| Violette Szabo | |
|---|---|
| June 26, 1921 – February 5, 1945 | |
| Nickname | Louise (also: La P'tite Anglaise) |
| Place of birth | Paris |
| Place of death | Ravensbrück concentration camp, Germany |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom, France |
| Service/branch | Special Operations Executive, FANY |
| Years of service | 1941-1945 |
| Rank | Field agent (Courier) |
| Commands held | Salesman |
| Awards | George Cross, MBE, Croix de Guerre |
Violette Reine Elizabeth Bushell Szabo, GC (June 26, 1921 – c. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Ravensbrück (ʁaːvənsˈbʁʏk was a notorious women's Concentration camp during in World War II, located in northern Germany 90 km north of Berlin The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps (FANY(PRVC - pronounced Fanny) is a British independent all-female unit and Registered These are the networks, also known as circuits, (or réseaux to their French participants established in France by F Section of the British Special Operations The George Cross ( GC) is the highest Civil decoration of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Croix de Guerre (sometimes lowercase in French Croix de guerre, meaning "Cross of War" is a military decoration of both France and The George Cross ( GC) is the highest Civil decoration of the Commonwealth of Nations. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar February 5, 1945) was a World War II Allied secret agent. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
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Whirlwind romance, marriage & child
Born Violette Bushell in Paris, France to a French mother and an English taxi-driver father, the family moved to London and she attended school in Brixton until the age of 14. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland At the start of the war, she was working in Bon Marché department store on the perfume counter. Violette met Etienne Szabo, a French officer of Hungarian descent, at the Bastille Day parade in London in 1940. Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They married after a whirlwind 42 day romance. Violette was 19, Etienne was 31. Shortly after the birth of their only child, Tania, Etienne was killed as the result of chest wounds received at the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942. The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Etienne had never seen his new daughter. It was Etienne's death that made Violette, having already joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1941, decide to offer her services to the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The Auxiliary Territorial Service ( ATS; often pronounced as an Acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers
Motivation & mobilisation
After assessing her fluency in French and then a series of searching interviews she was inducted into SOE, and received intensive training in night and daylight navigation, escape and evasion, both Allied and German weapons, unarmed combat, demolitions, explosives, communications and cryptography. SERE, an Acronym for S urvival E vasion R esistance and E scape is a U Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H is a generic term for Close quarters fighting, particularly when the outcome is potentially fatal as in Melee Demolition is the opposite of Construction: the tearing-down of Buildings and other Structures It contrasts with deconstruction An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied Cryptography (or cryptology; from Greek grc κρυπτός kryptos, "hidden secret" and grc γράφω gráphō, "I write" A minor accident during parachute training delayed her deployment into the field until 5 April 1944 when she was parachuted into German occupied France, near Cherbourg. A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Code-named "Louise" she reorganized a French resistance network that had been smashed by the Germans, and led the new group in sabotaging road and rail bridges. The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German Her wireless reports to SOE headquarters on the local factories producing war materials for the Germans were extremely important to establish Allied bombing targets. She returned to England by Lysander on 30 April 1944 after an intense but successful first mission. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Second mission & capture
She was sent back to Limoges in France on 7 June 1944, where she coordinated the local Maquis, led by Jacques Dufour, in sabotaging German communication lines. Limoges ( Lemòtges / Limòtges in the Limousin dialect of Occitan language) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture Events 1099 - The First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Maquis (ma'ki were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. At an unexpected German roadblock the car that she was travelling in as a passenger was identified as suspicious by German troops and a brief gun battle ensued. Her Maquis minders escaped unharmed in the confusion. She was only captured when her ammunition ran out, around mid-day on 10 June 1944, near Salon-la-Tour. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Her captors were most likely from the 1st Battalion of the Deutschland Regiment. In R. J. Minney's biography, she is described as putting up fierce resistance with her Sten gun, a close range infantry weapon. The Sten (or Sten gun) was a family of British 9 mm Submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout German documents of the incident record no injuries or casualties to German soldiers.
Interrogation, torture & execution
She was transferred to the custody of the SD in Limoges where she was interrogated under torture, enduring rape and brutal assaults. The Sicherheitsdienst (SD Security Service was primarily the Intelligence service of the SS and the NSDAP. Limoges ( Lemòtges / Limòtges in the Limousin dialect of Occitan language) is a city and commune in France, the préfecture Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally Then she was moved eight times between different locations which included Fresnes prison in Paris, Limoges prison and then in late August 1944 was sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, where over 92,000 women died. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ravensbrück (ʁaːvənsˈbʁʏk was a notorious women's Concentration camp during in World War II, located in northern Germany 90 km north of Berlin An SOE rescue mission to retrieve her by breaking into lightly guarded Limoges prison was planned but a mere two hours before the rescue attempt, she was moved to Ravensbruck. There she was forced into hard labour and suffered terribly from malnutrition and exhaustion. She also endured three months at Konigsburg on the Russian Front. Violette Szabo was executed on or about February 5, 1945 and her body disposed of in the crematorium. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Cremation is the act of reducing a Corpse by burning, generally in a crematorium furnace or crematory fire She was just 23 years old.
Three other women members of the SOE were also executed at Ravensbrück: Denise Bloch, Cecily Lefort, and Lilian Rolfe. Denise Madeleine Bloch (died 1945 Ravensbrück, Germany) was a British secret agent in World War II. Cecily Margot Lefort (30 April 1900 &ndash February 1945 was a figure of World War II. Lilian Vera Rolfe ( April 26, 1914, Paris France - February 5, 1945, Ravensbrück, Germany) was an Allied Of the SOE's 55 women agents 13 were to be killed in action or die in the camps.
Awards and honours
Szabo was the second woman [1] to be awarded the George Cross; this was awarded posthumously on December 17, 1946. The George Cross ( GC) is the highest Civil decoration of the Commonwealth of Nations. Events 546 - Gothic War (535–554: The Ostrogoths of King Totila Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The citation was published in the London Gazette and read:[2]
St. The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK in which certain James's Palace, S. W. 1. 17th December, 1946
The KING has been graciously pleased to award the GEORGE CROSS to: —
Violette, Madame SZABO (deceased), Women's Transport Service (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry).
Madame Szabo volunteered to undertake a particularly dangerous mission in France. She was parachuted into France in April, 1944, and undertook the task with enthusiasm. In her execution of the delicate researches entailed she showed great presence of mind and astuteness. She was twice arrested by the German security authorities but each time managed to get away. Eventually, however, with other members of her group, she was surrounded by the Gestapo in a house in the south west of France. Resistance appeared hopeless but Madame Szabo, seizing a Sten-gun and as much ammunition as she could carry, barricaded herself in part of the house and, exchanging shot for shot with the enemy, killed or wounded several of them. By constant movement, she avoided being cornered and fought until she dropped exhausted. She was arrested and had to undergo solitary confinement. She was then continuously and atrociously tortured but never by word or deed gave away any of her acquaintances or told the enemy anything of any value. She was ultimately executed. Madame Szabo gave a magnificent example of courage and steadfastness.
The Croix de Guerre was awarded by the French government in 1947 and The Médaille de la Résistance in 1973. The Croix de Guerre (sometimes lowercase in French Croix de guerre, meaning "Cross of War" is a military decoration of both France and As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France, Sub-Lieutenant Szabo is listed on the "Roll of Honor" on the Valençay SOE Memorial in the town of Valençay, in the Indre département. The Valençay SOE Memorial is a monument to the members of the Special Operations Executive F Section who lost their lives for the liberation of France Valençay is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Indre is a department in the center of France named after the Indre River.
Film & book of her exploits
On November 15, 2007, at the launch of Young Brave and Beautiful (see Bibliography below) at The Jersey War Tunnels, the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey said of Violette Szabo GC that "She's an inspiration to those young people today doing the same work with the risk of the same dangers". Hohlgangsanlage 8 (often abbreviated to Ho8, also known as the German Underground Hospital or the Jersey War Tunnels) was a partially completed underground Odette Churchill GC said "She was the bravest of us all. "
Tania Szabo, Violette's daughter has written an exhaustive and careful reconstruction of her two missions in 1944 into the then most dangerous areas in France with flashbacks to her growing up to show how she became the young brave and beautiful woman she was.
Author Jack Higgins wrote the Foreword and USA-French radio-operator, Jean-Claude Guiet,on mission with her in the Limousin, wrote the Introduction. Jack Higgins (b July 27, 1929) is the principal pseudonym of UK Novelist Harry Patterson. Limousin ( Occitan: Lemosin) is one of the 26 regions of France.
Her wartime activities in German Occupied France were also dramatised in the film Carve Her Name with Pride, starring Virginia McKenna and based on the 1956 book of the same name by R. The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 to December 1944 Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British Drama film based on the book of the same name by R Virginia McKenna OBE (born 7 June 1931, London) is an English stage and screen actress Author and Wildlife Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. J. Minney. During her time as an agent in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) she met Leo Marks, who may have given her what is now thought of as the definitive World War II code-poem The Life That I Have. The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers Leopold Samuel Marks ( 24 September 1920 &ndash 15 January 2001) was an English Cryptographer and Scriptwriter The poem code is a simple and insecure cryptographic method. The method works by the sender and receiver pre-arranging a Poem to use The Life That I Have (sometimes referred to incorrectly as Yours) is a short poem written by Leo Marks and used as a Poem code.
Violette Szabo museum
The Violette Szabo GC museum is in a quiet cottage in rural south Herefordshire at "Cartref", Tump Lane, Wormelow Tump, Herefordshire, HR2 8HN, England[3]. Wormelow Tump is a village in Herefordshire, England, 11 km (7 Miles south of Hereford and 15 km (9 miles north west of Ross-on-Wye Constitution Herefordshire was reconstituted both as a new Non-metropolitan district (effective 19th July 1996 and as a new County comprising the area of the At the museum's opening in 2000 Tania, Violette and Etienne's daughter, attended, as did Virginia McKenna who had portrayed Violette in the film. Leo Marks, various members of SOE including some who had been involved in Violette's missions and many other representatives of special forces units also attended to pay their respects. [4] It is here that Violette used to visit her English cousins before the war, enjoying walks in the surrounding hills. She also visited the farm while she was recuperating from her ankle injury and between her two missions to France.
The Royal College of Music offers an annual award called Violette Szabo GC Memoriam Prize for pianists who accompany singers. The Royal College of Music is a well known conservatoire located in the South Kensington district of London, England, and one The current holder is James Southall.
Velvet Assassin videogame
Charles Onyett of IGN. com posted this announcement on February 28, 2008:
Formerly known as Sabotage, publisher Gamecock Media and developer Replay Studios' stealth action title shall now be known as Velvet Assassin. Inspired by the story of real-life British Agent Violette Szabo, the game tasks the player with dismantling Nazi-occupied Europe as protagonist Violette Summer.
"Rather than a trite, overused, and generic working title like Sabotage, Velvet Assassin captures the heart of what we're trying to accomplish," said Sascha Jungnickel, Creative Director at Replay Studios. "From the start we've wanted a game with a strong female lead that stays true to the history of Violette Szabo while pulling players into a world of dark intrigue. "[5]
Tania Szabo, the daughter of Violette Szabo GC was not permitted a copy of the game to review its suitability in representing Violette. It has been reported to her that the game is not representative of Violette, the woman, nor her activities in occupied France. She would be very pleased to be able to try the game but until then must presume its unsuitability
References
Notes
The The Jersey War Tunnels has a permanent exhibition room dedicated to Violette Szabó [1]. Hohlgangsanlage 8 (often abbreviated to Ho8, also known as the German Underground Hospital or the Jersey War Tunnels) was a partially completed underground In the Press Releases there are articles on Young Brave and Beautiful by Tania Szabó [2] [3] [4].
- ^ George Cross facts
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37820, page 6127, 13 December 1946. The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the UK in which certain Events 1294 - Saint Celestine V abdicates the papacy after only five months Celestine hoped to return to his previous life Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2008-05-27. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed
- ^ The Violette Szabo GC Museum
- ^ Opening of the Violette Szabo museum
- ^ Velvet Assassin
Bibliography
- Szabó, Tania: Young Brave and Beautiful - The missions of Special Operations Executive Agent, Lieutenant Violette Szabó, George Cross, Croix de Guerre avec Etoile de bronze, CIP, 2007. ISBN 1-905095-20-1. 496pp, Index, Bibliography plus 30 pages of illustrations.
- Minney, RJ. Carve her Name with Pride: The Story of Violette Szabo. Newnes, 1956.
- Ottaway, Susan. Violette Szabo: The Life That I Have. Pen & Sword Books Ltd. , 2003. ISBN 0-85052-976-X
See also
- First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY)
External links
- Violette Szabó GC site built by Tania Szabo, the daughter of Violette. The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps (FANY(PRVC - pronounced Fanny) is a British independent all-female unit and Registered The site will continue to evolve over the coming months of 2008.
- The Jersey War Tunnels. To reach the Szabó Room click either Ho8 or Captive Island.
- Violette Szabo Museum
- Violette Szabo GC Museum
- Baker Street page about Violette
- George Cross database page about Violette Szabo GC
- Carve Her Name with Pride at the Internet Movie Database
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