Igo Sym

Infobox actor
name = Igo Sym


imagesize = 196px
caption =
birthname = Karol Juliusz Sym
birthdate = birth date|1896|7|3
birthplace = Innsbruck, Austria
deathdate = death date and age|1941|3|7|1896|7|3
deathplace = Warsaw, Poland
occupation = German soldier and Gestapo agent (originally a film actor)
yearsactive = 1925-1941
spouse =
partner =
children =
parents =
awards =

Karol Juliusz "Igo" Sym (born July 3 1896) was an Austrian-Polish actor who after the German Invasion of Poland decided to co-operate with the Nazis.

He died on March 7 1941 in Warsaw, killed by members of the Polish resistance movement.

Youth

It is not known why Sym, born in Innsbruck, Austria, settled in Poland and when it happened. During World War One he served in the Austrian Army, becoming a lieutenant. After the war, he served in the Polish infantry until 1921, then took up the job of a civil servant.

Cinema career

Sym’s movie debut took place in 1925, in a film “Vampires of Warsaw” (no copy of it has been saved). A handsome and athletic man, he usually played classy gentlemen, aristocrats and army officers. In 1927 he left for Vienna, where he signed a contract with a movie producer "Sascha–Filmstudios AG". In late 1920s Sym worked mainly in Austria and Germany, appearing with such actresses as Marlene Dietrich and Lilian Harvey.

At the beginning of the 1930s Sym returned to Poland and settled in Warsaw. Unexpectedly, he gave up most of movie theater productions, concentrating activities on stages of Warsaw’s theatres. He would play in entertaining performances, singing, dancing and accompanying himself by playing the singing saw.

World War II

After September 1 1939 (see: German Invasion of Poland), Sym stayed in Warsaw. Known before the war for his pro-German stance, the actor signed the Volksliste, as a Volksdeutscher. Due to his widespread fame, the Germans regarded him a crucial element of legitimization of the new authorities. So, the propaganda department (Propaganda–Abteilung) of the General Government gave him the post of the director of German “Theater der Stadt Warschau” (former Teatr Polski, located in Warsaw at 2 Karasia Street). Also, Sym was the director of the “Nur Fur Deutsche” (“Only for Germans”) cinema “Palladium”, and owner of “Teatr Komedia” at 14 Kredytowa Street.

Cooperation with the Nazis

Some time in late 1939, Sym became a Gestapo agent. Also, according to the preserved documents, the actor had been cooperating with Berlin before September 1 1939. At the beginning of the war he helped to organize a trap, in which Hanna "Hanka" Ordonówna was caught (Ordonówna had been Sym’s pre-war partner on the screen and his friend from Warsaw’s theaters). Polish resistance quickly found out about this, and a group of agents, led by “Teatr Komedia” actor Roman Niewiarowicz, started to trace his activities.

"Heimkehr"

On October 10 1941 in Berlin’s “Ufa-Palast” theater, a premiere of the movie "Heimkehr" took place. The movie, a classic example of Nazi propaganda, told the story about pre-1939 German minority in Polish Volhynia. The Germans, presented as noble, peace-loving people, were brutally persecuted by vicious Poles. In the final scene, Polish soldiers lead arrested Germans to an execution, however German airplanes and tanks appear, saving the whole community.

Igo Sym did not play in this film, but he actively cooperated in the production, finding Polish actors willing to take part. Several actors refused, including Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski. Finally, he found some individuals, who were accepted by director Gustav Ucicky. After the war, these actors were punished for cooperating with the Germans, which was well done.

Assassination

In early 1941, the headquarters of the underground Polish resistance group Związek Walki Zbrojnej (ZWZ) decided to liquidate the collaborator. Sym’s behavior was loudly trumpeted by the Nazis, and his assassination would show the Poles that the underground movement was active, always ready to punish all traitors. At first, the ZWZ planned to poison the actor, but later decided to shoot him instead.

When Roman Niewiarowicz informed the ZWZ that Sym would leave for Vienna on March 8 1941, the resistance decided to kill the collaborator before that date. To carry out the assassination, the ZWZ selected the commando group “ZOM” of the Intelligence Department of the Warsaw-City District, led by Bohdan Rogoliński, aka “Szary”.

At 7:10 a.m. on March 7 1941, two Polish agents knocked at the door of Sym’s apartment, located on the 4th floor in the condominium at 10 Mazowiecka Street in Warsaw. The agents – Rogoliński and Roman Rozmiłowski (aka “Srebrny”) – told Sym that they were mailmen, carrying a dispatch. Both were covered by Wiktor Klimaszewski aka “Mały”. Upon opening the door, the actor was asked to confirm his name, which he did. One of the agents shot Sym with a Vis pistol. Sym, struck in the heart, died on the spot.

Aftermath

On the same day, German loudspeakers on the streets announced that hostages had been taken as revenge for Sym’s death. Then, posters signed by a Dr. Ludwig Fischer appeared on the walls stating that more hostages would be taken and curfew would be enforced from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Fischer threatened to shoot all hostages unless those responsible for assassination were found. All theatres were closed, and about 120 people were arrested, including teachers, physicians, lawyers and actors. The population of Warsaw was given three days to find Sym's murderers.

As nobody was found, on March 11 in Palmiry, 21 hostages were executed. Several actors were also arrested and sent to Auschwitz, among them such notable figures as directors Stefan Jaracz and Leon Schiller.

External links

* [http://powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl/akc_sym.htm Likwidacja Igo Syma ] at powstanie-warszawskie-1944.ac.pl (in Polish)
* [http://www.e-teatr.pl/pl/artykuly/9633.html Egzekucja Igo Syma - e-teatr.pl ] at www.e-teatr.pl (in Polish)
* [http://www.filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php/21736 Filmpolski.pl: Igo Sym ] at www.filmpolski.pl (in Polish)
* [http://www.cyranos.ch/smsym-e.htm Portrait of the actor Igo Sym by Thomas Staedeli ] at www.cyranos.ch
* [http://www.marlenedietrich.org/plusMuseum2.htm ::Marlene-Dietrich.org:: ] at www.marlenedietrich.org
* [http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/W/WampiryWarszawa1925.html Silent Era : PSFL : Wampiry Warszawa (1925) ] at www.silentera.com
* [http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-07/tgmwc-07-60-08.shtml Trials of German Major War Criminals: Volume 7 ] at www.nizkor.org
* [http://retrografix.blogspot.com/2007/08/film-magazin-nr4-26011930.html Movielegends: Film-Magazin - Nr.4 - 26.01.1930 ] at blogspot.com
*imdb name|0843313|Igo Sym