Tag: Jacques Désoubrie

Posted on

The Rasputin of the Abwehr

Throughout history, con men have preyed on unsuspecting victims. Like a chameleon (or a good salesperson), they can change their colors at a drop of a dime and gain the confidence of whomever they have targeted as a “mark.” These people range from the sinister (e.g., Rasputin) all the way to those lovable “grifters,” Paul Newman and Robert Redford in the movie, The Sting.

Grigori Rasputin. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). PD-Russian Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.
Grigori Rasputin. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). PD-Russian Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Today’s blog centers around a Catholic priest who was employed by the Abwehr (German military intelligence) for the purpose of infiltrating, betraying, and ultimately, destroying French Resistance networks. Unlike Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) who ingratiated himself into the Russian Tsar’s family for status and power, Abbé Robert Alesch (1906-1949) sold his services to the Nazis for money, art, and a life of luxury. Normally, confidence scheme targets give up their money or jewelry. Many of Alesch’s victims gave up their lives.

Robert Alesch. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Prologue – Quarterly of the National Archive; Volume 26, No. 1 – Spring 1994.
Robert Alesch. Photo by anonymous (c. 1948). Prologue – Quarterly of the National Archive; Volume 26, No. 1 – Spring 1994.

Read More The Rasputin of the Abwehr

Posted on

The Last Train Out of Paris

Five years ago, I wrote a short blog entitled, The Last Train Out of Paris. I never heard from anyone about that blog until 19 June 2020 when Pat V. e-mailed me about her father, Squadron Leader (ret.) Stanley Booker, MBE. While my blog never mentioned any Allied airmen, it seems Stanley enjoyed reading it ⏤ he was one of 168 captured airmen on that last train out of Paris on 15 August 1944.

Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Flying Officer Stanley Booker. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
La Gare de Pantin. Original photo by anonymous. Photo scan by Poudou99 (postcard date prior to 1923). PD-Copyright Expired. Wikimedia Commons.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.
Deportees inside cattle car. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Courtesy of Stanley Booker.

This has led to a lot of discussions over the past several months with Pat about her father’s war experiences. They live in the UK and Stanley is ninety-eight years young. The reason the story about these men didn’t make it into the original blog was, frankly, I didn’t know about it ⏤ well, now I do. One of Pat’s questions in her original e-mail was whether I knew about Jacques Désoubrie and who his German superior might have been. Her last words in the e-mail were “Can you help please?” I couldn’t resist and quickly entered yet another rabbit hole. Once I came up for air, I had Désoubrie’s story, an idea who he reported to, and I knew I had to repost the 2015 blog albeit in an expanded manner with an abbreviated story about Stanley’s experiences. Stanley wrote a privately published version of his wartime escapades and Pat is completing the book as well as expanding on his post-war exploits ⏤ Stanley’s interesting life didn’t just end with his eventual retirement from the Royal Air Force.

Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.
Stanley Booker (left) and Paul McCue (right). Paul, historian and author of “SAS Operation Bulbasket,” is visiting Stanley in his home. Photo by Carol Brown (August 2020). Courtesy of Paul McCue.

Read More The Last Train Out of Paris