On 17 Dec 1942, the British Parliament fell silent as they learned the full horror of the Nazi extermination programme.

Britain's 'Secret Listeners' had captured chilling eyewitness evidence.

What they overheard stunned even the most hardened intelligence officers:
(🧵) On 17 December 1942, concern about the fate of Jews in Poland and other Nazi-occupied countries received the full attention of the British parliament when Anthony Eden read the Allied Declaration to the House of Commons.

The declaration included words of condemnation from other nations, including the United States, Soviet Union and various governments-in-exile: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Yugoslavia.

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On 18 October 1943, a captured German parachutist stunned his British interrogator with detailed eyewitness accounts of Nazi concentration camps and something far darker...

He calmly described Hitler's secret stud farms where SS officers bred the 'master race':
(🧵) German parachutist Hauptmann, who was captured in Italy on 18 October 1943, provided the most information from a single prisoner about the extent of the Nazi genocide.

Many transcripts survive of his conversations with a British army officer who was a fluent German speaker. Hauptmann was given the codename M350 by MI19.

All that was noted about him was his claim to have been a fugitive after shooting a Nazi official in Hamburg. MI19 was not sure what to make of some of his statements in interrogation and, unusually, added to his transcripts: ‘He has given a certain amount of information, some of which appears to be accurate and some highly improbable. His statements should therefore be treated with reserve.’

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In 1944, one of Hitler’s most decorated paratroop generals was captured in Brest and secretly brought to a grand English country house.

Hidden microphones recorded every word he said about the German war effort.

What he revealed still surprises historians today:
(🧵) One of the most interesting and high-ranking German officers to be held at Trent Park was General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, a highly decorated and battle-hardened paratroop commander who had earned a formidable reputation within the Wehrmacht for his leadership and determination.

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In 1941, bugged German pilots at Trent Park revealed a towed 5,000kg “Max” bomb with detachable wings – and Britain’s first warnings of Hitler’s build-up for the invasion of Russia.

Morale was cracking and Hitler worship was fading...
(🧵) Trent Park, North London:

Naval prisoners from two Kondor aircraft discussed the new German 109 fighter and the long-distance bomber HE177. Further discussions on navigation and communication on aircraft provided extremely useful information to MI9. Prisoners continued to mention Knickebein, Elecktra and X-Gerät, and Britain’s interference with navigational beams.

One of the most significant pieces of intelligence in this period related to the new heavy bomb termed ‘Max’ (2,500kg), mine-laying techniques and ‘the introduction of 1lb incendiaries with a small explosive charge’.

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Britain’s 'Secret Listeners' sat in the M Room at Trent Park surrounded by 15 hidden pressure microphones, acetate discs and old-fashioned switchboards.

They recorded every word from bugged German POWs.

This was WW2's most sophisticated eavesdropping operation:
(🧵)
During WW2, the new intelligence site Trent Park was kitted out with fifteen type 88A pressure microphones, nine portable disc recorders, five high quality headphones, one amplifier for loudspeaker monitoring, four switchboard assemblies, one mainframe assembly and a transformer.

The operators were supplied with 525 12-inch double-sided acetate recording discs for recording conversations, and 58 steel recording styli, 10 sapphire recording styli and spare parts.

Very little is known about the microphones that were used, except from a report which stated: ‘It was proved in practice, as was anticipated in laboratory work, that the moving coil type of microphone was the only practicable type for concealing purposes. Firstly, its size and shape were suitable, and secondly, it could be fitted and forgotten; only 2 failures were experienced over a period of three years.’

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After the murder of 50 escapees from the Great Escape, MI9 issued the controversial ‘Stay Put Order’ telling Allied airmen and soldiers to stop escaping and remain hidden after D-Day.

But one man fiercely disagreed and the row reached top command:
(🧵) At the beginning of 1944, IS9 was in discussion with the Air Ministry and other departments about the security of Allied personnel after D-Day. The discussion raised the issue of the ‘Stay Put Order’ and whether personnel should return to the lines rather than remain in hiding.

It was advocated that lessons should be learnt from North Africa (Western Desert) including that, in spite of capture, immediate escape was possible during the confusion of battle and counter-orders within enemy ranks.

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Captured WW2 German General Hermann Ramcke arrived in Britain with a stash of brandy... and refused to talk.

So the British gave him a fake Iron Cross, plied him with drink, and let the hidden microphones roll.

What he revealed next was pure gold for Allied Intelligence:
(🧵) On 19 September 1944, General Hermann Ramcke was captured in his bunker at Brest and found to be in possession of a large quantity of French brandy and liqueurs, a French mistress, an Irish setter, at least twenty uniforms, and a whole dinner service.

Major General Hans von der Mosel was captured with him. They were taken to an airfield near the coast and separated. Ramcke was taken to barracks, surrounded by half a dozen guards and held in isolation.

He recalled later: ‘An officer with a pistol lying within reach kept watch over me in a room where the walls were covered with pictures of German aircraft. I was kept there for two days completely isolated.’

Ramcke was brought to Wilton Park just two days after capture and housed in a cottage on site, along with Lieutenant Generals Heyking and Heim, and Vice Admiral Weber.

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At just 14, Alex Klein fled to Cologne after Kristallnacht.

Stopped by Nazi officers, they laughed at the small boy trying to reach the border and turned him back.

In June 1943 he volunteered for the RAF and flew against the regime that had tried to destroy him:
(🧵) Alex Klein served under his original name.

Born in Vienna in October 1924, his family fled to Cologne after Kristallnacht in an attempt to reach the Belgian border.

Alex decided, against his parent’s wishes, to try to reach the German/Belgian border on his own.

He left Cologne, aged fourteen, with a rucksack on his back, but was stopped and interrogated by Nazi officers en route.

They laughed at such a small boy trying to reach the border alone and turned him back. It was his youth which, in the end, saved his life.

He continued his journey, avoiding the Belgian border control, making his way through woods and lanes until he reached the main road to Verviers, always avoiding the border guards. The 45km journey on foot took him 8 hours and he finally stumbled into a café in Verviers.

He found refuge in a hostel in Brussels until May 1939 when he came to England with the Kindertransport. His parents eventually escaped Germany into Belgium and to England.

Alex found work in a sweat shop until his enlistment in the British Forces.

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German POWs went silent when a man interrogated them... but they couldn’t stop talking when a young woman entered the room.

MI9 discovered that the “right type of woman” made the perfect interrogator.

The true WW2 story of those recruited by the author of James Bond:
(🧵) An MI9 file states that ‘the right type of woman is as good an interrogator as a man.’

The use of women as interrogators is borne out by declassified naval intelligence files and is supported by fascinating psychology. It underpins an understanding of how German prisoners might give up information. Interrogation was a role traditionally assigned solely to men, but the use of female interrogators by MI9 demonstrates how women’s roles within intelligence were expanding beyond the customary duties of typing and translation.

The use of women as interrogators underlined a principle within British intelligence of using the right person for the job, irrespective of gender.

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While the world celebrated the liberation of Paris and Belgium, a secret Allied unit was still fighting behind the lines.

They were rescuing thousands of POWs and sending Retrievers into enemy territory.

This is the story of MI9 & IS9(WEA) in 1944-45:
(🧵) Over the summer of 1944 the Allied armies made progress through France, including the liberation of Paris in August, and continued on to the liberation of Belgium.

MI9’s work with POWs was far from over and continued until the end of the war in May 1945. Much of the practical work would be carried out in Western Europe in recently liberated areas of France and Belgium, and shortly Holland.

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A Jewish refugee parachuted into Normandy on D-Day.

He then spent the rest of the war teaching SS prisoners the truth about the Holocaust.

This is the extraordinary story of a British paratrooper who went from fighting Nazis to denazifying them in the heart of Cumbria:
(🧵) Ex-Berliner Harry Brooke (Heinz Brück) was posted to No.76 Camp, Merrythought Camp, Calthwaite in Cumberland (now Cumbria). It was part of a group of POW camps in the north of England which came under Northern Command and constituted the furthest north of all the German POW camps.

Brooke had been parachuted into Normandy just hours before D-Day with the 8th Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division.

‘When I was dropped into France,’ he commented, ‘in the early hours of D-Day, half of my Parachute Regiment did not survive to see freedom and live a full life. They did not make it to the ground alive. I was lucky and survived.’

When the fighting was over, Harry returned from Germany to a military base in Tilshead, Salisbury Plain. He was called into the CO’s office because the army was looking for interpreters to deal with the influx of Germans being held in camps across Britain.

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A Jewish refugee from Vienna became one of Britain’s toughest Commandos and stormed Normandy on D-Day.

He used his fluency in German to confuse the enemy, fought at Pegasus Bridge, was wounded three times… and still won the Military Medal.

This is his first-hand account:
(🧵) Ian Harris (Hans Hajos) was born in Vienna, Austria on New Year’s Day 1920 to a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother.

His father had served as a Captain in the Hungarian Horse Artillery in the First World War and was highly decorated for his service.

Ian came to England in 1938 under the auspices of the Quakers, working for nearly two years on various farms.

He volunteered for the British Forces and on 14 February 1940 joined the Pioneer Corps.

In early March 1943 he successfully transferred to the commandos.

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She was a female double agent who single-handedly delayed an entire SS Panzer division near Bordeaux just before D-Day.

This is the incredible story of Agent Bronx and her crucial role in 'Plan Ironside':
(🧵) Elvira Chaudoir, codename ‘Agent Bronx’, was born in 1911 and served as a double agent for the British Secret Services during the Second World War.

Bronx’s most important work was immediately prior to D-Day in Plan Ironside, to convince the Germans of an attack at Bordeaux rather than the Normandy beaches. The plan was put into action in the second half of May 1944.

The Germans expected her to report on any sign of the movement of British troops for invasion. She was given a code to indicate where the landings would take place and to send a telegram asking for a sum of money for her dentist. The amount asked for would indicate to the Germans the location of the invasion. If a landing was to occur in Northern France and Belgium, she was to ask for £70 to pay her dentist. For Northern France and Bay of Biscay, it was £60, the Bay of Biscay £50, Mediterranean £40, Denmark £30, invasion in Norway £20, and the Balkans £10.

In case of multiple invasion points she was to wire a message, for example, ‘send £30 plus £80, and the rest as soon as possible,’ which meant that an invasion was to take place in the Atlantic and Denmark. She improved her credibility with the Germans by extending her code to include, not only her dentist, but payment for her doctor and physician.

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A Jewish refugee from Austria became one of Britain’s elite Commandos and stormed Sword Beach on D-Day.

This is Peter Masters’ raw, harrowing first-hand account of that day.

Don't skip this thread:
(🧵) Peter Masters (Peter Arany), the Viennese pacifist who became a commando, fled Austria in August 1938. After a few weeks in England, he worked on a farm in Hurleynear Maidenhead in Berkshire before moving to London to attend art school.

Internment followed in June 1940 at Lingfield racecourse and then the Isle of Man. Upon his release in August 1940, he volunteered for the British Forces and was sent to the Pioneer Corps. He served with 77 Company, before volunteering for special duties in 1943.

Peter was among members of 3 Troop who were assigned to one of eight commando units for the Normandy landings on D-Day. He became second-in-command of 6 Commando detachment, a bicycle brigade, which used collapsible bicycles as their intended mode of transport through Normandy.

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Geoffrey Stuart’s squadron faced a deadly bottleneck at Villers-Bocage.

Their only way forward was to deliberately draw German fire to expose their positions.

This is the raw, first-hand account of a German-Jew fighting for Britain on D-Day:
(🧵) Geoffrey Stuart (Gerd Werner Stein, born August 1922) served with A Squadron of the 8th Hussars.

Born in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, some 100km from Berlin on the current German-Polish border (with a population of about 100,000), his family lived an affluent life, employing a chauffeur, cook and a nanny. Their home was fitted with central heating, an unusual luxury in those days.

Geoffrey’s father had served in the First World War and had been awarded the Iron Cross. He had a well-established fashion business which included three workshops selling clothing and underwear and making furs, men’s suits and ladies’ costumes. The shop was smashed on Kristallnacht.

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The first message to reach Britain confirming the success of D-Day wasn’t sent by radio... it was carried by a pigeon.

Gustav flew 150 miles through heavy cloud, 30mph headwinds and German hawks to deliver the news.

This is the story of the bird that helped win D-Day:
(🧵) Gustav (or NPS.42.31066) was trained by Frederick Jackson from Cosham, who loaned his pigeon Gustav to the Royal Air Force when he was a six-week-old chick.

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He jumped from a moving train at 40mph in broad daylight...

On 30 September 1943, British officer Sam Derry escaped his German guards, survived a horrific landing, and went on to run one of the most extraordinary escape networks of the Second World War.

This is his story:
(🧵) On 30 September 1943, Derry and several other prisoners were being transported under heavy guard by train from Camp 21 to a concentration camp in Germany.

Between Tivoli and Rome, he seized his moment. He asked the guard if he could use the toilet. The German paratrooper followed him, making any escape seem almost impossible. Inside the cramped compartment, Derry quickly realised the window was boarded up and far too small.

Thinking fast, he stepped out, turned sharply in the opposite direction, and sprinted for the nearest carriage door. The train was now travelling at thirty to forty miles an hour. Without hesitation, Derry flung open the door and jumped, in broad daylight.

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D-Day was coming, but Britain had yet another secret plan running in the shadows...

Operation Marathon.

Hidden forest camps, Lysander rescues, and MI9 agents were ready to be parachuted behind enemy lines to save hundreds of shot-down Allied airmen.

Let's explore:
(🧵) As preparations were being made by the Allies for the largest amphibious landing in history, Jimmy Langley moved across from Room 900 to jointly head a new Anglo-American section called IS9(WEA) with Lieutenant Colonel Richard Nelson of MIS-X.

It was formally established on 14 January 1944 to be attached to Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) to operate in Western Europe.

Crockatt outlined its brief in clear terms: ‘The continuance of escape and evasion until the war in the west is over.’ Airey Neave temporarily became head of Room 900 before himself joining IS9(WEA).

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His father’s last words to him were: “The further from Germany, the better. Go to England.”

This young refugee went on to become Winston Churchill’s personal bodyguard and the first “enemy alien” to be naturalised as a British soldier in uniform.

Let's explore:
(🧵) John Langford was born Erwin Lehmann in 1921 in East Prussia.

On Kristallnacht he was arrested and imprisoned, but his father Louis managed to secure his release on the condition that he left Germany within thirty days.

He finally departed on 4 January 1939. His father took him to Berlin to catch the train to the Hook of Holland. As they parted, his father’s last words were: “The further away from Germany the better. Go to England.”

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While the nation celebrated VE Day, few knew the war had already been won in secret rooms where German-Jewish refugees bugged Hitler’s generals.

They revealed the V-weapons, and may have saved London from an atomic bomb.

This is the story behind VE Day you’ve never heard:
(🧵) As Allied armies fought their way into the heart of Germany in the final days of the Second World War, victory was finally in sight. On 7 May 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender. The following day, 8 May, became VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) and towns, cities and villages across Britain erupted in celebration.

VE Day is not only a time to remember the joy of victory, but also to recognise the vital role played by intelligence work in securing that freedom. Everyone contributed, on the front line and on the Home Front, in a united effort to defeat Nazi tyranny.

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Willy Field, a German-Jewish refugee, fought bravely for Britain as a tank driver on the front lines for 11 gruelling months.

He helped liberate Europe, and on VE Day 1945 he sat listening to Churchill’s victory speech on the radio.

These were his final days to Victory:
(🧵) Willy Field was a German-Jewish refugee who fought for Britain during the Second World War.

He fought as a tank driver for 11 months on the frontline, through France, Belgium and Holland, and finally into the invasion of Germany.

Life expectancy was 6-8 weeks.

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