – 4 January 1943) was a brave Polish-Greek athlete. He became a secret agent and fought against the Germans during World War II as part of the Greek Resistance. Sadly, he was caught and executed by the Germans.
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Life of a Secret Agent
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz was born in Warsaw, Poland, on December 14, 1911. His father was a Russian army colonel, and his mother was Polish. His parents divorced when he was young. Later, his mother married a Greek man named Ioannis Lambrinidis. In 1926, they moved to Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
A Champion Athlete
Jerzy became a talented athlete at the G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki sports club. He was an amazing swimmer! In 1934, he won the Greek championship for the 100 m freestyle race.
In 1935, he became a Polish citizen. He then joined the AZS Warsaw water polo team. He also played for the Polish national water polo team. In 1938, he was named Poland's best water polo player.
Jerzy also studied hard. He earned a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Louvain. He then took more classes in Paris before returning to Greece.
Fighting in World War II
When World War II began, Germany invaded Poland. Jerzy helped Polish people who were escaping to Thessaloniki. In 1940, he joined Polish intelligence, which was like a secret service.
In April 1941, Germany invaded Greece. Jerzy had to leave the country. He went to the Middle East to join the Polish army that was fighting from outside Poland.
There, the Polish intelligence and a special British secret group called the SOE chose him for a secret mission in Greece. On October 13, 1941, a British submarine brought him back to Greece. He landed near Nea Makri in Attica.
Daring Sabotage Missions
Jerzy became incredibly active in the Greek underground resistance. He did many important things:
- He set up a large network of spies for the Allies. These spies gathered information about the German army and politics in Greece.
- They also reported on Greek factories that the Germans were using.
- He found out about German ship and train schedules.
- He carried out many secret missions to damage German equipment.
One of his biggest successes was damaging the German aircraft engine repair factory. This action helped damage over 400 engines! It even caused several German planes to crash because their engines stopped working. He also helped sink two German submarines, U-133 and U-372. He damaged one of them, forcing it to come to the surface where British planes sank it.
Capture and Execution
The German secret police, the Gestapo, caught Jerzy for the first time. This happened after someone he worked with, Konstantinos Pantos, told the Germans about him. But Jerzy was clever and managed to escape after just three days!
The Germans then offered a huge reward of 500,000 drachmas (Greek money) for his capture. He was finally caught again on September 8, 1942, after another betrayal.
On December 2, a German court sentenced him to death three times. The British government refused a plan to trade him for a German general they had captured.
Jerzy was executed on January 4, 1943, at the Kaisariani shooting range. In his last moments, he tried to escape. He almost reached a bush, but he was shot and wounded. The soldiers then brought him back and executed him.
Remembering a Hero
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz is remembered as a true hero.
Awards and Honors
- On December 5, 1944, Field Marshal Harold Alexander, a top Allied commander, sent a special thank-you letter to Jerzy's mother.
- On March 30, 1945, the Polish government in exile gave Jerzy the Virtuti Militari cross. This is a very high Polish military award.
- On March 5, 1962, the British government honored him for his service with the Polish forces.
- On May 25, 1976, he received Greece's highest medal for bravery, the Cross of Valour in Gold.
Legacy in Greece and Poland
In Greece, there is a statue of Jerzy in Thessaloniki. Also, since 1953, an annual swimming competition called the "Ivanofeia" is held in his honor. His old sports club, Iraklis, named their indoor sports hall, the Ivanofeio Indoor Hall, after him.
In April 2021, Poland released a special postal stamp honoring Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz. This was suggested by a group of Polish and Greek lawmakers.
Movie About His Life
In 1971, a Polish film called "Agent No. 1" was released. It was directed by Zbigniew Kuźmiński. The actor Karol Strasburger played the role of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz in the movie.
