Krystyna Skarbek: The Spy Who Conquered Horror, Earned Churchill’s Admiration, and Was Ultimately Killed by a Lover
She survived horrors on three different fronts during World War II but lost her life in broad daylight at the hands of a crazed lover.
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This is the story of Krystyna Skarbek, who crossed paths with Ian Fleming, the British writer and journalist famous for his James Bond series, leading some to nickname her the “James Bond Girl.”
However, the title of “James Bond Girl” was not the only one Krystyna earned. She was the first Polish spy to work for Britain during World War II (1939-1945) and was nicknamed “Winston Churchill’s favorite spy.” During her missions, she went by several names, including “Krystyna Skarbek,” “ Krystyna Granville,” and “Pauline Arman.”
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Birth and Early Life
Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek was born in May 1908 into a Polish aristocratic family. Her father held the title of count, and her mother was the heiress to a Jewish banking family.
In this privileged environment, Krystyna enjoyed a luxurious upbringing and became fluent in English and French. However, her situation changed drastically after her father’s death in 1930, leaving the family in financial difficulty. Krystyna sought work and joined Fiat in Warsaw but left due to health issues, developing lung spots.
During her convalescence in the Polish mountains, Krystyna forged connections with cigarette and alcohol smugglers and participated in small smuggling missions. These activities honed her skills in navigating hidden paths and secret routes through the mountains.
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The Spy
In September 1939, Krystyna and her second husband, a Polish diplomat, were in South Africa when they heard that their homeland had been invaded by Nazi Germany. They immediately traveled to Britain to contribute to the war effort.
While her husband joined the Allies in France, Krystyna had different plans. She approached British intelligence, impressing them with her intellect and enthusiasm. She proposed opening a new front against the Germans in Poland and Hungary. Her first mission involved skiing across the Carpathians to gather intelligence in occupied Poland. British intelligence leaders approved her plan, and she became the first female recruit for MI6.
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A Legend
In the following years, Krystyna became a legendary figure in the intelligence community. Fluent in several languages, she expertly infiltrated and escaped German forces. While serving in Hungary, Egypt, and France, she carried out numerous missions, crossing borders, hiding in car trunks, and evading machine-gun fire. Often, she was accompanied by one of her many wartime lovers.
In one mission, she obtained microfilm showing German forces preparing for an imminent attack on the Soviet border. This film was delivered to Winston Churchill, who, according to his daughter Sarah, called her “his favorite agent.”
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Krystyna was captured and interrogated twice by the Germans but managed to escape both times. On one occasion, she bit her tongue hard enough to convince her captors she had tuberculosis.
When three of her colleagues were captured, she cycled 25 miles to the German camp where they were held. She convinced an SS officer to release the prisoners by claiming to be the niece of British Field Marshal Montgomery and threatening reprisals.
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In one of her most significant achievements, she used a loudspeaker to convince over 2,000 Polish soldiers fighting for the Germans to desert.
The End
Despite her many accomplishments, British intelligence dismissed her just before the end of the war and provided her with a monthly pension of £100. She tried to rejoin the service, but all her efforts were in vain. The British government also denied her British citizenship.
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In recognition of her wartime efforts, she was offered the Order of the British Empire, but she declined the honor, embarrassing the government. Eventually, she accepted the awards.
After a life filled with excitement and adventure, Krystyna found it hard to adjust to a quiet and monotonous existence. She worked as a waitress, a saleswoman at Harrods, and eventually became a cleaner on a cruise ship. It was there that she met her killer, a supervisor obsessed with her. After rejecting his marriage proposal, he followed her and stabbed her to death in a London hotel in 1952.
