The British Greek-Speaking WWII Spy Who Inspired the James Bond Legend

Statue of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, the Greek-speaking spy, successful Athens War Museum. Credit: Gre regiment. CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons/Gre regiment

Considered by immoderate to beryllium the power for Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, the Greek-speaking British spy Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz carried retired a bid of unique, solo espionage missions that undermined the Nazis during their World War II (WWII) concern of Greece.

Up until his seizure and execution successful 1943, Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz was arguably the astir courageous and effectual British cause successful Nazi-occupied Greece. He was worthy an full part of soldiers, according to British officials.

Iwanow-Szajnowicz was the lad of Vladimir Ivanow, a Russian service officer, and Leonarda Szajnowicz, a Polish pistillate from Warsaw. The mates separated not agelong aft the commencement of their son.

Leonarda, past residing successful Batum, Georgia, met and joined a affluent Greek businessman named Joannis Labriandis.

In the months aft the Russian Revolution, the mates emigrated to Thessaloniki. However, Iwanow-Szajnowicz was educated astatine a Catholic boarding schoolhouse successful Bielany, Poland and past attended a French precocious schoolhouse successful Thessaloniki.

As a young man, helium showed an exceptional aptitude for athletics and world studies. He aboriginal achieved a grade successful agronomy astatine the University of Louvain successful Belgium. Thanks to his upbringing, Iwanow-Szajnowicz was fluent successful Polish, Greek, French, and Russian and was besides rather adept astatine speaking English and German.

Prior to the war, Iwanow-Szajnowicz planned to usage his grade successful agronomy to lend his manus to the improvement of farming successful Africa. Between 1939 and 1941, helium worked successful Thessaloniki, helping Poles to fly Nazi concern flight to the Middle East.

Becoming the Greek-speaking spy

Following the German penetration of Greece, helium went to Haifa, Israel, wherever helium volunteered for the Polish Carpathian Brigade. He past served successful North Africa. His dual citizenship on with his varied skillset, however, led to his being recruited by Polish subject intelligence. He was past seconded to the British Special Operations Executive (SOE).

A worker of the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifles Brigade connected committee 1 of the Royal Navy destroyers. Credit: Julius Jääskeläinen. CC BY 2.0/Wikimedia Commons/Julius Jaaskelainen

Iwanow-Szajnowicz’s fluency successful Greek showed itself to beryllium a invaluable skill. At the time, SOE had precise fewer Greek-speaking agents and was attempting to physique a web of spy operatives successful occupied Greece, which was a hub for German and Italian shipping and a changeless contented for Allied operations successful the Mediterranean. Once helium had received grooming successful spycraft, diversion, and sabotage, the young Pole was shipped backmost to Greece successful October 1941 arsenic SOE Agent 033B.

Upon arriving to Greece, the spy created a web of Greek patriots—businesspeople, students, and erstwhile subject personnel—to stitchery quality connected Axis operations, which was transmitted via concealed vigor sets.

On December 18, 1941, helium was betrayed by a workfellow and arrested by the Gestapo. He managed to flight his Nazi captors who reacted by putting a immense 500,000 drachma terms connected his head. Despite being forced to enactment successful hiding, Iwanow-Szajnowicz, acold from lying low, ramped up his efforts. He adopted a bid of disguises and became a one-man service of espionage brilliance.

High-risk espionage

In aboriginal 1942, Iwanow-Szajnowicz sabotaged the Maltsinioti Brothers mill successful Athens, destroying plentifulness of ammunition and respective craft engines that were nether repair. Nazi authorities aboriginal killed 10 Greek workers successful response. In February and March, helium infiltrated the Skaramanga naval gait successful Athens disguised arsenic a worker.

German U-boat UB 14 with its crew. Credit: SMU Central University. CC BY 1.0/Wikimedia Commons/SMU Central University

On the nighttime of March 13th, helium swam crossed the harbor to the German submarine U-133 and placed explosives connected the vessel, which was acceptable to permission connected a combat mission. A fewer hours aft U-133 near the harbor, the bombs exploded, sinking the submarine and sidesplitting 45 unit members. In August 1942, helium swam crossed the harbor again and placed a delayed fuse weaponry aboard the U-boat U-372, which was owed to beryllium sent to enactment Axis quality operations successful the Eastern Mediterranean.

The bombs went disconnected erstwhile U-372 was disconnected the seashore of Palestine, forcing the submarine to surface, which past saw it sunk by British ships and aircraft. The unit were taken prisoners.

Iwanow-Szajnowicz was besides capable to acceptable charges that sank the Spanish transport vessel San Isidore, which was being employed by the Germans successful the smuggling of arms and supplies to their agents successful the Mediterranean.

Off the land of Paros, helium sank respective Italian transport vessels utilized to ferry troops and supplies to garrisons connected adjacent Greek islands.

Later, accompanied by his 17-year-old Greek associate, Gabriela Milonopoulou, the spy past infiltrated the Axis airfield of Elliniko and destroyed substance proviso tanks and respective aircraft. During this period, helium besides destroyed a locomotive and derailed a bid afloat of subject supplies.

Interviewed successful 2013, Milonopoulou, who saw firsthand respective of Iwanow-Szajnowicz’s exploits, said “He was an ardent patriot and a precise brave man. He was educated successful Belgium, spoke fluent Greek and 3 oregon 4 different languages. This was a antheral of ‘supernatural’ fearlessness and cleanable arsenic a spy. When helium escaped from prison, helium removed handcuffs with serpentine movements, utilizing Vaseline.”

She besides recalled 1 juncture erstwhile the Gestapo managed to way their vigor set. Iwanow-Szajnowicz hid her and the vigor acceptable successful a coffin and placed it successful the backmost of a commandeered truck. Disguised arsenic a elemental motortruck driver, helium drove them retired of the metropolis and distant from the Nazi dragnet.

Utilizing his web of Greek patriots, the spy infiltrated a Greek mill that made engines for German and Italian aircraft. Iwanow-Szajnowicz and his colleagues placed parts successful the engines that would gradually decompose implicit clip erstwhile successful interaction with oil. The engines would walk each archetypal tests and beryllium placed into operational craft wherever they would soon fail, sometimes portion successful flight. It is estimated that Iwanow-Szajnowicz and his radical destroyed oregon disabled astir 400 Axis aircraft.

Assassination effort against Mussolini

At 1 point, Iwanow-Szajnowicz came adjacent to assassinating Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. During Mussolini’s sojourn to Athens successful July 1942, Iwanow-Szajnowicz, disguised arsenic a German officer, planted a weaponry successful the edifice wherever the dictator planned to stay. Mussolini cheated decease lone due to the fact that of a last-minute alteration successful plans which resulted successful cutting abbreviated his enactment successful Greece.

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. CC BY 3.0/Wikimedia Commons

He was arrested by Italian authorities successful 1942 but escaped yet again, this clip squirming his mode retired of situation by disguising himself arsenic a drunk Italian officer. He was captured for a 3rd clip by the Nazis successful November 1942 and fixed 3 decease sentences.

He told his captors: “The British sent me, but I americium an emissary of the Poles, who volition ne'er halt warring you.”

While being taken for execution, helium astir escaped again, overpowering 1 of his guards earlier being recaptured. On January 4, 1943, helium was executed by a Nazi firing squad adjacent Athens. Witnesses reported his past words were “Long unrecorded Poland! Long unrecorded Greece!”

Iwanow-Szajnowicz was posthumously awarded the highest decorations for valor by some Poland and Greece: the Polish Virtuti Militari and the Greek Cross of Valor (Gold), arsenic good arsenic a medal by the British government. He is commemorated with a monument successful his adopted hometown of Thessaloniki, wherever an yearly swimming contention is held successful his honor.