Irena Morzycka-Iłłakowicz (also as Iłłakowiczowa, 26 July 1906 – 4 October 1943) was a Polish

second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

of the

National Armed Forces National Armed Forces (NSZ; ''Polish:'' Narodowe Siły Zbrojne) was a Polish right-wing underground military organization of the National Democracy operating from 1942. During World War II, NSZ troops fought against Nazi Germany and communist pa ...

and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

agent. The daughter of Bolesław Morzycki and Władysława Zakrzewska and the sister of Jerzy, she was also a polyglot who spoke seven languages:

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Finnish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Biography

Iłłakowicz was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. After 1917, when the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

began, she moved with her family to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. After returning to the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

(which had regained independence in the

aftermath of the First World War The aftermath of World War I saw drastic political, cultural, economic, and social change across Eurasia, Africa, and even in areas outside those that were directly involved. Four empires collapsed due to the war, old countries were abolished, ne ...

), she attended a school led by the Sisters of the Holy Heart of Jesus in Zbylitowska Góra. Afterwards, she studied humanities at

Grenoble University The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

in France. In

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

she married Azis Zangenah – son of the prince of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. For a period they lived together in a palace in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Irena was a person accustomed to frequent meetings with family and friends. Persia, a long way from home, became arduous for her. After two years, with permission from her husband, she secretly left and went to

Teheran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populo ...

. Polish diplomats in Teheran made it possible for her return to Poland. After a period in Poland, she again went to Paris where she met Jerzy Olgierd Iłłakowicz. They married on 23 October 1934 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. On 25 June 1936 she bore their only child – daughter Ligia. In October 1939, after both the German invasion of Poland on 1 September and

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

on 17 September, Iłłakowiczowa joined the Polish resistance movement; in particular, she co-operated with Organizacja Wojskowa Związek Jaszczurczy. During the

Nazi Occupation of Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

she assumed the name Barbara Zawisza. Irena and her husband Jerzy lived at different addresses in order to avoided being arrested by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

. She started service as an

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

agent in the intelligence unit "Zachód" ("West"). These assignments were to conduct military, economic and information reconnaissance. Department II of Organizacja Wojskowa Związek Jaszczurczy, in agreement with the Department of

Związek Walki Zbrojnej Związek Walki Zbrojnej (abbreviation: ''ZWZ''; Union of Armed Struggle;Thus rendered in Norman Davies, ''God's Playground: A History of Poland'', vol. II, p. 464. also translated as ''Union for Armed Struggle'', ''Association of Armed Struggl ...

–

Armia Krajowa The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

, controlled sub-section "Zachód". Speaking German fluently, Iłłakowicz went to

, where the contact point of branch of sub-section "Zachód" was located. Between 1941 and 1942, her section was destroyed by the Germans. The outcome of this action was the numerous arrests of underground activists. Irena was arrested by the

on 7 October 1942; they placed her at

Pawiak Pawiak () was a prison built in 1835 in Warsaw, Congress Poland. During the January 1863 Uprising, it served as a transfer camp for Poles sentenced by Imperial Russia to deportation to Siberia. During the World War II German occupation of ...

. She underwent harsh interrogations, but revealed nothing. Other colleagues, knowing her role in intelligence, sent her a vial of

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

, but she did not use it. Her husband arranged for her to be freed from prison. A bribed guard put her in the group of non-political prisoners to be transported to the

Majdanek Majdanek (or Lublin) was a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the SS on the outskirts of the city of Lublin during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It had seven gas chambers, two wooden gallows, a ...

camp. While there, a group of NSZ fighters from

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

freed her from the camp. Dressed in

uniforms, they came to the camp and presented a falsified document saying that Irena was to be brought to

for more interrogation. This event was documented in a Delegatura Rządu report. After a short stay in the

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...

area, Iłłakowicz found herself in Klarysek-Janówek. Later, she came back to Warsaw and stayed with Dr. Miłodroska at Filtrowa Street. She started working on the

Soviet intelligence This is a list of historical secret police organizations. In most cases they are no longer current because the regime that ran them was overthrown or changed, or they changed their names. Few still exist under the same name as legitimate police fo ...

network in Poland. Her husband was to be sent to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

as the representative of TNRP (command of the

). He wanted to take her with him, but the command decided against it. Iłłakowicz was to be sent with Tadeusz Salski ("Jan"). Nine days before the trip, on the night of 4 October 1943, Iłłakowicz was summoned to a meeting on an important issue. She suspected a provocation, but thinking it too important, went to the meeting. In case she did not return, she asked Dr. Miłodroska to notify her contact. Iłłakowicz was murdered in unknown circumstances. Jerzy, her husband, started searching for her, and found her body in the infirmary at Oczki Street. Her body was found in

Pole Mokotowskie Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...

. Irena's murderers remain unknown. In the days before her death, she was involved in intelligence activities against a radio contact point in Otwock, which actively supported Soviet parachutists sent to Poland. Accusations were directed at the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

or the PPR. Iłłakowicz was buried at Powązki under the name of Barbara Zawisza. Because the

often sent agents to family funerals (and other ceremonies), her husband participated in the ceremony dressed as a gravedigger and her mother as cemetery helper. In 1948, her mother placed a plaque with Iłłakowicz's real name on her grave. On 20 May 1944, by order of the commander of the

, Iłłakowicz was promoted to

. In 1995, she was posthumously decorated with the Krzyż Narodowego Czynu Zbrojnego (nr 1-95-59).

Bibliography

*''Sylwetki kobiet-żołnierzy. Służba Polek na frontach II wojny światowej, część 7'' pod redakcją Krystyny Kabzińskiej. Fundacja "Archiwum i Muzeum Pomorskie Armii Krajowej oraz Wojskowej Służby Polek", Toruń 2007. , p. 138-143.

External links

The Doomed soldiers - Polish Underground Soldiers 1944-1963 - The Untold Story

National Armed Forces Historical Brief

Antykomunistyczne Podziemie Zbrojne po 1944 roku

Organizacja Wojskowa Związek Jaszczurczy
in PWN Encyklopedia
Związek Jaszczurczy

Związek Jaszczurczy i „Grupa Szańca”

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illakowicz Irena 1906 births 1943 deaths People from Berlin Burials at Powązki Cemetery National Armed Forces members Polish military personnel killed in World War II Polish female soldiers Polish expatriates in Germany Polish women in World War II resistance