JERZY IWANOW-SZAJNOWICZ
by Paul Neumann
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, the son of Varsovite Leonarda né Szajnowicz and Russian colonel Vladimir Ivanov was born on 14 December 1911 in Warsaw. A student, outstanding Olympics sportsman, officer of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade he joint the British Special Operations Executive unit No.004 in Cairo and was transferred by a submarine on 13 October 1941 to Greece as a spy and diversionist.
The Polish commando, having the cryptonym "033B", equipped with a pistol, switchblade and a small radio transmitter, immediately after the landing started his activities. He organized intelligence net with aquainted for years Greeks and collected information on German and Italian supply transports sent from Athens' port Piraeus to the Field-Marshal Rommel's corps. Having reports received by radio British bombers could attack ships waiting for departure in the port or sailing to Africa.
In the spring 1942 Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, under the name Kiriakos Paryssis, got, by an order of the unit No.004, a job at a shipyard in Skaramanga (the Bay of Eleusis). On 15 March he swam to the submarine U-133, being at the time the base of German divers, and sank her by the means of a magnetic depth charge. In March and April he sunk several further ships in the port of Piraeus and sent detailed reports on military installations in Salonika, which subsequently were destroyed by British bombers. His further diversion actions were: sinking or damage of several German and Italian transports in Pharos, setting in fire ships and vessels in Parikia bay in Pharos, collision and setting in fire of lorries with fuel and explosives in Pharos.
In Korinth he managed to install a time bomb in the submarine U-372. The explosion of the bomb, while the submarine was on a secret assignment in the Levantine waters, forced the submarine to surface. Subsequently she was detected by British ships and sunk off Haifa. He also sabotaged works at the Italian aircraft factory Malziniotti.
The Pole acted until 8 September 1942 when he was arrested third time (he managed to escape from two previous arrests) in Athens what happened due to betrayal of a supposed friend. He was court-martialled on 2 December and got three death sentences. He died on 4 January 1943 in Averof shot by SS-men while he tried to escape on the way to execution.
His statue in Thessaloniki:
by Paul Neumann
Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, the son of Varsovite Leonarda né Szajnowicz and Russian colonel Vladimir Ivanov was born on 14 December 1911 in Warsaw. A student, outstanding Olympics sportsman, officer of the Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade he joint the British Special Operations Executive unit No.004 in Cairo and was transferred by a submarine on 13 October 1941 to Greece as a spy and diversionist.
The Polish commando, having the cryptonym "033B", equipped with a pistol, switchblade and a small radio transmitter, immediately after the landing started his activities. He organized intelligence net with aquainted for years Greeks and collected information on German and Italian supply transports sent from Athens' port Piraeus to the Field-Marshal Rommel's corps. Having reports received by radio British bombers could attack ships waiting for departure in the port or sailing to Africa.
In the spring 1942 Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, under the name Kiriakos Paryssis, got, by an order of the unit No.004, a job at a shipyard in Skaramanga (the Bay of Eleusis). On 15 March he swam to the submarine U-133, being at the time the base of German divers, and sank her by the means of a magnetic depth charge. In March and April he sunk several further ships in the port of Piraeus and sent detailed reports on military installations in Salonika, which subsequently were destroyed by British bombers. His further diversion actions were: sinking or damage of several German and Italian transports in Pharos, setting in fire ships and vessels in Parikia bay in Pharos, collision and setting in fire of lorries with fuel and explosives in Pharos.
In Korinth he managed to install a time bomb in the submarine U-372. The explosion of the bomb, while the submarine was on a secret assignment in the Levantine waters, forced the submarine to surface. Subsequently she was detected by British ships and sunk off Haifa. He also sabotaged works at the Italian aircraft factory Malziniotti.
The Pole acted until 8 September 1942 when he was arrested third time (he managed to escape from two previous arrests) in Athens what happened due to betrayal of a supposed friend. He was court-martialled on 2 December and got three death sentences. He died on 4 January 1943 in Averof shot by SS-men while he tried to escape on the way to execution.
His statue in Thessaloniki:
