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 182 of 2,811 notable people

0011 COMPOSER

Witold Lutosławski

1913 - 1994

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0013 HUMANITARIAN

Irena Sendler

1910 - 2008

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0027 GEOLOGIST

Haroun Tazieff

1914 - 1998

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0034 VIROLOGIST

Hilary Koprowski

1916 - 2013

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0038 COMPOSER

Mieczysław Weinberg

1919 - 1996

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0042 PHILOSOPHER

Chaïm Perelman

1912 - 1984

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0045 PHOTOGRAPHER

David Seymour (photographer)

1911 - 1956

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0050 CONDUCTOR

Andrzej Panufnik

1914 - 1991

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0067 HISTORIAN

Benzion Netanyahu

1910 - 2012

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0076 MATHEMATICIAN

Samuel Eilenberg

1913 - 1998

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0080 CONDUCTOR

René Leibowitz

1913 - 1972

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0082 POET

Nathan Alterman

1910 - 1970

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0083 LITERARY

Jan Kott

1914 - 2001

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0099 POET

Jan Twardowski

1915 - 2006

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0113 MATHEMATICIAN

Nathan Jacobson

1910 - 1999

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0134 WRITER

Israel Epstein

1915 - 2005

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0177 WRITER

Jan Dobraczyński

1910 - 1994

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0192 SPY

Marcus Klingberg

1918 - 2015

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0193 ACTOR

Irena Kwiatkowska

1912 - 2011

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0212 MUSIC

Witold Małcużyński

1914 - 1977

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0288 AUTHOR

Stanisław Dygat

1914 - 1978

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0289 BIOLOGIST

Daniel I. Arnon

1910 - 1994

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0306 POLITICIAN

Abraham Leon

1918 - 1944

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0311 PHYSICIST

Isaak Pomeranchuk

1913 - 1966

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0319 SCULPTOR

Nathan Rapoport

1911 - 1987

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0334 ARTIST

Henryk Tomaszewski (poster artist)

1914 - 2005

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0368 PHOTOGRAPHER

Dmitri Baltermants

1912 - 1990

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0370 PHOTOGRAPHER

Henryk Ross

1910 - 1991

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0391 ACTOR

Tadeusz Fijewski

1911 - 1978

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0413 MATHEMATICIAN

Jacob Wolfowitz

1910 - 1981

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0417 PHILOSOPHER

Andrzej Nowicki (philosopher)

1919 - 2011

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0440 CHESS

Moshe Czerniak

1910 - 1984

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0475 MUSIC

Eugenia Umińska

1910 - 1980

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0482 COMPOSER

Stefan Kisielewski

1911 - 1991

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0487 ACTOR

Elżbieta Barszczewska

1913 - 1987

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0510 WRITER

Sever Gansovsky

1918 - 1990

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0517 MILITAR

Stanisław Jankowski

1911 - 2002

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0523 PLAYWRIGHT

Jerzy Jurandot

1911 - 1979

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0536 WRITER

Władysław Szlengel

1912 - 1943

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0542 PRIEST

Andrés Sapelak

1919 - 2017

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0560 ACTIVIST

Mordechai Tenenbaum

1916 - 1943

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0656 ART HISTORIAN

Louis Grodecki

1910 - 1982

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0657 FOOTBALL

Władysław Szczepaniak

1910 - 1979

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0668 LITERARY

Jerzy Waldorff

1910 - 1999

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0669 RESISTANCE

Irena Adamowicz

1910 - 1973

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0670 SCREENWRITER

Jack Rose (screenwriter)

1911 - 1995

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0683 MILITAR

Helena Wolińska-Brus

1919 - 2008

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0720 ENGINEER

Kazimierz Leski

1912 - 2000

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0738 FOOTBALL

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz

1911 - 1943

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0748 AUTHOR

Zofia Chądzyńska

1912 - 2003

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0761 BOXER

Tadeusz Pietrzykowski

1917 - 1991

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0762 PHILOSOPHER

Barbara Skarga

1919 - 2009

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0769 DANCER

Pola Nirenska

1910 - 1992

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0788 AUTHOR

Bohdan Arct

1914 - 1973

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0828 COMPOSER

Moshe Wilensky

1910 - 1997

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0842 JOURNALIST

Stefan Jędrychowski

1910 - 1996

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0884 MATHEMATICIAN

Wanda Szmielew

1918 - 1976

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0890 PAINTER

Josef Herman

1911 - 2000

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0891 CHESS

Lev Lochinski

1913 - 1976

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0899 CONDUCTOR

Bohdan Wodiczko

1911 - 1985

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0902 FILM

Halina Bielińska

1914 - 1989

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0921 RESISTANCE

Izrael Chaim Wilner

1916 - 1943

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0967 CHEMIST

Józef Hurwic

1911 - 2016

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0968 PHILOSOPHER

Casimir Lewy

1919 - 1991

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0986 ARCHITECT

Adolf Ciborowski

1918 - 1987

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0987 SINGER

Jeremi Przybora

1915 - 2004

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1011 PHYSICIST

Antoni Kazimierz Oppenheim

1915 - 1992

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1029 ACTOR

Kazimierz Rudzki

1911 - 1976

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1043 ECONOMIST

Seweryn Chajtman

1919 - 2012

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1059 POLITICIAN

Aryeh Gur'el

1918 - 2007

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1072 PIANIST

Maryla Jonas

1911 - 1959

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1123 DANCER

Franceska Mann

1917 - 1943

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1134 SPORT

Maurice Raichenbach

1915 - 1998

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1147 MATHEMATICIAN

Elisha Netanyahu

1912 - 1986

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1150 BOXER

Szapsel Rotholc

1913 - 1996

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1158 PHOTOGRAPHER

Stefan Bałuk

1914 - 2014

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1167 ACTOR

Jerzy Wasowski

1913 - 1984

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1252 LITERARY

Stefan Żółkiewski

1911 - 1991

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1258 LAWYER

Charles Lederman

1913 - 1998

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1260 WRITER

Jan Józef Szczepański

1919 - 2003

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1262 ECONOMIST

Stanisław Broniewski

1915 - 2000

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1278 ACTOR

Lena Żelichowska

1910 - 1958

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1311 AUTHOR

Anna Zawadzka

1919 - 2004

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1371 ARCHITECT

Stanisław Żaryn

1913 - 1964

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1393 HARPSICHORDIST

Kazimierz Flatau

1910 - 2000

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1395 PAINTER

Henryk Hechtkopf

1910 - 2004

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1403 ACTOR

Zygmunt Zintel

1911 - 1990

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1418 POET

Zbigniew Bieńkowski

1913 - 1994

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1430 HISTORIAN

Shmuel Safrai

1919 - 2003

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1432 PAINTER

Leszek Nowosielski (painter)

1918 - 2000

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1447 ARTIST

Stanisław Miedza-Tomaszewski

1913 - 2000

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1451 COMPOSER

Tadeusz Wroński

1915 - 2000

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1472 SCOUTMASTER

Ryszard Białous

1914 - 1992

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1480 FLYING ACE

Zdzisław Henneberg

1911 - 1941

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1501 WRITER

Maria Boniecka

1910 - 1978

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1503 PSYCHIATRIST

Wanda Piłsudska

1918 - 2001

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1511 PHYSICIAN

Irena Koprowska

1917 - 2012

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1541 OFFICER

Tadeusz Sawicz

1914 - 2011

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1545 CHESS

Lew Jakowlewitsch Abramow

1911 - 2004

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1561 MATHEMATICIAN

Stanisław Hartman

1914 - 1992

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1565 ACTOR

Max Berliner

1919 - 2019

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1583 JOURNALIST

Zofia Korbońska

1915 - 2010

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1591 TRANSLATOR

Shlomo Dykman

1917 - 1965

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1633 ARTIST

Robert Lewin

1918 - 2004

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1664 COMPOSER

Orest Alexandrowitsch Jewlachow

1912 - 1973

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1686 ACTOR

Jerzy Kaliszewski

1912 - 1990

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1698 CHESS

Gleb Nikolajewitsch Sachodjakin

1912 - 1982

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1721 ACTOR

Lili Liliana

1913 - 1989

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1731 POET

Włodzimierz Pietrzak

1913 - 1944

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1734 OFFICER

Andrzej Kłopotowski

1917 - 2004

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1775 WRITER

Janina Domanska

1913 - 1995

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1798 NEUROLOGIST

Wanda Makuch-Korulska

1919 - 2007

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1806 LAWYER

Shlomo-Yisrael Ben-Meir

1910 - 1971

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1838 SCREENWRITER

Krystyna Berwińska

1919 - 2016

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1840 ARTIST

Tadeusz Trepkowski

1914 - 1954

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1862 NEUROSCIENTIST

Alex Karczmar

1917 - 2017

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1863 JOURNALIST

Earl Mazo

1919 - 2007

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1918 PHYSICIAN

Moshé Prywes

1914 - 1998

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1923 PHOTOGRAPHER

Zbigniew Brym

1919 - 2006

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1926 COMPOSER

Albert Harris

1911 - 1974

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1933 ENGINEER

Michał Klepfisz

1913 - 1943

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1955 FLYING ACE

Bolesław Gładych

1918 - 2011

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1974 PIANIST

Stanislas Niedzielski

1915 - 1975

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2033 FLYING ACE

Antoni Głowacki

1910 - 1980

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2038 SPORT

Julius Ukrainczyk

1910 - 1987

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2045 FOTÓGRAF

Harry Meerson

1910 - 1991

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2058 SURVIVOR

Benjamin Meed

1918 - 2006

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2088 ART HISTORIAN

Szymon Bojko

1917 - 2014

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2091 PHYSICIST

Jerzy Rayski

1917 - 1993

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2095 PAINTER

Anatol Wladyslaw

1913 - 2004

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2122 COMPOSER

Einzi Stolz

1912 - 2004

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2123 ART HISTORIAN

Elie Borowski

1913 - 2003

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2148 PAINTER

Kali (painter)

1918 - 1998

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2149 FLYING ACE

Eugeniusz Szaposznikow

1917 - 1991

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2151 FIGHTER

Zygmunt Witymir Bieńkowski

1913 - 1979

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2162 SURVIVANT

Léa Feldblum

1918 - 1989

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2173 RABBI

Simcha Elberg

1915 - 1995

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2182 ARCHITECT

Anna Czapska

1919 - 2007

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2210 SPORT

Stanisław Zieliński

1912 - 1939

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2211 SPORT

Mieczysław Kapiak

1911 - 1975

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2224 HISTORIAN

Stanisław Bóbr-Tylingo

1919 - 2001

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2239 SPORT

Józef Kapiak

1914 - 1989

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2271 VIOLIN

Artur Gelbrun

1913 - 1985

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2272 PAINTER

Katherine Librowicz

1912 - 1991

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2318 ECONOMIST

Zofia Celińska

1919 - 2016

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2323 OFFICER

Stanislaw Przespolewski

1910 - 1989

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2327 ARCHITECT

Fred Lebensold

1917 - 1985

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2331 AEROSPACE

Tadeusz Chyliński

1911 - 1978

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2367 AEROSPACE

Henry Millicer

1915 - 1996

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2371 WRITER

Malkah Rabell

1918 - 2001

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2379 FILM

Henryk Chroscicki

1919 - 2000

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2420 BOXER

Benny Goldberg

1918 - 2001

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2423 OFFICER

Mikołaj Antonowicz

1915 - 2000

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2450 ROWER

Ryszard Borzuchowski

1910 - 1991

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2484 SPORT

Wacław Wrzesiński

1918 - 1981

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2491 AUTHOR

Abraham Shulman

1913 - 1999

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2493 ZIONIST

Lejb Rotblat

1918 - 1943

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2495 SPORT

Jan Rogowski

1913 - 1944

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2507 ARCHIVIST

Haim Schwarzbaum

1911 - 1983

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2526 CINEMA

Ted Kornowicz

1915 - 1993

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2545 TEACHER

Gutta Sternbuch

1917 - 2012

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2588 ARMY

Stanisław Flato

1910 - 1972

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2598 SPORT

Alina Cichecka

1916 - 2001

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2602 NATIONALSOZIALISMUS

Maria Broel-Plater-Skassa

1913 - 2005

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2607 SPORT

Roman Siemiński

1919 - 1997

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2641 PIANIST

Jadwiga Szamotulska

1910 - 1981

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2685 SOLDIER

Georges Ungerman

1915 - 1998

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2690 COMPOSER

Eta Tyrmand

1917 - 2008

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2691 SCOUTMASTER

Zofia Zakrzewska

1916 - 1999

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2694 GUERRILLA

Zofia Baniecka

1917 - 1993

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2701 POLITICIAN

Wilhelm Hopp

Born 1912

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2707 PHYSICIST

François Frenkiel

1910 - 1986

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2713 WIDERSTAND

Zalman Friedrich

1911 - 1943

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2722 KÄMPFER

Wolf Rozowski

1913 - 1943

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2734 BOXER

Tomasz Lempart

1915 - 2005

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2738 PUBLISHER

Nina Bourne

1916 - 2010

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2746 SPORT

Shimcha Finkelstein

1917 - 1987

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2762 RÉSISTANT

Eva Fastag

Born 1917

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2773 CHESS

Aleksandr Goldstein

1911 - 1988

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2790 TRADE UNION

Gisèle Joannès

1918 - 1992

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2802 WIDERSTAND

Leib Rozowski

1915 - 1943

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2803 JUDGE

George Dobry

1918 - 2018

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