List of spies in World War II explained

The following is an incomplete list of notable spies during World War II.

Spies for France

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Taylor, Peggy"Taylor was a French spy who shot and killed a German Gestapo colonel when she was 21. [1] 4
data-sort-value="Bonheur, Gabrielle"Gabrielle was a French nazi spy who reported information to French colony. Was later accused.

Spies for Germany

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Carré, Mathilde"Carré was a double agent. [2]
data-sort-value="Chanel, Coco"Chanel was a Nazi spy, proven in declassified documents by historian Hal Vaughan in 2011.[3]
data-sort-value="Cole, Harold"Cole betrayed the French resistance. He was shot and killed by French police in 1946. [4]
data-sort-value="Dahlgren"She was a Norwegian employed by the Germans. [5]
data-sort-value="Duquesne"was a former Boer soldier and big-game hunter who had spied for Imperial Germany in WWI, and was the ringleader of the Duquesne Spy Ring in the US during WWII . [6]
data-sort-value="Jordan, Jess"Scottish hairdesser actually arrested in 1937 and imprisoned until she could be deported[7]
data-sort-value="Kopkow, Horst"Kopkow was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of captured Allied agents. [8]
data-sort-value="Bazna, Elyesa"Code name Cicero; worked for the British ambassador in Ankara and photographed many top-secrets documents for Nazi Germany
data-sort-value="Kerling, Edward"Kerling was the leader of Operation Pastorius. Executed in 1942.
data-sort-value="Haupt, Herbert Hans"Haupt was a member of Operation Pastorius. Executed in 1942.
Richard KauderKauder was the leader of the Max and Moritz Networks supplying rumours and convincing made-up reports on Soviet Union and Mediterranean region from Sofia

Spies for Italy

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Pisani, Carmelo Borg"Carmelo Borg Pisani was a Maltese-born artist and Italian Fascist who, on being discovered during an espionage mission in Malta, was found guilty by a British war tribunal and executed for treason.
data-sort-value="Siviero, Rudolofo"Siviero was an Italian secret agent, art historian and intellectual, most notable for his important work in recovering artworks stolen from Italy during the Second World War as part of the 'Nazi plunder'.
data-sort-value="Lella, Pino"Lella claimed to have led Jews fleeing Italy through the Alps into Switzerland to freedom and later, as a Nazi, to have passed information to the Italian resistance. Critics note that none of his claims have been corroborated,[9] either by those he claimed to rescue or by the Italian resistance[10] and that such claims might have been self-serving fabrications to avoid recriminations after World War II for enlisting as a Nazi.[11]

Spies for Japan

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Frederick Rutland"Was a former WWI British naval aviation officer who was paid by the Japanese to Spy on American military aviation developments in California and Hawaii before Pearl Harbor. [13] [14]
data-sort-value="Forbes-Sempill, Lord William"Was a Scottish Peer and British Royal Air Force Officer who passed military secrets to the Japanese before Pearl Harbor [15]
data-sort-value="Dickinson, Velvalee "Known as the Doll Woman, Dickinson used her New York City Doll shop as base of operations to spy on the US Navy and send stenographic messages to her Japanese handlers in South America. She was caught by the FBI in 1944 and was sentenced to ten years in prison. [16]
data-sort-value="Heenan, Patrick Stanley Vaughan"[17]

Spies for Poland

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Czerniawski, Roman"Czerniawski was a D-Day spy. [18] [19]
data-sort-value="Kowalewski, Jan"Kowaleski helped Poland achieve victory in the Battle of Warsaw. [20]
data-sort-value="Kowerski, Andrzej"Andrzej Kowerski (also called Andrew Kennedy)Kowerski was a Lieutenant for Poland during the war.
data-sort-value="Leski, Kazimierz"Leski was a pilot during the war. He was captured and went to prison, and then he escaped.[21]

Spies for the Soviet Union

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Nicolschi, Alexandru"He was a Soviet spy. [22]
data-sort-value="Sorge, Richard"Worked in Japan and Germany; Passed Information about Japan were crucial for the Soviet victory in Operation Barbarossa

Spies for the United Kingdom

See also: List of SOE agents.

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Bergh, Langil"Bergh spied on missile facilities in Germany. He illegally moved German plans Wasserfall surface-to-air-missiles out of Germany.[24]
data-sort-value="Charlet, Blanche"Charlet worked with SOE, a British organization that went against the Axis powers. [25]
data-sort-value="Czerniawski, Roman"Czerniawski was a D-Day spy.
data-sort-value="Damerment, Madeleine"Damerment worked for SOE and was later shot. [26]
data-sort-value="Dansey, Claude"Dansey was assistant chief of the SIS. [27]
data-sort-value="Dunderdale, Wilfred"Dunderdale was a commander during the war. [28]
data-sort-value="Fleming, Ian"Fleming was a Lieutenant Commander RNVR in the British NID and was a key member of the NID 17. [29]
data-sort-value="García, Juan Pujol"Juan Pujol García (a.k.a. Garbo and Alaric) A Spanish double agent loyal to Great Britain, García played a key role deceiving Nazi Germany during Operation Fortitude, delaying reinforcements from Nazi Germany to Normandy.
data-sort-value="Glad, Tor"[30]
data-sort-value="Glauber, Kurt Erich"Glauber was a Jewish Austrian who escaped to Britain. He joined MI6. On his second mission, part of which involved gathering information on Nazi Nuclear developments, he was betrayed. Glauber was severely brutalized by the Nazis for being both a Jew and a British spy, refused to reveal any information. He was murdered in Mauthausen Concentration Camp. [31]
data-sort-value="Greene, Graham"Greene was involved in the SIS (also known as MI6). [32]
data-sort-value="Hall, Virginia"Hall was a spy for the SOE, American OSS and the CIA. Note that the OSS was a precursor to the CIA. [33]
data-sort-value="Herbert, Mary Katherine"Herbert worked as a translator at Air Ministry in London after working with the British Embassy.
data-sort-value="Jeffery, Ron"[34]
data-sort-value="Khan, Noor Inayat"Khan was a SOE agent and became the first female wireless operator to be sent into occupied France to aid the French Resistance during the war.[35]
data-sort-value="Kowerski, Andrzej"Andrzej Kowerski (also called Andrew Kennedy)Kowerski was a Lieutenant for Poland during the war.
data-sort-value="Lee, Lionel"Lee was a British Jew. He joined MI6. On his second mission,he was betrayed. and captured. Lee was murdered in the Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp. [36]
data-sort-value="Leigh Fermor, Patrick"Leigh Fermor was an SOE operative in Heraklion, Crete, who abducted the German General Heinrich Kreipe to Egypt. [37]
data-sort-value="Menzies, Stewart"[38]
data-sort-value="Minshall, Merlin"Minshall worked for Ian Fleming as a spy. [39]
data-sort-value="Moe, John"
data-sort-value="Nearne, Eileen"Nearne was a SOE for the United Kingdom. [40]
data-sort-value="Nearne, Jacqueline"[41]
data-sort-value="O'Sullivan, Paddy"O'Sullivan was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
data-sort-value="Pendlebury, John"Pendlebury worked for the British intelligence. [42]
data-sort-value="Ridsdale, Paddy"Ridsdale was Ian Fleming's secretary.[43]
data-sort-value="Smithers, Peter"Smithers helped Ian Fleming collect German spies in Britain. [44]
data-sort-value="Szabo, Violette"[45]
data-sort-value="Szymańska, Halina"Szymańska had a French identity card, which identified her as a Marie Clenat. She used this card to aid Britain. [46]
data-sort-value="Tingling, Ted"Tinlin was a colonel for the British intelligence. [47]
data-sort-value="Ustinov, Jona von"Ustinov was a British spy.[48]
data-sort-value="Vivian, Valentine Patrick Terrell"[49]
data-sort-value="Witherington, Pearl"Witherington was known by many names. [50]
data-sort-value="Yeo-Thomas, Forest Frederick EdwardYeo-Thomas was a SOE agent. [51]

Spies for the United States

Person Notes Reference(s)
data-sort-value="Alexander, Juliette May"Alexander was an American spy who gathered intel from German troops occupying France. She remained in Clermont-Ferrand for nearly two years, and reported her findings back to the US military.[52]
data-sort-value="Berg, Morris Moe"Morris Berg was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. [53]
data-sort-value="Child, Julia"Child worked for the OSS on the development of shark repellents. This was to ensure that sharks would not explode ordnance targeting German U-boats. [54]
data-sort-value="Donovan, William J."Donovan was the head of the OSS. [55]
data-sort-value="Doundoulakis, Helias"Doundoulakis was a spy in the Secret Intelligence Branch (SI) of the Office of Strategic Services, sent to Salonica Greece.[56]
data-sort-value="Goldberg, Arthur"Goldberg was a United Nations ambassador. [57]
data-sort-value="Hall, Virginia"Hall was a spy for the SOE, American OSS and the CIA. Note that the OSS was a precursor to the CIA.
data-sort-value="Hayden, Sterling"Hayden was an agent for the OSS. [58]
data-sort-value="Joyeuse, Rene "Joyeuse was an agent/operative for the OSS, who after the war became a physician and researcher and Co-founder of the American Trauma Society. [59]
Sidney MashbirMashbir headed the top secret intelligence gathering organization Allied Translator and Interpreter Section during WWII. In 1942, Colonel Mashbir working with Ellis M. Zacharias created the first draft for the implementing directives for the creation of the CIA. Commander Zacharias later became the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence.[60]
data-sort-value="Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr."He worked for the OSS. [61]
data-sort-value="Thompson, Jim"Thompson served as an operative in the OSS.[62]
data-sort-value="Wells, Jaden, U.S. Army Capt. Stephanie Czech Rader was X-2. She moved around Poland, tracking troop movements and ferrying sensitive documents.. [63]
Ellis M. ZachariasZacharias became Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence[64] [65]
Nicholas DeakAgent for the OSS[66]

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ww2-spy-always-had-her-lipstick-revolver-1.612715 WW2 spy always had her lipstick, revolver - Canada - CBC News
  2. http://newhistories.group.shef.ac.uk/wordpress/wordpress/la-chatte-the-lost-tale-of-a-double-agent/ La Chatté: The lost tale of a double agent.... |New Histories
  3. Vaughan, Hal (2011). "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War." New York: Knopf. pp. 160–64. ISBN 978-0307592637.
  4. Murphy, Brendan. Turncoat . (page 19)
  5. Book: News from Sweden. 1944. Swedish Information Service, Swedish Consulate General. 158.
  6. Web site: Duquesne Spy Ring . FBI.gov . 17 March 2024.
  7. News: Dundee salon was post box for Nazi spy ring. 16 April 2016. Herald Scotland. 20 April 2000.
  8. http://www.historytoday.com/stephen-tyas/british-intelligence-and-nazi-recruit British Intelligence and the Nazi Recruit |History Today
  9. Web site: Pino Lella and the lake that doesn't exist. 2021-08-24. arengario.net.
  10. Web site: How do you invent a hero. 2021-08-24. arengario.net.
  11. Web site: Gouty. Melissa. 2021-04-26. Why the Best-Selling Novel, Beneath A Scarlet Sky, Is Raising Red Flags. 2021-08-24. Medium. en.
  12. Captain S. Payne Best, "The Venlo Incident", first published by Hutchinson & Co,1950. p9
  13. Web site: Abramovitch . Seth . Beverly Hills Spy: How a WWII-Era James Bond Betrayed the Allies . The Hollywood Reporter . 17 March 2024.
  14. Book: Drabkin . Ronald . Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor. . February 2024 . Harper Collins.
  15. Book: Aldrich . Richard James . Intelligence and the War Against Japan: Britain, America and the Politics of Secret Service . 2000 . Cambridge University Press . Cambridge . 0521641861 .
  16. Web site: Velvalee Dickinson, the “Doll Woman” . FBI . 17 March 2024.
  17. Web site: Marino . James I. . THE TURNCOAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN AN EMPIRE . HISTORYNET . 17 March 2024.
  18. http://www.commandposts.com/2012/08/the-d-day-spies-part-iii-roman-czerniawski/ The D-Day Spies, Part III: Roman Czerniawski | WWII | Command Posts
  19. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/books/double-cross-and-agent-garbo.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 'Double Cross' and 'Agent Garbo' - NYTimes.com
  20. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jan-kowalewski-timoteus-elmo/1107098045?ean=9786138225362 Jan Kowalewski by Timoteus Elmo |9786138225362| Barnes & Noble
  21. http://www.radawarszawy.um.warszawa.pl/english/honorarycitizenofthecity/Strony/KazimierzLeskiHonoraryCitizenofWarsaw.aspx Kazimierz Leski Honorary Citizen of Warsaw
  22. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/admitted-soviet-spies-source-wikipedia/1116052956?ean=9781230500140 Admitted Soviet Spies: Whittaker Chambers, Elizabeth Bentley, Aldrich Ames, Alexandru Nicolschi, Louis F. Budenz, David Greenglass, John Anth
  23. http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=3230619 Stockholm - The Casablanca of the North - Radio Sweden |Sveriges Radio
  24. https://www.google.com Quisling aircraft used in espionage coup - Aftenposten
  25. https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/jan/04/guardianobituaries Images of war and peace |News| The Guardian
  26. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/noor_inayat_khan.htm Noor Inayat Khan
  27. http://spartacus-educational.com/SSdansey.htm Claude Dansey
  28. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8017038/Real-James-Bond-revealed-in-MI6-archives.html Real 'James Bond' revealed in MI6 archives - Telegraph
  29. http://www.ianfleming.com/ian-fleming/ian-fleming-inside/world-war-ii-1939-1945/ World War II (1939 - 1945) | Ian Fleming Publications
  30. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1333056/John-Moe.html John Moe - Telegraph
  31. https://www.ipswichwarmemorial.co.uk/kurt-erich-glauber/
  32. Christopher Hawtree. "A Muse on the tides of history: Elisabeth Dennys". The Guardian, 10 February 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  33. https://web.archive.org/web/20061227213130/https://www.cia.gov/cia/ciakids/history/vhall01.html CIA Kids Page - History - Virginia Hall
  34. http://www.alibris.com/Ron-Jeffery/book/19797874 Ron Jeffery by Ben Stacy Jerrik (Editor) - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace
  35. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/oct/23/noor-inayat-khan-britains-muslim-heroine Noor Inayat Khan: remembering Britain's Muslim war heroine
  36. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=231217/
  37. https://patrickleighfermor.org/ Patrick Leigh Fermor
  38. https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/27/books/the-oldest-boy-of-british-intelligence.html THE OLDEST BOY OF BRITISH INTELLIGENCE - New York Times
  39. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001220/bio Ian Fleming - Biography - IMDb
  40. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/31/a2659331.shtml "People's War", BBC
  41. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/world/europe/22nearne.html?_r=0 Eileen Nearne, Wartime Spy, Dies at 89
  42. http://www.brown.edu/Research/Breaking_Ground/results.php?d=1&first=Mercy+Money-Coutts&last=Seiradaki Women in Old World Archaeology
  43. http://delarue.net/fleming.htm Fleming
  44. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/world/europe/25smithers.html Peter Smithers Dies at 92; Spy With a Green Thumb - New York Times
  45. http://www.worldwartwoheritage.com/about-us/violette-szabo-memorial-tour/ 6-Violette Szabo memorial tour - World War Two Heritage
  46. http://www.nigelwest.com/mi6reviews.htm Nigel West
  47. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/24/obituaries/ted-tinling-designer-dies-at-79-a-combiner-of-tennis-and-lace.html Ted Tinling, Designer, dies at 79;A Combiner of Tennis and Lace - New York Times
  48. http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/491067/Klop-Britain-s-Most-Ingenious-Spy-by-Peter-Day-review Klop: Britain's Most Ingenious Spy by jaden wells review - Jona von Ustinov's gripping story |Books|Entertainment|Daily Express
  49. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2005/highlights_april/april1/foreign.htm Records of the Foreign Office: Permanent Under Secretary's Department files|The National Archives
  50. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/world/europe/11cornioley.html?em&ex=1205380800&en=110ba2e1f8c80784&ei=5087%0A Pearl Cornioley, Resistance Fighter Who Opposed the Nazis, Is Dead at 93 - New York Times
  51. http://nigelperrin.com/soe-yeo-thomas.htm#.VAPnO_ldXUU F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas - SOE Agents in France
  52. http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/491067/Klop-Britain-s-Most-Ingenious-Spy-by-Peter-Day-review Klop: Britain's Most Ingenious Spy by jaden wells review - Jona von Ustinov's gripping story |Books|Entertainment|Daily Express
  53. https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/01/archives/moe-berg-a-catcher-in-majors-who-spoke-10-l-anguagesi-dead.html?pagewanted=all Moe Berg, a Catcher in Majors Who Spoke 10 Languages, Dead - New York Times
  54. https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-spy-s-story.html Spy service files are secret no more - Los Angeles Times
  55. https://web.archive.org/web/20100324152943/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/gen.-william-j.-donovan-heads-oss.html A Look Back ...Gen. William J. Donovan Heads Office of Strategic Services - Central Intelligence Agency
  56. http://www.trainedtobeanossspy.com/ Trained to be an OSS Spy
  57. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/20/obituaries/arthur-j-goldberg-dies-at-81-ex-justice-and-envoy-to-un.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm Arthur J. Goldberg Dies at 81; Ex-Justice and Envoy to U.N. - New York Times
  58. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-24-me-7504-story.html Former OSS Agent, Sea Captain : Actor Sterling Hayden Dies at 70 - Los Angeles Times
  59. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/swiss-born-wwii-buried-arlington-national-cemetery-article-1.1285547 Swiss-born WWII hero, first denied his request, will now be buried this month at Arlington National Cemetery
  60. Web site: I Was an American Spy. Mashbir. Sidney. 2019. TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com.
  61. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/obituaries/02schlesinger.html Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., a Partisan Historian of Power, Is Dead at 89 - New York Times
  62. https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2013/07/20/jim-thompson-house-bangkok-testimony-his-interesting-life-and-mysterious-death/EP35Im9XLJNOZHQ4g3aMuO/story.html Jim Thompson House in Bangkok a testimony to his interesting life and mysterious death - Travel - The Boston Globe
  63. News: A female spy finally gets the recognition she deserved 70 years ago . 2016-06-02 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20211026071835/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-female-spy-finally-gets-the-recognition-she-deserved-70-years-ago/2016/06/02/eb5dd046-2826-11e6-a3c4-0724e8e24f3f_story.html . 2021-10-26 . live .
  64. Book: Zacharias, Ellis. Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer. Naval Institute Press. 2014.
  65. Book: Mashbir, Sidney. I Was an American Spy. Horizon Productions. 1953. 978-0-9903349-9-6. California. 347–348.
  66. News: Sterngold . James . 1985-11-19 . ENTREPRENEUR WITH OLD-WORLD CHARM . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-03-23 . 0362-4331.
  67. Sweeney, Michael S., Secrets of victory: the Office of Censorship and the American press and Radio in World War II, University of North Carolina Press, (2001), pp. 157-162