Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Agent Zo

The Untold Story of a Fearless World War II Resistance Fighter

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
The incredible and inspiring story of Elzbieta Zawacka, the World War II female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo.
During World War II, Elzbieta Zawacka—the WW2 female resistance fighter known as Agent Zo—was the only woman to reach London as an emissary of the Polish Home Army command. In Britain, she became the only woman to join the Polish elite Special Forces, known as the "Silent Unseen." She was secretly trained in the British countryside, and then she was the only female member of these forces to be parachuted back behind enemy lines to Nazi-occupied Poland. There, while being hunted by the Gestapo (who arrested her entire family), she took a leading role in the Warsaw Uprising and the liberation of Poland.

After the war, she was discharged as one of the most highly decorated women in Polish history. Yet the Soviet-backed post-war Communist regime not only imprisoned (and tortured) her, but also ensured that her remarkable story remained hidden for over forty years.

Now, through new archival research and exclusive interviews with people who knew and fought alongside Agent Zo, Clare Mulley brings this forgotten heroine back to brilliant life—while transforming how we value the history of women resistance fighters during World War II.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      November 1, 2024
      In this straightforward biography, Mulley (The Women Who Flew for Hitler, 2017) shares the story of Elzbieta Zawacka, aka Agent Zo, the only woman to join the Polish Special Forces. Trained by the British, she parachuted behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied Poland, fought in the Warsaw Uprising, and aided in the liberation of her country. While Zawacka's wartime experiences are important, it is Mulley's coverage of the postwar period, when Agent Zo was imprisoned by the Communist regime, that will likely offer new territory to most readers. Her arrest along with other liberation heroes and their struggle to keep a grip on the truth in the face of the Soviet-backed government's determination to rewrite history are inspiring and horrific. Zawacka lost many friends as she and others were victimized by the Kafkaesque justice system that kept them behind bars. After her release, Zawacka worked to document Polish efforts during the war, despite being questioned, arrested, and harassed by authorities. A solid contribution to the historical record, Agent Zo will only gain in significance.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Library Journal

      July 1, 2024

      Mulley, the award-winning author of The Woman Who Saved the Children, writes about Elzbieta Zawacka, the World War II resistance fighter known as Agent Zo. Among her many heroic feats, she helped to lead the Warsaw Uprising and liberate Poland--only to later be imprisoned and tortured by the Soviet-backed Communist government, which also suppressed her story. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      November 15, 2024
      Celebration of a hero of the Polish resistance during World War II--whose work, because she was a woman, was long obscured. Elzbieta Zawacka, writes historian and BBC commentator Mulley, was the only woman ever to be enlisted in the elite special forces of the Polish army in exile, who was parachuted into her Nazi-occupied homeland to help organize resistance fighters. As Mulley notes, some 40,000 women became members of the Polish Home Army, but none had an official rank and usually fulfilled jobs thought suitable for women--typing, cooking, nursing, and the like. "Zo," her code name, championed women's rights as well as antifascism. Before the war, she had trained in mathematics, and, "unmarried at thirty and choosing to live alone, she was already raising eyebrows." Yet, of more or less ordinary appearance, she was able to blend into the crowd, which helped as she crossed the borders between Poland, Germany, and other nations more than 100 times, carrying messages as a courier. "Serious, stern, tough and very matter of fact," as a comrade described her, Zo helped organize the Warsaw uprising and, against all the odds, survived years of being hunted by the Gestapo. When the Soviets arrived, however, the Polish resistance was suppressed and its leaders arrested. Zo was arrested too, "each investigation leading to further interrogations," and finally sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, during which time she taught math to inmates and guards alike. Freed, she mounted a campaign of noncompliance, saying, "There is nothing they can do to me." Among her other accomplishments was public commemoration of the Home Army, part of "a chain of defiance leading inexorably to Poland's return to independence"--after which, in belated acknowledgment, she was honored with the rank of brigadier general. A well-told story from a little-known corner of World War II history.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading