What happened to Odette's daughters? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Though not a British national, in February 1941 Atkins joined the French section of the SOE as a secretary. Held by the Gestapo. That brought her to the attention of Colonel Maurice Buckmaster's Special Operations Executive. En route to the Gestapo prison in Paris, they decided that Sansom would pretend to be Churchill's wife, in order to divert attention from his London mission and the sabotage they had orchestrated in France. Educated at the Convent of Therese in Amiens All were terrific spies and each played a key role in deceiving the Germans about D-Day. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. To every question Sansom simply replied: 'I have nothing to say'. The son of Lillie ne Parkington and Abbey Sansom of Colchester. [17], In Ravensbruck Sansom was kept in a punishment block cell, on a starvation diet, and could hear other prisoners being beaten. Save five minutes a day when the overhead light was illuminated, she sat in total darkness. Odette Hallowes, from Red Ball in Somerset, was awarded the George Cross, an MBE and the . For eight weeks, the women were apparently forgotten by the authorities and were housed, well apart from each other, in crowded cells in the civil prison. People Who Made a Difference in Health Care, Facts about the extraordinary life of Joan of Arc. Despite having all her toenails pulled out and a red hot poker placed on her back, she told them nothing. For her service, she was awarded the George Cross. Odette means: wealth. Four years later, Sansom was following the fall of France in British newspapers, listening to BBC radio reports as refugees choked every road from Paris to Marseilles while German troops marched down the Champs-lyses. Sansom, an elegant, vivacious young Frenchwoman who had been living in England, detested the Nazi system, the police state, and Hitler. ), produced in Britain by Lowpert-Dowling-UA, starring Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard, 1951 (Sansom was technical advisor on the film). Coming from a long line of patriots from the province of Picardy, she rose up against indifference and was outraged when the Nazis took over her nation. At 2:00 a.m. on April 16, Bleicher, no longer in the guise of "Colonel Henri", appeared in the hotel with Italian soldiers and arrested Sansom and Churchill. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Sansom was sent to Fresnes Prison in Paris and while being On 31 October 1942, under her codename, 'Lise', she arrived in Cannes. In October, 1941, she was sent by boat to France with orders to When she did, he pulled back the material and pressed a red-hot poker to her spine. Letting Odette Sansom face the window as they tortured her . All of her toenails had been ripped from her feet. On 16 April 1943, 'Lise' and 'Raoul' were betrayed by a member of their network and arrested. According to the Geneva Convention, women were not allowed to engage in physical combat, but she wanted desperately to fight the Nazis and decided to volunteer for the war effort in any way she could. By the fall of 1944, news filtered back to prisoners that the war had turned against the Germans. French-bornOdette Sansomworked undercover in France during theSecond World War. In July 1940, she had met Etienne Szabo, an officer in the French Foreign Legion. She seems to have little experience of the outside world. [19], Sansom succeeded in diverting attention from Churchill, who was subject to only two interrogations, and protected the identities of the two officers whose locations were known only to her. I am not all that bad it's just circumstances. At any time, there could be a surprise selection for the gas chamber. [26] After an appeal by her mother, it was returned with a note saying: "You, Madame, appear to be a dear old lady. Infuriated, Bleicher sent her to Ravensbrck concentration camp. In January I got a project to create a short film based on the life of WWII spy, Odette Sansom. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. //]]>. In 1930, Odette met Roy Sansom, an Englishman who was the son of a family friend. Are you going to answer my questions?" Magazines, CODE NAME: LISEThe True Story of the Woman Who Became WWIIs Most Highly Decorated Spy, Or create a free account to access more articles, The Extraordinary Bravery That Made This Woman One of World War II's Most Remarkable Spies. "I resent your hands on me or on my clothes," she said. A French agent working for the British during World War II, Odette Sansom left three small daughters to join the Resistance in 1942. Odette Sansom GC, MBE (28 April 1912 - 13 March 1995), also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War.The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe . Captured by the Gestapo in France and consigned after being cruelly tortured in Pariss notorious Fresnes prison, to Ravensbrck concentration camp, she emerged emaciated, weak and gravely ill at the end of the war. The interrogator told her to unbutton it. [21], After the Allied landings in the south of France in August 1944, on orders from Berlin, all food was withdrawn for a week, all light was removed from Sansom's cell, and the heat was turned up. What happened to Odette Sansom daughters? The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Sansom replied, "I have nothing to say.". At age 78, in October 1990, Sansom sat with a reporter for the London Sunday Times. "Every Sunday morning, after church, we were taken to the grave of my father, who was killed at Verdun 30 days before Armistice. Klaus Barbie, known as the "Butcher of Lyon," was a leader in the Nazi group called the SS, and was head of anti-Resistance operations in France duri, Himmler, Heinrich She feared neither danger nor dagger, interrogation nor torture. While her brother, Louis, went to school at the Lyce, Odette was sent to the Convent of Sainte Thrse because her mother thought the Normandy air would be beneficial. drive her to the Allied lines in the west. [35], She served as a technical advisor on a film on her fellow SOE agent Violette Szabo, Carve Her Name with Pride. As a result she was recruited by the Special Operations Executive Women in Espionage. The prince is captivated by her soulful countenance and starts to approach her, but she becomes frightened and turns from him. It is Odette, Queen of the Swans. Biography of Odette Sansom, Oxford, www.biographyonline.net, 16th Mar 2008. She left her children in a convent and began training with the SOE. Buckmaster allowed her training to continue regardless. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. She was met by Peter Churchill, codename 'Raoul', and joined his resistance group. She believed that only if England and France survived would freedom and civilization prevail. Spies were chosen carefully. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. When Odette again refused, the Nazi systematically tore out each of her toenails, one by one. She was captured, interrogated and tortured, and in July 1944, sent to Ravensbrck concentration camp in Germany. As Sansom did not anticipate Henri's return until April 18, she and Churchill proceeded to the hotel in Saint-Jorioz. What happened to Odette Sansom daughters? They were cremated, but evidence emerged later that some of them were still alive when they went into the ovens. I thank you for having faith in me. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images). 1932); Lily (b. The marriage ended in divorce. ." Her George Cross, she always maintained, was not to be regarded as an award to her personally, but as an acknowledgment of all those known and unknown, alive or dead, who had served the cause of the liberation of France. Odettes medals can be seen today in her special display at the Imperial War Museum. She refused to disclose the whereabouts of Rabinovitch and another British agent, stuck to her fabricated cover story that Churchill was the nephew of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, that she was his wife, and that he knew nothing of her activities. 'It will be your duty,' said my grandfather, 'to do what you can for your country.' Great location near I-80 Eventually, she was sentenced to death and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp for her execution. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The official memorial to all those who served in the SOE during the Second World War was unveiled on 13 February 1996 on the wall of the west cloister of Westminster Abbey by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. "Tortured French Woman Decorated by George VI," in The New York Times. German military commander Heinrich Himmler became, Prisoners of War. Violette Szabo has no known grave. Men and women from the SOE would work within occupied nations, disabling factories, wrecking power houses, and severing lines of communication. She was then transported to Halle, where she was again treated brutally. The purpose of these photos was to determine the exact topography of a particular section. Germany. Her family did not announce the cause of death of Mrs. Hallowes, born Odette Brailly in France. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Rarely would an assignment be easily completed, nor did agents have the luxury of time. Back in her cell, Sansom ripped her prison cloth into strips to bind her feet. Her father was a soldier in the French Army and was killed during The couple moved They would later have Lily in 1934 and Marianne in 1936. Despite, Odettes suspicions, his involvement led to her arrest. "[27] In 1955, she co-founded the annual Women of the Year Lunch with Tony Lothian and Lady Georgina Coleridge (journalist and daughter of the Marquess of Tweeddale). In June 1940, a new volunteer force the Special Operations Executive (SOE) was set up to wage a secret war. Many of her SOE comrades did not, however, and for the rest of her life Odette asked that we not forget them. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"_AuhmkdrMi1mq61lM9R.VNRK.kGsRUbh0j6SX_5ImLM-86400-0"}; She began to understand that they were asking her to volunteer for more than part-time work as a translator. Heidenheim, Germany She had kept silent, but she knew about the other things the Gestapo did to women and, alone in the darkness of the prison, she feared her strength might not last. [14][15][16], At Fresnes prison, near Paris, Sansom was interrogated by the Gestapo fourteen times. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Some officials did not believe her story and cast doubt upon her integrity. Odette Churchill had opposed making the film in Hollywood, for fear that the film would be fictionalised. Tickell, Jerrard. These three men were amazing spies who helped to . ." After the war and his separation from Odette he married Carla Schmidt (19212004). And danger was ever-present. 4659. Born 16 Aug 1886 in Abbeville, France, moved to England with her daughter and died in 1960. Alternatively, search more than 1 million objects from Szabo was shot at Ravensbrck; Khan was brutally interrogated and kept in chains before she was executed at Dachau. She learned how to fire British guns, how to identify the insignia on German uniforms, how to write, transmit, and receive Morse code, how to handle a canoe, and how to evade answers under SS (Schutzstaffel or "elite guard") interrogation; in short, all the techniques necessary for leading the double life of a spy. Burvale Cemetery, Hersham, United Kingdom Her body was soon covered in scabs, and she suffered from dysentery and scurvy. In October 1942, leaving her three daughters at a convent school in Essex, 30-year-old Odette Sansom became a member of the Women's Transport Service, a part of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). SOE was also monitoring those who brought them in, hoping to find some who were qualified to become agents in France. Colonel Henri was a German officer who claimed he wished to work for the allies. [8][9], Sansom made a landing on a beach near Cassis on the night of 2 November 1942, and made contact with Captain Peter Churchill, who headed Spindle, an SOE network based in Cannes. They claimed they were husband and wife and In 1942,Odette Sansomwas invited to join 'F' Section of theSpecial Operations Executive(SOE). You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Odette: The Story of a British Agent. Odette Sansom (1912 - 1995) - a French/British spy who worked as an SOE operative in occupied France. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England. Was Odette a true story? Each country, including France, had its own section in London. With her three daughters in a convent school, Odette trained as an SOE agent. Peter Churchillm. Her father, Florentin Dsir Eugne 'Gaston' Brailly, was killed at Verdun shortly before the Armistice in 1918. . Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1993. Women were employed by SOE for field work, generally as couriers, and frequently as wireless operators. Includes; Cleopatra, Princess Diana, Marie Curie, Queen Victoria, and Joan of Arc. She was captured six months later and imprisoned in Fresne, the Gestapo prison in Paris. What can I eat if everything makes me sick? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. [24] [7], Her wartime record was the subject of a 1950 film, Odette, in which the title role was played by Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard played Churchill. She was betrayed by a double agent, Colonel Henri in April 1943. [10] SOE agent Francis Cammaerts visited Annecy briefly in March or early April 1943 and assessed the security of Churchill and Sansom's network as deficient and likely to be penetrated by the Germans. She was captured six months later and imprisoned in Fresne, the Gestapo prison in Paris. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in occupied Europe against the Axis powers, especially Germany. Resistance groupswere activethroughout German-occupied France and made important contributions to the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Her brave endurance saved the lives of many agents. [3][4], In the spring of 1942, the Admiralty appealed for postcards or family photographs taken on the French coastline for possible war use. These three would then recruit, arm and work with local French Resistance fighters to sabotage German trains, barges, bridges and supply depots. Please attempt to sign up again. He was warned to avoid contact with Sansom and 'Colonel Henri" on his return to France, but when he was parachuted back into the Annecy area on April 14/15, he was met by Sansom and Rabinovich. 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what happened to odette sansom daughters