The spy who saved D-Day

The Telegraph ^ | 6-6-14 | Dominic Selwood

[afraidfortherepublic]

On 6 June 1944, President Franklin D Roosevelt solemnly declared, “You don’t just walk to Berlin”.

He was speaking at a White House press conference, where he had just announced that Allied troops had landed in northern France.

The gathering was a homely affair, with none of the bombast associated with similar events today. In fact, it was an occasion of masterly understatement. What he could have said was that the largest naval invasion in the history of the world was finally under way.

~snip~

The long-awaited amphibious invasion of France was not a secret, and it came as no surprise to German High Command.

~snip~

At around this time, 2,600 miles west of Tehran, an unlikely part of the story had also begun to take shape.

Juan Pujol García was a native of Barcelona. His experiences in the Spanish Civil War — in which he fought for both sides without ever firing a bullet — had given him a deep loathing of both fascism and communism. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was horrified at the increasing power of the Nazis, and approached the British authorities in Spain and Portugal to enquire if he could help for “the good of humanity”. Finding his offer repeatedly rebuffed, García decided on a more unorthodox route. He approached German intelligence in Madrid, and told them (quite untruthfully) that he was a Spanish official who regularly travelled to England. He explained that he was fanatically pro-Nazi...~snip~

The German authorities snapped him up, gave him some basic training, codenamed him “Alaric Arabel”, and sent him off to gather information on his next trip to England.

However, instead of heading for London, García made for Lisbon, where he began one of the most extraordinary and significant subterfuges in espionage history.

[afraidfortherepublic]

This is well worth reading the whole thing. I suspect that this fascinating story meshes with the recent documentary shown on PBS called "The Ghost Army" which never mentions this Spanish spy. Another piece of the whole.

Juan Pujol García – 'Garbo' – made it all possible

[rellimpank]

-another great WW 2 spy story—sure a good thing the Krauts weren’t as good at espionage as the Allies-—

[painter]

Bump for later

[defconw]

I saw a program on this. I think it was on The Military channel, now the Hero's channel or something like that.

[kevao]

For those with Netflix, a while back they had a 90-minute documentary on this guy — “Garbo: The Spy.” I don’t know if it is still available on Netflix, but do check. It is an excellent documentary about a fascinating guy, whose work saved many lives. Well worth your time, even if you’re not a WWII or espionage fanatic.

[11th Commandment]

Did the documentary cover why he faked his death in 1958? Was he concerned about surviving Nazi’s coming after him?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

I love the fact that he was awarded an Iron Cross by Hitler and an MBE by England. Now that’s the mark of a real good spy. Being awarded honors by both sides!!!

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

With everything I have read on WWII, I don’t think I’ve seen this before. Fascinating story.

[kevao]

No, he wasn’t afraid of being knocked off by former Nazi’s. He was a quirky fellow, who just wanted to disappear (mysteriously) to start a new life, which he did. I won’t say any more than that, in case you watch the documentary.