Tag: White Mouse

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Explosive Rats

I know you’re thinking this blog might be a continuation of our story about Parisian rats (read Paris Therapy Rats here) but it’s not. The rats in this blog post are far deadlier than those running around Paris. I introduced you to Duško Popov in a previous blog (read The Double Cross System here). Double agent Popov was likely the model for Ian Fleming’s fictional character, James Bond. Today, you’ll learn about the secret group set up by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and run by movie film and art directors. As you’ll see, the Camouflage Section might just be the model Fleming used for Q Branch.

One of the Camouflage Section’s spy workrooms. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Museum - London.
One of the Camouflage Section’s spy workrooms. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). National History Museum – London.

Did You Know?

Did you know that a professional baseball player was a spy? Most of us are familiar with the war efforts of players like Ted Williams but I’ll bet you don’t know the real story of Moe Berg (1902-1972), a catcher who played for the White Sox, Indians, Red Sox, and finally, the Washington Senators. He retired from baseball in 1939 after a career which saw him bat .243 as a reserve player ⏤ hardly an Allstar performance. Yet, in 1934, Moe traveled to Japan on an All-Star team which included Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Lefty Gomez. Why would they include a reserve player on a team like this? It was because Moe spoke fluent Japanese and he was a government spy. For most of the trip, he slipped away to take movies and pictures of Tokyo which were used eight years later for the preparation of the Doolittle bombing raid on Tokyo. It also marked Moe’s entrance into the world of espionage. He joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1942 and was given covert assignments such as traveling around Europe assessing Germany’s progress in developing the atomic bomb. The purpose of one trip to Italy was to attend a lecture given by Werner Heisenberg, the German scientist in charge of the bomb development. Moe’s instructions included being given the “green light” to assassinate Heisenberg if Moe felt the Germans were close to producing a bomb. They were not and Heisenberg’s life was spared. Moe was awarded the American Medal of Freedom, but he turned it down. After his death, Moe’s sister accepted the medal on his behalf.

Special Operations Executive 

The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was officially formed on 22 July 1940 when Winston Churchill ordered Hugh Dalton to “set Europe ablaze.” Churchill loved the idea of spies, espionage, and guerilla warfare. At the time, the British military leaders were against it as it represented irregular warfare tactics, but Churchill knew that undercover covert operations within the occupied countries would be necessary to accomplish the Allied goals, including the eventual invasion of Europe. Each occupied country was represented by a separate SOE department ⏤ France was represented by “F Section.” Approximately 13,000 people worked for the SOE, of which 3,200 or 25% were women. Most of the agents were people who had been driven out of their countries and could blend in easily with the locals. Although the SOE was headquartered at 64 Baker Street, hundreds of properties were requisitioned throughout England and Scotland for training its agents in hand-to-hand combat, parachuting, demolition techniques, commando tactics, and radio-related skills. Read More Explosive Rats

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The French Anne Frank

As a young boy growing up in Holland during the mid-1960s, I was introduced to Anne Frank and her tragic story. We were required to read her diary as well as attending the all-day field trip to the “Anne Frank House” in Amsterdam where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis until they were betrayed and deported ⏤ only her father survived.

There is a similar story in France, but it did not become known until 2008 when another diary was published, and the world got a first-hand glimpse into Nazi atrocities. The author, Hélène Berr, has since become known as the “French Anne Frank.”

Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).
Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).

Did You Know?

Do you know how the term “Nazi” came about? Hitler’s political party was officially called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei:

NAtionalsoZIalistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.

The German word “Reich” means “empire.” The first German Reich lasted 844 years and was commonly known as the Holy Roman Empire until it was dismantled by Napoléon in 1806. The second Reich lasted approximately 48 years between 1871 and the end of World War I. Hitler’s Third Reich lasted twelve years with horrifying consequences which unfortunately, some aspects have endured to this day.

Hélène Berr (1921-1945) was born into an upper middle-class French family. In addition to Hélène, Raymond and Antoinette Berr’s family consisted of Jacqueline (1915-1921), Yvonne (1917-2001), Denise (1919-2011) and Jacques (1922-1998). The family lived in Paris at 5, avenue Elisée-Reclus until the French police knocked on their door in March 1944.

Hélène began her diary on 7 April 1942. She ceased writing seven months later on 28 November 1942 but resumed once again on 25 August 1943. There are many entries which document the actions and events perpetrated by Vichy and the Nazis in Paris and France. Reading her diary, you will confront Hélène’s emotions towards the policies of Vichy and the Nazis as well as personal issues. Unlike Anne Frank, we won’t hear from Hélène until 2008 when her diary is published. Read More The French Anne Frank