52.2300° N, 21.0111° E

WARSAW

Most Famous People Born in Warsaw, Poland

Notable people
2,811
Peak decade
1900s
Median birth year
1926
Most distinctive
Chess 7.5×

A city that keeps having to rebuild its memory. Warsaw's distinctive professions are chess masters, fencers, mathematicians, physicists, and rowers — a combination that maps almost exactly onto the Jewish and intellectual life that the city lost in the 1940s and never fully recovered. The dataset's most famous Varsovian was born in 1867 and left at twenty-four; many of the rest of the brightest names share some version of that biography.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Warsaw during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1900s with 256 notable births.

What Warsaw Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is Warsaw's biggest profession — 9% of all notables (254).

Warsaw over-indexes on chess7.5× the global rate.

Warsaw under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor254
  2. Politician159
  3. Painter143
  4. Writer119
  5. Football90
  6. Composer86
  7. Journalist76
  8. Sport72
  1. Chess437.5×
  2. Fencer387.0×
  3. Mathematician523.7×
  4. Physicist433.7×
  5. Rower292.8×
  6. Historian692.3×
  7. Composer862.3×
  8. Poet642.2×
  1. Football900.3×
  2. Politician1590.5×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Warsaw's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Writing
  • Film & TV
  • Science
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All2,811
Sort By

Showing 180 of 2,811 notable people

0007 OFFICER

Konstantin Rokossovsky

1896 - 1968

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0008 POET

Osip Mandelstam

1891 - 1938

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0009 PAINTER

Tamara de Lempicka

1898 - 1980

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0035 STATESMAN

Józef Beck

1894 - 1944

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0044 FILM

Jean Epstein

1897 - 1953

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0046 MATHEMATICIAN

Kazimierz Kuratowski

1896 - 1980

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0071 ARMY

Karol Świerczewski

1897 - 1947

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0107 POET

Jan Lechoń

1899 - 1956

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0142 MATHEMATICIAN

Szolem Mandelbrojt

1899 - 1983

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0217 POET

Antoni Słonimski

1895 - 1976

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0253 PHILOSOPHER

Maria Ossowska

1896 - 1974

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0281 OFFICER

Tadeusz Pełczyński

1892 - 1985

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0287 CRIMINOLOGIST

Sheldon Glueck

1896 - 1980

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0294 POLITICIAN

Anastasy Vonsiatsky

1898 - 1965

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0305 CONDUCTOR

Jerzy Petersburski

1895 - 1979

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0352 BANDLEADER

Ambrose (bandleader)

1896 - 1971

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0354 STATESMAN

Stefan Starzyński

1893 - 1943

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0367 ACTOR

Jadwiga Smosarska

1898 - 1971

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0394 AUTHOR

Mouni Sadhu

1897 - 1971

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0396 PAINTER

Henryk Stażewski

1894 - 1988

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0400 MATHEMATICIAN

Bronisław Knaster

1893 - 1980

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0424 PAINTER

Mieczysław Szczuka

1898 - 1927

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0433 PAINTER

Henryk Berlewi

1894 - 1967

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0439 MUSIC

Zbigniew Drzewiecki

1890 - 1971

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0445 PAINTER

Jan Henryk de Rosen

1891 - 1982

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0491 POET

Elizaveta Polonskaya

1890 - 1969

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0497 JOURNALIST

Ignacy Matuszewski

1891 - 1946

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0526 ACTOR

Jonas Turkow

1892 - 1982

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0540 ACADEMIC

Bohdan Pniewski

1897 - 1965

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0541 ACTOR

Baruch Lumet

1898 - 1992

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0606 RABBI

Menachem Mendel Kasher

1895 - 1983

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0623 FILM

Marie Epstein

1899 - 1995

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0635 NUN

Alicja Kotowska

1899 - 1939

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0646 ACTOR

Bogusław Samborski

1897 - 1971

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0647 MATHEMATICIAN

Arnold Walfisz

1892 - 1962

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0722 CONDUCTOR

Richard Burgin

1892 - 1981

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0740 COMPOSER

Artur Gold

1897 - 1943

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0758 POLITICIAN

Marceli Nowotko

1893 - 1942

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0776 CIRCUS

Stephan Bibrowski

1890 - 1932

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0798 MILITAR

Wanda Gertz

1896 - 1958

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0800 OFFICER

Tadeusz Kasprzycki

1891 - 1978

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0817 JOURNALIST

Mieczysław Grydzewski

1894 - 1970

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0835 PIANIST

Isidor Achron

1892 - 1948

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0848 ARCHITECT

Ossip Klarwein

1893 - 1970

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0850 SPORT

Józef Lange

1897 - 1972

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0894 FILM

Mieczysław Krawicz

1893 - 1944

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0904 POET

Anatol Stern

1899 - 1968

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0929 CHOREOGRAPHER

Stanislas Idzikowski

1894 - 1977

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0935 OFFICER

Roman Umiastowski

1893 - 1982

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0943 PAINTER

Felka Platek

1899 - 1944

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0954 MATHEMATICIAN

Aleksander Rajchman

1890 - 1940

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0971 DIPLOMAT

Marcel Rosenberg

1896 - 1938

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0980 ACTOR

Feliks Chmurkowski

1896 - 1971

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0996 WRITER

Pola Gojawiczyńska

1896 - 1963

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1003 CHAPLAIN

Ignacy Skorupka

1893 - 1920

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1007 COMPOSER

Jerzy Lefeld

1898 - 1980

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1008 PAINTER

Teresa Żarnowerówna

1897 - 1949

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1017 MUSIC

Fred Rich

1898 - 1956

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1020 OFFICER

Maria Wittek

1899 - 1997

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1063 ACTOR

Zygmunt Turkow

1896 - 1970

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1074 ACTOR

Ludwik Sempoliński

1899 - 1981

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1083 MAYOR

Julian Kulski

1892 - 1976

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1112 ARCHITECT

Marie Frommer

1890 - 1976

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1132 PAINTER

Rajmund Kanelba

1897 - 1960

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1136 POLITICIAN

Konstanty Rokicki

1899 - 1958

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1137 ACADEMIC

Szymon Syrkus

1893 - 1964

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1140 JOURNALIST

Stefan Wiechecki

1896 - 1979

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1156 PAINTER

Piotr Potworowski

1898 - 1962

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1183 ACTOR

Jan Ciecierski

1899 - 1987

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1186 WRITER

Abraham Lewin

1893 - 1943

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1189 COMPOSER

Tadeusz Sygietyński

1896 - 1955

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1195 JOURNALIST

Bohdan Pawłowicz

1899 - 1967

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1196 JOURNALIST

Tadeusz Katelbach

1897 - 1977

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1244 CONDUCTOR

Simon Pullman

1890 - 1942

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1257 FENCER

Jerzy Zabielski

1897 - 1958

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1265 PHILOSOPHER

Janina Hosiasson-Lindenbaum

1899 - 1942

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1290 ARCHITECT

Tadeusz Gronowski

1894 - 1990

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1300 INVENTOR

Stefan Tyszkiewicz

1894 - 1976

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1349 MATHEMATICIAN

Myron Mathisson

1897 - 1940

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1382 ACTOR

Tadeusz Olsza

1895 - 1975

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1405 DIPLOMAT

Tadeusz Skowroński

1896 - 1986

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1426 OFFICER

Wincenty Kowalski

1892 - 1984

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1439 POET

Stanisław Baliński

1898 - 1984

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1448 LITERARY

Maxim Lieber

1897 - 1993

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1520 JOURNALIST

Jakub Appenszlak

1894 - 1950

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1530 ACTOR

Stanisław Łapiński

1895 - 1972

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1534 ACTOR

Stanisława Perzanowska

1898 - 1982

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1538 WRITER

Halina Górska

1898 - 1942

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1539 PHYSICIST

Sonia Cotelle

1896 - 1945

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1547 INVENTOR

Leo Gerstenzang

1892 - 1973

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1549 LITERARY

Marya Kasterska

1894 - 1969

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1580 AUTHOR

Stefan Napierski

1899 - 1940

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1585 MUSIC

Szymon Kataszek

1898 - 1943

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1587 ACTOR

Irena Skwierczyńska

1897 - 1984

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1593 POLITICIAN

Jan Gawronski

1892 - 1983

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1609 PHYSICIST

Maria Pogonowska

1897 - 2009

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1613 PHYSICIAN

Gustav Bychowski

1895 - 1972

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1630 ENGINEER

Simcha Blass

1897 - 1982

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1638 ACADEMIC

Stanisław Brukalski

1894 - 1967

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1650 PAINTER

Jean Olin

1891 - 1972

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1660 STATESMAN

Henryk Floyar-Rajchman

1893 - 1951

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1685 LITERARY

Jan Emil Skiwski

1894 - 1956

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1711 ART HISTORIAN

Mieczysław Wallis

1895 - 1975

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1716 OFFICER

Ludwik Idzikowski

1891 - 1929

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1730 HOCKEY

Kazimierz Żebrowski

1891 - 1928

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1733 PAINTER

Wacław Wąsowicz

1891 - 1942

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1744 BOTANIST

Maria Skalińska

1890 - 1977

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1751 PHYSICIST

Andrzej Sołtan

1897 - 1959

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1797 PHOTOGRAPHER

Alexander von Lagorio

1890 - 1965

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1799 ACADEMIC

Bohdan Marconi

1894 - 1975

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1808 LINGUIST

Valerian Borisovich Aptekar

1899 - 1937

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1810 CHESS

Stanisław Kohn

1895 - 1940

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1834 BIOLOGIST

Dmitrij Nasonov

1895 - 1957

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1837 OFFICER

Aleksander Kawałkowski

1899 - 1965

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1859 SECRETARY

Alexander Danieliuk-Stefanski

1897 - 1937

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1860 PHYSICIST

Szczepan Szczeniowski

1898 - 1979

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1884 LITERARY

Karol Wiktor Zawodziński

1890 - 1949

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1895 ACTOR

Władysław Godik

1892 - 1952

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1901 SPORT

Adam Wolff

1899 - 1984

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1902 AUTHOR

Matityahu Shoham

1893 - 1937

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1928 WRITER

Owadi Gerzewitsch Sawitsch

1896 - 1967

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1961 WRITER

Alicja Bełcikowska

1898 - 1940

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1979 FENCER

Kazimierz Szempliński

1899 - 1971

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2006 MUSIC

Margerita Trombini-Kazuro

1891 - 1979

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2023 PRIEST

Eugène Kulesza

1891 - 1941

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2026 SINGER

Stanisława Zawadzka

1890 - 1988

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2042 POLITICIAN

Stanislav Messing

1890 - 1937

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2084 CARICATURIST

Jerzy Szwajcer

1892 - 1967

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2093 SURGEON

Henryk Hilarowicz

1890 - 1941

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2114 AUTHOR

Siegmund Kaznelson

1893 - 1959

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2120 MUSIC

Chemjo Vinaver

1895 - 1973

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2138 ART DIRECTOR

Stefan Norris

1894 - 1979

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2169 RELIGIOUS

Maria Izabela Wiłucka-Kowalska

1890 - 1946

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2176 ACTOR

Czesław Skonieczny

1894 - 1946

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2202 ENGINEER

Władysław Świątecki

1895 - 1944

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2241 SAILING

Stanisław Zenon Zakrzewski

1890 - 1976

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2251 BOTANIST

Borís Skvortsov

1896 - 1980

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2260 WRITER

Jacob Shatzky

1893 - 1956

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2328 JOURNALIST

Benjamin Goriely

1898 - 1986

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2330 THEOLOGIAN

Karol Wolfram

1899 - 1965

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2341 ARCHITECT

Jadwiga Dobrzyńska

1898 - 1940

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2357 MILITAR

Robert Bitker

1895 - 1977

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2361 PAINTER

Bernard Zakheim

1898 - 1985

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2369 SPRINT

Stanisław Sośnicki

1896 - 1962

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2374 PHYSICIAN

Paul Kaznelson

1892 - 1959

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2390 INFANTRY

Stanisław Ostwind-Zuzga

1899 - 1945

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2391 DIPLOMAT

Leon Gaykis

1898 - 1937

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2405 ACTOR

Janina Klimkiewicz

1891 - 1959

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2406 DRIVER

Henryk Liefeldt

1894 - 1937

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2408 ROWER

Henryk Fronczak

1898 - 1981

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2410 PAINTER

Maria Nicz-Borowiakowa

1896 - 1944

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2435 CHESS

Jerzy Jagielski

1897 - 1955

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2445 PIANIST

Feliks Rybicki

1899 - 1978

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2483 ENGINEER

Władysław Zalewski

1892 - 1977

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2501 ROWER

Henryk Niezabitowski

1896 - 1976

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2508 ENGINEER

Witold Wierzbicki

1890 - 1965

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2541 PAINTER

Dora Bianka

1895 - 1979

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2566 WRESTLING

Jack Pfefer

1894 - 1974

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2571 ATHLETIC

Stanisław Świętochowski

1899 - 1940

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2579 CHESS

Michail Gerzowitsch Kljazkin

1897 - 1926

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2593 OFFICER

Janusz de Beaurain

1893 - 1959

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2594 WRITER

Józef Stefan Godlewski

1894 - 1942

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2608 AVIATOR

Stefan Sznuk

1896 - 1986

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2612 WRITER

Yehouda Leib Bialer

1896 - 1976

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2615 RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE

Hersh Mendel

1890 - 1969

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2622 OFFICER

Stefan Szlaszewski

1892 - 1959

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2650 OPERA

Max Altglass

1890 - 1952

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2661 CENTENAIRE

Michalina Wasilewska

1898 - 2010

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2679 PHYSICIST

Jewgeni Grigorjewitsch Jachontow

1896 - 1964

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2697 ECONOMIST

Wiesław Domaniewski

1896 - 1992

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2709 ACTOR

Mary Corwyn

Born 1895

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2716 BUSINESS

Henryk Korab-Janiewicz

1897 - 1971

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2717 ACTOR

Camille Astor

1896 - 1944

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2743 POLITICIAN

Max Gurny

1899 - 1994

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2770 LAWYER

Wanda Grażyna Gałecka-Szmurło

1899 - 1993

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2779 PUBLISHER

Frank Z. Temerson

1890 - 1963

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2781 KAPELLMEISTER

Georg Maliniak

1895 - 1949

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2784 RABBI

Henri-Léon Champagne

1898 - 1948

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2787 JOURNALIST

Israel Bursztyn

1896 - 1941

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2795 BALLET

Halina Schmolz

1892 - 1939

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