"He was a man, I would say" supernatural ", fearless and perfect as a spy. After he escaped from prison, I saw him remove the handcuffs with snake motions, using petroleum jelly. He was not interested in political issues, as was the case with most partisans, but his goal was to fight for freedom and victory over the occupant. " Who was Jerzy Szajnowicz, one of the best agents of World War II, for whose head the Germans awarded a high award?
Under the cover of night, Agent 033B emerged from his hideout and kicked a mine out of the sand. His task was to sink a German submarine. The whole plan was already in place. Now it was enough to swim to the U-boat and mount the cargo. A trivial thing for someone with the nickname "man-fish".
The water seemed warmer than the air, and the silence was broken only by the sound of the waves. Once at its destination, 033B took a huge gulp of air and plunged into the depths of the sea. He tore the load from his chest and attached it to the hull. Then he had to carefully back off and find himself as far from there as possible.
It was no feat for him to swim a few miles. Before the war, it would only be a warm-up. He kept checking the time every now and then. It was getting closer to dawn, and the explosion was planned for 7:00 am. After four hours in the water, he finally found a suitable, safe ground. After all, he was without documents. Any, even accidental, control would be a tragedy for him.
As he took his first steps on the beach, he suddenly heard the powerful sound of an explosion. Clouds of smoke were visible from afar. He looked at the hour. It was 5:15 am. Only now did he realize the risk he faced if he delayed the task. Most importantly, however, it was done.
This scenario, similar to the movies about Jamsa Bond, tells about the sinking of the German U-133 unit, to which Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, an agent of Polish and British secret services, was to contribute. It is true that there are no confirmed sources that Szajnowicz was behind the sending to the bottom of the above-mentioned unit, but he is credited with this action in numerous articles and studies. What is certain is that Jerzy Szajnowicz is one of the most effective agents of World War II.
Agent 033B
Jerzy Iwanow Szajnowicz was born in Warsaw in 1911. His father, Vladimir Ivanov, was Russian, and his mother, Leonarda, was Polish. The relationship broke up after a few years, and the woman remarried a Greek, Jannis Lambrianidis, and moved with her son to Thessaloniki.
When Greece was attacked by Italians in 1940, Szajnowicz decided to fight. To this end, he made his way to Palestine to the Carpathian Rifle Brigade, and then joined its ranks . After less than two months in the barracks, he was recruited by British intelligence who noticed in Szajnowicz extraordinary predispositions. After all, he was athletic - before the war he became the Belgian Academic Champion in swimming, he had higher education and - most importantly in the work of an agent - he was a polyglot. He knew five languages:English, Russian, Greek, French and German.
The football team of the French high school in Thessaloniki. Jerzy Iwanow Szajnowicz as a goalkeeper, 1928
After special training in Alexandria, as an agent of the Special Operations Executive, code-named 033B, he was transported back to Greece - on the spot he was to organize a diversionary movement. The task was not easy, because Szajnowicz had to build a whole network of spies from the beginning and as soon as possible. Greece has become a strategic point in the fight for North Africa.
After defeating the British, the Italian forces received support from the Third Reich - and it was from Greece that supplies for the German Afrika Korps expeditionary corps were sent. The advantage of the German-Italian troops in Africa was significant, therefore the Allies needed a man who would follow the enemy's movements with extreme accuracy.
Knowing when the next transport will be sent, Szajnowicz planned a spectacular action. Together with his men he set fire to the ammunition boats going from Crete to North Africa. In this way he deprived the Germans of valuable supplies, giving the Allies an advantage at the same time.
"Supernatural" spy
Later, Szajnowicz had an even more brilliant idea. He made contact with mechanics working at the Malziniotti brothers' factory in Athens, where Luftwaffe planes involved in the battles for North Africa were being repaired. In July 1942, pretending to be a forced laborer, he found employment in factories. Before putting the plane into service, Szajnowicz added chemicals and sugar cubes to the oil. We can read the effect of this in the book "Leonarda and her sons" by Maria and Janusz Przymanowski:
Some of them began to be stuffed with chemicals, which damaged or crashed about 400 planes within four months and periodically paralyzed the Luftwaffe in Africa in July 1942, during the dramatic Battle of El Alamein.
Another very loud action carried out by Szajnowicz was the planting of an explosive charge at the Athenian headquarters of the NSDAP and Gestapo. Organizing such an action required a lot of courage and a well-thought-out action plan. The explosion of the building led to the death of several hundred people important to Nazi structures in Greece. For some time the whole of Europe was talking about this event, and Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler canceled his visit to the country for this reason.
Champions in basketball competitions of university teams. The team consisted of three Americans, two Chinese and a Pole (Jerzy Iwanow, first from the right, 03/18/1937
Benito Mussolini made a similar trip to Greece. Upon hearing of this, Szajnowicz's associates staked a hotel where the dictator was supposed to stay overnight. Szajnowicz himself, disguised as a German officer, and two associates planted a bomb in the hall of the main building. The plan was buttoned up and would probably have been successfully implemented had it not been for the fact that at the last minute duce changed his plans and spent the night elsewhere.
It is impossible to list all the spectacular tasks that Szajnowicz performed with such precision. You could say that was a natural born agent with a genuine talent for planning operations that seemed impossible to implement. One of the most famous actions that can be attributed to Szajnowicz is the development of anti-invasive fortifications in the Marathon. The agent passed on all the acquired knowledge about the layout of the fortifications and their most sensitive points to the RAF command.
He is also credited with destroying the U-372 submarine - in a similar way to the U-133, i.e. by mounting a mine to the hull. His account also includes the destruction of the King George ship stolen by the navy of the Third Reich, renamed the German destroyer ZG 3. In both cases, however, there are no sources that would clearly indicate that Szajnowicz was behind them.
Trust equals death
The actions that were carried out by Szajnowicz and his group echoed loudly not only in Greece, but also throughout Europe. The craftsmanship with which he chose people and planned his activities has been admirable to this day. Workers from various factories and factories, policemen, mechanics, railroad workers and students worked for him. And also all other volunteers who wanted to fight the occupier. Through his activities, he earned the title of the hero of the Greek resistance movement. This is what Gabriela Milonopoulou, a member of the Greek resistance, recalled Szajnowicz:
This was a "supernatural" man, fearless and perfect as a spy. After he escaped from prison, I saw him remove the handcuffs with snake motions, using petroleum jelly. He was not interested in political issues, as was the case with most partisans, but his goal was to fight for freedom and victory over the occupant.
The activity of a secret agent "spoiled the work" for the Germans and exposed them to huge costs, as in the case of destroying Luftwaffe planes. Szajnowicz, with his actions, took away the effect of surprise from the Germans, which was so decisive for the course of many battles . It can be attributed to him when monitoring shipments from Greece to North Africa. Thanks to this, he knew the exact location of the German troops and their possible movements.
Szajnowicz's actions had to meet with a German reaction. The enemy sent an equally good spy network to fight, and he also knew the exact description of the "English agent":Height 170 cm. Slim. The face was long, with prominent cheekbones. Blue eyes. Hair - dark blonde, combed back.
In December 1941, they even managed to capture Szajnowicz. This one, however, like an action movie, jumped out of the speeding car taking him to the jail. Certainly, the Germans did not fully realize who they managed to capture. They would probably have watched him a little more then.
With time, however, the actions of the German intelligence were effective, as they managed to establish the identity of agent 033B. They then awarded 500,000 drachmas for helping to catch the "criminal." Szajnowicz was informed more and more often about the arrests of his associates, and there were arrest warrants with his image on the street poles. He knew the Germans were on his heels.
The final arrest took place in September 1942. One hypothesis says that Szajnowicz gave the address of his hideout to a friend he met on the street, who then revealed his whereabouts to the Italian carabinieri. Another that he was accidentally recognized and denounced by another friend - Pandelis Lambrenopoulus.
Kesariani, Athens, Greece. Place of execution of Greek patriots during World War II. It was probably here that, among others, Jerzy Szajnowicz-Iwanow,
Jerzy's arrest also meant the detention of his associates who were hiding with him. The Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church himself, Damaskinos of Athens, who later became Prime Minister of Greece, intervened in the case of Szajnowicz.
Szajnowicz was sentenced to a triple death penalty. Led to the execution site, he decided to make one more escape attempt, but was shot by the guard . The sentence was carried out. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari. In Greece, he is considered a national hero. The fate of Jerzy Szajnowicz was described by Stanisław Strumph-Wojtkiewicz in the novel Agent No. 1 ". In 1971, based on the book, a film was made of the same title, in which Karol Strasburger played the role of the Polish agent.