Jerzy Pawlowski, Polish Fencer and Spy
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Jerzy Pawlowski, a Polish Olympic fencer who was convicted of spying for the United States by his country’s communist-era authorities, died January 11, the Polish Olympic Committee said Wednesday. He was 72.
Born in Warsaw on October 25, 1932, Pawlowski studied at Warsaw University, where he received a law degree in 1968.
Coached by Janos Kevey, he was called up to the country’s national fencing team at age 18. He won five Olympic medals in his career, including a gold medal in the individual saber in Mexico City in 1968 and three silvers and a bronze.
Pawlowski also became a colonel in Poland’s secret services, but was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1976 for spying for America.
Ten years into his sentence, he was taken to Berlin and offered the chance to move to the West in a spy exchange, but he asked to be returned to Poland, where he was released.
