Hugo Bleicher
Encyclopedia
Hugo Ernst Bleicher was a German
senior non-commissioned officer of the Abwehr
who worked against French Resistance
in German-occupied France
.
Bleicher was born in Tettnang
. He served as a private soldier in the First World War
in the pioneer gas corps and was captured near the Somme
. He was held as a Prisoner of War
in 165 POW Camp near Abbéville
and succeeded in escaping four times, although he was never able to return to the German lines. He is misreported as having been taken prisoner by the British
in Belgium
as a spy when wearing a British uniform. After the war he became a businessman but was recruited into the Abwehr during the Second World War
because of his knowledge of French
and Spanish
. However, he never rose above the rank of Feldwebel
.
Bleicher was ruthless in his pursuit of anyone in France
who opposed German domination. He disabled the Franco-Polish
"Interallié" network, and captured both Polish Air Force Captain Roman Czerniawski
and some of his headquarters staff, one of whom was Mathilde Carré
, who had contacts with the Vichy
2nd Bureau
. She reportedly became Bleicher's lover, betrayed everyone she knew in the network, and agreed to act as an Abwehr agent. Subsequently, she changed sides again and betrayed her dealings with the Abwehr to MI5
, who used her radio link for deception purposes for a period in conjunction with the Poles and the SIS
and then imprisoned her when her usefulness had ceased, until the end of the war.
In March 1943, Bleicher arrested André Marsac
, a member of the resistance organisation known as Carte
. Masquerading, on his own initiative, as a German intelligence colonel attempting to defect the Allies
, he deceived Marsac and his associate Roger Bardet, and in April 1943 succeeded in capturing SOE
agents Peter Churchill
and Odette Sansom
. Both Churchill and Sansom were subjected to brutal treatment and torture during interrogation before being transferred to a concentration camp, although none of this was carried out by Bleicher himself.
Bleicher persuaded Bardet to work for him. As a result of this, in July 1944 Bleicher captured Henri Frager
, another former Carte member who had been commissioned by the SOE as leader of its Donkeyman circuit.
He was also associated with SOE agent Henri Dericourt
(Farrier), who was a double agent as well for the Sicherheitsdienst
.
Hugo Bleicher, together with two of his French Abwehr agents Jean Rocquefort and Francois Barbier, was arrested in Amsterdam
on May 15, 1945 by the Dutch NBS, who interrogated him for two weeks on his activities in Holland before handing him over to the 1st Canadian Army, who interrogated him for a further period, also on his operations in the Netherlands, before handing him over to the British authorities, who transferred him on June 16, 1945 to the UK for longer term interrogation at Camp 020
, where he co-operated willingly with his MI5 interrogators. He was handed over to the French government on October 12, 1945, and they subsequently placed him on trial and imprisoned him, as they also did with Mathilde Carré.
In 1954, he published his memoirs, Colonel Henri's story. Bleicher (sometimes misreported as Bliechert) actively employed the aliases Jean Verbeck and Colonel Henri (often misreported as Colonel Heinrich). He held, but never used, identity papers in the name of Jean Castel. He landed in the UK under the Canadian
supplied alias of Charles Davidson, and has been misreported as using the names von Stahlen, Henri Bothereau or Gottschalk. He was decorated by the Abwehr with the War Merit Cross
1st Class for his services.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
senior non-commissioned officer of the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
who worked against French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
in German-occupied France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Bleicher was born in Tettnang
Tettnang
Tettnang is a town in the Bodensee district in southern Baden-Württemberg in a region of Germany known as Swabia.It lies 7 kilometers from Lake Constance. The region produces significant quantities of hops, an ingredient of beer, and ships them to breweries throughout the world.-History:Tettinang...
. He served as a private soldier in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in the pioneer gas corps and was captured near the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
. He was held as a Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in 165 POW Camp near Abbéville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
and succeeded in escaping four times, although he was never able to return to the German lines. He is misreported as having been taken prisoner by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
as a spy when wearing a British uniform. After the war he became a businessman but was recruited into the Abwehr during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
because of his knowledge of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. However, he never rose above the rank of Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
.
Bleicher was ruthless in his pursuit of anyone in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
who opposed German domination. He disabled the Franco-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
"Interallié" network, and captured both Polish Air Force Captain Roman Czerniawski
Roman Czerniawski
Roman Garby-Czerniawski was a Polish Air Force Captain and Allied double agent during World War II, using the codename Brutus.-Life:...
and some of his headquarters staff, one of whom was Mathilde Carré
Mathilde Carré
Mathilde Carré , known as "La Chatte", was a French Resistance agent during World War II who turned double agent....
, who had contacts with the Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
2nd Bureau
2nd Bureau
The Deuxième Bureau is the military secret service of Morocco. It is in charge of the military surveillance of foreign armies and of foreign land borders. It derives its name from the Deuxième Bureau of the French colonial empire, of which Morocco was a part....
. She reportedly became Bleicher's lover, betrayed everyone she knew in the network, and agreed to act as an Abwehr agent. Subsequently, she changed sides again and betrayed her dealings with the Abwehr to MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, who used her radio link for deception purposes for a period in conjunction with the Poles and the SIS
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
and then imprisoned her when her usefulness had ceased, until the end of the war.
In March 1943, Bleicher arrested André Marsac
André Marsac
André Marsac was a member of the French Resistance. He was arrested by the German intelligence operative Hugo Bleicher, who used him to capture Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom. He also lost a list of 200 members of the CARTE network, jeopardising its survival....
, a member of the resistance organisation known as Carte
The Carte Organisation
The Carte Organisation was a putative organ of French resistance during the Second World War.It was the brainchild of André Girard, an artist who claimed to have at his command a secret army of hundreds of thousands of would-be résistants waiting to rise against the Germans once they were properly...
. Masquerading, on his own initiative, as a German intelligence colonel attempting to defect the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
, he deceived Marsac and his associate Roger Bardet, and in April 1943 succeeded in capturing SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
agents Peter Churchill
Peter Churchill
Peter Morland Churchill DSO Croix de Guerre was an SOE Officer in France during World War II.He was a brother of Group Captain Walter Churchill DSO DFC and Major Oliver Churchill DSO MC who was also an SOE Officer during World War II.-Biography:...
and Odette Sansom
Odette Sansom
Odette Sansom Hallowes GC, MBE, Chevalier de la légion d'honneur was an Allied heroine of the Second World War.-Early years:...
. Both Churchill and Sansom were subjected to brutal treatment and torture during interrogation before being transferred to a concentration camp, although none of this was carried out by Bleicher himself.
Bleicher persuaded Bardet to work for him. As a result of this, in July 1944 Bleicher captured Henri Frager
Henri Frager
Henri Jacques Paul Frager was a member of the French Resistance during World War II . He was in succession, second in command of the CARTE network , then head of the SOE network DONKEYMAN, rising to the rank of major within SOE...
, another former Carte member who had been commissioned by the SOE as leader of its Donkeyman circuit.
He was also associated with SOE agent Henri Dericourt
Henri Dericourt
Henri Dericourt was a French agent for Special Operations Executive. There is ambiguity as to whether he became a double agent for the Sicherheitsdienst , or was working under British instructions.-Life and work:...
(Farrier), who was a double agent as well for the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
.
Hugo Bleicher, together with two of his French Abwehr agents Jean Rocquefort and Francois Barbier, was arrested in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
on May 15, 1945 by the Dutch NBS, who interrogated him for two weeks on his activities in Holland before handing him over to the 1st Canadian Army, who interrogated him for a further period, also on his operations in the Netherlands, before handing him over to the British authorities, who transferred him on June 16, 1945 to the UK for longer term interrogation at Camp 020
Camp 020
Camp 020 was a British World War II interrogation centre for captured German agents, based at Latchmere House in south London. It was run by Lt Col Robin “Tin Eye” Stephens. Although other wartime interrogation centres have been alleged to have used torture to extract confessions, torture was not...
, where he co-operated willingly with his MI5 interrogators. He was handed over to the French government on October 12, 1945, and they subsequently placed him on trial and imprisoned him, as they also did with Mathilde Carré.
In 1954, he published his memoirs, Colonel Henri's story. Bleicher (sometimes misreported as Bliechert) actively employed the aliases Jean Verbeck and Colonel Henri (often misreported as Colonel Heinrich). He held, but never used, identity papers in the name of Jean Castel. He landed in the UK under the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
supplied alias of Charles Davidson, and has been misreported as using the names von Stahlen, Henri Bothereau or Gottschalk. He was decorated by the Abwehr with the War Merit Cross
War Merit Cross
The War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
1st Class for his services.