In 1944, General Hermann Ramcke was captured with a stash of brandy but stayed withdrawn to disclose Hitler’s plans.

Held on UK soil, the British tricked him with a fake Iron Cross award.

Emboldened by drink, he celebrated in style but this led to loose lips:
(🧵)
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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Operation Valkyrie was the 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb concealed in a briefcase.

In the clandestine corners of Lisbon’s nocturnal streets, Agent Rita Winsor and defector Otto John covertly strategised the daring attack.

The mission, however, did not succeed:
(🧵) Newly declassified files unveil riveting details of a sophisticated MI6 operation in Lisbon, centring on Agent Rita Winsor, defector Otto John—an MI6 asset—and the bold July 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

Otto John, a lawyer employed by Lufthansa, leveraged his role to travel to Lisbon and beyond, meeting covertly with British handlers Rita Winsor and Graham Maingot without arousing suspicion.

Codenamed Whiskey, John had held twelve clandestine meetings with them in the two years preceding Operation Valkyrie.

He is believed to have served as a crucial link between Colonel Georg Hansen, head of the German resistance, and MI6.

(continued)

In 1943, two German POWs at Latimer House boasted about outsmarting British interrogators, unaware their cell was bugged by MI6.

This is the story of how these German POWs spilled Nazi rocket secrets:
(a short thread🧵) 11 March 1943:

In a cell at Latimer House in the Buckinghamshire countryside, two German soldiers, a lower-rank infantry officer captured in Tunisia the previous year, and a paratrooper captured in Algeria a few months before, are discussing the interrogations they have undergone.

The previous day, British agents had hauled the paratrooper into an interrogation room and shown him a sketch of some rocket launch ramps.

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In 1942, a young woman sat alone in a Leicester Square cafe when an RAF officer approached her and their encounter sparked a life-changing moment.

“I’m going on a dangerous mission tonight, I might not come back. Will you promise me something?”

This is a true story:
(🧵) Leicester Square, London, October 1942:

The ground-floor café of the Quality Inn buzzed with patrons, many in uniform, seeking brief respite amid the war’s turmoil. Despite heavy bombing, fears of a German invasion lingered.

Lesley Wyle paused at the entrance, scanning for an empty table. A waitress guided her to the only free one, where she ordered a coffee.

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Robert Maxwell was a Holocaust survivor who escaped a death sentence, fought Nazis in WW2, and was awarded the Military Cross by Field Marshal Montgomery in 1945.

He later built a billion-pound media empire.

His life ended in mysterious circumstances at sea:
(🧵) Robert Maxwell, born Abraham Lajbi Hoch on 10 June 1923 in the impoverished Czech village of Slatinské Doly near the Romanian border, was a flamboyant and controversial figure.

Raised with an Orthodox Jewish education at yeshivas in Sighet and Bratislava, he fled Czechoslovakia for Hungary before WW2.

Facing a death sentence, he was saved by the French consul’s intervention for a fair trial.

(continued)

Michael O’Hara (Friederich Berliner), the sole member of 12 Force who never returned, boarded a Halifax in 1944 for a mission that ended in heroism and tragedy:
(🧵) In late 1944, 2nd Lieutenant Berliner, alias O’Hara, boarded a Halifax for his final mission.

Hours later, in southern Austria, he knocked on a widow’s door, undeterred by Nazi threats.

She welcomed him, and he began transmitting messages to Adriatic headquarters.

For weeks, he evaded Gestapo searches and police pickets with forged documents, meeting Austrian Resistance members in cellars, attics, and remote farms.

(continued)

Stephen Dale (Heinz Günther Spanglet), a Nazi concentration camp survivor, later parachuted into enemy territory with the SOE.

Captured by the SS, he faced execution.

His WW2 story is one of remarkable survival:
(🧵) Stephen Dale (Heinz Günther Spanglet), born in Berlin and a Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivor, arrived in England in the spring of 1939, taking odd jobs to sustain himself.

Interned in Australia in 1941, he later joined the Pioneer Corps with 87 Company. In 1943, he transferred to the SOE and began training.

In June 1944, he flew to Gibraltar, joining three others for their mission, then moved to a basic camp in Algiers before reaching Fasano on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Before parachuting, he adopted the name Stephen Patrick Turner.

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Fleeing Nazi persecution, 10,000 German and Austrian Jews joined the British Forces during World War Two.

They became affectionately known as 'Churchill’s German Army'.

Here are 8 Powerful Quotes from German Jews Who Fought for Britain on D-Day:
(🧵) 1.

“I wanted to give something back to Britain for saving my life ... But for all the risks, I never once regretted being part of the biggest invasion force ever to land in the Normandy beaches in June 1944, even though it brought personal losses.” - Willy Field

In the 1960s, Herman Rothman recognised a name on a list of accused Auschwitz war criminals.

It was someone he once knew.

He had Perry Broad's diary in his attic.

What happened next took him to the courtroom of one of the most infamous Nazi trials in history:
(🧵) This is that story, told by Herman Rothman:

In the late 1950s in a cellar in Munich, a hoard of documents was discovered and the name of Perry Broad surprisingly appeared in the newspapers. Alarm bells rang but I temporarily filed the information, but it was to re-surface some ten years later. I was about to cross paths with Perry Broad again.

In the early 1960s I heard on the radio and read in the newspapers of the arrest of twenty-two people accused of war crimes in Auschwitz. As I scanned the list I found Perry Broad’s name amongst them. The copy of his diary which I had amongst my own papers in my attic immediately came to mind.

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Born into a rabbinic dynasty, Julius Carlebach reached England via the Kindertransport and served on HMS Blencathra, making 25 crossings to transport Americans to Normandy on D-Day.

This is his WW2 story:
(🧵) Julius Carlebach was one of the few German refugees who refused to change his name on enlistment into the British forces.

He firmly believed he was born a Carlebach and would return to Germany as such.

Born into a distinguished rabbinic family in Hamburg, his grandfather served as rabbi of Lübeck, while his father, a beloved orator, was Hamburg’s Chief Rabbi.

His maternal grandfather, Julius Preuss, was a renowned German medical historian.

(continued)

In 1942, a distinctive unit was created, composed solely of German-speaking refugees escaping Nazi persecution.

Trained as elite fighters, they became one of Britain’s most powerful covert assets.

Let's explore 'X Troop':
(🧵) In 1942, Prime Minister Winston Churchill authorised the creation of the Commandos, following Lord Louis Mountbatten’s appointment as Chief of Combined Operations.

Their purpose was to train elite fighters for covert intelligence, sabotage, and targeted raids, often operating independently or alongside regular army units.

German-speaking refugees were key, forming 3 Troop within No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando in summer 1942.

(continued)

Susan Lustig arrived in England on a domestic permit in July 1939, fleeing Nazi persecution.

In 1943, she enlisted in the ATS, eager to contribute to the war effort.

She then joined a secret British operation, recording conversations of captured German generals and POWs:
(🧵) From summer 1942, as Latimer House and Wilton Park joined Trent Park, the influx of German POW intelligence required more staff.

Colonel Thomas Kendrick (pictured) recruited German Jewish émigré women, enlisting them into the ATS and Intelligence Corps.

They managed POW records, translated bugged conversations, and typed reports.

Gerda Engel, born in Breslau and forced to flee Nazi persecution in 1935, worked at both sites, leveraging her native German skills.

(continued)

At 23 years old, Caroline Chojecki led a team of women at Bletchley Park, cracking U-boat codes to save Allied convoys.

She was a pioneering leading naval intelligence analyst and her ingenuity turned the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic.

This is her WW2 story:
(🧵) Caroline Chojecki, née Rowett, a 23-year-old naval intelligence analyst at Bletchley Park, led a team of seven women in decoding German U-boat messages.

Her expertise enabled the Admiralty to reroute Allied convoys, protecting vital supplies from U-boat attacks.

Their work was pivotal to the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic, safeguarding Britain’s lifeline against relentless German assaults.

(continued)

Jane Sissmore, MI5’s first female officer, led its Soviet espionage unit by 1929.

Her MI6 career was derailed when double agent Kim Philby sidelined her, fearing she would expose his treachery.

Let's explore:
(🧵) Kathleen Jane Sissmore, later Mrs Archer, joined MI5 as a clerk in 1916 at 18, rising swiftly due to her determination.

Described as ‘a strong character, very straight, well-principled, industrious’ by her headteacher, she trained as a barrister while working full-time.

Her organisational skills earned her an MBE in 1923, and by 1924, she was called to the Bar.

In 1928, she became controller of MI5’s Registry, a remarkable feat in a male-dominated field.

(continued)

Helene Aldwinckle, a brilliant Bletchley Park codebreaker, cracked the ultra-secure Pink Luftwaffenführungsschlüssel key during WW2.

Her work enabled the Allies to decode critical Nazi air force messages.

This is her wartime story:
(🧵) Helene Aldwinckle, née Taylor, a key Bletchley Park codebreaker, joined Hut 6 in August 1942 after graduating from Aberdeen University in French and English.

Recruited via a cryptic London interview focusing on maths and languages, she sorted German messages by callsigns or length to aid codebreaking.

Her work linked messages for re-encipherment, helping crack Enigma ciphers critical to Allied intelligence efforts.

(continued)

The top-secret CSDIC, led by MI6 spymaster Thomas Kendrick during WW2, covertly recorded German POW conversations at three UK sites.

The Allies achieved major intelligence successes because of it, with women playing a central role in operations.

Let's explore:
(🧵) MI9, established in 1939, gathered intelligence from POWs without breaching the Geneva Convention, avoiding unreliable torture methods.

The Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre (CSDIC), led by Thomas Kendrick (pictured), secretly recorded German POWs at sites like Trent Park, Latimer House, and Wilton Park.

Staff, including many women, signed the Official Secrets Act, concealing their work.

‘Secret Listeners,’ mostly Jewish refugees, recorded POW talks in the ‘M Room’ for analysis.

(continued)

Catherine Townshend, a 21-year-old linguist in the FANYs, joined MI9’s secret eavesdropping unit during WW2.

She mapped the St Nazaire raid and worked at Wilton Park from 1942 as Head of the ‘M Room’ tech department.

Let's explore this wonderful wartime heroine:
(🧵) Catherine Townshend, a 21-year-old linguist in the FANYs, joined MI9’s secret eavesdropping unit in January 1942.

Sent to Trent Park, known as Cockfosters Camp, she wrote to her mother: ‘I wish I could tell you about my work. I can only say that it sounds exciting and interesting.’

Her diary noted: ‘First day at Cockfosters Camp, Barnet. Interview with Col. Kendrick. Signing papers. Seems most interesting work.’ She valued POWs as intelligence sources, noting: ‘Each prisoner was questioned at length on German strategy, … radar, scientific research, codes, spies, and troop movements.’

(continued)

The Hush-WAACs were the unsung women who decoded German secret messages in World War One.

They cracked codes with no training and shaped Allied victory.

Mavis Peel’s diary unveils their intense, secretive efforts:
(🧵) Nicknamed Hush-WAACs for their secretive role in decoding German messages, these women, including Mavis Peel, worked alongside male colleagues during the First World War.

Peel’s war diary reveals their intense task: ‘We sat there, with sheets of paper in front of us on which were arranged in the form of sentences, meaningless groups of letters. We were told that they were codes, wireless messages (coming from the Germans and tapped by our operators).’

Despite no prior training, they tackled this high-responsibility work.

(continued)

Olive Myler, one of only three female voluntary interceptors, sent vital signals to 'Box 25' (pictured) during WW2.

She helped MI6 expose Hitler’s Abwehr spy network, from her home in North Devon.

Let's explore:
(🧵) MI6 oversaw the Radio Security Service (RSS), initially an MI5 branch at Wormwood Scrubs, which became MI8(c) under MI6’s Section VIII in March 1941.

Relocated to Arkley View, near Barnet, due to London bombings, its address was simply ‘Box 25’.

Working with Bletchley Park, RSS intercepted Axis wireless traffic, including diplomatic and military signals, and monitored foreign embassy communications in British territories.

(continued)

Meet Renata Faccincani della Torre, the 21-year-old Italian resistance leader who ran a secret Milan safehouse at Stazione Goldoni during WW2.

From forging papers to skiing POWs to safety in Switzerland, she defied the Nazis.

This is her incredible story:
(🧵) The centre of clandestine operations for Northern Italy in WW2 was run from headquarters in the centre of Milan at Via Carlo Goldoni 19; the home of the aristocratic family Faccincani della Torre.

At the centre of the clandestine operations was the 21-year-old daughter Renata, stunningly attractive and with a university education.

She was born in April 1921 to a family that had once ruled the area for centuries. Her father was credited with being one of the first people to bring frozen food into Italy and had farms in Bulgaria and Hungary – all lost during the Second World War. He was a Colonel in the Alpine regiment and was sent home from the Russian front because he was dying of cancer.

(continued)

During both World Wars, two lesser-known British Secret Service networks conducted covert operations behind German lines.

This thread introduces my forthcoming book which reveals the stories of those who worked tirelessly to hasten the end of German occupation in Belgium:
(🧵) I have authored and edited over 25 books on Second World War history, specialising in British Intelligence, women in espionage, and the 10,000 German & Austrian Jewish refugees who fought for Britain.

I am delighted to announce my forthcoming book, scheduled for release in Autumn 2025, which will proudly join my extensive collection of publications.

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