History Channel - Heroes of War Poland (2014) Part 5 Krystyna Skarbek

Heroes of War Poland

2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of World War II. This new series takes us back to a time when ordinary people became extraordinary heroes, freedom fighters, spies and code-breakers, often in deadly battles with Nazi forces. Set in Poland, which was home to some of the war's worst atrocities, Heroes of War uncovers tales of heroism and sacrifice from a number of unsung heroes of World War II. Featuring interviews with the few remaining eyewitnesses, access to newly released documents, re-enactment and archive footage, it reveals the true and, until now, hidden stories of heroism during wartime.

Part 5: Krystyna Skarbek

Finally, one of the best spies in WW2 gives us the astonishing story of Krystyna Skarbek, whose father was a Polish aristocrat and her mother a Jewish banking heiress. She and her second husband were en route to Nairobi where he was to assume a diplomatic post when the war broke out. They immediately changed course and sailed from Cape Town to England and once there she immediately displayed her remarkable gift for persuasion by overcoming the obvious objections. She wasn’t British! She was Polish! She was Jewish! And worst of all, she was a woman! Skarbek made her way home to Poland by way of still-neutral Hungary, crossing the mountainous frontier in December 1939 with the help of a Polish Olympic skier. Captured by the Gestapo, she gained her release and that of a comrade by biting her tongue until it bled, then feigning a tubercular cough. Later she worked in France for the Special Operations Executive,

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