A statue of a man stands in Thessaloniki. As many as three nations claim him as their hero: Poles, Greeks and Russians - the latter because of his father's background. Why such a desire to appropriate the achievements of George Ivanov-Shaynovich for themselves? Probably because he was a man, an agent and, incidentally, an extraordinary athlete....

Leonarda Shaynovich was married to Vladimir Ivanov, a retired Russian officer and director of the Vistula Railway. The Orthodox wedding took place in 1910, and a year later, on 14 December 1911, their son was born into the world. He was given the name Jerzy.

The marriage between the Polish woman and the Russian man was turbulent. The couple lived for a time in Moscow, as Wlodzimierz was called up to the army. Some time later, there was a separation. Leonarda met a Greek, Janis Lambrianidis, who, after living in Warsaw for several years, decided to return to his homeland, taking his beloved and her younger son, Antoni, with him. Jurek joined the family later, in 1925.

Outstanding swimmer
After passing the Greek baccalaureate, in which he chose Polish as an additional subject, Jurek went on to study in Louvain and Paris, later earning a degree in colonial agronomy engineering. His background, travels and life adventures meant that he learned as many as six languages: English, Russian, French, German and Greek. However, he still thought in Polish. And he missed his homeland.

Ivanov had an equally great affection for sport. He was an excellent swimmer. After arriving in Greece, he joined the KS Iraklis Thessaloniki club, where he played football and practised water sports. In June 1937, he showcased his skills in Warsaw. He was immediately accepted into the capital's AZS.

Tadeusz Makowski, a friend from the club, recalled:

"Especially in football, he was distinguished by his excellent technique and strong shot. His innate intelligence and propensity for combinations led to Ivanov being co-opted to the national team after the first water polo league matches played in AZS colours."

In the summer of 1938, he played against the Finns. He was the outstanding player, scorer of one of the goals in the match tied by our waterpolists. At times, he took the game of the whole team on his shoulders, making his rivals try to stop him as a group.

"As a whole, the Polish team did not perform admirably. Only the hard-working Karpiński, the cleverly distributing Jędrysek and the excellent but unlucky shooter Ivanov were satisfactory," wrote Przegląd Sportowy in its post-match report.

Agent No. 033 B
In mid-1939, Ivanov-Shajnovich left for a camp in Budapest. From there he returned to Thessaloniki. In Greece, he learned of Germany's invasion of Poland. He wanted to join the Polish army, but procedures dragged on. So he organised the transfer of Polish soldiers from transit camps. In April 1941, he reached Palestine, where he awaited assignment to the Carpathian Brigade.

Assigned to a British diversionary group, already as agent No. 033 B, he was disembarked from a submarine on the Greek coast on 21 September 1941. He then began organising a conspiracy network.

In February 1942, just before Heinrich Himmler's visit to Athens, he blew up a six-storey NSDAP and Gestapo building. He was also preparing an assassination attempt on Benito Mussolini. The plan did not come to fruition because at the last minute the Duce changed his decision and moved to the Italian embassy.

While working at the German submarine base in Salamina, he used his swimming skills. While diving, he placed time bombs on the hulls of the vessels, right at the helm. The boats exploded on the high seas. In this way he sank three submarines and severely damaged several more. Using a similar method, he destroyed two large transport ships filled with German soldiers sailing to Crete. He also worked in an engine factory, where he managed to destroy nearly 400 aircraft by adding so-called beans to the oil. The cause of their failure was engine seizure.

Arrests, escapes and death
In 1941, however, he made a mistake. One day he met an acquaintance from the old days, Tinos Pandos. He gave him his place of residence and the former comrade handed him over to the Germans in exchange for sizable rations of food. Jerzy was arrested, but he was not sent to Averof prison for long. He managed to escape. He went into hiding, but the Gestapo hung posters with his likeness in Athens. The Germans set a reward - 500,000 drachmas - for his help in capturing the super agent. He was arrested again and... again managed to escape.

For the third time, the Germans fell on Ivanov-Shaynovich's trail thanks to Pandelis Lambrenopoulus, who passed on information about his hiding place. Archbishop Damaskin of Athens wanted to help Jerzy to go free, unfortunately without success. Detained, he also tried to escape this time. On 4 January 1943, led to his death at the military shooting range in Kesariani, a district of Athens, he tried to escape but was hit. The German firing squad then fired further fatal shots. Jerzy Ivanov-Shaynovich reportedly managed to shout:

"Long live Greece, long live Poland".

After George's death, the Greeks, and later the Poles, cherished the memory of his heroism. Patriarch Damaskin said of him:

"Greece is proud that in its soil it will keep the ashes of this hero alongside those of the heroes of ancient Hellada.

Streets bear his name - both in Greece and Poland. The activities of the super agent, with elements of fiction, also lived to see a feature film. In 1971, viewers were able to see 'Agent No. 1', directed by Zbigniew Kuźmiński and starring Karol Strasburger.

The tombstone of Jerzy Ivanov-Szajnowicz is preserved in Athens in the third cemetery - a slab and a cross. Polish inscriptions on the slab: Ś. + P. / INŻ. JERZY IWANOW / SZAJNOWICZ / CAVALIER OF THE ORDER / VIRTUTI MILITARI / DIED FOR POLAND / DN. 4.01.1943, below in the bottom right corner: TO HIS BELOVED JUREK - A GRIEVING MOTHER