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The Lost Women Spies S01E05
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00:08World War II is over.
00:14The Allies have occupied Germany.
00:19But British women agents remain lost across Europe.
00:25Fire!
00:30Spymaster Vera Atkins now has a permanent position with the British Air Force
00:35to find her lost women spies.
00:39And she enlists the help of a crack team of SAS Nazi hunters,
00:45led by Major Bill Barkworth.
00:50Barkworth reports about a hidden concentration camp in eastern France,
00:55designed to make secret agents disappear without a trace.
01:02And the possibility that some of Vera's lost women spies may have died there.
01:11As Vera gathers evidence for the trials of leading Nazis,
01:16the horrors she is uncovering are too much for the authorities back in London.
01:22Vera receives a clear order.
01:24I need you to keep this disgusting business out of the newspapers.
01:29The true stories of all her lost women spies must be kept covered up.
01:35At all costs.
01:46The 11th of March, 1946.
01:51Nearly nine months since the end of the war in Europe.
01:59Vera is based at the British War Crimes Office in Germany,
02:04where her promotion allows her to travel the country to hunt for her lost women spies.
02:14Two names stand out.
02:30Vera is sent by Major Barkworth an interrogation report of prison crematorium worker France Berg.
02:39Vera is sent by Major Brug.
02:45Berg claims Noor was killed, along with three other women spies,
02:51at the Natsweiler camp in July 1944.
02:55But a warder at Karlsruhe prison, Fräulein Becker,
02:59says she remembers Noor being in Karlsruhe many months later.
03:04Yes.
03:07Vera already has an eyewitness testimony from Natsweiler saying that Noor is dead.
03:12And now she has another eyewitness testimony saying,
03:14no, that is not true.
03:18Noor could still be alive.
03:23The other name is Violette Szabo.
03:28Violette left her one-year-old child behind to take up arms.
03:32A child whose father had already given his life in the war effort.
03:39The Nazis won't know what hit them.
03:42Very good.
03:44Violette Szabo's situation is particularly sad because she lost her husband,
03:50who never actually met their daughter, gave birth to a child,
03:54and she left her child back with her family in the UK and parachuted into France.
04:01So determined was she to keep fighting against the Nazis.
04:06Violette was last heard of at the women's concentration camp at Ravensbruck.
04:12A camp from where Vera's agents Odette Sansom and Yvonne Bazden have both returned.
04:21So is Violette also alive?
04:27Vera never gives up hope.
04:29There's always this little sliver of hope that some of them would be alive.
04:33They may be in a terrible condition, but they are alive.
04:36Or they would have escaped and they will show up.
04:41So she keeps this hope in her when she goes, but she is prepared for the worst.
04:46And as she is uncovering these stories, Vera is getting hardened.
04:51The torture she's hearing about, it is hardening her.
04:57We have arrested an SS lieutenants from a camp north of Berlin.
05:03Which camp?
05:05Ravensbruck.
05:10Thank you. That will be all.
05:16Ravensbruck is Violette Szabo's camp.
05:20Is this the stroke of luck that Vera badly needs?
05:40SS Lieutenant Johann Schwarzhuber was second in command at Ravensbruck.
05:45the stroke of luck.
05:49Schwarzhuber is a very important person for Vera to be able to interview
05:54because he holds absolutely crucial information about three of the women
05:59that she is looking for that she has since found out
06:02were taken to Ravensbruck concentration camp.
06:05The two is in and out of it.
06:07They belong to the character of the mind.
06:08I can't believe it is clearly an answer, but I have never seen him.
06:09It's just that conflict was a great girl.
06:10But she has never done for her.
06:10It's always been the most part of her.
06:17It's just that conflict was a great man.
06:18The story of Ravensbruck, what I am I talking about?
06:18Oh, yes.
06:21What do I do?
06:26It's been a very dark man.
06:27The story of Ravensbruck, what I have to do?
06:27The story of Ravensbruck has been fascinating.
06:28I am only a gladian.
06:29I don't have to say a good man.
06:29I am not sure I have to find out.
06:42this one
06:46she had the name Violet
06:53and
06:55what happened to her
06:59all three
07:00were taken to the crematorium building of the camp
07:05and one by one
07:07they were shot
07:15how do you know
07:21I watched
07:35Vera now has testimony
07:37that along with Violet
07:39Lillian Rolf and Denise Block
07:42were executed
07:43at the Ravensbrück concentration camp
07:45north of Berlin
07:49Vera must have been absolutely shocked
07:52to hear this information
07:53she would have clung on to any last thread of hope
07:56that the women had survived the camp
07:58as she heard of these women
07:59who she'd been so affectionate for
08:01who she had really travelled across Europe
08:04and in dreadful conditions
08:06trying to find out what had happened to them
08:08and finally
08:09she has the evidence
08:10that these three women were murdered
08:21Vera personally writes letters
08:24for the bereaved families
08:25each one
08:26detailing her search for these spies
08:29missing
08:30presumed dead
08:32Vera would have felt
08:33shocked
08:34and upset
08:35but to some extent
08:36I think she might have also felt relief
08:38she had closure
08:41on this story
08:42and although it wasn't the end
08:43she would have wanted
08:44or hoped for
08:45she was finally able to tell the families
08:48of these three women
08:49what had happened to them
08:51and they were able to finally understand
08:53what their daughters
08:54wives
08:54children
08:55had gone through
08:57and what they had sacrificed
08:58for their country
09:06each letter
09:07has to be assessed
09:09by her superiors
09:10to make sure
09:11Vera doesn't give away
09:12any incriminating evidence
09:16Vera is in a very difficult position
09:19because the fact that there were women agents
09:22is not yet common knowledge
09:23they want to keep it out of the public eye
09:25because it's a very difficult thing
09:27to try and explain to families
09:29and acquaintances
09:30and loved ones
09:31that actually your daughter was sent
09:33into harm's way
09:35without protection
09:36without the protection
09:37of the Geneva Convention
09:38or the Hague Convention
09:39without the protection
09:41of the British government effectively
09:42they were meant to be completely deniable
09:44if they were captured
09:46or caught
09:46or indeed killed
09:52but there remain
09:53other spies
09:54who are unaccounted for
09:56like Noor Inayat Khan
09:59who
09:59with two other agents
10:01was last seen
10:02at the Natsweiler camp
10:03in the mountains
10:05of eastern France
10:08in a few months
10:09the Natsweiler war crimes trial
10:11will start
10:12and Vera
10:13has been instructed
10:14to gather as much evidence
10:16as she can
10:17but she can't do it
10:19alone
10:24in the spring of 1946
10:27Vera travels
10:28to Garganau
10:29a small town
10:30near Karlsruhe
10:43it's here
10:44she visits
10:44Major Bill Barkworth
10:46at a property
10:47his SAS unit
10:48have commandeered
10:49called
10:49the Villa
10:50Daigler
10:53Vera
10:53Vera Atkins
10:54good to finally meet you
10:56and you sir
10:57yes
11:01Barkworth
11:02has offered
11:03Vera the chance
11:04to get a witness statement
11:05from a former
11:06Natsweiler prisoner
11:08a man
11:09who worked
11:10as a crematorium stoker
11:12and is currently
11:13held captive
11:14in the cellars
11:15of the Villa
11:15along with other prisoners
11:17rounded up
11:17by Barkworth's
11:18Nazi hunter unit
11:20his name
11:21is France Berg
11:24Berg's testimony
11:25is key
11:26to whether Vera
11:27can get a conviction
11:28against those
11:30who ran the camp
11:31and may have murdered
11:32her women agents
11:33the next woman
11:41to be killed
11:42by injection
11:48rather than gassing
11:49were
11:50two English
11:51and two French women
12:04they were
12:05brought to the cells
12:06in the crematorium building
12:08one afternoon
12:09in July
12:101944
12:25we
12:26me
12:28and the other prisoners
12:30could see through
12:31the fan light
12:32without standing up
12:38we heard
12:39low voices
12:42we heard
12:43noises of
12:44every breathing
12:46and low groaning
12:49next to women
12:51we heard
12:52the same noises
12:53and
12:54regular groans
12:56but the fourth
12:58she resisted
13:00in the corridor
13:03I heard her say
13:06why
13:09I
13:09much
13:36much
13:36g
13:36much
13:36and
13:36they
14:03I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
14:06news at the upcoming Natsweiler war crimes trial. A testimony identifying that some of Vera's
14:14agents, including Noor, were killed at the camp. But even with Berg's testimony, this is only one
14:22man's recollection. Vera needs more evidence. Vera continues her preparation for the Natsweiler
14:34war crimes trial. Thanks to Barkworth, she now has Berg's testimony and other witness statements.
14:43But Vera lacks a critical piece of evidence if she wants to convict those who ran Natsweiler.
14:52Vera needed hard evidence. If she wants to bring those perpetrators to justice,
14:58she needs to gather enough of the hard evidence that will stand up in a court of law to actually
15:06bring them to justice. Vera needs documentary evidence, something that ties those who ran the
15:15camp with her missing agents. So Vera tries to find documents that show which of her agents were
15:23murdered at Natsweiler. Four of her agents were sent there from Karlsruher prison.
15:32Surely, Fräulein Becker, at Karlsruher, would have kept records.
15:39I need to see your records. Now, please.
15:43We don't have any.
15:44I can't imagine that.
15:47The French, when they came, they destroyed everything. Smashed it all up.
15:56All gone.
15:59Fräulein Becker tells Vera that all the prison documents were destroyed by the French.
16:05Now, that reeks of a lie. Vera must have known she was lying.
16:09Why would the French go to a German prison and just randomly destroy all the records?
16:16But she's nowhere for finding out unless Fräulein Becker tells her the truth.
16:20And how is she going to get her to do that?
16:26Vera chooses to visit Becker again.
16:29This time with the SAS.
16:41At Karlsruher prison, Barkworth and Vera confront Fräulein Becker.
16:48Where are they?
16:50Where are what?
16:51The records!
16:53I don't know.
16:54I know you know. Where are they?
16:56I don't know!
16:59Search of it. All of it!
17:04You said the French destroyed everything.
17:06They did.
17:06Why would they do that?
17:07I don't know!
17:09Because you lie!
17:12Mom!
17:15What do we have here, hmm?
17:16I don't know.
17:21The records.
17:24You lie.
17:26Liar!
17:44Vera and Barkworth go through the prison records.
17:49Every entry and exit from the prison is marked.
17:55Vera finds entries that on the 6th of July, 1944,
18:00four women agents are transferred from the prison at Karlsruher
18:04to the concentration camp at Natsweiler.
18:10This corroborates what Berg told Vera
18:13about four agents who were killed at Natsweiler.
18:23Vera now has clear evidence that four women agents were murdered.
18:28The names are Andre Borrell,
18:33Vera Lee,
18:35Diana Roden,
18:38and Sonia Olshaneski.
18:42The fourth name,
18:44Sonia Olshaneski,
18:45is unknown to Vera.
18:49Vera expected
18:50to see Noor's name or alias.
18:55Witnesses had identified Noor
18:57as travelling with this group
18:59to Natsweiler.
19:01Noor was born in Moscow,
19:03so a Russian-sounding alias
19:04this could make sense.
19:09For Vera,
19:10Sonia Olshaneski's entry,
19:12taken with other evidence,
19:14is actually for Noor
19:16in Ayat Khan.
19:19Vera has written evidence
19:21that four SOE women,
19:23including Noor in Ayat Khan,
19:25are transported from Karlsruher
19:27to Natsweiler
19:28and most likely killed there.
19:32She can now take the evidence
19:34to trial.
19:40The 29th of May, 1946.
19:44The Natsweiler war crimes trial
19:46begins in Wurpertal
19:48in the west of Germany.
19:51The Natsweiler trial
19:52would have been so important to Vera
19:54and it was her other chance
19:56to get information about the women
19:58so she could provide that
19:59to the families
20:00and their close ones,
20:01but also to bring these men
20:03to justice.
20:07This was the most brutal execution,
20:10murder, in fact,
20:11of these women.
20:12It didn't need to be done
20:13in such a horrific manner,
20:15if at all.
20:17This will be a British-led trial
20:19with Nazis tried on German soil,
20:22but under international law.
20:25A trial about one of the Nazis'
20:28specially hidden concentration camps
20:30in the mountains of France.
20:34Natsweiler isn't particularly well-known,
20:36but it was in microcosm,
20:38the system of the concentration camps
20:41set up in Germany
20:42and in this case in France.
20:43It was a camp of 22,000 deaths,
20:47around 55,000 people
20:48went through Natsweiler,
20:50so relatively small
20:51compared to some of the
20:52other concentration camps
20:53in the Reich,
20:54but nevertheless,
20:55a system of tremendous brutality,
20:58slave labor,
20:59medical experimentation,
21:00oppression,
21:01violence,
21:02the Kapo system,
21:03a terrible, terrible place.
21:08But before the trial starts,
21:11Vera receives a blunt instruction
21:13from her new boss,
21:15Norman Mott.
21:16Vera,
21:19everything,
21:20and I mean everything,
21:22has been done in London
21:24to keep this disgusting business
21:26out of the newspapers.
21:28I need you to ensure
21:30that the press's interest
21:31is discouraged.
21:33But do our reputations any good?
21:37I understand.
21:42I suggest you start
21:43by getting the names of the dead
21:45withheld from the trial.
21:51Their families won't like it, Norman.
21:55They want to know what happened.
22:00Too bad.
22:02It's a disgusting business
22:04which is best buried.
22:09Have you got a match?
22:13No.
22:15Yeah.
22:17Jim.
22:25The Natsviler trial
22:26would have been a troubling time
22:28for Vera,
22:28not only because of hearing
22:30the dreadful incidences
22:31and details of what had happened,
22:34but also that SOE
22:35was still a secretive organisation.
22:36People were not aware
22:38that women had been sent
22:40into the fields
22:41in violation of the Geneva Convention.
22:46and she probably worried
22:47not only if their names
22:49got out into the press
22:50what had happened to them,
22:52but there was questions
22:52to be start to raise
22:53about who had sent them,
22:55why had they sent them,
22:57why had this been allowed to happen.
23:01After four days of hearings,
23:03the verdicts are delivered
23:05to the accused.
23:15Werner Roder,
23:16the medical officer
23:17who injected the women,
23:18is given a death sentence.
23:28Peter Straub,
23:30SS officer in charge
23:32of the executions,
23:33is given 13 years in prison.
23:36Later that year,
23:38he is given a death sentence.
23:41Fritz Hagenstein,
23:43the commandant of Natsviler,
23:45is imprisoned for life.
23:48The verdict of the Natsviler
23:50trial was that
23:51the three men
23:51who were on trial
23:53for the murder
23:54of these SOE women
23:55were all found guilty.
23:57So in some respects,
23:58that's a very positive outcome.
24:00She had proved
24:01that this murder
24:02was unlawful,
24:03this execution,
24:04as they called it.
24:05But then the sentences
24:07may have been
24:08a bittersweet moment.
24:09Did Vera want
24:10an eye for an eye
24:10at this point?
24:11Did she want to see
24:12these men suffer
24:13and pay the ultimate price?
24:15Or was she just happy
24:16to have received
24:17the guilty verdict?
24:18She was a very
24:19straightforward
24:20woman and I think
24:21she would have been
24:22just pleased
24:23to have seen
24:23these men go down
24:25for what they'd done.
24:29Vera secures
24:30the agreement
24:30of the court
24:31that the names
24:32of the dead
24:32will be withheld
24:33from publication.
24:36Thanks to Vera's work,
24:38the trial fails
24:39to create Mott's
24:40much-feared
24:41newspaper sensation.
24:44Vera's role
24:45in the affair
24:46remains out
24:47of the public eye
24:49for now.
24:58Vera turns her attention
24:59to her final three
25:01women spies
25:02from Karlsruhe
25:03who are unaccounted for.
25:16Vera comes across
25:18an interrogation statement
25:19taken by American investigators
25:22of Gestapo soldiers
25:23stationed in the town
25:25of Karlsruhe.
25:34One soldier,
25:36Max Vassmer,
25:38recalls transporting
25:39women prisoners
25:40from Karlsruhe
25:41to Dachau
25:42concentration camp.
25:46The ranks of three
25:48of the women
25:49match those
25:50of Vera's
25:50unaccounted agents
25:52and Vassmer's
25:54detailed description
25:55of one woman
25:56matches
25:57Madeleine Damermont.
26:03At Dachau,
26:05Vassmer reportedly
26:06tells his colleagues
26:07that he pronounced
26:08the death sentence
26:09on the women
26:11and that they
26:13were then killed.
26:16But can Vera
26:17be sure?
26:20Other Gestapo
26:21soldiers
26:22claim there were
26:23four women,
26:24not three,
26:25like Vassmer says.
26:26They also claim
26:28that one of the women
26:29came from a completely
26:30different prison
26:31called Pforzheim,
26:33not Karlsruhe,
26:34as Vassmer states.
26:36One of the problems
26:37that Vera has
26:38and indeed
26:39all of the people
26:40involved in the war
26:41crimes trials have
26:42is the
26:43veracity of the witnesses
26:44because when she got
26:46testimony or drawings
26:48or verification
26:50from her own side,
26:52her own agents
26:53or people who were
26:53also in the camps
26:54and said they saw
26:55three women
26:56or four women
26:57who came into the camp,
26:59she can believe them.
27:00They may not
27:00remember everything
27:01but at least
27:02she knows that
27:03they're being honest.
27:04But when you're
27:05relying on the testimony
27:06of an SS officer
27:07or a capo
27:08who's worked in the camp,
27:10they're also self-interested.
27:11They also want
27:12to exonerate themselves.
27:13And so it's very difficult
27:15often to know
27:16if they're telling the truth.
27:17And so even though
27:18she gets the Vassmer testimony
27:20and she thinks
27:21she's got some
27:22solid information
27:23about what's happened
27:24to her final three agents,
27:25she can't really be sure,
27:27particularly when then
27:28she gets contradictory evidence.
27:31Can Vera trust
27:32Vassmer's testimony
27:33in the report?
27:36Vera has to find Vassmer
27:38and interrogate him
27:39herself.
27:45August 1946.
27:49After months of searching,
27:51Vera tracks Vassmer down
27:53to internment camp number 74
27:55in Ludwigsberg, Germany.
28:01Vera is the only one
28:03who knows all three
28:04SOE agents.
28:05She knows them intimately
28:07and Max Vassmer
28:08says that he thinks
28:10he's identified them.
28:11Now, this is a huge big deal
28:12because Vera can actually
28:14get the man in front of her
28:15and determine
28:16whether these women
28:17were different women
28:19or were her agents.
28:21And, you know,
28:21being there
28:22and able to speak
28:22to somebody about it
28:24where you know,
28:25you know,
28:25if you show somebody
28:26a photograph,
28:27you know whether they go,
28:27that's definitely the person
28:28or I think that's the person.
28:30And it's all to do
28:31with intonation.
28:31It's all to do
28:32with being in the same room
28:33as someone.
28:34So for Vera,
28:35being in the same room
28:36as Max Vassmer
28:37is really important
28:38so that she
28:39can interrogate him.
28:41Your name is Max Vassmer,
28:43correct?
28:46Yes.
28:49And you transported women
28:51from Karlsruhe Prison
28:52to Dachau,
28:54correct?
29:11Yes.
29:15And then you watched
29:17as they were shot,
29:18correct?
29:21No.
29:23I handed them over
29:24to the guards.
29:26This report clearly states
29:28that witnesses
29:29saw you take
29:30the women to be shot.
29:34Well, I was there,
29:35yes.
29:37I wasn't present
29:39at the end.
29:42The guards took
29:43the women in,
29:44not me.
29:46We just...
29:49We just did transport.
29:52Then how did others
29:54know that four women
29:55were killed?
29:57Three.
29:58The report says
30:00four women.
30:02It was three.
30:05How can you be so sure?
30:07Because they gave me
30:08a receipt.
30:12A what?
30:16The next day,
30:18the guards gave me
30:19a receipt
30:19for three women spies
30:21shot dead.
30:23We needed it for bookkeeping
30:25back at Karlsruhe.
30:32Shall I describe them
30:34for you?
30:39Three women?
30:40Vasper provides
30:42descriptions of three women
30:44transferred from Karlsruhe
30:46to Dachau
30:47that match Vera's
30:48records of three
30:49SOE women.
30:51Vera has sufficient proof
30:53that her SOE agents,
30:56Jolande Beekmann,
30:57Eliane Plumann
30:58and Madeleine Darmamont
31:00are killed
31:02at Dachau.
31:05Vera,
31:06after interviewing
31:07Max Vasper,
31:08now has everybody
31:09accounted for,
31:11she knows exactly
31:12where all of her agents
31:14ended up
31:14and there must have been
31:15a sort of wonderful
31:16sense of completion
31:17but also this sort of
31:18tragic pang
31:19of knowing that
31:21there's nobody
31:22left to be saved
31:23and just the horrific nature
31:25of their deaths.
31:25It must have been
31:26absolutely awful.
31:34Vera now believes
31:36she has sufficient evidence
31:38to account for every one
31:40of her lost women spies
31:41alive or dead.
31:46She writes up a report
31:48for London
31:48closing the case.
31:52Of the 39 women
31:54Vera sent to war,
31:5627 returned alive.
32:00Many after
32:01sustained torture.
32:0712 lose their lives
32:09at the hands
32:10of the Nazis.
32:17She encloses draft letters
32:19to be sent
32:20to the women's
32:20next of kin.
32:22Details of their names
32:23to be completed
32:25in London.
32:28It is with the deepest regret
32:30that I have to inform you
32:31that your daughter
32:32was killed
32:33in the early hours
32:34of the 13th of September,
32:371944
32:38in the camp of Dachau.
32:40According to what is believed
32:42to be a reliable report,
32:44she was shot
32:45through the back of the head
32:46and death was immediate.
32:49The body was cremated
32:50in the camp crematorium.
32:53Vera does succeed
32:55in discovering
32:56the fate of the 12
32:58missing women agents
32:59and in that sense
33:01there is closure for her.
33:03She has succeeded
33:05in discovering
33:06what's happened
33:06to all of them
33:07but also it means
33:09that she can write
33:10to the families
33:11and personally tell them
33:13what's happened
33:14and she carries that
33:16for the rest of her life.
33:18What you find
33:19later in life
33:20is some of the children
33:21of the agents
33:23who died in action
33:24actually seek her out.
33:25They travel
33:25from across the world
33:27because she's the one
33:28tangible physical link
33:31with those agents
33:33and so she assumes
33:34a really important role
33:36not only immediately
33:38after investigations
33:40but for the rest of her life
33:42she's the one
33:43that carries their memory.
33:49Vera has finally
33:50uncovered the fate
33:52of her missing women
33:53and prepares to leave Germany.
34:00With this part
34:01of her mission over
34:02Vera will return
34:04to England.
34:13Now she must answer
34:15the hardest question.
34:19How did it all go
34:21so wrong?
34:33Vera must now uncover
34:35why so many
34:36of her agents
34:37were captured
34:38and how the
34:39Nazi intelligence service
34:41seemed to infiltrate
34:43SOE's agent networks
34:44so successfully.
34:46When Vera returns
34:48to England
34:49there's a niggling
34:50doubt in her mind
34:51that perhaps
34:52they have been betrayed
34:54she has been betrayed
34:56perhaps there was
34:58a spy
34:58within the SOE
35:00perhaps there was
35:01somebody betraying
35:02them all
35:02all along.
35:06And the most terrifying
35:08fear starts
35:09to take hold of her
35:10that somebody
35:10very close to her
35:11somebody who she
35:12has to have worked with
35:14at SOE itself
35:15might have actually
35:17betrayed her
35:17and she has to
35:18start thinking
35:19did I send
35:21these agents
35:22out to their
35:23deaths?
35:24Were they being
35:25parachuted to
35:26or flown to
35:26the waiting arms
35:28of treachery?
35:31The man who is
35:32key to this
35:33is the head
35:34of Nazi security
35:35in France
35:36Hans Kiefer
35:37who is hiding
35:38somewhere
35:39in Germany.
35:42Find Kiefer
35:43and you find
35:45the traitor.
35:58Vera passes
35:59a tip
35:59to her friend
36:00SAS Major
36:01Bill Barkworth
36:02that Kiefer
36:03might be hiding
36:04in his hometown
36:05of Garmisch
36:06in Bavaria.
36:12With Kiefer
36:13on the run
36:14Vera turns
36:15to another
36:16leading Nazi
36:17to try and
36:18uncover
36:18how the Germans
36:19captured her
36:20women agents.
36:24He is the man
36:25who masterminded
36:26the Nazi radio
36:27operation
36:27in northern France.
36:32Dr. Josef
36:34Goertz.
36:40Goertz
36:41worked as one
36:42of Kiefer's lead
36:43counter-intelligence
36:44officers.
36:46Dr. Goertz
36:47works in
36:48Avenue Foch
36:49in the
36:50Sicherheitsdienst
36:51headquarters
36:51in Paris
36:52and he's an
36:53underling
36:54of SS
36:55Strombanfuer
36:56or Kiefer
36:56from the
36:57Sicherheitsdienst
36:58and his job
36:59is effectively
37:01to engage
37:02in counter-espionage
37:03to collect
37:04the evidence,
37:06letters,
37:06documents
37:07from enemy
37:07agents
37:08and keep
37:09them,
37:09analyze them
37:10and then
37:10give that
37:11information
37:11forward back
37:12to Kiefer
37:13and inform
37:14him about
37:14what the
37:14agents are
37:15up to.
37:17There is one
37:18thing Goertz
37:19is especially
37:19good at,
37:20which is
37:21fooling the
37:21British
37:22with fake
37:23radio
37:23transmissions.
37:28London was
37:29oblivious
37:30that agents
37:30had been
37:31captured
37:33and that
37:34Goertz
37:34was using
37:35information
37:35tortured out
37:36of them
37:37to trick
37:37SOE
37:38into revealing
37:39intelligence
37:40about the
37:41agents'
37:41circuits.
37:43It's basically
37:44a game
37:45that they
37:46were playing
37:46with the
37:47British
37:47by sending
37:48them false
37:49messages
37:49through their
37:50own wireless
37:51transmitters.
37:51So when you'd
37:52capture an agent
37:53it'd be taken
37:54back to
37:54Avenue Foch
37:55and they'd
37:56been interrogated
37:57and their
37:57actual transmitter
37:58was kept.
37:59So that that
38:00meant that when
38:01they gave them
38:02the right codes
38:03they could then
38:04give false
38:05messages back
38:05to London
38:06and get them
38:07to do all
38:08sorts of
38:08things that
38:08they wanted
38:09to,
38:09make them
38:09think that
38:10agents were
38:10still OK
38:11and hadn't
38:11been detained
38:12or indeed
38:13give them
38:13false messages
38:14about what
38:15was happening
38:15in the war
38:16that would
38:16get passed
38:17up the chain
38:17to Winston
38:18Churchill
38:18and affect
38:19the war.
38:22Goertz
38:22is one of
38:23thousands
38:23of suspected
38:24war criminals
38:25arrested after
38:26the war
38:27but when it
38:28is discovered
38:29that he is
38:30the radio
38:30mastermind
38:31at Avenue
38:31Foch
38:32he is sent
38:33to England
38:33for further
38:35interrogation.
38:38Funkspiel
38:39that's what
38:40we called it
38:41the radio
38:42game
38:44and London
38:45was very
38:46bad at it.
38:48we would
38:49impersonate
38:50one of
38:50your agents
38:52ask
38:52questions
38:54and London
38:55would give
38:55us the
38:55answer
38:56with a
38:57little
38:58slap
38:59on the
38:59wrist.
39:01Please
39:02use your
39:02security code
39:03next time.
39:11London
39:12was a
39:12joke
39:14when the
39:15agents we
39:16captured
39:16knew how
39:17much we
39:17knew
39:17already
39:19well
39:21they simply
39:22gave up.
39:24What did
39:25you do
39:25once the
39:26agents
39:26were caught?
39:29We
39:31interrogated
39:32them
39:33for more
39:34personal
39:35information.
39:37More?
39:39Kiefer
39:40told your
39:41agents
39:42that we
39:43knew all
39:44their secrets
39:44already
39:45and if
39:46they wanted
39:47to live
39:49well
39:49they'd have
39:51to
39:51collaborate
39:52with him.
39:55How did
39:56Kiefer
39:57know so
39:58much?
39:59Personal
40:00information
40:00was never
40:01shared
40:01by radio.
40:03No
40:04not by
40:05radio.
40:08The only
40:09personal
40:09information
40:10was sent
40:11by mail.
40:21Goertz
40:22reveals
40:22that Kiefer
40:23somehow
40:24gets access
40:25to personal
40:26letters
40:26that Vera's
40:28agents send
40:28from France
40:29back home
40:30to England.
40:37uncoded
40:38letters
40:39full
40:39of
40:40private
40:40information.
40:44Vera
40:44discovers
40:45that Kiefer
40:46has actually
40:47had access
40:47to all
40:49of the
40:49mail
40:49from the
40:50agents
40:51so they
40:52didn't have
40:53a chance
40:53when the
40:53agents
40:54had dropped
40:54into France.
40:55The Germans
40:55know exactly
40:56who's coming
40:57and when
40:57and that
40:59realisation
41:00that the
41:00Germans
41:01were reading
41:01all the
41:02agents'
41:02mail
41:03must have
41:04been
41:04such a
41:05shocking
41:06revelation
41:06to Vera.
41:07And then
41:08it leads
41:09to the
41:09next question
41:10who
41:11had
41:11betrayed
41:12them?
41:17How did
41:18Kiefer
41:18get the
41:19mail?
41:21Kiefer
41:22told me
41:22that he
41:24got it
41:24from Gilbert.
41:38Yes.
41:41I believe
41:41that's him.
41:45Gilbert
41:47is the
41:47codename
41:48for
41:48French
41:49agent
41:50Henri
41:51Deracol.
42:01The man
42:02S.O.E.
42:03had trusted
42:03with the
42:04safety
42:04of their
42:04agents
42:05appears
42:06to be
42:06a
42:07traitor.
42:09Deracol
42:10had already
42:11been recalled
42:12to London
42:12by Buckmaster
42:13and Boddington
42:14after allegations
42:15of collaborating
42:16with the
42:17Nazis.
42:19Deracol
42:20pleaded
42:20his innocence
42:21and after
42:22an investigation
42:24Don't worry
42:24Deracol
42:25we'll clear
42:26this whole
42:26sorry
42:26business
42:27up.
42:28Thanks sir.
42:29He is
42:29cleared.
42:32Vera
42:33is put
42:34in a
42:34position
42:34where she
42:35either
42:35believes
42:36a Nazi
42:37or a
42:37possible
42:38double
42:38agent.
42:39Henri
42:39Deracol
42:40is in
42:40the
42:41heart
42:41of
42:41the
42:41S.O.E.
42:42He
42:42is one
42:43of their
42:44own.
42:44This
42:44is a
42:45man
42:45that she
42:46hands
42:46over
42:46her
42:46agents
42:47to.
42:47How
42:47could
42:47she
42:47possibly
42:48believe
42:49that he
42:49could
42:49be
42:50a
42:50double
42:50agent?
42:50He
42:50was
42:51cleared.
42:51mean
42:51surely
42:52everybody
42:52knows
42:53him.
42:54But how
42:54did the
42:55Nazis
42:55know
42:56so
42:56much?
42:57How
42:58is it
42:58possible?
42:59And here
42:59is
42:59Goetz
43:00saying
43:01well
43:01you
43:01know
43:01this
43:02I'm
43:03telling
43:03you
43:03the
43:03truth
43:03and
43:04it
43:05must
43:05have
43:05been
43:05such
43:06a
43:06worm
43:07in
43:07her
43:07mind.
43:08Was
43:08Deracol
43:09a
43:09spy
43:10a
43:10double
43:11agent?
43:12So
43:13who
43:13is
43:14telling
43:14the
43:14truth?
43:15Deracol
43:17or
43:17Goetz?
43:19One
43:20of the
43:20problems
43:20with
43:21trying
43:21to
43:21tease
43:22out
43:22a
43:23spy
43:23is
43:24that
43:24you
43:24have
43:24to
43:24trust
43:25people
43:25that
43:25you
43:25don't
43:25trust.
43:26And
43:27in
43:27this
43:27case
43:27she's
43:28talking
43:28to
43:28people
43:28like
43:29Dr.
43:29Goetz
43:29from
43:29the
43:30SD
43:30and
43:31it's
43:31in
43:31his
43:32vested
43:32interest
43:33and
43:33has
43:33been
43:33for
43:34years
43:35to
43:35play
43:36cat
43:36and
43:36mouse
43:37games
43:37with
43:37the
43:37SOE
43:38and
43:38with
43:39people
43:39like
43:39Vera.
43:40And
43:40so
43:40she
43:40has
43:41to
43:41decide
43:41well
43:41can
43:42I
43:42trust
43:42somebody
43:43like
43:43Dr.
43:43Goetz
43:43so
43:44these
43:45doubts
43:45are
43:46also
43:46in
43:46her
43:46mind
43:47what
43:47does
43:48she
43:48really
43:48know?
43:54The
43:55only
43:55way
43:56for
43:56Vera
43:56to
43:56be
43:57sure
43:57is
43:58to
43:58find
43:58the
43:58mastermind
43:59for
43:59all
44:00Nazi
44:00intelligence
44:01in
44:01northern
44:01France
44:02Hans
44:03Kiefer
44:05a
44:06man
44:06who
44:07is
44:07on
44:07the
44:07run
44:07hiding
44:08somewhere
44:09in
44:10Germany
44:21But
44:21all
44:22of
44:22Vera's
44:22work
44:23comes
44:23into
44:23question
44:24when
44:25she
44:25receives
44:25a
44:25letter
44:26forwarded
44:26by
44:27her
44:27superior
44:27Norman
44:28Mott
44:31The
44:32letter
44:32is
44:33written
44:33by
44:33Yolande
44:34LaGravre
44:35a
44:35member
44:36of
44:36the
44:36French
44:36Resistance
44:39LaGravre
44:40writes
44:40that
44:41in
44:41June
44:411943
44:42she
44:43was
44:43arrested
44:44by
44:44the
44:44Gestapo
44:45and
44:46transferred
44:46to
44:47Pforzheim
44:47prison
44:53I
44:54was
44:54able
44:54to
44:55correspond
44:55with
44:55an
44:56English
44:56parachutist
44:57who
44:57was
44:57locked
44:57up
44:58there
44:58also
44:58she
44:59was
45:00very
45:00unhappy
45:02her
45:02hands
45:03and feet
45:03were
45:04chained
45:04and she
45:05was
45:05never
45:05allowed
45:06out
45:07I
45:07heard
45:08the
45:08blows
45:08which
45:09she
45:09received
45:09from
45:09the
45:09prison
45:10guards
45:10she
45:11was
45:11taken
45:12away
45:12from
45:12Forts
45:13Heim
45:13in
45:13September
45:141944
45:15before
45:16she
45:16left
45:17she
45:17had
45:18been
45:18able
45:18to
45:18send
45:18me
45:19not
45:19her
45:20name
45:20because
45:20it
45:20was
45:21too
45:21dangerous
45:21but
45:21her
45:22alias
45:22and she
45:23also
45:23wrote
45:23down
45:24her
45:24address
45:24for
45:24me
45:24it
45:25was
45:26this
45:27Nora
45:27Baker
45:27Radio
45:28Center
45:29Officer
45:29Service
45:30RAF
45:304
45:31Taveston
45:31Street
45:32London
45:34I
45:34kept
45:34the
45:34address
45:35on a
45:35piece
45:35of
45:35paper
45:36sewn
45:36into
45:36my
45:36hand
45:39Noor
45:40Inayat
45:40Khan
45:41had
45:41been
45:41recruited
45:42as
45:42a
45:43wireless
45:43operator
45:43from
45:44the
45:44WAF
45:44the
45:45women's
45:45division
45:46of
45:46the
45:46RAF
45:484
45:49Taveston
45:50Street
45:50London
45:50had
45:51once
45:51been
45:52her
45:52family's
45:52home
45:53and
45:54Nora
45:55Baker
45:55had
45:56once
45:56been
45:57her
45:57alias
46:10Vera
46:10believes
46:11the
46:11prisoner
46:11Lagrave
46:12writes
46:12about
46:13is
46:14Noor
46:15and
46:16if
46:16Noor
46:16had
46:17been
46:17held
46:17at
46:17Pforzheim
46:18until
46:18September
46:191944
46:21then
46:21there
46:22is
46:22no
46:22way
46:22she
46:23could
46:23have
46:23been
46:23one
46:23of
46:23the
46:24four
46:24women
46:24killed
46:24at
46:25Natsweiler
46:25in
46:26July
46:261944
46:29when
46:29Vera
46:30learns
46:30about
46:30Noor's
46:31fate
46:31and
46:32the
46:32fact
46:32that
46:32she's
46:32gone
46:32to
46:33Forzheim
46:33it's
46:34such
46:34a
46:34mix
46:34of
46:34emotions
46:35because
46:35here
46:36she
46:36thought
46:36she's
46:37written
46:37to
46:37the
46:37family
46:37that
46:38Noor
46:39has
46:39been
46:39killed
46:39in
46:40Natsweiler
46:40she
46:41has
46:41internalized
46:42that
46:42now
46:43dealt
46:43with
46:43that
46:44thought
46:44there's
46:44been
46:44some
46:45closure
46:45and
46:45now
46:46this
46:46has
46:46opened
46:46up
46:46something
46:47else
46:47could
46:48Noor
46:48be
46:48alive
46:48did
46:49she
46:49manage
46:49to
46:50get
46:50out
46:50what
46:51happened
46:51to
46:51her
46:51so
46:52she
46:52is
46:52in
46:52a
46:53space
46:53where
46:53now
46:53she
46:53has
46:54to
46:54find
46:54out
46:54the
46:55final
46:55journey
46:56she
46:56has
46:56to
46:57find
46:57out
46:57if
46:57she
46:57escaped
46:57there
46:58is
46:58a
46:58sliver
46:58of
46:58hope
46:58but
46:59also
46:59what
47:00could
47:00have
47:00happened
47:00to
47:01Noor
47:02so
47:02what
47:03did
47:03happen
47:04to
47:04Noor
47:06if
47:06she
47:06wasn't
47:07killed
47:07at
47:07Natsweiler
47:08could
47:09Noor
47:09still
47:10be
47:10alive
47:11Vera
47:12has
47:13to
47:13uncover
47:13the
47:14truth
47:43son
48:00Transcription by CastingWords
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