Virginia Hall, aka “The Limping Lady”

Virginia Hall

Virginia Hall, an American secret agent during World War II, became legendary for her courage, resourcefulness, and ability to evade capture. After a hunting accident in Turkey in 1933, Hall lost her left leg and was later fitted with a wooden prosthetic in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. She nicknamed her leg “Cuthbert,” and after learning to walk again, she herself earned the nickname “the Limping Lady.”

Saint Cuthbert's piece of timber

Why Hall chose the name of a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon monk, Saint Cuthbert, for her prosthetic leg is unknown, but there are clues that might help explain the connection. Saint Cuthbert was an esteemed clergyman in the monasteries of Melrose and Lindisfarne in the Kingdom of Northumbria, in present-day northern England and southern Scotland. Revered as the patron saint of Northumbria, he was respected by kings and clergy alike, yet he chose a life of humble service. According to legend, he used a piece of driftwood, washed ashore by the tide, as the foundation for his hermit’s retreat.

Perhaps Virginia Hall, already drawn to life in Europe as an aspiring diplomat, felt inspired by Saint Cuthbert’s modesty and resilience. Long before she joined the resistance, Hall worked toward a diplomatic career across European countries, a path that would later transition into her life of espionage. The “foundation” Saint Cuthbert’s timber provided for his simple abode might also have resonated with Hall, as her own “Cuthbert” supported her through difficult missions in hostile territory.

During the war, Hall became a key operative for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Nazi-occupied France, particularly in Lyon and surrounding areas. There, she helped organize resistance networks, plan sabotage missions, and facilitate the escape of Allied soldiers. Her work was so impactful that the Gestapo labeled her “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.”

One notable incident involved Hall’s daring trek across the Pyrenees as she fled to Spain to escape capture. Knowing that her wooden leg could be a hindrance, she sent a message to SOE headquarters, noting that “Cuthbert might cause problems.” Unaware that “Cuthbert” was her prosthetic leg, her superiors replied pragmatically: “If Cuthbert troublesome, eliminate him.”

Virginia Hall’s resilience and determination, along with her ability to overcome immense personal challenges, make her an extraordinary figure in the history of WWII. In my Timeless Agents series, I look forward to honoring her with a dedicated book, The Pace of Power, somewhere down the line.

Nancy Wake: The Legendary “White Mouse”

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Nancy Wake (1945)

Exciting Monthly Themes in the Hannah Byron Reader Group!
Starting in November, I’m bringing something new and fun to my Facebook Reader Group! Each month, we’ll dive into a special WWII theme with engaging quizzes, nostalgic throwback photos, exclusive giveaways, puzzles, and behind-the-scenes stories from history. We’ll also celebrate each other’s birthdays and share our current reads and recommendations—perfect for expanding our TBR lists with friends!

Since my reader group feels like my go-to crew, I’m thrilled to spend more time with everyone there. Will you join in?

We’re kicking off November with Secret Agent Trivia! To get ready, check out the blog post on Nancy Wake below and brush up on her story—you’ll be quizzed on Monday, November 4.

Join me in the Hannah Byron Reader Group here! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Nancy Wake: The Legendary “White Mouse”
Nancy Wake -  a name that still strikes awe among World War II enthusiasts -  was a woman of unmatched bravery, charm, and cunning. Her story is a blend of daring escapes, secret missions, and a fierce determination to defeat the Nazis. But how well do you really know her?

Let’s take a quick dive into the life of this remarkable SOE agent, whose nickname, “The White Mouse”, came from her ability to slip through the clutches of the Gestapo, time after time. But wait—wasn’t there another famous SOE agent with a similar moniker? Maybe you’re thinking of F.F.E. Yeo-Thomas, also known as “The White Rabbit.” 

Well, there’s little evidence the two “White Ones” ever met…

Nancy Wake was more than just a master of disguise and a fearless leader—she was a woman of resilience and courage, with roots as diverse as her accomplishments. Did you know she had Māori ancestry? Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, Wake carried with her a mix of cultures that fueled her defiant spirit. From her early years, she had a strong sense of justice, which later drove her to become one of the most wanted women by the Nazis.

In the early days of World War II, Nancy Wake and her French industrialist husband, Henri Fiocca, lived in Marseille, where they were part of the French Resistance. Nancy played a vital role in the Pat O’Leary Line, an escape network that helped downed Allied soldiers and prisoners of war flee occupied France. She risked her life multiple times, assisting in the smuggling of soldiers across the Pyrenees to Spain, and soon became the Gestapo’s top target. 

After she had to flee France herself in 1943, her husband Henri stayed behind to continue their resistance work, but tragically, he was captured and killed by the Nazis, a devastating blow for Nancy that she would not learn about until after the war.

Her most famous adventure began when she was parachuted into France in April 1944 as part of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). She landed in a tree and, ever quick-witted, responded to local Maquis leader Henri Tardivat’s quip about her appearance by telling him to “cut out the French crap and get me out of this tree!” That sharp humor and steely demeanor were trademarks of Nancy Wake, whose role was to organize the Resistance fighters and help prepare for D-Day by leading guerrilla operations against the Nazis.

As a resistance leader, Nancy Wake was responsible for everything from coordinating arms drops to leading attacks on German installations. She also recruited and trained thousands of Maquis fighters in the Auvergne region. Her leadership wasn’t just tactical—it was personal. Her men knew her as both hard and fair, and when a German female spy was found among their ranks, Nancy gave the order for her execution, displaying the harsh realities of war.

One of the most famous stories about Nancy is whether she killed a German soldier with her bare hands. The story goes that during a raid on a German factory, a sentry was about to raise the alarm when Nancy, trained in hand-to-hand combat, used a judo chop to kill him. Whether this happened exactly as told continues to remain a subject of debate, with some historians suggesting it may have been a part of the legend that grew around her. But as Nancy herself put it, she was “quite surprised that it worked!”

In the field, Nancy operated under the codename “Hélène” and led some of the most daring operations of the war. One of her greatest feats was a 500-kilometer round trip by bicycle through enemy territory to deliver critical codes for the SOE—a journey she completed in just 72 hours. This sheer act of endurance is one of many reasons why she is remembered as one of the most fearless women of the war.

After the war, Nancy Wake was showered with medals for her bravery, including the George Medal from the UK, the Croix de Guerre from France, and the Medal of Freedom from the United States. Yet, despite her heroism, she was never awarded a medal by her home country, Australia, which she refused to accept later in life, declaring she would never take a medal from them after their neglect.

Nancy Wake’s story didn’t end with the war. She lived a full and adventurous life, writing her autobiography and becoming involved in politics, although she never won an election. Her impact, however, went far beyond politics—her courage, strength, and indomitable spirit left a mark on history, and her legacy continues to inspire. 

Somewhere in the coming years I will write The Ace of Spunk, Codename Hélène and honor Nancy Wake with my own dual-timeline story about her. For now, head on over to join my Reader Group on Facebook for a pop-quiz on #MysteryMonday about The White Mouse and partake in the other activities. You can find the Hannah Byron Reader Group on Facebook here.

I’m Not a Spy! Understanding the True Role of SOE Agents

As I'm writing my new series, I’ve realized something important about the brave men and women of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during WWII. Everywhere I look—book titles, documentaries, movies, even titles by renowned historians—I see the word "spy" being used.

"Spy" is such a catchy, almost romantic term, and believe me, I would have loved to use it. But here’s the thing: the agents themselves never saw it that way. To them, "spy" was a dirty word, often tied to the betrayal of one's country, while they were fiercely patriotic.

Yes, the SOE agents gathered intelligence, but that was just one of their many jobs. They were so much more—they organized supply lines, aided the French Resistance, and carried out sabotage missions, all to prepare for D-Day.

With this in mind, I decided to change the title of my series from Timeless Spies to Timeless Agents. While you, my readers, might see "spy" being used everywhere, I want to make sure I honor the legacy of these legends. The way they really saw themselves.

So, in my work they will only be called SECRET AGENTS.

If all goes well, the Timeless Agents series will ultimately honor all 39 female secret agents of Section France.

One week now until the first book, The Color of Courage, goes live. Oh, it's so exciting.

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Part of my library on SOE

Here's an early 5-star review from one of my ARC team members:
"I’ve read all of Hannah’s books and enjoy the way that she mixes fact and fiction. This particular book tells the story of one of the bravest SOE agents intertwined with a modern day romance. This series will bring the actions of Resistance fighters to a brand new audience." ~ Fiona

If you haven't preordered The Color of Courage yet, click the link! 👇😊

Reflecting on the Legacy of the Nuremberg Trials

The Nuremberg Trials stand as a watershed moment in human history, representing the first international effort to hold individuals accountable for crimes against humanity. Convened in the aftermath of World War II, these trials sought to bring justice to those responsible for the atrocities committed during the war, including genocide, crimes against peace, and war crimes. As we reflect on the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials, it becomes clear that they not only established crucial principles of international law but also shaped the course of modern justice and human rights.

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Nuremberg Trials - the defendants dock

The Nuremberg Trials, held from 1945 to 1946, marked a radical departure from previous approaches to addressing war crimes. Instead of merely punishing the defeated, the trials aimed to provide a fair and transparent legal process that would serve as a model for future efforts to uphold human rights and prevent impunity. This ground-breaking approach was enshrined in the Nuremberg Principles, which laid the foundation for modern international criminal law.

Central to the Nuremberg Trials was the concept of individual responsibility for crimes against humanity. For the first time, political and military leaders were held personally accountable for their actions, regardless of official orders or directives. This principle, articulated in the famous Nuremberg Charter, established a precedent that has since been applied in numerous international tribunals, including the International Criminal Court.

Moreover, the trials played a crucial role in defining the legal framework for prosecuting genocide. The indictment of Nazi leaders for their role in the Holocaust set a precedent for recognising genocide as a distinct crime under international law. This recognition paved the way for subsequent efforts to prevent and punish genocide, including the establishment of the Genocide Convention in 1948.

Beyond their legal significance, the Nuremberg Trials also served as a catalyst for broader conversations about justice, accountability, and reconciliation. By bringing perpetrators of war crimes to trial in a public forum, the trials provided a platform for survivors to share their stories and seek closure. They also helped to foster a collective reckoning with the horrors of the Holocaust and the need to confront the legacy of anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

However, the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials is not without its complexities and controversies. Critics have pointed to issues such as the selective prosecution of war crimes and the influence of political considerations on the judicial process. Moreover, the trials were limited in scope, focusing primarily on Nazi leaders while largely overlooking the complicity of other actors, including collaborators and bystanders.

Despite these challenges, the Nuremberg Trials remain a landmark moment in the quest for justice and human rights. They remind us of the importance of holding perpetrators accountable for their actions, regardless of their status or position of power. They also underscore the enduring relevance of international law as a tool for promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in a world scarred by conflict and injustice.

As we look back on the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials, let us reaffirm our commitment to upholding the principles of justice, accountability, and human rights that they helped to establish. By learning from the past and building on its lessons, we can strive to create a more just and peaceful world for future generations.

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Prosecutors and Deputies on Staff of Brig. Gen. Telford Taylor, subsequent Nuremberg Trials

A Critical Perspective on the Gender and Race Disparity

Beneath the veneer of justice to hold individuals accountable for crimes against humanity lies a stark reality: the trials were an all-white, male affair, with women and people of color relegated to non-decision-making roles such as reporters and secretaries. This gender disparity is not just a footnote in history but a glaring example of the systemic exclusion of women and people of color from positions of power and influence, even in matters of justice and accountability. Despite the gravity of the crimes being prosecuted, the composition of those involved in the trials reflected the deeply entrenched gender biases of the time.

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Judges of the Nuremberg Military Tribunals

At the heart of the Nuremberg Trials were the prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys – all of whom were white men. While the supportive female contributions as typists, secretaries and reporters were undoubtedly valuable, they were confined to positions that lacked decision-making authority.

This gender disparity is particularly striking when considering the magnitude of the crimes being addressed, including genocide and crimes against humanity. Yet, the absence of women from positions of power meant that their perspectives and experiences were largely overlooked in the pursuit of justice.

Moreover, the exclusion of women from decision-making roles in the Nuremberg Trials sends a troubling message about who holds the authority to shape narratives of history and memory. By relegating women to the sidelines, the trials reinforced the notion that matters of justice and accountability were the domain of men – a narrative that persists in many spheres of society to this day.

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Only one woman in the pressroom

It's important to recognize that the gender and race disparity in the Nuremberg Trials was not simply a product of the times, but a reflection of deeper inequalities that continue to persist. Even as we commemorate the legacy of the trials and celebrate their role in establishing principles of international law, we must also acknowledge the voices that were silenced and marginalized in the process.

Moving forward, it is imperative that efforts to promote justice and accountability are inclusive and representative of all voices, regardless of gender or race. This means actively working to dismantle the systemic barriers that exclude all minorities from positions of power and ensuring that their perspectives are central to the pursuit of justice.

In revisiting the history of the Nuremberg Trials, let us not only honor the memory of those who were lost but also commit to creating a more just and equitable future – one in which all voices are heard, and all individuals are given the opportunity to participate fully in the pursuit of justice.

Inside the Nuremberg Trials: A Glimpse into History

From Ruins to Rivalry: The Division of Post-War Germany in 1945

The timeline in The London Spymaker
The release date for my upcoming book, the 7th book in The Resistance Girl Series titled The London Spymaker, is set for April 2nd and is currently available for preorder. The story starts in 1945 after the German surrender, delving into Anna Adams' life before and during the war in later parts of the book.

Beginning with a Prologue set in 1937, the start of the book follows the Allies' pursuit of justice against Nazi war criminals while safeguarding Europe from another German conflict by dividing the country. Squadron Officer Anna Adams embarks on a mission to locate her secret agents who failed to return to Britain after the war's end.

In the weeks ahead, I'll be releasing several blogs pertaining to the themes explored in the new book. This initial blog focuses on the Allies' partitioning of Germany following its capitulation.

Why divide post-war Germany in 4 occupational zones?
In this blogpost we’ll take a closer look at the reasons for dividing Germany into occupational zones monitored by Great Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union.  

In the wake of World War II, as the dust settled and the echoes of battle faded away, the world found itself facing a new challenge: the division of Germany. The year 1945 marked the end of Nazi Germany, but it also signaled the beginning of a new chapter in German history – a chapter characterized by division, rivalry, and the eventual Cold War confrontation between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Let’s explore the events that led to the division of post-war Germany and the consequences that followed.

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Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin)

The Yalta and Potsdam Conferences
The seeds of division were sown during the Yalta Conference in February 1945, where Allied leaders Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin gathered to discuss the future of Europe after the defeat of Nazi Germany. It was here that the groundwork for the division of Germany was established. The Allies agreed to divide Germany into four occupation zones, with each of the major Allied powers – the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union – administering one zone.

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Potsdam Conference July 1945 (Attlee, Truman, Stalin)

The division was further solidified during the Potsdam Conference in July and August 1945, where the Allied leaders revisited the issue. The conference confirmed the division of Germany into occupation zones, with the city of Berlin, located deep within the Soviet zone, also being divided into four sectors. This division was intended to be temporary, with the goal of demilitarizing and denazifying Germany, as well as holding war criminals accountable.

The Emergence of Ideological Rifts
While the division of Germany was initially seen as a temporary measure, it quickly became apparent that the Allies had different visions for the post-war future of the country. The ideological differences between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union began to crystallize, setting the stage for the Cold War.

In the Western zones, efforts were made to establish democracy and a free-market economy. The introduction of the Marshall Plan in 1948 provided significant financial aid to Western Europe, including West Germany, aimed at promoting economic recovery and preventing the spread of communism. Meanwhile, in the Soviet zone, the focus was on establishing a socialist system under Soviet influence.

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Marshall Plan poster

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East (red) and West (blue) Germany October 1949 - July 1952

The Berlin Blockade and the Formation of Separate German States
One of the key turning points in the division of post-war Germany was the Berlin Blockade, which began in June 1948. In response to Western efforts to consolidate their zones and create a separate West German state, the Soviet Union blockaded access to West Berlin, attempting to starve the city into submission. In response, the Western Allies launched the Berlin Airlift, providing essential supplies to West Berlin via air.

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Children in East and West Berlin

This standoff solidified the division between East and West. In May 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany, commonly known as West Germany, was officially established in the Western zones, while the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, emerged in the Soviet zone in October 1949.

Conclusion
The division of post-war Germany in 1945 was a complex and multifaceted process that resulted from a combination of geopolitical considerations, ideological differences, and the legacy of World War II. What was initially intended as a temporary occupation soon became the defining feature of Germany's post-war landscape, setting the stage for decades of Cold War rivalry between East and West. The division of Germany would not be resolved until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but its impact on the course of history remains significant, serving as a stark reminder of the consequences of war and the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction.

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West and East Germans at the Brandenburg Gate in 1989

The Partisan Fighter: A Tale of Courage and Liberation

Introduction
In the midst of the chaos and darkness that engulfs Europe during World War II an unlikely heroine emerges: a young French couture designer named Daphne de Dragoncourt. Her journey from a privileged life in Paris and Picardy to the heart of the resistance movement is a story of courage, transformation, and the fight for freedom. Join this thrilling adventure by diving into The Partisan Fighter, a story that is not for sale but exclusively available to subscribers of the Hannah Byron newsletter.

The Rainbow Couturier
Daphne de Dragoncourt is anything but the epitome of traditional French sophistication. With a penchant for risqué combinations and bold patterns inspired by the vibrant colors of her pet macaw, Liberté, she is a breath of fresh air in the world of couture dominated by black-and-white Chanel. Daphne’s dream is to leave behind her complicated family life and shine brightly on the catwalks of French fashion.

Hitler’s Invasion
However, Daphne’s dreams are shattered when Hitler’s forces invade Northern France in May 1940. The Dragoncourt family’s Château is overrun by German boots, and to make matters worse, her beloved macaw, Liberté, escapes during the chaos. Daphne finds herself fleeing into the fields of Picardy, stranded and alone.

A Chance Encounter
In the midst of her despair, Daphne stumbles upon a wounded resistance fighter named Paul Bâh, a Congolese-born merchant from Paris with a fierce appetite for warfare. Instead of fashioning garments with a needle and thread, Paul hands Daphne a German-snatched MP 40 gun and begins teaching her to wield it effectively.

Becoming Simone
With Paul by her side Daphne adopts the code name ‘Simone Charlet.’ Together with their motley crew of partisan fighters, they engage in daring clashes with the Nazi forces from Paris to Picardy. As Simone, the once capricious and starry-eyed teenager Daphne, transforms into a fearless resistance leader, ready to risk it all for her country and her castle.

Liberation and Reunion
As the war rages on, the Partisan movement is eventually reinforced by the D-Day landings, and together with the Allies, they bring an end to four years of German terror. Through determination and sheer willpower, Simone and her comrades fight valiantly to liberate their homeland.

The Triumph of Liberté
The Partisan Fighter is a remarkable tale of transformation, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of those who fought for freedom during World War II. Daphne de Dragoncourt’s journey from a couturier to a resistance fighter is a testament to the human capacity for bravery and adaptability in the face of adversity. As we follow Simone’s path, we are reminded that even in the darkest of times, the pursuit of liberty can lead to extraordinary heroism.

The Partisan Fighter is the free companion novella to the 7 books of The Resistance Girl Series.

Join my newsletter to exclusively experience this captivating story of courage and liberation.

But The Partisan Fighter is not just a historical account; it’s a tribute to the unwavering spirit of those who dared to cast off their jewels, their blueblood, and their privileges, all in the name of freedom. It is loosely based on the story of the real Partisan fighter Simone Segouin.

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The French Riviera under Italian Rule during WW2

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The Val Dora battalion of the 5th Alpini Regiment in action in the Col de Pelouse during the Italian invasion of France in June 1940

Introduction
During World War 2, southeastern France experienced two distinct periods of occupation by Fascist Italy. The first occurred from June 1940, following the Italian invasion, and continued until the Armistice between Italy and the Allied armed forces on 8 September 1943. Subsequently, the German forces compelled Italian troops stationed in France to retreat within their own borders, marking the end of the Italian occupation of southern France. The second occupation took place in November 1942, as Italy asserted control over the region once again during this period.

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Occupation zones of France during the Second World War

The Italian Occupation
Benito Mussolini initiated the invasion of France on June 10, 1940, with limited success. Following France's surrender to Germany on June 25, an Armistice was signed between France and Italy, designating a 830 km² Italian-controlled zone in southeastern France, which included nearly 30,000 French citizens. Notably, Menton became part of the Kingdom of Italy during this period, with Grenoble and Nice as major cities within the 50-km 'demilitarized zone' near the Italian Alpine Wall.

 In November 1942, there was an expansion of Italian-held territory as Nazi Germany assumed control over most of Vichy France, which had been a French Puppet state led by Marshal Pétain. This military occupation was referred to as 'Case Anton.'

 The Royal Italian Army extended its authority to Toulon and Provence, reaching the Rhône River, and claimed Corsica as well. The intention was to annex Nice and Corsica to Italy, mirroring the 1940 incorporation of Menton. However, Italy's surrender to the Allied forces in September 1943 marked the conclusion of Italian rule in France.

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Secret signing of the Cassibile armistice on 3 September 1943:
Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy

The Italian Army
In June 1940, the Italian occupational army, numbering 700,000 troops, had significant numerical superiority over the French. However, they faced numerous challenges, including inadequately light tanks, a lack of artillery and motor transport, and ill-preparedness for the cold Alpine climate. The French had established substantial fortifications along the Alpine Line, referred to as the 'Little Maginot.'

In November 1942, the Italian occupation of most of southern France and Corsica encountered no resistance from the Vichy Army.

Until the summer of 1943, there was minimal guerrilla warfare against the Italian occupation.

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Benito Mussolini

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Margherita Sarfatti

Benito Mussolini and his Jewish mistress Margherita Sarfatti, who was instrumental in shaping Italian “fascism” without the “Jew hate”.

A 'Safe' Haven
During the early years of WW2, many French and European Jews sought refuge in the Italian-occupied part of France to escape Nazi persecution in Vichy France. When Italy expanded its control over additional French territory in November 1942, almost 80% of the remaining 300,000 French Jews found sanctuary there, as Mussolini did not share Hitler's views on the "Jewish problem," possibly influenced by his Jewish mistress, Margherita Sarfatti.

 An Italian Jewish banker named Angelo Donati played a vital role in convincing Italian civil and military authorities to protect Jews from French persecution. In January 1943, the Italians refused to cooperate with the Nazis in rounding up Jews in their occupied territory and even prevented German deportations from their zone in March. This led to German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop complaining to Mussolini about Italian military circles' insufficient understanding of the "Jewish question."

 However, after Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, Nazi forces swiftly took control of the Italian zone, leading to raids against Jews. Alois Brunner, the SS official responsible for Jewish affairs, oversaw the search for hidden Jews and deported over 5,000 within five months.

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The memorial plaque on the boulevard
(click to enlarge image)

The plaque reads:
During the German occupation of Nice from September 1943 to August 1944, more than 3,000 Jews including 264 children were arrested in the Alpes-Maritimes, Basses-Alpes and the principality of Monaco and deported by the Gestapo in application of Nazi anti-Semitic ideology.
Before being transferred by rail to the Drancy camp near Paris from where they were sent to the Auschwitz extermination camp, the victims had been interned in the Excelsior hotel, which became an annex to the Drancy camp and was requisitioned by the Germans because of its proximity to Nice station.

"Inaugurated on October 9, 2009 by Christian Estrosi, Minister of Industry, Mayor of Nice, President of Nice Côte d'Azur in the presence of Serge Klarsfeld and Eric Ciotti, Member of Parliament, President of the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes"

The memorial plaque across the street from Hotel Excelsior
In The Highland Raven, secret agent Sable Montgomery embarks on an SOE mission in occupied France, arriving via felucca on the French Riviera and staying at the Excelsior Hotel in Nice. In The Partisan Fighter (upcoming), Count and Countess de Dragoncourt assist Jews in escaping from Nice during WW2.

 Research revealed the disturbing history of the Hotel Excelsior under German occupation that same year.

 Today, this Belle Époque hotel, boasting four stars and a prime city center location near the Mediterranean, welcomes tourists seeking French Riviera delights. However, a nearby plaque tells a grim WW2 story about the hotel's role in Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner's operations.

 After France's fall in June 1940, Nice was in the unoccupied zone, providing a safe haven for Jewish refugees despite Vichy's anti-Jewish laws.

 In 1942, the Allies invaded North Africa, and the Germans and Italians occupied southern France, with the Riviera under Mussolini's control. Although not philanthropic, Mussolini refrained from collaborating with Vichy and refused to persecute Jews or enforce yellow star badges.

However, when Italy surrendered on September 8, 1943, the Germans assumed control of the Nice region, with Alois Brunner, Adolf Eichmann's top aide, establishing his headquarters at the Hotel Excelsior just two days later. This marked the start of a horrific crackdown on the Jewish population. SS officers systematically patrolled the city, arresting anyone who appeared Jewish, including those in mixed marriages, of certain nationalities, children, elderly, and invalid individuals. These individuals were interrogated at the hotel and subsequently deported to death camps from a nearby train station.

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Alois Brunner

Alois Brunner
In just 80 days, Brunner oversaw the deportation of over 2,000 Jews from Nice to their deaths.

As the Wehrmacht retreated from France, Brunner arrested and deported 1,327 Jewish children in Paris in July 1944. He left Paris on August 17, a week before the city's liberation, taking deported personnel as potential hostages.

Overall, Brunner orchestrated the deportation of an estimated 23,500 Jews from France to death camps. From September 1944 to March 1945, he quelled the Jewish underground movement in Slovakia and led the Sered concentration camp, deporting about 11,500 people to Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Bergen-Belsen, and Terezín for extermination.

Alois Brunner remained one of the top Nazis who evaded capture after the war and lived freely, reportedly passing away in Damascus around 2010.

The Plaque

In modern times, the Hotel Excelsior's plaque was unveiled in 2009 by Mayor Christian Estrosi. He noted that the hotel still carries the painful memories of Jewish suffering, where innocent men, women, and children once sought refuge, believing Nice would be a safe haven.

Klaus Barbie: From Nazi Criminal to Post-war US Spy

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Klaus Barbie in uniform (a.k.a. The Butcher Of Lyon)

Introduction
When reading this blog post, I guess your hairs will start to stand on end just like mine did. Some criminals seem able to escape justice for a very long time. But not eternally! In Barbie’s case, we need to thank the Nazi-hunting couple Serge and Beate Klarsfeld and journalist Ladislas de Hoyos, who managed to bring this truly dangerous man to justice for a French court after 33 years in freedom.

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Serge and Beate Klarsfeld in 2007

Who was Klaus Barbie?
Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German Nazi who worked in both the Stutzstaffel (SS) and the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and was mainly stationed in Lyon in Vichy France during World War II.

His nickname was the "Butcher of Lyon", because he personally tortured prisoners, mostly French Jews and Resistance fighters, in his function as head of the Lyon Gestapo. Barbie was one of the prominent Nazis who escaped prosecution for many decades, the wry fact being that he was helped to escape by the US.

After the war, United States intelligence services employed Barbie to help them with their anti-communist efforts and stationed him in Bolivia, where he advised the regime on how to repress opposition through torture. Much later the United States issued a formal apology to France for heling Barbie to escape.

But the sad saga doesn't end here. In Bolivia, West German Intelligence Service recruited him as well. There is reason to believe Barbie was deeply involved in the Bolivian coup d'état by Luis García Meza in 1980.

After Meza's fall, Barbie lost the protection of the La Paz government and in 1983 he was - finally- brought to justice in France in a much-televised court case. Barbie was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison. He had been sentenced to death in absentia both in 1947 and in 1954 but as capital punishment was abolished in France in 1981, it was changed to a life sentence. He died of cancer in prison in 1991, at age 77.

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Hôtel Terminus in 1940, headquarters of the Lyon Gestapo. Mentioned in The Highland Raven

Second World War
After the Nazis occupied Holland in 1940, Barbie was stationed in Amsterdam. His department was responsible for identification, roundup and deportation of Dutch Jews and Freemasons.

In 1942, he was sent to Dijon in the French Occupied Zone. In November 1942, at only 29, he was made head of the Lyon Gestapo. His headquarters were at the illustrious Hôtel Terminus in Lyon, where he personally tortured both adult and child prisoners. Early on this led to his alias the "Butcher of Lyon".

It is estimated that Barbie was directly involved in the deaths of up to 14,000 people, personally participating in roundups. His most famous victim was Jean Moulin, a high-ranking member of the French Resistance. In 1943, Barbie was awarded the Iron Cross (First Class) by Adolf Hitler for rounding up so many members of the French Resistance and for capturing and killing Moulin.

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Jean Moulin

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the flamboyant and fearless French resistance fighter who died under Barbie’s hands

But he is also responsible for many of the roundups and deportations of Jewish adults and children who were mostly deported to Auschwitz. Barbie rejoined the SiPo-SD of Lyon when the Nazis had to retreat and led an anti-partisan attack in September 1944.

US intelligence work in post-War Europe
While still in Germany, Barbie was recruited as an agent for the US Army Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) in 1947. The US used Barbie and other Nazi Party members for its anti-communist efforts in Europe. He reported on French intelligence activities in the French zone of occupied Germany as the US suspected the French were infiltrated by the KGB and GPU.

When France found out Barbie was in U.S. hands, although he had been sentenced to death in absentia for war crimes, they unsuccessfully asked for him to be handed over for execution. Instead, the CIC helped Barbie flee to Bolivia, claiming Barbie had too much knowledge about the German spies the CIC had in various European communist organisations.

In 1965, Barbie was recruited by a West German foreign intelligence agency under the code name 'Adler', which means eagle.

Bolivia
In 1951 Barbie emigrated to Bolivia where he lived for over 30 years under the false name Klaus Altmann. Barbie was found there in the higher echelons with friends like the Bolivian dictators Hugo Banzer and Luis García Meza. He was still the German nationalist and anti-communist he'd been from the start. While in Bolivia, he raised to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Bolivian Army.

Barbie taught Barrientos's regime how torture can best be employed on prisoners. Many left-wing Bolivian groups suffered from Barbie's instructions on how to use intelligence, torture, and interrogations. From 1972 when General Banzer was in power, he assisted in illegal arrests, interrogations, murders and disappearances of the opposition.

Barbie was also linked to neo-Nazi paramilitary groups in Bolivia and drug cartels, including illegal drug and weapon trade. In the late 1970s, Barbie also had liaisons with the Columbian Pablo Escobar and others within the Medellín cartel. Escobar financed Barbie's anti-communist activities. He also stayed in touch with Nazis and Fascists in his native Germany, thus staying involved in criminal and anti-democratic movements in Europe.

Barbie was also involved in the arrest of freedom fighter Ernesto Che Guevara in Bolivia, who rose to fame in the Cuban Revolution in 1966. Barbie was called in by Bolivian Interior Ministry for his anti-partisan skills. He apparently often boasted of having "hunted down Che".

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The world-famous picture of left-wing politician and poet Che Guevara

There are many records that state Barbie remained a firm and fanatic believer in the Nazi ideology and was a staunch anti-Semite. He also introduced Josef Mengele's and Adolf Eichmann's practices, which Barbie fully supported and saw as the norm for dealing with opponents.

The tide is turning
Th French Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld found out Barbie, alias Altmann was in Peru in 1971. The French newspaper L'Aurore published an article with a picture of Altmann in January 1972. A German expatriate living in Lima had provided the Klarsfelds with that photo. Barbie was in Peru to provide intelligence services to the Velasco junta.

Together with Beate Klarsfeld, a French journalist and cameraman flew to La Paz to interview Klaus Barbie, alias Klaus Altmann. The Bolivian authorities had placed Barbie under protection, but he agreed to an interview in Spanish. The journalist, Ladislas de Hoyos, tricked Barbie by asking in French whether he'd ever been to Lyon, a language Altmann wasn't supposed to understand. Barbie's automatic response in German was that he hadn't.

Ladislas de Hoyos then showed him pictures of Resistance fighters he'd tortured. Barbie again replied to the negative, but his fingerprints were on the photos now and with the new technology point betrayed him. The third evidence against him was when the interview was broadcast on French television, Barbie alias Altman was recognized by French resistance member Simone Lagrange whom he had tortured in 1944 when she was only 13.

Despite global outcry, Barbie freely returned to Bolivia where the government refused to hand him over to the French authorities as France and Bolivia had no extradition treaty and the statute of limitations on his crimes had passed. Barbie's inner circle of fascists knew exactly who he was and what he'd done in WW2, but outwardly Barbie continued to portray himself as the innocent Altmann.

However, the tide was turning against him in the 1970s. The Jews who had survived or escaped the war started to open discussion that Barbie/Altmann was the war criminal from Lyon now living in La Paz, here he led a coveted life protected by the Bolivian regime.

Barbie's extradition, trial and death
It took until 1983 when the newly elected democratic government of Hernán Siles Zuazo arrested Barbie in La Paz. The pretext was that he owed the government an exorbitant sum for goods he'd never delivered. The government subsequently handed him over to France to stand trial.

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Jacques Vergès defender and Klaus Barbie during his trial in Lyon 1987 (drawing by Calvi)

Shortly after his arrival in France, the evidence of Barbie having worked for US intelligence in Germany became also known, including the fact that the US very well may have helped Barbie to flee and thus escape French justice for 33 years. The US Counterintelligence Corps (CIC) claimed it had no knowledge of Barbie's atrocities in Lyon during WW2, but it was still US self-preservation to help Barbie escape Europe rather than honor an outstanding French warrant for his arrest. Based on the research that took place, the US government issued a formal apology to France.

Barbie was indicted for crimes he had committed as the Lyon Gestapo chief from 1942 to 1944. The jury trial started in May 1987 in Lyon before the Rhône Cour d'Assises. It was one of the first times the court allowed the trial to be filmed due to its historical value. A special courtroom was constructed which could seat 700 people. The head prosecutor was Pierre Truche. Central issue was Barbie's role in Hitler's Final Solution.

Barbie's defence was financed by Swiss pro-Nazi financier François Genoud and led by attorney Jacques Vergès. Barbie was tried on 41 separate counts of crimes against humanity, based on the depositions of 730 Jews and French Resistance survivors who described how he tortured and murdered prisoners. Among his victims was the father of French Minister for Justice, Robert Badinter who had died in Sobibor after being deported from Lyon on Barbie's orders.

Barbie continued to claim he was Klaus Altmann and that the extradition was illegal. Asking to be excused from the trial, he was allowed to return to his cell at Prison Saint-Paul. He faced some of his accusers at the end of May 1987. To their testimonies he had "nothing to say".

Barbie's lawyer, Vergès, was well versed in attacking the French political system, especially when it came to the French colonial past. His strategy was to show war crimes committed by France since 1945. Vergès argued that Barbie's actions were no worse than the actions of other colonialists worldwide, and that his trial was based on selective prosecution. Barbie continued to believe in his innocence, claiming "When I stand before the throne of God, I shall be judged innocent."

But the court thought otherwise. On 4 July 1987, Barbie was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in the Lyon prison four years later of leukaemia and spine and prostate cancer. He was 77.

Personal life
In April 1939, Barbie became engaged to Regina Margaretta Willms, the 23-year-old daughter of a postal clerk and an active NSDAP member; they had two children. A son named Klaus-Georg Altmann and a daughter named Ute Messner.

Françoise Croizier, Klaus Barbie's French daughter-in-law, told in a 1983 interview that the CIA kidnapped Klaus-Georg in 1946 to make sure his father carried out intelligence missions for the agency. Croizier met Klaus-Georg while both were students in Paris; they married in 1968, had three children and lived in Europe and Bolivia using the surname Altmann. Croizier said when she married, she did not know who her father-in-law was, but that she understood the reasons for a German to move to South America after the war.

General De Gaulle’s Free French Movement and SOE

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Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle during World War 2

Introduction

My upcoming free novella, The Partisan Fighter, illuminates the Partisan fight in France during WW2. Though there were numerous Partisan groups that also fought for prominence among themselves, only a few of these France-based groups closely cooperated with the British SOE movement.

Like the squabbles on the ground between the militant groups, in London, the Free French Movement led by General de Gaulle and Winston Churchill’s SOE did not see eye to eye with each other most times.

These disagreements are–alas–the reality of war. Even the ultimate victors have oftentimes fought each other tooth and nail, despite having had the same aim. Here: slay Hitler’s Third Reich.

After WW2, we have seen the quick deterioration of the collaboration between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, an unravelling we are still suffering the consequences from today.

However, in The Partisan Fighter, we are solidly in the Gaulle’s camp. Daphne de Dragoncourt, alias Simone Charlet, is a French partisan fighter. In most of my other books in The Resistance Girl Series and in my upcoming series Timeless Spies, I concentrate on British-led SOE activities in France during WW2.    

Background

Since the end of WW2, the various European resistance movements and secret government organizations that fought Nazism from aboard have fascinated historians, filmmakers, and novelists.

Though the reality of the spies and resistance fighters involved was often far from glamorous, the fictional documentations about these WW2 heroes and heroines behind enemy lines always accentuate the glamour and courage. I do the same with my WW2 women in my books.

Let us have a look how the SOE (Special Operations Executive), a very British organization with (foreign) agents all over Europe, the Middle East and the Far East, related to General de Gaulle's only French group, the Free French Movement. Both competing organizations had their headquarters at a stone’s throw from each other in London.

Both interacted with the Allied forces, both performed guerrilla warfare in occupied territories, both suffered from German infiltration.

SOE conducted operations in Western Europe: in France, Norway, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, the Balkan states, Greece, Italy, Northern Africa, and the Far East, while the Free French movement concentrated on France and its (former) colonies.

SOE started its operations in June 1940 and had its headquarters in Baker Street. Its formation by Winston Churchill gave existing secret organizations, such as the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service), a means of performing campaigns that before had mostly been only on paper. Winston Churchill ordered SOE "to set Europe ablaze" and the organization did just that in the next five years of the war.

Unlike the other secret services that only gathered intelligence behind enemy lines, SOEs task was to cause as much disruption as possible. Within a month, it acquired the reputation of an obscure and unique organization. Agents and instructors in guerrilla warfare were hired from a range of different backgrounds and nationalities. By 1944, approximately 5,000 agents were involved in operations behind enemy lines, with a back-up support of nearly 10,000 staff at home.

Paradoxically, SOE’s Section F, the French division, became the largest SOE unit with most agents in France, while De Gaulle was also very active with his agents. Post-war documents provide a fascinating insight into the strained relationships between General de Gaulle, the French Governing bodies, resistance groups, SOE, and the allied governments.

With De Gaulle exiled in London from 1940 onward, representing the "Free French Government" as opposed to Petain's puppet regime in Vichy, most of the French saw him as the leader of the Resistance and Free (Fighting) French.

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General de Gaulle’s first BBC speech addressing the French from London

De Gaulle's Challenges with the SOE

Dealing with General De Gaulle posed challenges for the authorities in London due to his complex and unpredictable personality. Moreover, there were significant cultural and political differences between the two governments. For instance, De Gaulle was wary of collaborating with British intelligence services. He insisted on having complete control over their activities in his occupied country, requiring them to obtain his explicit permission before involving French agents in operations. This created obstacles for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), both in terms of security and politics. The concern was that if the French agents shared De Gaulle's political beliefs, it could jeopardize SOE's relationship with Petain's Vichy Government.

Until the Germans occupied all of France in 1942, SOE agents could move relatively freely in the non-occupied south of France. However, due to De Gaulle's reluctance to cooperate closely with the SOE, there was a lack of direct coordination between them. Unfortunately, this ongoing conflict put SOE agents in France in danger, sometimes leading to their arrest and even death.

De Gaulle's Second Obstacle

Efforts to establish paramilitary organizations in collaboration with the Fighting French and their personnel failed to materialize. While the SOE had the armed personnel capable of conducting attacks on important French targets, General De Gaulle, in the early years of the war, couldn't provide the necessary manpower, like 50 men, for such operations.

De Gaulle's Emergence as the Leader of the Free French

Was General De Gaulle genuinely considered the leader of the French population fighting the Nazis? What was his relationship with his own secret services? There is ample evidence to suggest that although French officials recognized De Gaulle's importance during the war, they didn't expect him to maintain this position after the war. He was viewed as a temporary figure causing some irritation. However, they couldn't have been more wrong.

From his base in London, De Gaulle worked diligently to increase his influence among the French. He engaged with leaders of various French political groups in an attempt to secure his position as the leader of a post-war French government. He also maintained relationships with the Syndicalism movement, the socialist party, trade unions, and right-wing politicians, while having a mutually beneficial relationship with the powerful French Communist Party. All of his efforts were geared towards becoming the leader of all French citizens.

The longstanding strained relations between France and Great Britain continued to influence certain groups' attitudes and sentiments. The French remained unconvinced of Britain's commitment to their security after the war. Additionally, the U.S. and U.K. governments were suspicious of the policy direction of De Gaulle's French Committee of National Liberation (FCNL), which he formed when he relocated his headquarters from London to North Africa in August 1943.

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Churchill and De Gaulle in Paris after the war

The relationship between the French and the US

During World War II, the French admired the US, but Marshal Petain didn't understand the US embassy in Vichy. Leftist French parties were unhappy about rumors of US support for French capitalist interests.

In 1942, the French Army revived under Jean Francois Darlan and General Henri Giraud. De Gaulle and Giraud jointly led the FCNL, strengthening relationships with the Resistance and right-wing supporters.

France's position became clear under Nazi occupation, but the resistance involved fewer than a million people and faced internal conflicts and criticism of SOE support.

SOE agents struggled due to diverse resistance factions, hampered by military coordination issues. The London Gaullist organization BCRAL operated separately.

Distrust was mutual, as the Allies questioned French communist groups, hindering cooperation for D-Day preparations. Deep-seated mistrust persisted between De Gaulle's Gaullists and the Allied Forces.

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Charles de Gaulle as the President of the Fifth Republic of France

Conclusion

This blog provided a quick look at the collaboration between French and UK secret services during World War 2. Scholars and historians have delved into public archives from the early 2000s, uncovering challenges and successes. The Free French Movement and SOE played crucial roles in ensuring the success of D-Day.

Charles de Gaulle briefly served as France's president after the war, but differences in policies led to his resignation. He later became the iconic President of the Fifth Republic from 1959 to 1969, leaving a lasting legacy tied to WW2 and post-war French politics.

Saving Chartres Cathedral

Introduction
In the free WW2 Novella, The Partisan Fighter (read the first two chapters here), that comes out in January, I let the main character Daphne de Dragoncourt save Chartres Cathedral in France from American bombings. The Allies thought Germans were hiding in the cathedral’s bell tower.

The cathedral miraculously escaped destruction, but not by a fictional character. This is the actual story.

Click on cover to read first 2 chapters

The magnificent 12th-century Catholic cathedral was at risk of destruction by American forces in August 1944. They believed the cathedral was being used as a sniper post by German forces. Until Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr., an American Army officer from Texas, stepped in and saved the century-old marvel. Colonel Griffith’s heroic act took place on 16 August 1944, on the same day he tragically lost his life in France while fighting to liberate the French people from German occupation.

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Welborn Barton Griffith Jr. (1901–1944)

Who was Colonel Griffith?
Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. was born on 10 November 1901, in Quanah, Texas. He attended Texas A&M University and the United States Military Academy at West Point. At West Point, he excelled in various sports, including football, and displayed exceptional skills in horsemanship, rifle shooting, and pistol marksmanship. He also took part in activities like boxing, wrestling, and lacrosse before graduating in 1925. In 1929, Griffith married Alice Torrey, the daughter of an army officer, and they had a daughter named Alice in 1931.

During the 1930s, Griffith was stationed in the Philippine Islands and then in Shanghai, China, as an observer with the Chinese Army. His adventures even took him to Japan, where he explored the country and took photographs. His activities raised suspicions, and Japanese authorities briefly detained him. After a divorce from his first marriage, Griffith married Nell Humphrey of Brooklyn, New York, in 1940.

World War 2 Activities
With the United States entering World War II in late 1941, Colonel Griffith dedicated his life to preparing soldiers for combat. He served as an instructor at the Command and General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and later as the operations officer (G-3) at the IV Armored Corps Headquarters at the Desert Training Center in California in 1943. Here, he played a crucial role in training troops for desert warfare in North Africa. The Corps later transformed into the XX Corps and shifted its focus to the invasion of Western Europe.

In February 1944, the XX Corps departed for England, where they trained extensively for the D-Day invasion. They landed on the beaches of Utah Beach in Normandy in July 1944, and by August, they were attached to General George S. Patton, Jr.’s Third Army. It was during their advance towards Chartres, France, that Colonel Griffith’s heroic act took place.

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12th-century Catholic cathedral Chartres

Saving Chartres Cathedral
On the morning of 16 August 1944, Colonel Griffith, along with General Walton Walker and other officers, learned about German machine gun and mortar positions in Chartres. During this briefing, they were informed orders had been issued to destroy the historic Chartres Cathedral, fearing it was occupied by German forces.

Colonel Griffith, determined to verify if German troops were indeed inside the cathedral, drove to Chartres with his jeep driver. Upon arrival, he witnessed American soldiers firing at the cathedral but observed no return fire. Unconvinced, he entered the cathedral, combed its compartments, and climbed to the top of the bell tower. To signal that the cathedral was free from enemy occupation, he rang the bell and hung an American flag from the belfry. Afterward, he sent an order to the artillery unit to spare the cathedral from destruction.

His Death
Colonel Griffith headed to the village of Lèves, where he encountered a German patrol. A firefight ensued, during which Griffith ordered his driver to return to Chartres, where they met a tank from the Seventh Armored Division. Griffith joined the tank crew, armed with a pistol and rifle. As they traversed the streets of Lèves, they came under heavy fire, and tragically, Colonel Griffith was struck in the back and killed instantly.

Eyewitnesses saw two French boys move Griffith's body to the sidewalk, where villagers placed a blanket, flowers, and an American flag. The villagers held a vigil until American forces arrived the following day and removed his body. Colonel Griffith was buried with full military honors at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial near the village of St. James.

His Legacy
Colonel Griffith’s valor on 16 August 1944 earned him several prestigious awards, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the French Croix de Guerre avec Palm, the Legion of Merit, and the Legion of Honor.

His legacy lives on in France, where a plaque was placed in 1961 to honor his sacrifice. On the 51st anniversary of his heroic act, a new plaque was dedicated in his honor in Lèves. Griffith’s daughter, Alice, and other family members attended the memorial service held at Chartres Cathedral. During the ceremony, the Dean of the Cathedral acknowledged Griffith's actions, stating that the veritable tomb of a hero resides in the hearts of the living. A park was also established in Lèves to commemorate Colonel Griffith’s memory.

Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith Jr. will always remain a remarkable American hero of WW2.

Simone Segouin: The French Resistance Heroine Who Stood Strong

My soon-to-be released FREE introductory book to The Resistance Girl Series, The Partisan Fighter (read the first two chapters here) is loosely based on the heroic actions of the 18-year-old French girl, Simone Segouin, who has become a symbol of French female resisters since the liberation. High time to put this incredible lady in the spotlight.

Click on cover to read first two chapters for free

Introduction
In the annals of history, there are individuals who rise to the occasion when their countries face the darkest of times. Simone Segouin, also known by her code name Nicole Minet, was one such remarkable individual. She was a fearless young woman who played a pivotal role in the French Resistance during World War II. Her story is a testament to the bravery, determination, and resilience of those who fought against the Nazi occupation of France. In this blog post, we will delve into the life and heroic actions of Simone Segouin, a symbol of resistance and hope during one of the most trying periods in modern history.

Photos of Simone holding her German-confiscated MP-40 gun, popped up in newspapers in August 1944, leading to the assumption the photos were staged. To some extent this was true. Simone posed on the stairs for photographers after the liberation of Chartres, but not because the automatic gun wasn’t hers, or because she didn’t know how to wield it.

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Simone Segouin, code name Nicole Minet, captured 25 Nazis while liberating Chartres

Generally, though, Simone Segouin was a French WW2 heroine and remained relatively unknown to the rest of the world. The French newspaper Independent Eure-et-Loir in its 26 August 1944 issue described her as “one of the purest fighters of heroic French Resistance who prepared the way for the Liberation”.

Early Life and the Call to Resistance
Simone Segouin was born on October 3, 1925, in Thivars, a small town south-west of Paris. Growing up in a modest family, she enjoyed a relatively ordinary childhood until the outbreak of World War II. The occupation of France by Nazi Germany in 1940 marked the beginning of a tumultuous period that would change her life forever. Witnessing the atrocities committed by the Nazis and the Vichy government, Simone felt a growing sense of outrage and a deep desire to take action. Her father had been a decorated soldier of the Great War.

Simone Joins the Resistance
In 1944, at the age of 18, Simone Segouin made the courageous decision to join the French Resistance. She adopted the nom de guerre “Nicole Minet” to protect her identity. Under the guidance of her older brother and other resistance fighters, she began her journey into the clandestine world of sabotage and espionage.

Simone’s Role in the Resistance
Simone Segouin’s role in the French Resistance was multifaceted and invaluable. She was involved in a range of activities that hindered the Nazi occupiers and their collaborators. For example:

Sabotage: She participated in acts of sabotage, targeting German military installations, communication lines, and transportation networks. These acts disrupted the Nazi war effort and helped slow their advance.

Espionage: With her youthful appearance, she could easily move through occupied areas without arousing suspicion. This made her an ideal courier for the resistance, relaying critical information between different cells and resistance leaders.

Participation in Liberation: As the Allied forces advanced through France in 1944, Simone was actively involved in the liberation of Chartres and Paris. In Chartres she captured 25 Nazis. In Paris she liquidated several Germans and actively helped to reclaim the capital from the clutches of the Nazis.

Iconic Photographs and Legacy
Simone Segouin’s fearless commitment to the resistance captured the imagination of many. Iconic photographs of her, brandishing weapons and sporting shorts and resistance emblems, remain etched in history. Especially her German-confiscated MP-40 gun, which she could wield as the best, made her a force to reckon with.

These images symbolize the strength and determination of the French people during their struggle against oppression.

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Simone Segouin sporting shorts and an MP-40 gun

Simone’s legacy goes beyond her wartime actions. After the war, she continued to lead a life dedicated to preserving the memory of the resistance and the sacrifices made by her comrades. She served as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, ordinary individuals can rise to extraordinary heights when they choose to resist tyranny.

Simone was promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Croix de Guerre. A street in Courville-sur-Eure is named after her.

Later years
After the war Simone became a pediatric nurse in Chartres, where her wartime exploits made her hugely popular. While she had six children with her husband, she never took his name.

Despite her active participation in the resistance, Simone acknowledged the difficulty for women to be taken seriously. Only 10 percent of partisans were women and hardly any of those had combat roles.

Her proudest moment was going to Paris with General De Gaulle.

Simone died at age 97 in Courville-sur-Eure on 21 February 2023.

Conclusion
Simone Segouin’s life and actions serve as a powerful reminder of the indomitable spirit of those who fought against the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. Her courage, resourcefulness, and unwavering commitment to the resistance make her a genuine hero and an inspiration to generations to come. Simone Segouin’s story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity and remains a beacon of hope for all who believe in the power of resistance and resilience.

Coding a Message like a WW2 Secret Agent

Just for fun, I’ll take you through the steps of how to encode a message with the use of double transposition in this blog. If you're subscribed to my newsletter, you probably already know about the coding puzzles I've been making. But this one is even more challenging.

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A wireless operator working in the field

I will demonstrate how wireless operators from the British wartime intelligence agency, SOE, sent coded messages to London with the help of a poem code. Until 1942 this was the customary British way to code messages, but when the German counterintelligence cracked too many of these poems after agents were captured and interrogated, new code systems were invented.

When Leo Marks, the young master coder at the London SOE HQ, got growing suspicions the Germans had captured many of the Dutch SOE agents and communicated with London using their poems, he insisted the use of memorized poems – or even the Lord’s Prayer - was far too easy to crack. He invented other systems. More on that later. Until then, the agents operating in occupied northern Europe memorized a poem they liked. Agents in the Mediterranean often used parts of novels.

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Agent Yvonne Cormeau (own photo SOE museum Beaulieu, England)

We will use Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, which is copyright free, so I can freely quote it on my blog.

Here’s our poem code:

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it's queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

When using the poem code, the message needed to be a minimum of 200 characters. It goes too far to explain why, so please just accept that fact. As the message was transmitted via Morse code, there was no punctuation.

The actual agents were encouraged to mix up English with, say French in France and Norwegian in Norway, but as coding is a difficult enough job as it is for us lay (wo)men, we’ll stick to English.

Here’s our fictive message:

latest drop successful stop need more crystals and thermal socks stop use new landing site north of river stop next moon period stop urgent pick up agent thomas urgently cover blown stop agent yves arrested in lyon stop plan to sabotage car parts factory next monday.

Now we need a key. Agents picked five words from their poem. Some chose long ones, other short ones or a mix. Let us choose these:

harness, woods, sleep, darkest, flake

Now we need to transcribe our words into a numeric code. We assign 1 to the first letter in the alphabet, then a 2 to the second, etcetera. In case more of the same letters appear in the words, give the letter to the left the first number and then add.

Start with the A’s:

Then fill in the rest:

Now put your message in a grid:

Onto the transposing process. Take your key and put it on top of the table containing the message:

The coded message will be written out in the following way. Start with the column under number 1 and write it down from top to bottom, which will read ARUSGTPY. Continue with column number 2 and progress in that order.

Our message would read as follows below. For readability, we divide the letters into groups of five. The agents also did this because a five-letter message was easier to manage during transmission. They needed to be ‘on -air’ as short as possible to prevent the Gestapo from picking up their signals.

ARUSG TPYUM NDYTR ESIKO NCSSD OSVBA FREOL SASRN PTAAX ETSEE RGSHIR NRETS TOVIR MOEPN TONKF IBYFL OPRAS ORSLR TODAD TVUWS TCDGP GAAES RCLOA ECEON PLEOA ATMTS NPLNM AYADS ETITE CTEST EOPNL AOSCE PTYEN TGNTD SWEHE TMUAI OUEOY CNNNR STOOH PENTP COPRL SRTLX ONOO

Think we’re done? Nope! Agents had to use double transposition, so they had to repeat the process. For that, they picked five different words from their poem and transposed the already transposed message once again. Experienced coders probably took the letters from the first grid and placed them directly into the second grid. I invite you to do this yourself! You may send me your attempt at hannah@hannahbyron.com

Use the words: snow, lovely, farmhouse, lake, miles

After the double transposition, the agent added an indicator so London HQ would know which words they had chosen. Now came the job of the wireless operator, who sent the coded message in Morse as fast as he or she could.

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Wireless Transceiver No 3 Mk II, 1943

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Overview of it’s parts

Apart from the fact the poem codes were easy to torture out of captured agents, Leo Marks found they led to too many ‘indecipherables’. Some agents were atrocious spellers, which botched their coding. In London, hundreds of decoders worked tirelessly to decrypt misspelled messages, preventing agents from having to resend them and face further danger. But it was an arduous job. Marks developed what he called WOKs, worked-out-keys. The WOKs were premade codes, giving the agents ready-made keys, printed on easy-to-hide silk scarves or handkerchiefs. The agent destroyed each set of keys after use, using a different key for every message.

The most important advantage was that the agent wouldn’t be able to remember the key he or she had used, so the Gestapo couldn’t torture it out of them. That differed from the poem codes. WOKs also saved the agents a lot of time, not having to make their own keys. As they were secure with only 100 characters (down from 200), the wireless operators stayed ‘on air’ for a shorter time. Plus, no more spelling errors in the keys. A WOK would have looked something like this:

18.9.11.4.20.10.21.22.3.6.13.1.17.23.14.7.19.8.12.15.5.16.2

in pairs, with an indicator group off to one side to let London HQ know which pair the agent was using.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson in coding.

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Part of a WOK

From The Crystal Butterfly to The London Spymaker

Two months ago, I shared a video (link below) on YouTube, recounting the remarkable liberation of Amsterdam in May 1945. Little did I expect it would capture the hearts and minds of 54,000 viewers, many of whom were touched by the heroics of their Canadian relatives, who played a pivotal role in Holland's liberation. All these reactions from viewers ignited a spark in me, and made me think with even more fondness why I wrote my book on the Dutch Resistance, "The Crystal Butterfly." In the 7th book in The Resistance Girl Series, our heroine, Edda Van der Valk (then Edda Valkena), joins in the jubilation of Amsterdam's liberation.

The popularity of the old Dutch news reel also evoked a profound sense of gratitude in me towards the brave Canadians, Brits, Americans, Australians, and others who landed on Normandy's beaches on that historic day of June 6, 1944 to begin their relentless march northward. It spanned eleven grueling months and was marked by countless sacrifices before the European Continent was liberated from Hitler's Third Reich. How the SOE secret agents played a vital role in assisting the Allied forces with their sabotage actions will be at the core of my new series “Timeless Spies”, coming in 2024.

At an hour’s drive from where I live lies the Canadian War Cemetery at Groesbeek, Netherlands. Two weeks’ ago, on a sunny Sunday, I went on a field trip to honor these young heroes who gave their lives for our cherished freedom. Over 7,600 Canadian soldiers died for the liberation of Holland, and 2,331 of them found their eternal rest at Groesbeek. It stands as an immense Canadian Commonwealth Cemetery, with a minority of other nationalities interred alongside.

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The original Canadian cemetery 1946

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The Canadian cemetery 1947

My fascination with the Secret Operations Executive (SOE), as discussed in last week's blog, led me to discover that two of the five Canadian secret agents who were murdered in concentration camps while serving in the French section of SOE are commemorated on one pillar at this graveyard. That was my second motivation to pay a visit and pay tribute.

I also reached out to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and became a Foundation member, granting me the opportunity to contribute to their vital work. It puzzled me that the records showed that three agents were commemorated at Groesbeek - Pickersgill, Sabourin Biéler (correct spelling) -, whereas I could only find two names. (See photo left). The War Graves Commission told me that WW2 casualties with no known graves, like these five agents, may only be commemorated in one location. Where Biéler is commemorated elsewhere I’m still in the process of finding out. Considering that all 104 fallen agents of the French Section are commemorated on the Valencay Memorial in France (see last week’s post), the French memorial is not classified as a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery. A valuable lesson learnt.

Mind you, these men are heroes of the highest class. They fought alone!

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The author at Groesbeek, left of me you can see the two agents’ names

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The 5 Canadian SOE agents who died in concentration camps

I invite you to watch my visit to Groesbeek through the video linked below, and I'm excited to share that you have one more week to download and read for free the first chapters of "The London Spymaker," set to be released next March.

Video visit to Groesbeek Cemetery

Video liberation of Amsterdam

The link between The London Spymaker and SOE

As I’m writing the last book in The Resistance Girl Series (for now), I’m already transitioning to what I’m going to specialize in for probably the rest of my writing career. The secret agents of SOE, an abbreviation for the Secret Operations Executive. A name and organization as shrouded in mystery as its non-descript name.

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Hannah at SOE plaque in Beaulieu

In book 7 in The Resistance Girl Series, titled The London Spymaker, I’m already deeply invested in SOE, the British organization Winston Churchill launched in July 1940 “to set Europe Ablaze” with irregular warfare and sabotage actions. Flight officer Anna Adams in The London Spymaker, though fictive, is based on Vera Atkins’ remarkable position at the London-based organization, as the second person behind Colonel Maurice Buckmaster, the head of SOE’s French section.

Vera Atkins

From 1941 till after D-Day in June 1944 some 400 Section F agents were dropped into France. 109 of them didn’t survive the arrests, torture, and murder by the Gestapo. Most of these heroic agents, who came from all walks of life, were killed in concentration camps. Of the 40 brave women, whom SOE started recruiting in 1942 as women could more easily blend in with the French population and were less likely to be stopped by the Germans, 13 did not survive their missions. 104 of these agents are commemorated on the Valencay Memorial in France, which I will certainly visit in person one day and tell you all about.

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Valencay memorial for SOE French Section

With Anna’s story, we start at the end of the second World War as she flies to post-war Germany in search of her “missing agents.” In the chaos after the liberation, with hundreds of thousands of bewildered and traumatized holocaust survivors trying to find their way to safety, it was often unclear what had happened to political prisoners, especially these agents whom Hitler had branded the worst enemies of the Third Reich. They fell in the “Nacht und Nebel” category, people the Nazis didn’t want to leave any trace of where they’d gone (Night and Fog), so their families would never know what had happened to them.

Anna not only attends the opening of the Nuremburg trials in November 1945, she also interrogates arrested camp commanders from Ravensbrück and Sachsenhausen to find out about the fate of “her girls”. The real Vera Atkins made it her life’s mission after the war to trace all the agents so she could tell their families what had happened to them.

To give you a taste of the history and research behind Anna’s story, you can read the rough draft of the first chapters of The London Spymaker here. The book is on preorder and will be available on 7 March 2024.

The London Spymaker sneak peek - click to download

Next week I will tell you about my visit to the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, where 2 of the 5 French-Canadian SOE male agents are commemorated. Though I intend to start my new series “Timeless Spies” (2024) with the female agents, in time I’d like to honour the brave men as well. What’s more, they usually worked together in teams.

In the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn

For my final blog for Book 6 in the Resistance Girl Series, The Crystal Butterfly, I spent a day in the footsteps of the famous 20th century actress Audrey Hepburn. During her life, little was known about her war years as a teenager in The Netherlands, but one of her more recent biographers, Robert Matzen, together with Audrey’s youngest son, Luca Dotti, unraveled most of the mysteries around this period in the moving and impressive biography Dutch Girl. Audrey Hepburn and World War II.

Robert Matzen's Dutch Girl, Audrey Hepburn and World War II

I read Robert’s book as part of my research for my own book on a ballerina under German occupation in The Netherlands. And also, because I’ve been a lifelong fan of Audrey Hepburn. Robert’s detailed description of Audrey’s life in Oosterbeek (before the war), Arnhem and ultimately Velp, three places in the Province of Gelderland, made me decide to visit all the places where she either lived or spent (dancing) time. 

Come with me on my trip.

Field trip to Oosterbeek, Velp & Arnhem in the footsteps of Audrey Hepburn

There’s just one aspect of Robert’s book, which I highly recommend, by the way, I want to touch on because I’m not sure many people knew this about Audrey. She, herself, had a lifelong admiration and tender spot for Anne Frank, who in a way was her soul-sister. After the liberation in 1945, Audrey moved to Amsterdam with her mother so that she could take dance lessons with the famous Sonia Gaskell. 

They happened to live in the same building as the editor working on Anne Frank’s Diary. Audrey was the first to read this moving account of a girl only six weeks apart in age. She was also among the very first to visit “Het Achterhuis” on the Prinsengracht, where the Frank family hid until they were betrayed. 

Of course, Audrey heard when the Diary of A Young Girl became an instant bestseller in America. Then she was asked to portray Anne in George Stevens’ 1958 movie on the Jewish girl who died in Bergen-Belsen. Typically, the thoughtful and emphatic Audrey refused the role. Even after meeting up with Anne’s father Otto in Switzerland, who asked her to reconsider, Audrey declined. The war and its scars were still too raw for her. And how could she accept money for a role about a girl who felt like a sister to her but who hadn’t survived the war?

However, in the 1980s Audrey went on a tour through the US to give readings of Anne’s Diary in her function as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. And thus, raised money for the organization that meant everything to her.

I wanted to share with you this story of Anne and Audrey to round off my series of blogs for The Crystal Butterfly.

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There is no mention of Audrey Hepburn in my own book, of course, as Edda–my main character - was unaware of that budding film star and ballerina - who would capture the hearts of millions a decade later - living in the same country as she was. But there are many similarities. Both are dark-haired ballerinas, resilient girls that strive for the top. Both have parents that embrace Hitler’s Nazism, and both come from Frisian nobility. 

Here's the link to Robert’s book Dutch Girl:
https://www.amazon.com/Dutch-Girl-Audrey-Hepburn-World-ebook/dp/B07MSCBVBJ/
(Amazon US store but I’m sure it’s available everywhere)

In the footsteps of Anne Frank in Amsterdam…

Though Anne doesn’t play an active role in my fictive book on the Dutch resistance and Jewish persecution in WW2, “The Crystal Butterfly”, she is an important symbol of Holland in WW2. No wonder, that her name came up time and time again in my research. Both in Amsterdam and in transit Camp Westerbork. 

Partly to honour Anne, I have my main character, Edda, keep a diary as well. But Edda, who is not Jewish but the daughter of collaborators and a resistance fighter, only writes what she witnesses around her during the Nazi occupation. So it’s not a personal diary like Anne’s.

Also, Edda is at almost the same time in Transit Camp Westerbork, when Anne briefly stayed there with her family before being transported to the German concentration camps. 

Enough reason for me to go to Amsterdam and visit the two places where Anne lived and the one place where she is commemorated with all other 120,000 murdered Jews, Sintis and Romas. Will you join me in her footsteps? 

Field trip to Amsterdam. In the Footsteps of Anne Frank…

But what is – in a nutshell - Anne Frank’s legacy?

Anne Frank's importance for the world stems from her powerful and poignant account of her life in hiding during the Holocaust, documented in her now-famous diary, "The Diary of a Young Girl." Why was the voice of a teenage girl so significant?

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Symbol of the Holocaust
Anne Frank's diary provides a personal and relatable perspective on the horrors of the Holocaust. Through her writing, she humanizes the millions of victims and gives a voice to the countless innocent lives lost during World War II.

Impact on Education
Anne's diary has become an essential educational tool in schools worldwide. It helps students learn about the Holocaust, discrimination, and the consequences of hatred, fostering empathy and understanding.

Testament to Resilience
Despite facing extreme hardship, Anne's diary reflects her resilience and optimism. Her courage and determination to keep hope alive amid despair serve as an inspiration to people facing difficult situations.

Human Rights Advocacy
Anne Frank's story has become a symbol for promoting human rights, tolerance, and inclusivity. Her words remind us of the importance of standing against prejudice, discrimination, and injustice.

Preservation of History
Anne's diary provides a first-hand account of life during the Holocaust, preserving an important historical record for future generations.

Global Recognition
The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, where Anne and her family hid, is now a museum attracting millions of visitors each year. This international attention helps ensure that her story reaches people from all walks of life.

Cultural Impact
Anne's diary has been translated into numerous languages, making her story accessible to people around the world. It has also inspired various adaptations, including plays, films, and other literary works.

Unfinished Potential
Anne Frank's untimely death at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, shortly before the camp's liberation, serves as a poignant reminder of the potential that was lost due to hatred and intolerance.

In summary, Anne Frank's significance lies in her ability to humanize the Holocaust and serve as a beacon of hope, education, and inspiration for generations to come. Her enduring legacy reminds us of the importance of promoting understanding, compassion, and the protection of human rights.

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Anne Frank statue Merwedeplein

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Significant Anne Frank sites

The Liberation of the Netherlands

This blog sheds a quick light on the events surrounding the liberation of the Netherlands during World War II. After the Allied landing in Normandy in June 1944, the Western Allies advanced towards the Dutch border, raising hopes of liberation among the Dutch population. In September, Operation Market Garden was launched, an unsuccessful attempt to reach the north of the Netherlands and Germany due to the failure to capture the Rhine bridge at the Battle of Arnhem. However, substantial regions in the south were liberated during the operation.

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Parts of the southern Netherlands were not liberated by Operation Market Garden, but British and American forces managed to defeat remaining German forces through Operation Aintree. Battles were fought in various regions, including Zeeland and North Brabant, to clear the way for liberation. During these operations, the Dutch faced a harsh winter in 1944-1945 known as the Hunger Winter, resulting in significant casualties due to starvation and disease.

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Bicycles were confiscated by the Germans, so were hidden by some people. These two men are digging up a bike after the war.

The liberation of the western provinces faced delays, but negotiations for the surrender of German forces were finally successful on May 5, 1945, three days before Germany's general capitulation. The liberation process involved battles like the Battle of Groningen and the Battle of Otterlo. Additionally, the Dutch government initially considered annexing a part of Germany but later dropped the idea.

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Liberation of Amersfoort including clogs

After the war, some individuals accused of collaboration faced extrajudicial punishment, while others were tried for treason. The Dutch government implemented plans to deport Germans from the Netherlands. The war also led to the loss of the Dutch East Indies, leading to Indonesian independence after a four-year war. World War II had lasting effects on Dutch society, with emotional scars carried by both the first and second generations. The Dutch Red Cross issued apologies for its failure to protect certain groups during the war.

The Liberation of Amsterdam on 8 May 1945

In The Crystal Butterfly, Edda is liberated when she’s still a political prisoner in Camp Westerbork. Here’s a snippet from her own diary:

Westerbork, 13 April 1945, 8:00 pm

I am so happy I think I’ll burst and at the same time I’m way too ill to stand on my feet for longer than 5 minutes. What a contrast. We’re free! We’re liberated! The Germans are gone, gone, gone!!!! We couldn’t believe our eyes but yesterday, 12 April 1945, the First Canadian Army liberated us. We saw them coming. 

But let me first tell you how Gemmeker and Frau Hassel were made to eat humble pie. All the rumors were so loud that liberation was imminent. We only saw Allied planes fly over and they dropped us food! Real food! I mean flour, margarine, coffee, milk powder, cheese, chocolate. Things we haven’t tasted for years. I was so hungry, but I remembered Miss Sterling saying we need to eat small portions, so I ate a little bite every hour. Honestly, I feel my strength already returning but that must also be the mental boost that it’s really, really over. 

See, I can’t even return to the topic of that Gentleman Crook, but I need to. This notebook, by the way, was given to me by one of the sweet Tommys. I was talking with him last night, his name is Sergeant Stuart Gildersleeve (his last name sounds like a character from a ballet!!!) and he told me he’d been keeping notes ever since landing on the beaches in Normandy, which was over 10 months ago!!! The diary kept him sane, and I told him about my little notebooks hidden at my sister’s. 

“I’ve got a spare one, now that I hope to head back to Vancouver soon,” he grinned. So now I have a Canadian notebook, a simple thin cahier with a brown cover but I’ll cherish it all my life. It’s my liberation gift, almost more important than the chocolate that melts on my tongue.

Alright, I promised you Gemmeker and Mistress Hassel. Well, there isn’t a grand finale there. They just left. Like that. Each had a small suitcase and they walked away. I hope by God they’ll be arrested before they walk hand-in-hand into Germany, but they kept their heads high. You know what Frau Hassel said to me on my last visit to them, which was months ago as they didn’t like my company anymore. I know I am a bore, but I was a deliberate bore with them as I hated every minute in the green villa. Anyway, back on track. She said to me: “My Albert is the Jesus Christ of Westerbork.” Can you imagine? I almost choked on the coffee I was drinking and spit it out on that striped sofa. The Jesus Christ of Westerbork. The woman is insane. I won’t be surprised he’ll be convicted of sending all these Jews and Sintis and Romas east with little chance of survival. 

Though I’m writing horrible things, you can’t imagine what joy it is to write freely again. Oh, how I missed my own thoughts on paper. I simply love the act of my pen going over the page. Maybe I’ve got a bit of a writer in me? Who knows! But for now, it’s Heaven on Earth. Food in my stomach, the sun on my table, and me with my diary. 

The Canadians have ordered us to stay here until Amsterdam is liberated but Stu told me it’s a mere matter of days now. I’ll be going home. But I almost dread the idea. What will I find at home? Will my flat still be there? And what about Tante Riet? No word of her all these months. Gemmeker kept promising me he’d find out if she was still in Zwolle but he said he couldn’t find her. I fear the worst. My instinct tells me something’s wrong there. But no sad thoughts today. There will be plenty of decisions to be made over the coming weeks but for now I’m going outside again and enjoy the company of the Canadians! They’re such fun.

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Canadian soldier being kissed on Damsquare Amsterdam

The Dutch Resistance: A Complex Tapestry of Non-Violent Heroism

Introduction
World War II witnessed the Dutch resistance's remarkable non-violent heroism against the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Led by diverse organizations like the Communist Party, churches, and independent groups, the resistance slowly grew, fuelled by significant events like the February strike of 1941. 

In this blog we’ll explore the background of Dutch neutrality, the resistance's defiance, and their pivotal role in supporting Allied forces during the occupation. Despite their brave efforts, the Dutch Jewish population suffered greatly, and after the war, many resistance heroes remained unsung, lacking recognition for their illegal tasks during the war.

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How downed airmen were helped by the resistance

Dutch Resistance During Nazi Occupation: A Struggle Against Oppression
The Dutch resistance bravely confronted the Nazi occupation during World War II. Initially facing a deceptive sense of mild occupation, the resistance was challenged by the country's open terrain and dense population. As the Nazis intensified their oppression through Nazification and persecution of Jewish citizens, the resistance grew more organized and forceful, targeting collaborationist officials. Despite large-scale reprisals, the resistance displayed unwavering courage and determination in their fight against oppression.

Unyielding Dutch Resistance: Key Battlegrounds and Heroic Standoffs
The major areas of intense military confrontations where the Dutch resistance showcased their bravery and determination was as large as the Battle for The Hague to the Battle of the Grebbeberg. The Dutch forces fiercely defended their positions and repelled German attacks. Despite setbacks, the Dutch resistance continued their fight in various European theatres, demonstrating unwavering dedication to the resistance cause.

Dutch Resistance Organizations: Courageous Acts of Defiance
What were the various organizations that comprised the Dutch resistance during World War II? From the Communist Party of the Netherlands to the Council of Resistance, these brave groups played a crucial role in resisting the German occupiers and providing support to those in need. The sacrifices made by these organizations' members and the challenges they faced in their fight for freedom and justice were considerable.

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Some female Dutch resistance fighters in WW2

Resistance Activities: From Sabotage to Hiding Refugees
The diverse activities undertaken by the Dutch resistance in their opposition to the Nazi occupation were the February strike of 1941, the small, decentralized cells that engaged in acts of sabotage, and the resistance's efforts in hiding refugees, including Jewish families like Anne Frank's. Then there was the impact of the Stoottroepen, a Dutch army unit formed from certain resistance groups, and the role of "Engelandvaarders" in keeping the resistance alive.

After Normandy: Dutch Resistance and Allied Infiltration
The Dutch Resistance faced increased pressure after the Normandy invasion and the Allied Drive to the Siegfried Line. Liberated areas in the Netherlands provided valuable intelligence and support to the Allies, while Amsterdam and the north remained under Nazi control until May 1945. The Dutch famine of 1944, known as the "Hunger winter," further compounded the challenges faced by the Dutch population during this time.

American pilot thanks Dutch Resistance after WW2 with cigarettes!

Conclusion
The Dutch resistance during World War II represents a complex tapestry of non-violent heroism against Nazi oppression. Led by diverse organizations and individuals, the resistance's unwavering courage and determination played a crucial role in supporting Allied forces and preserving the spirit of freedom and justice. While the Dutch resistance was largely non-violent, their contributions were immeasurable, and their sacrifices should forever be remembered as a testament to the human spirit's resilience.

Some numbers
·         Active Dutch resistance fighters: some 450,000 (5% of total population)
·         Female resistance fighters: some 70,650 (15.7%)
·         Active Dutch collaborators: some 450,000 (5% of total population)  
·         Jewish victims: between 102,000-104,000 (about 85%)
·         Roma and Sinti victims: 215
·         Civilian casualties due to war: some 30,000
·         Hunger winter casualties: between 15,000-25,000
·         Victims Forced labour in Germany: 8,500
·         Non-Jewish victims in prisons and concentration camps: some 5,000
·         Executed resistance fighters: between 2,000-3,000 

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Resistance posters: "The soldiers of the Netherlands Underground Forces greet the soldiers of the United Nations"

In “The Crystal Butterfly” main character Edda Van der Valk isn’t the traditional resistance fighter, though she’s fascinated and encouraged by the first resistance movement The Geuzen (see blogpost here) after the Bombardment of Rotterdam (see blogpost here) and the German occupation. Edda keeps a diary for most of the war, commenting on the Nazi and NSB terror and eventually becomes an active member of the Dutch resistance herself.

The Hunger Winter or the Dutch Famine 1944-1945

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Two participants in the hunger expeditions during the hunger winter

The Hunger Winter, also known as the Dutch famine of 1944–1945, was a devastating period during World War II when the German-occupied Netherlands experienced a severe scarcity of food and fuel. The famine was most acute in the densely populated western provinces, resulting in widespread hunger and suffering.

The cause of the famine was a German blockade that cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns to the western Netherlands. As a result, at least 20,000 people died of starvation and cold, with the majority of the victims being elderly men. The situation worsened as the harsh winter of 1944–1945 set in, freezing rivers and canals and further impeding the transport of supplies.

During the Hunger Winter, the adult rations in cities like Amsterdam dropped to dangerously low levels, with people receiving less than 1000 calories a day. The scarcity of food items, including bread, butter, and meat, led to the consumption of unconventional and insufficient substitutes like tulip bulbs and sugar beets. Many people resorted to the black market, trading valuables for food, while others were forced to dismantle furniture and houses to use as fuel for heating.

In the face of such dire circumstances, humanitarian intervention became crucial. The Swedish Red Cross provided "Swedish bread" flour, and humanitarian airlift operations, known as Operations Manna and Chowhound, were conducted by the Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces. Additionally, Operation Faust organized a land-based, civilian supply chain to distribute food within the country. These efforts alleviated the immediate emergency, but the famine persisted until the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies in May 1945.

The Dutch famine of 1944–1945 left a profound legacy on the health of its survivors and future generations. Studies have shown that children born to pregnant women exposed to the famine were more susceptible to various health problems, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and microalbuminuria. Moreover, grandchildren of women carrying female babies during the famine also experienced increased health issues, suggesting intergenerational inheritance of the famine's effects.

The famine also played a significant role in the discovery of the cause of coeliac disease. The shortage of wheat during the famine led to improvements in children with coeliac disease, providing crucial evidence to support the hypothesis that wheat intake aggravated the condition.

One notable figure who survived the Hunger Winter was actress Audrey Hepburn, who spent her teenage years in the Netherlands during World War 2. Despite her later fame and success, she suffered lifelong negative medical repercussions from the experience, including anemia, respiratory illnesses, and œdema.

Overall, the Hunger Winter was a tragic and heart-wrenching chapter in Dutch history, highlighting the devastating impact of war and famine on civilian populations and underscoring the importance of humanitarian efforts in times of crisis.

The Hunger Winter and The Crystal Butterfly

Edda the main character in The Crystal Butterfly escapes most of the Hunger Winter because she is interred at Camp Westerbork. But when she returns to Amsterdam after the liberation of the camp she becomes aware of what’s been taking place in her home city Amsterdam and the entire west of the country.

Here’s a snippet of what she hears:

“Sit, Miss,” Corrie said again. “I’ve done my best to prepare you a proper breakfast but it’s easier said than done with no eggs and only a pinch of flour.” Then Edda remembered the hunger winter that had struck the big cities in the west of Holland in the past months. How had Duifje and her children survived? And her parents? Probably fed by the Germans, Edda thought, but strangely without any anger. Despite being captives at Westerbork, at least they had enough food.

As if guessing her train of thought, Corrie said, “You’re lucky you found us here, Miss Edda. We’ve only just returned here, you see. We were on Valkena Estate all winter. Took the sickly Marchioness with us. So, we’ve had plenty of eggs and milk. We haven’t had any shortages. Mrs van Leeuwen is only back here with Mr Sipkema to sell the house. We’re all moving to Friesland for good.”

Edda was aware she gaped at the housekeeper and uttered not very coherently, “Valkena Estate? Mother? Friesland?” Sinking on the chair, she tried to make sense of it all. The Sipkema name rang a bell. Her father’s solicitor. Papa had mentioned him as Edda’s go-to, should she need to talk business. That last strained conversation she had had with her father. Talking about his will.

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Malnourished children at the time of the liberation in May 1945

Camp Westerbork: 97,776 Jews deported to German concentration camps

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Top left: the bent rail track. Top right: Hauptsturmführer Albert Gemmeker and Frau Hassel’s Green Villa overlooking the camp. Bottom left: the only original barrack. Middle: every deported and killed Jew has a stone with a starBottom Right: the original cattle train that deported the Jews and Sintis/Roma’s with the tour guide.

Camp Westerbork was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands. Transport trains arrived at Westerbork every Tuesday from July 1942 to September 1944; an estimated 97,776 Jews were deported during the period. Anne Frank and her family arrived in Westerbork on 4 August 1944 and the family was put on a transport to Auschwitz on 3 September.

During World War II, Camp Westerbork, situated in the Northeastern Netherlands, was known as the ominous "gateway to Hell." Originally established in 1939 as a refugee camp for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria, its purpose drastically changed when the German forces invaded the Netherlands in 1940. It was then repurposed as a transit camp, used to stage the deportation of Jews to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Sobibor.

Although not designed for industrial murder like extermination camps, Camp Westerbork played a significant role in the Nazi's horrific agenda. The camp covered only half a square kilometer and was considered "humane" by Nazi standards. Jewish inmates with families were housed in interconnected cottages, while single inmates resided in oblong barracks.

Number of Jewish communities in Netherlands before and after WW2

The deportation process involved regular transport trains arriving at Westerbork every Tuesday between July 1942 and September 1944. Around 97,776 Jews were deported during this period, destined for concentration camps where the vast majority faced immediate death upon arrival.

Surprisingly, Camp Westerbork featured various facilities and activities designed to give inmates a false sense of hope and maintain order during transportation. These included a school, orchestra, hairdresser, and restaurants.

Among the notable prisoners at Westerbork were Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum, both of whom documented their experiences in diaries later discovered after the war. Sadly, Anne Frank was deported to Auschwitz from Westerbork and perished there.

The camp's leadership changed over time, with Jacques Schol, a Dutchman, serving as the commander initially. However, in 1942, German authorities took control, and Albert Konrad Gemmeker became responsible for sending thousands of Jews to their deaths.

The camp's dark chapter finally came to an end in September 1944, as transports ceased, and Allied troops approached. The camp was liberated by Canadian forces on April 12, 1945.

In retrospect, Camp Westerbork serves as a haunting reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust, and its story continues to bear witness to the resilience and courage of those who suffered under its oppressive regime.

Field trip to Transit Camp Westerbork during Remembrance Week in Holland (May 2023)

Camp Westerbork and The Crystal Butterfly

Though Westerbork wasn't per se a camp where Dutch resisters were held, as I say in my video, some of our brave WW2 heroes and heroines were taken there usually to be immediately killed n front of a firing squad somewhere in the province of Drenthe. Edda Van Der Valk ends up in Westerbork in August 1944 together with her neighbour Tante Riet. To read more about Edda’s uncommon treatment by Hauptsturmführer Albert Gemmeker read chapters 39 to 44 of The Crystal Butterfly.

Here’s the snippet where Edda meets Gemmeker for the first time….

She placed the brown leather suitcase, with its reinforced metal corners, on top of the table. Still somewhat weak yet with her legs feeling surprisingly strong, Edda gazed outside, trying to come to terms with her captivity, her aloneness, the mission Doctor Samuels had given her. “Stay alive”. Why had this never seemed a mission before? One breathed in and out, one lived, but getting orders to stay alive, seemed odd, unnatural. And yet there had been an urgency in the old psychiatrist’s voice, as if commissioned by God to deliver this message to her. “Stay alive!”

Edda gasped. She suddenly understood. The epiphany made her sink down on the chair, open-eyed, horrified. She was the witness of a secret, inconceivable, inhumane act of barbarity. Far worse than the occupation, far worse than bombs and casualties of war. Her sixth sense had tried to tell her every day but she hadn’t listened, couldn’t listen. Hitler was massacring all the Jews he could get his hands on. They were not coming back from the East. Not coming back. Ash would not come back. Not come back.

And she? She had to stay alive to bear witness to the times her people were living through. She would testify to the rest of the world what the anti-Semites had done in Holland during the war. Find evidence, bring to justice those who’d systematically extinguished the Jewish race—innocent people, families, husbands, wives, siblings, children, babies, and grandparents.

“Miss Van der Valk?”  A German-laced voice said behind her. Edda turned gracefully, as a ballerina would, tears in her eyes but her heart full of confidence in her mission. Before her stood an attractive German high official, whom she immediately recognized as the Camp Commander, Albert Gemmeker, who was better known by his nickname, the ‘Gentleman Crook’.

She’d heard the talk he lived with Frau Hassel, who apparently doubled as his mistress and his secretary in the big green villa overlooking the camp. Opulence starkly contrasting with the hand-to-mouth existence in the barracks.

He stretched out his hand, well-manicured but ringless. Edda hesitated. It was against her principles to shake hands with Nazis, but Doctor Samuel seemed to whisper in her ear, ‘Stay alive!’ so she snapped to attention without words of greeting but with a curt nod.

“I heard you’ve been quite ill, Miss Van der Valk. Was the treatment in our hospital satisfactory?” The tall German with his open face and polite manners looked at her frankly with what seemed a genuine smile of interest on his lips.

You’re an enigma, shot through Edda’s mind, but you’re not who you pretend to be.

“Quite satisfactory, Sir. Doctor Samuels is an excellent doctor.”

“He is,” Gemmeker replied with a sigh. “The great doctor will be sorely missed here but his expertise was needed elsewhere.”

Then why did you let him go? Edda wanted to shout but bit her tongue.

“Anyway, Miss Van der Valk, I came here to personally invite you to dinner with my secretary and me tonight. My housekeeper, Frau Asch, is an excellent cook and Doctor Samuels advised me you had not been eating well before you came here.”  

Monument at Camp Westerbork for some of the killed Dutch Resistance fighters