The book “Agent Zo” by Clare Mulley tells a story of the outstanding life of Elżbieta Zawadzka – a Polish resistance soldier during WW2. The book was now awarded the silver award in the Military History Matters competition for the Book of the Year 2025.

Clare Mulley is an award-winning public historian, author and broadcaster. Her work has focused on the female experience of the Second World War, and her books include “The Woman Who Saved the Children”, “The Spy Who Loved”, and “The Women Who Flew For Hitler”.

Her book tells the amazing story of Elżbieta Zawacka, the WW2 female resistance fighter known as ‘Agent Zo’. She was the only woman to join the Polish elite Special Forces. Secretly trained in the British countryside, she parachuted back behind enemy lines to German-occupied Poland. Hunted by the Gestapo, she took a leading role in the Warsaw Uprising and the liberation of Poland.

Beyond her wartime exploits, Zawacka was a relentless advocate for women’s rights within the military. She championed the recognition of female soldiers in the Polish Home Army, pushing for equal status and protections under the Geneva Convention. After the war, she faced imprisonment under the communist regime but remained steadfast in her commitment to preserving the legacy of the resistance.

Source: X

Photo: British Poles

Tomasz Modrzejewski