Krystyna Skarbek

Maria Krystyna Janina Skarbek, OBE, GM, Croix de guerre (Polish pronunciation: [krɨˈstɨna ˈskarbɛk]; 1 May 1908– 15 June 1952), also known as Christine Granville, was a Polish agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War. She became celebrated especially for her daring exploits in intelligence and irregular-warfare missions in Nazi-occupied Poland and France.

She became a British agent months before the SOE was founded in July 1940 and was one of the longest-serving of all Britain's wartime women agents. Her resourcefulness and success have been credited with influencing the organization's policy of recruiting increasing numbers of women. In 1941 she began using the nom de guerre Christine Granville, a name which she legally adopted upon naturalisation as a British subject in December 1946.

Early life

Skarbek was born in 1908 in Warsaw, to Count Jerzy Skarbek, a Roman Catholic, and Stefania (née Goldfeder), the daughter of a wealthy assimilated Jewish family. Marrying Stefania in late December 1899, Jerzy Skarbek used her dowry (her father was a banker) to pay his debts and continue his lavish life-style.