Sofia was a barmaid in Bialystok, Poland. She met German pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel in 1940 while he was stationed there. Rudel became infatuated with Sofia, and pursued her throughout 1940. Since her father was a Pole while her mother was a Jew, she would have been considered a Mischling first class under the Reich's classification scheme but given that the affair occurred in Poland it didn't endanger Rudel's career the way it would have back in Germany. The reason for Rudel's frequent visits to Bialystok was well known to his fellow pilots, and was the subject of often ribald jokes. It was also known to his commanding officer, though he took no official notice of it.