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The Beautiful Enigma

One of our readers wrote to us about his research on a woman who was a German spy during World War II. Lionel points out that Vera von Schalburg’s story is long and quite complicated. However, it is shrouded in mystery based on circumstantial evidence, assumptions, theories, conflicting information, speculation, and a general lack of factual historical documentation to support her life before, during and especially after the war. The two overriding questions are why did the British release Vera (with no trial) after capturing her along with two other spies and what happened to Vera after the war (i.e., where did she live, did she have a family in the UK, was she given a new identity by MI5, did she return to Germany, when did she die, and where is she buried?).

Sorry Lionel, I hate to disappoint you, but we won’t be able to answer those two questions in this blog. As you pointed out, no one has yet solved those mysteries. While some documents have been declassified, many others are buried in the archives of MI5. Until those classified documents are released, I’m afraid many components of Vera’s story will remain a mystery. I will try and give an overview of Vera’s story and point out some of the inconsistencies (beginning with her date of birth) and unknowns (e.g., marriages and offspring).


Did You Know? 

Did you know that the Titanic was a very small ship? So, you ask, “What do you mean by ‘small’?” Yes, it’s a relative term as we shall see. Today, the world’s largest cruise ship is Royal Caribbean’s (RCCL) “Wonder of the Seas,” and I thought it might be interesting to compare the doomed ocean liner to this modern day RCCL cruise ship. (Some say a city.) I know this comparison is like putting a Ford Model-T next to a Rolls-Royce, but I think all you cruise fanatics, and Titanic students might like to see this.

Visual comparison between Titanic (right) and the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas, an “Oasis”-class ship (left). Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
Visual comparison between Titanic (right) and the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas, an “Oasis”-class ship (left). Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
  TITANIC WONDER OF THE SEAS
Maiden Voyage 1912 2022
Construction Time 4 years 6 years
Construction Cost $ 243 million4 $ 1.35 billion
Length 882 feet 1,188 feet
Width/Beam 92 feet 210 feet (maximum)
Height 9 decks 18 decks
Volume 46,328 g.r.t.1 228,081 g.t.2
Passengers 2,435 6,9883
Crew 892 2300
Lifeboats 20 (1,166) 18 (6,660)
Elevators 4 24
Cheapest Ticket $ 1,0754 $ 423
  1. Gross register tonnage is a historic measure of volume.
  2. Gross tonnage replaced g.r.t. in July 1982.
  3. Maximum number of passengers.
  4. Today’s dollars.

Essentially, the Wonder of the Seas is three-times as large as the Titanic and about five-times heavier. There’s another interesting statistic that I’m not going to tell you. You’ll have to do some basic arithmetic, but I will give you a clue. This statistic seems to be shared by both ships.

Statistical comparison of the Titanic to a modern cruise ship (Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas). Illustration by Visual Capitalist (date unknown).
Statistical comparison of the Titanic to a modern cruise ship (Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas). Illustration by Visual Capitalist (date unknown).

Vera Von Schalburg 

Vera von Schalburg (1907?−unknown) was born in Siberia, Russia to August Theodor Schalburg, a Dane and Jelena (Helene) von Siemanovska, a Polish-Ukrainian citizen. (Vera’s birthdate has been quoted as either November 1907 or December 1912). She had two other siblings of whom, Christian Frederik, would become a well-known Danish traitor during World War II (more on that later). Read More The Beautiful Enigma

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Audrey Hepburn & Queen Wilhelmina

I grew up in the Netherlands during the 1960s when Queen Juliana was the reigning monarch of The Kingdom of the Netherlands. (Commonly referred to in English as “The Netherlands,” or “Holland.”) She was the daughter of the former queen, Wilhelmina, who abdicated in 1948 for health reasons. I can vaguely remember my parents and others talking about the former queen and some of her perceived eccentricities. Other than that slight exposure to her, I have only followed the Dutch royal family since Queen Juliana and her daughter, Beatrix.

The Dutch royal family on the palace balcony immediately after Queen Wilhelmina’s abdication. Queen Julianna (left) and her husband, Prince Bernard (right) flank the former queen. Photo by Willem van de Poll (4 September 1948). Nationaal Archief NL. PD-CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.
The Dutch royal family on the palace balcony immediately after Queen Wilhelmina’s abdication. Queen Julianna (left) and her husband, Prince Bernard (right) flank the former queen. Photo by Willem van de Poll (4 September 1948). Nationaal Archief NL. PD-CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Wikimedia Commons.

Fast forward to 2020 when I got my hands on Robert Matzen’s book, Dutch Girl (see below in the recommended reading section). I really enjoyed his book on Jimmy Stewart (Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe) so I thought I’d take a chance on reading about one of my favorite actors, Audrey Hepburn. One of the things I learned was the role Queen Wilhelmina played during World War II and how much Hitler hated her and the royal family. He despised them so much that orders were given to round up anyone who were friends, cronies, or political friends of Wilhelmina and her family and hold them as hostages for possible execution in retaliation for attacks on German soldiers. This is where Audrey Hepburn comes into our story. Oh, I also learned the one secret Audrey tried to hide for her entire life. Read More Audrey Hepburn & Queen Wilhelmina