Yerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz

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Statue of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz in Thessaloniki

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz ( Greek Γεώργιος Ιβάνωφ-Σαϊνόβιτ , also Georgios Ivanof-Sainovits ; December 14, 1911 in Warsaw - January 4, 1943 in Athens ) was a Polish - Greek agricultural engineer , water sports enthusiast and resistance fighter against National Socialism . He was three times by representatives of the Nazi regime arrested three times sentenced to death and the shooting of Kesariani shot .

Life

His parents were a Russian officer, Count Vladimir Iwanow, and his Polish wife, Leonarda Szajnowicz. The marriage failed shortly after Jerzy was born. The mother remarried after the divorce, the second husband was a Greek , Ioannis "Giannis" Lambrinidis. In Poland he attended a Catholic Marian school . In 1926 (possibly as early as 1925) he moved to live with his mother and stepfather in Thessaloniki , where he was enrolled in the French-speaking Lyceum. He was raised cosmopolitan and spoke several languages, but always remained connected to his Polish homeland and kept coming back to the country. After graduating from high school, he went to Belgium and began diplomatic studies at the Université catholique of Louvain-la-Neuve . After a year he changed the field of study and opted for agricultural science . The main focus of the course was colonial agriculture. After completing his studies, he wanted to go to the Congo , then a colony of Belgium. In 1938 he finished his studies in Louvain-la-Neuve and returned to Greece. He gave up the Congo plans and instead went to Paris for postgraduate studies at the École nationale supérieure d'agriculture coloniale (ENSAC). The following year he received his engineering degree as an agricultural engineer .

His great passion has been sport since his youth. He was engaged in several sports. In Thessaloniki he joined the water sports club Iraklis Thessaloniki . From 1931 to 1935 he took part in various Panhellenic swimming competitions. In 1934 he became Greek champion in the 100 meter freestyle. After obtaining Polish citizenship in 1935, he became a member of the Akademicki Związek Sportowy (AZS), the Academic Sports Association of Warsaw, during a stay in Warsaw, and became one of the "best water polo players in Poland". In 1937 his team won the Polish championship. As a player in the national team, he has repeatedly represented Poland in competitions abroad. In 1938 he was named the best Polish water polo player.

After the attack on Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, he first worked in the Polish military mission in Thessaloniki. He helped Polish soldiers who had fled to Greece from Romanian and Hungarian camps. 1940 joined the Polish secret service . After the invasion of Greece by the Axis powers , he fled to the Middle East , where he was trained by Polish fighters in exile for sabotage. For two months he was a member of the Polish Army in Exile . On October 10, 1941, he returned to Greece as an underground fighter on a British submarine. He was dropped off near Nea Makri in Eaststattica . His code name was 033 B. He then worked in the areas of espionage and sabotage . He directed a series of spectacular actions and worked with Lela Karagianni .

Ivanov-Szajnowicz, on whom a bounty of 500,000 drachmas in gold was on offer, was arrested three times by the Axis powers and he was able to escape twice. He was arrested on September 8, 1942. In court he declared himself a Polish citizen and British agent fighting for his home country. The National Socialist occupiers accused him of possessing weapons and transmitters, of espionage and of sabotage. On December 2, 1942, he was sentenced to three times the death penalty. On January 4, 1943, on the way to the execution, he made another attempt to escape, although he was handcuffed. However, he was caught, ill-treated and immediately executed . His last words are said to have been: "Long live Poland, long live Greece."

Awards

  • Harold Alexander , Commander of the British Army and Field Marshal in World War II, presented his mother with a diploma of thanks for his military achievements on December 5, 1944.
  • On March 30, 1945, the Polish government in exile honored him with the Virtuti Militari Cross , the highest Polish military merit order.
  • On March 5, 1962, he was honored by the British government for his service in the Polish army in exile .
  • On May 25, 1976 he was awarded the highest Greek honor for bravery, the Gold Cross of Honor.

Commemoration

Memorial plaque in Warsaw
  • A swimming competition, the Ivanofeia , has been named after him since 1953 . His former club Iraklis Thessaloniki also gave this name to a basketball arena. A volleyball tournament is named Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz .
  • In 1959, the Polish writer Stanisław Strumph-Wojtkiewicz wrote a biographical story about his life. It was titled Agent No. 1 and was filmed in 1971 by Zbigniew Kuźmiński . The book and film focused on the espionage and sabotage activities of Ivanov-Szajnowicz in Greece. He has been characterized as a James Bond of Poland. The main actor in the film was Karol Strasburger .
  • A statue in Thessaloniki has been commemorating the hero of the Greek resistance since 1985. It stands on a green area on Lagada Street and was financed by the Polish state. Next to the bronze statue of Ivanov-Szajnowicz with tied forearms, there are two memorial plaques, one in Greek, the other in Polish.
  • Two memorial plaques were placed in Warsaw, one in front of his former home and another in the Church of St. Aleksandra.

Web links

Commons : Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Γεώργιος Ιβάνωφ (1911-1943) μια βιογραφία . Vita (Greek). Retrieved November 16, 2019
  2. ↑ a b c ExecutedToday.com: 1943: Jerzy Iwanow (Georgios Ivanof) , accessed on September 13, 2019
  3. ↑ a b Bernard O'Connor: Sabotage in Greece , Lulu 2016, pp. 98-106
  4. ↑ Heroes of the Commonwealth # Poland , accessed September 13, 2019
  5. ↑ Memorials in Europe: Jerzy Szajnowitz-Iwanow Memorial , accessed on September 13, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Ivanov-Szajnowicz, Jerzy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ivanof-Sainovits, Georgios; Ιβάνωφ-Σαϊνόβιτ, Γεώργιος (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish-Greek athlete and resistance fighter against National Socialism
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Warsaw
DATE OF DEATH January 4, 1943
Place of death Athens