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Christiaan Lindemans

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Christiaan Antonius Lindemans (24 October 1912 – 18 July 1946) was a Dutch double agent during the Second World War, working under Soviet control. Otherwise known as Freddi Desmet,[1] a Belgian army officer and SOE agent with security clearance at the Dutch Military Intelligence Division of the SOE (MID/SOE). He was known by the soubriquets "King Kong" (for his height and build) or in some circles as "le Tueur" ("The Killer") [2] as he was reportedly ready to shoot at the slightest provocation. There is speculation that Lindemans was a member of Colonel Claude Dansey's Z organisation. [3]

Christiaan Lindemans
Born(1912-10-24)24 October 1912
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Died18 July 1946(1946-07-18) (aged 33)
Scheveningen, The Netherlands
Cause of deathSuicide (drug overdose)
NationalityDutch
Other namesFreddi Desmet
Occupation(s)Motor engineer, double agent
SpouseGilberte Yvonne Letuppe (m. 1941)
Children2

He has been blamed[4][5] for betraying [why?] Operation Market Garden and as a result helped the Germans win the battle of Arnhem in 1944. The loss of this battle prolonged the war for six months and allowed the Red Army to enter Berlin first.[6]

Krist, as he was called by comrades, had worked for the Allies, being personally responsible for the death of at least twenty-seven Germans during the guerrilla war in the outskirts of Antwerp.[7]

Biography

He was the fourth son of Joseph Hendrik Lindemans and Christina Antonia van Uden. Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Lindemans worked alongside his elder brother Jan as a mechanic at his father's garage in Rotterdam. In the summer of 1936, he was injured in a motorcycle accident where he sustained a cracked skull and injuries to his left arm and leg which left him walking with a lumbering, simian-like, gait[8] (described by some as a slight limp and a deformed hand). Tall and heavily built (6 ft 3 and 260 lbs), he was nicknamed "King Kong" (a name given to him by his rowing trainer). He spoke French and German well and some English.[citation needed]

By his own account, Lindemans started work as an informant for the British Secret Service in the spring of 1940, relaying shipping movements to London. In August of that year, he found work as lorry driver on the Lille to Paris route, transporting petrol for the Luftwaffe. While living in Lille, and through his girlfriend (who later became his wife), he became involved with the French Resistance sometime in 1940. Around September 1942, he established his own escape line in Abbeville, where he was arrested two months later after being denounced by a woman living in Paris, an acquaintance named Colette. He was imprisoned by the Germans for five months and was the only member of his organisation to be detained.

By 1943, his popularity as one of the leaders of the Dutch resistance was its highest. He had begun collecting jewels and other valuables from rich women to provide fighting funds for an underground "escape route" through occupied Belgium and the Netherlands into Spain and Portugal.

Lindemans had regular contact with resistance movements, some with communist tendencies such as the Raad van Verzet or Council of Resistance (which engaged in both communications sabotage and the protection of onderduikers, i.e. people in hiding)[9]), the CS VI group of Amsterdam (a clandestine sabotage and intelligence organisation, one of whose members was Dutch Captain Kas de Graaf,[10][n 1]) the Trouw (Fidelity), the Het Parool (The Spoken Word), the Dutch-Paris escape line run by John Henry Weidner[11] and evasion networks within the jurisdiction of MI9.[12] Lindemans was a member of one of the 12 recognised units of the Belgian underground army called fr:Les Affranchis (The Liberated, ranked 12,[13] founded by Camille Tromme), allowing him to possess a machine gun and a revolver.

Sometime in February 1944, his younger brother Hendrik ("Henk") was arrested in Rotterdam by the Sicherheitspolizei and held captive at The Hague, to await execution for helping English people escape from the Netherlands. Followed on 24 February[14] by the arrest of his wife, who was then three months pregnant with her second child, a French cabaret singer who worked for the French Resistance named Gilberte Letuppe (she had previously worked as an ambulance driver for the French Red Cross) nicknamed Gilou Lelup at the Hotel Montholon in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

The arrest was made by two members of the Gestapo, assisted by four heavily armed German soldiers. They searched her bag and her room and found three ID cards, Kommandantur signatures, pass and German employment permits, all stolen the previous day. In addition to the items discovered, three revolvers and a box of ammunition, to be handed over to a French resistance movement in Bordeaux (Lindemans was there at the time of his wife's arrest) were confiscated. Lindemans' wife, a member of Swane's organisation, operated under the aliases of "Anna Van Vredenburgh" and "Yvonne". Among others that were arrested was Victor "Vic" Swane, the head of an escape network.

Letuppe was taken prisoner and interrogated for 11 hours that day. She was beaten with such force in the face that she fell from her chair, but she refused to speak. She was then taken to Fresnes Prison, south of Paris, where she was jailed, manacled by hand and feet, and was given no food or water for four days. She was questioned violently a couple of times (twenty-four), beaten in the face on every occasion. Due to her refusal to speak, she spent the next six months in solitary confinement.

She is registered,[15] at the beginning of August, to be the last woman admitted to Fort de Romainville, a stop before deportation. Her file, numbered 6 862, described her as having been born on 15 September 1922 and being nine months pregnant ("9 Monat schwanger"). But, instead, being among the prisoners aboard the last convoy[n 2] (I.264, 15 August 1944) of deportees from Paris (quai des bestiaux, gare de Pantin) to Germany and, like some of her fellow inmates who were considered unfit for transportation, she was evacuated from the Fort of Romainville on 17 August to a local Hospice in Saint-Denis where she gave birth on 25 August 1944 to her second child, a daughter named Christianne. Letuppe's release may have been ordered by Abwehr Colonel Oscar Reile. He supposedly left Paris on 18 August. The fort of Romainville was under the control of the German military authorities.

 
Gilberte Letuppe's record card, fort de Romainville, circa August 1944, the German military abbreviation, bev which is short for Bevollmächtigter and typed next to Geburt (birth), can be translated into English by authorized agent or Plenipotentiary

Her testimony was later written down by the Allied Information Service (AIS)-SHAEF[n 3] and used as evidence in the Nuremberg trials.

By March 1944, Christiaan was able to initiate contact[n 4] with the Abwehr[n 5] operatives in Brussels, due to his inability to pay 10,000 Florins asked by the first intermediary agent in exchange for their freedom, Lindemans agreed to meet Dr Gerhard, sometimes called "Dr German" (pseudonym for Hermann Giskes, who had run the successful Operation North Pole and who could speak perfect English without a trace of a German accent.) in a villa outside Brussels and agreed to become a double agent[n 6] on condition that his wife and brother were released.[17] Giskes claimed that he performed his part of the bargain,[18] Henk Lindemans was released in due course and went as a voluntary worker to Germany where he had some acquaintances[19]

From here on, Christiaan Lindemans (Abwehr codenamed CC) was instructed to renew contact with resistance agents and transmit back to Major Hermann Giskes[n 7] information about the resistance movement in the occupied Netherlands, France and Belgium. In return, he received large sums of money. During his time as an informant for the German military intelligence service, he was closely shadowed by an Abwehr agent. Lindemans' early denunciations created a Domino effect resulting in the arrest of 267 members of the Dutch and Belgian Resistance. In the wake of the D-Day's landings, Lindemans was said to have "visited" the British sector of the Normandy beachhead[20] and succeeded in getting himself recruited by IS 9 (Intelligence School 9 a.k.a. Nine Eyes[21]) Western Europe Area, an Anglo-American[22] secret agency which worked under MI9,[23] by the end of September 1944[n 8], he was a member of Prince Bernhard's Staff[n 9] and was appointed liaison officer (with temporary rank of Captain in the Netherlands Forces of the Interior) between Dutch resistance and a British Intelligence unit commanded by a Canadian officer.[n 10]

The true nature of Lindemans' mission could have been an assassination attempt against Prince Bernhard, but according to Bernhard's biographer these were not his orders. Lindemans was to spy on Prince Bernhard's HQ and find out who was the primary source of intelligence (contacts in the Dutch resistance, radio operators and other suppliers of information).[29]

September 1944

On 3 September 1944, Giskes left Brussels (en route to his next assignment in Bonn, Giskes' FAK 307 was now attached to Army Group B) and instructed Lindemans to stay in Belgium and make contact with Anglo-Canadian intelligence. He was to offer himself as an agent, the mission was to find out what plans Canadian Intelligence[n 11] had made for the Netherlands and as soon as possible cross the lines with that information, in that case he was to use a secret code to get past German sentries. Lindemans, involved in the liberation of the city of Brussels, alongside three Belgian police officers, attacked German forces who were still holding out in the North railway station district. Lindemans killed two German soldiers and wounded two others.

On 4 September 1944, British intelligence officer, Captain Peter Baker of IS 9 of the D group (Western Europe Area), an expert in sabotage and hand-to-hand combat and assigned to SHAEF G-2 division (intelligence), arrived in Brussels (office at the Hotel Metropole where he set up a W/T station) on his way to newly liberated Antwerp in search of a Dutchman who would be able to go through the lines and contact Allied airmen hiding in the southern part of the Netherlands (Allied pilots were to stay put as the Allied armies were preparing to move toward Eindhoven[30]).

An Armée secrète 's operative named Urbain Renniers[n 12] recommended Lindemans for the job, before sending him out, Baker made a few enquiries, he then went to the 21st Army Group's[n 13] headquarters which in turn contacted Prince Bernhard's staff, on SHAEF Special Forces Captain de Graaf's recommendation, Prince Bernhard notify Baker that Lindemans could be trusted. Accordingly, special priority clearance was granted and an IS 9 pass in the name of Christiaan Brand was issued.

Lindemans, operating under the alias of "De Vries" which was given to him by Baker to protect his identity, had now joined The Buccaneers, Baker's private army, the Jolly Roger was the unit Battle standard.[32] The De Vries alias was also used by another Abwehr agent, Antonie Damen. Lindemans was required to be Baker's chauffeur. The Baker mission (It is conceivable that it was part of an elaborate deception operation) beginning on 12–13 September from the Belgium town of Diest.

On the night of 14 September,[n 14] Captain Baker ordered Lindemans and a Belgian named Lucien de Ness to Hechtel-Eksel near Beringen (location of Capt Baker HQ, the British intended to drive onto Eindhoven with 300 tanks from the bridgehead near Beringen). For most of his journey, Lindemans, wearing full British battle dress, was escorted by a patrol of 14 British soldiers under the authority of a Major Ross (pseudonym for a British officer). Lindemans and de Ness crossed the frontline near Valkenswaard through a hail of shells. de Ness was seriously wounded and was taken to a German field hospital, where he died shortly after. For Lindemans, he had a rendezvous with German headquarters in the Netherlands.

Lindemans first met with German Luftwaffe general Kurt Student in Vught[35][n 15] and then escorted to Driebergen by Giskes' right-hand man, Abwehr agent Richard Christmann[42] (1905–1989) who had been detached from FAK 307 to FAT 365 in the upcoming meeting with Lindemans. The latter was driven back to the region of Eindhoven on 16 September by agent Christmann (codenamed Arnaud).[n 16]

Alongside his BBO assignment, Lindemans had received a Dutch BI (bureau of information, The Dutch exile government's intelligence service and MI-6 counterpart[43]) order by Baker, that once in Eindhoven he was to deliver personally to four high-ranking members of a Dutch resistance organisation, all employed by The Philips Company also known as Eindhoven Philips[n 17] the following assignment that they should hold back information on the development of V-2 rocket and a cyclotron[n 18] until the Allies reached them unless they considered it to be a strategic imperative. In that case, they were to hand their intelligence to Lindemans on his way back through the lines[45] and to prevent the Germans from committing acts of sabotage against Philips' factories.

Possibly part of the Melanie Mission,[n 19] a joint operation between the Office of Strategic Services and the BI,[46] the Melanie Mission was to collect military, economic and industrial intelligence.[47]

On Saturday 16 September, he went to the safe house of resistance police officer Inspector Kooy, whose address had been given to Lindemans via Baker by Dutch intelligence liaison officers. Kooy started to suspect Lindemans, had him searched, and a copy of the Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden and a pass signed by Major Ernest Kiesewetter, head of FAT[n 20] 365 in Driebergen (Giskes' subordinate and successor) was discovered in his pocket, Lindemans answered that he had picked up the newspaper on the road and the document bearing Kiesewetter's signature was a forgery. Unconvinced by Lindemans' explanation, Kooy had him locked up in a coal cellar near the police station .

Lindemans was released on Tuesday, 19 September, one day after the Allies entered Eindhoven[n 21] by Baker who was absolutely furious that one of his best agents had been detained. Kooy produced the items that he had discovered on Lindemans, only for Baker to say that the newspaper meant nothing and the pass was a fake. On 23 September, Lindemans was debriefed and cleared of any suspicion by Captain de Graff[49] (A coded telegram was sent to the BI HQ in London noting that Lindemans was all right[50]) and Captain de Jong who had recently arrived from England and who was also serving on Prince Bernhard's Staff.

On duty with the SOE and in company of two British officers, Lindemans paid a visit to French resistance fighter, Charles Buisine on 17 October. Buisine, a veteran of the Battle of France, had been recruited into the SOE in 1940 by Lindemans with the immediate rank of Lieutenant, he was head of an intelligence and escape network codenamed Sector 6-North-F (stretching from the neighbouring of Orchies to Lille) with HQ in Beuvry. Buisine codenamed agent 28/24, who was working under the authority of Belgian Officer Desmet, was unaware of his commanding officer's true identity.

Waiting to be alone with Buisine, Lindemans said:

In a choked voice, it is here Lindemans says, I chose to say farewell to Desmet who now ceases to exist and the same for the SOE Lieutenant, agent 28/24 of sector 6, in a short time, Buisine, you will known my name.[51]

In the following days, Buisine learnt, to his own disbelief, that Freddi Desmet, SOE Captain of the Belgian army with an impeccable track record and Christiaan Lindemans, one of the leaders of the Communist group CS VI of Amsterdam who was being held prisoner by the British Military Police on suspicion of treason, were the same.

Tactical advantage

Since the war, various authors have speculated that Lindemans' information led Field Marshal Model (The Tafelberg Hotel was Model's Tactical HQ in Oosterbeek in the neighbouring of Arnhem and the Hartenstein Hotel was used as the German Officers' Mess. Model moved to Oosterbeek on 11 September.) to reposition the II SS Panzer Corps (commanded by General Bittrich whose headquarters were in Doetinchem 15 miles east of Arnhem.) under the cover of darkness to positions overlooking likely Airborne targets, mainly bridgeheads, near Arnhem[52] and for the troops. They were camping in the nearby forests waiting for Allied airdrop to begin.

According to Lindemans, the Allies wanted to attack Eindhoven.[53] More specifically, Lindemans' information stated that an Allied attack would be north of Eindhoven and would consist of Airborne troops eventually being backstopped by Allied armour.[54]

Lindemans' information (report dated 22 August) was incomplete but enough to let the German High Command (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht) pinpoint enemy targets, most likely the bridges at Grave, Nijmegen and Arnhem.

The last-mentioned was brought forward in Lindeman's report. In early September, Field Marshall Model who had the task of defending a line running from the North Sea to the Swiss border (500 miles), had ordered the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg to Arnhem for refitting and upgrading under the direction of Bittrich who would set up his command post in the area in preparation for the upcoming Allied invasion of Germany in reaction to the V-2 campaign.

Lindemans' second report (dated 15 September) made into two summaries (general information and prospective aerial landings), enabled the Germans to counter-attack and send further reinforcements made up of auxiliary units from the Arnhem and Nijmegen areas.

The limited availability of German jet planes, most of the Me 262 were grounded due to the lack of fuel, made it impossible to fully use Lindemans' intelligence on the position of Eisenhower's HQ and the whereabouts of Allied battle tanks.

Allied aircraft reconnaissance, used on 11 and 16 September but not on the 15th due to bad weather, noted nothing critical being detected.[55]

Prince Bernhard impersonation

On the eve of the liberation of Eindhoven, preceded by Sherman tanks, Baker entered the town of Valkenswaard, accompanied by Charles Muller,[n 22] a French officer, the two men were driven through the town in an impressive black Cadillac limousine, quickly attracting devoted followers.

With his horn rimmed spectacles and his London-tailored uniform, Baker bore an uncanny resemblance to Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, and, as expected, a large and enthusiastic crowd cheered Baker who politely replied by waving his hands in royal manner. At the end, Baker had to take refuge at the Irish Guards's HQ at Aalst near Eindhoven where some British and American journalists were waiting to interview the Commander-in-Chief of the Dutch Forces.

Baker acknowledged in his memoirs that pictures were taken that day.[56]

Capture and death

On 26 October 1944, Lindemans was denounced as a German spy by fellow Abwehr agent Cornelis Johannes Antonius Verloop[n 23] nicknamed Satan Face (Abwehr codenamed "Nelis"), a recipient of the German Cross in Gold. Verloop, who at that time was in Allied hands, claimed[n 24] that Lindemans had betrayed Operation Market Garden to intelligence officer Kiesewetter on Friday, 15 September at the Abwehr station in Driebergen. "King Kong" showed no resistance to his arrest by British security officer Alfred Vernon Sainsbury of the Special Forces Detachment on the afternoon of 28 October 1944 at Prince Bernhard's headquarters at Château de La Fougeraie also known as Château Wittouck in Uccle, outside of Brussels.

After five days in St-Gilles-Prison, Brussels, Lindemans was transferred to Camp 020 (A maximum-security prison), and placed under the command of Lieutenant colonel R.W.G. Stephens nicknamed Tin Eye. Lindemans' personal effects were seized but these provided no evidence of his betrayal.[citation needed]

Following an intense two-week interrogation by MI5 agents, Lindemans had several epileptic seizures and consequently, made a full and detailed confession[n 25] and contrary to initial findings, compelled by Camp 020 officers that they were unable to report what information[n 26] Lindemans had transmitted to the enemy, Colonel Stevens recommended that Lindemans should receive the death sentence. Lindemans' questioning at Camp 020 had revealed that he had general knowledge on some of Nazi Germany's top-secret weapons including the V-2 program and the existence of an atomic bomb that could burn and destroy everything within a radius of 500 yards, that large amounts of gold were stored in an unknown location in Brussels. He also disclosed that Giskes was a personal friend[64] of Hitler. Lindemans was also suspected of helping German spies get back into enemy lines during October.[citation needed]

He returned to Dutch custody (7 December 1944) where he was jailed in Breda Prison up to March 1945 and in Scheveningen until summer 1946 for treachery during the war.[65][n 27]

Oreste Pinto[n 28] did visit Lindemans at least once. The very muscular and keen boxer nicknamed "King Kong" was now a shadow of his former self,[n 29] the two men looked at each other, Lindemans asked, "Is there no mercy?",[69] Pinto did not reply. Lindemans allegedly committed suicide by swallowing 80 aspirin[n 30] in a psychiatric ward[n 31] before his case could be heard.

Prison, rumours and escape

In the summer of 1946, a Dutch newspaper published an article on a prison break which occurred at Scheveningen Prison. Three men who were being held at the camp for political delinquency escaped, with one of the escapees being Lindemans (a previous escape attempt by Lindemans from the same place having been thwarted),[72] he may have been allowed to escape[73] to South America[74] after a body-swap.[75][76]

Russian syndicate

I received your letter but cannot understand it. You must know that after many tortures by the Germans, she (Lindemans' wife) is very afraid to speak to British or Dutch agents.

I have had my chance to escape, but I was waiting for you, because we worked in the same job. I liked the British better than the Dutch therefore I will work. My wife Gilou likes to work with me and nobody else. I suppose that you are afraid that I am working with the wrong organisation, but that is not true, otherwise I would not have told you all these things. If you think you can play with me, then you will lose. I am in your hands now, so do what you like.[77]

– Lindemans' reply, Scheveningen Prison, to security officer, Lieutenant Van Dijk acting under the orders of D.G. Baber, RAF security officer, Ypenburg, the Netherlands,

c. April–May 1946

In April 1946, Lindemans' wife visited the Soviet Embassy[78] in Rotterdam, at least on three occasions. The British intelligence service took the matter seriously and intervened with the help of one of their agents inside Scheveningen Prison to get through to Lindemans, in exchange for his wife's safety, he agreed to share information on a Russian organisation that had ties with senior members of France, Germany and the Netherlands Armed forces and civilian administrations. This organisation is said to be all over the Netherlands and actively trying to absorb all Dutchmen who served in the SS during the war, had taken into custody German engineers who had worked on the German atomic project and exfiltrated them to the Soviet Union, the same group had now spread to Persia, possibly threatening British interests. The British intelligence service cross-checked Lindemans' report and found it to be very accurate.[79]

The same mysterious organisation might have been involved in Verloop breaking out of Scheveningen Prison (1946). According to his British personal file, classified 'Red', Verloop was regarded by the British intelligence service as one of the most dangerous German spies to have worked in the Netherlands. He was last seen in 1949, reappearing decades later, although Lindemans was believed to have known where Verloop was hiding. Verloop's name was on the official list of German agents kept by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris in his office in Berlin.

During the 1980s, Verloop was interviewed by French historian, Michel Rousseau about two SOE networks in the north of France, the Garrow-Pat O'Leary network and the Farmer network of Michael Trotobas. The article was printed in the French quarterly publication Revue d'histoire de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale et des conflits contemporains in 1984. He was also interviewed by American journalist, Brendan M. Murphy, for his projected book on British spy turned traitor Harold Cole, published in 1987.

In January 1944, posing as patriots, Verloop and fellow Abwehr agent, Antonie Damen, raised suspicion in the mind of one member of the Belgian resistance movement, Mrs Lambot of 15, rue d'Alliance, Brussels. Lambot lodged that Verloop and Damen, were suspected to be working for the Russian intelligence service. Damen's capture by Allied forces resulted in Verloop's capture as well.

Body exhumed

 
Lindemans' resting place, Rotterdam, picture dated, 25 March 1986.

On Tuesday, 17 June 1986,[n 32] Dutch pathologist Martin Voortman positively identified a skeleton exhumed as that of Christiaan Lindemans, according to Voortman, the skeleton had an irregularly healed break in its left ankle, consistent with Lindemans' medical records. The body[n 33] was recovered[n 34] at dawn the same day from Rotterdam Crooswijk cemetery from a coffin sandwiched between those of Lindemans' parents.[83]

Hendrik (Henk) Lindemans who witnessed the exhumation of his brother's body, stated that he was convinced that the remains were those of his brother.

In 1997, Lindemans' suicide note surfaced and had provided satisfactory evidence that Lindemans took his own life.[84]

Film by Richard Attenborough

A close-up of a Beware, the Walls Have Ears poster can be seen in Richard Attenborough's 1977 film adaptation of Operation Market Garden, A Bridge Too Far.

The Lindemans files

The NARA retains some files on Lindemans and the documents are located among the Office of the Secretary of Defense (RG 330) records. The Lindemans files are still security classified as late as 2015.

Notes

  1. ^ In the autumn of 1943, Lindemans helped de Graaf escape from the Netherlands en route to London (Jan. 1944). The de Graff-Lindemans connection came under scrutiny during Lindemans' incarceration at Camp 020. Lindemans was one of the highest-ranking members of CS VI.
  2. ^ Letuppe was to be deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp, branded with the following number 57584.
  3. ^ Her husband last name was misspelled as "Sindemans.
  4. ^ There are different versions of the same story, Lindemans and Verloop.
  5. ^ Abwehr III West section Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands was renamed FAK 307 and headed by Giskes (March 1944), FAK (Front-Aufklärungs-Kommando or Front Intelligence Units) 307 was under the authority of Colonel Oscar Reile.
  6. ^ Lindemans was known to German Intelligence Service as either Christiaan Brand[16] or by his real name. The name Brand was given to him in early 1944 by a Dutch resistance group. One of Lindemans' sisters-in-law was named Brand.
  7. ^ After the war, Giskes was recruited by the CIA sponsored intelligence organization, the Gehlen Organization.
  8. ^ 23 September,[24] date of the first meeting between Lindemans and Prince Bernhard at Chateau Wittouck. Half of Chateau Wittouck was occupied by Prince Bernhard's staff and the other half by the First Canadian Army.[25]
  9. ^ 20 September, date of Lindemans' first visit to Prince Bernahrd's HQ.[26]
  10. ^ Lindemans was assigned to a junior Canadian officer by Lieutenant-Colonel Maurice Louis De Rome, OBE, ED, of the Royal 22nd Regiment and Special Forces Detachments (SFD) attached to the First Canadian Army. In 1945, De Rome was appointed special military adviser to the Netherlands Army and to his H.R.H. Prince Bernhard, in July 1948, he was promoted to chief of staff,[27] Quebec Army Command with HQ in Montreal. De Rome[28] alongside RN officer Philip Johns (Within Two Cloaks) who was then head of SOE's branch in the Low Countries accompanied Intelligence Corps officer Peter Baker to his first meeting with Lindemans.
  11. ^ Lindemans was to find out the status of the Belgian resistance in the forthcoming of an Allied attack and Allied plans for infiltrating agents behind German lines.
  12. ^ Renniers codenamed Reaumur,[31] was a Belgian Army engineering officer that became one the leaders of the Belgian secret Army in Antwerp. He provided Lindemans with a written statement for bravery exhibited during the liberation of Antwerp. Renniers played a major role in ensuring that the Port of Antwerp was kept intact upon arrival of the Allies.
  13. ^ IS 9 (WEA) was attached to the intelligence staff of Montgomery's 21 Army.
  14. ^ There is some confusion about the exact date and area of Lindemans crossing into enemy lines, Langley mentioned the event in his wartime memoir he co-wrote with British historian M. R. D. Foot as taking place four days before Operation Market-Garden started, setting the occurrence a day earlier, on 13 September before midnight and the crossing point being described as near Eindhoven[33] and not Beringen as it is officially recorded. Langley states it was Lindemans' call and other sources say the order came from First Canadian Army's HQ, Lindemans' assignment under Canadian arrangement was to gather the resistance to link-up for the imminent Operation Market-Garden mission. Langley claimed that before being given green light, Pinto had warned[34] him that Lindemans was a possible German spy.
  15. ^ Student denied that he ever met Lindemans.[36] On 17 September, Luftwaffe's Flack (Fliegerabwehrkanone, stands for anti-aircraft guns) had reportedly shot down a glider (British[37] or American[38][39]) near the First Parachute Army's command post,[40] among its cargo, details of Operation Market-Garden were discovered by a Feldwebel and brought immediately to the attention of Student.[41]
  16. ^ Holder of the War Merit Cross, first class, Christmann was instrumental in the success of Operation North Pole, by October 1944, he was in charge of protecting the V-2 Bases. He established contact in May 1945 with the British intelligence service and provided intelligence to the SAS Belgian Regt of Operation Fabian (mention in Theodore Bachenheimer article, see Notes section). Alike Colonel Reile and Major Giskes, Christmann were recruited into the Gehlen Organisation
  17. ^ From 1934 to 1944 at least, the Philips laboratories had an extensive atomic research program,[44] Lindemans was acquainted with Philips' representatives in Brussels and Paris.
  18. ^ Commissioned by the Reich Postal Office for its laboratory in Miersdorf near Zeuthen. The RPM was headed by Wilhelm Ohnesorge.
  19. ^ The Melanie Mission reached Eindhoven on 21 September 1944. Baker had written in his memoirs that he was to meet with some men (an unidentified party) in Eindhoven.
  20. ^ Front-Aufklärungs-Truppe
  21. ^ Baker expressed admiration for Lindeman's courageous and devoted conduct that he displayed after his release.[48]
  22. ^ Muller (maybe a pseudonym), a veteran of the Battle of France was made a Lieutenant in Baker's unit, possibly a member of the Jedburgh teams. Muller remained with Baker until they reached Eindhoven when he was ordered back to France.
  23. ^ Born in 1909 in The Hague, Verloop joined the French Foreign Legion in 1935, he deserted to join the Abwehr as an active intelligence operative, he was involved in the mock arrest of British traitor Harold Cole (December 1941). He was the one who put Lindemans in touch with Giskes, Verloop crossed into the liberated section of North Brabant on Abwehr instructions[57] to discover the whereabouts of Abwehr agent Damen who had not returned from a previous mission.
  24. ^ Verloop was questioned by Dutch counterintelligence officer Oreste Pinto, to prove that he could be trusted. Verloop named members of Pinto's staff including British officer Captain Baker. The intelligence had been passed to him by Kiesewetter.[58]
  25. ^ Lindemans' files and confession went missing prior to his death.[59] The confession (24 pages) appears to have been compiled from four reports written down at different times (6 December 1944).
  26. ^ An ISOS (Intelligence Services Oliver Strachey) decrypt of an Abwehr signal dated from end of August[60] (22 August[61]) reveals that it contained Lindemans' report to Giskes on a meeting (21 August[62]) between British officers and Dutch resistance representatives. Information about possible landings of airborne troops in the Meuse area were disclosed, it is unclear in what capacity Lindemans intended this secret conference and if he used his real name or the Christiaan Brand alias. In Giskes' book, London Calling North Pole, the event is cited as taking place on 25 August,[63] the message was transmitted to Abwehr Departement III West (Paris station) who had moved to Sainte-Menehould. However Giskes acknowledged that an attempt made to check the validity of Lindemans' report (22 August) proved unsuccessful.
  27. ^ Pinto was ordered back to SHAEF's HQ to be congratulated on his catch by a Very Important Person with a soft American accent.[66]
  28. ^ Pinto's distrust of Lindemans began with their first encounter which occurred in early September 1944 at an Allied detention camp near Antwerp where Pinto was the security officer. Lindemans had two female detainees[67] removed from the camp before they had been cleared for release.
  29. ^ Lindemans was reported to be suffering from the debilitating effects of partial paralysis, his medical condition featured in Pinto's book, Spycatcher.[68]
  30. ^ Alternatively for meds and cause of death, Luminal,[70] an anti-epileptic drug, he killed himself by hitting his head with a club and next taking arsenic.[71]
  31. ^ Psychiatric wing of the Scheveningen prison also known as the Orange Hotel.
  32. ^ Ordered by Rotterdam mayor Bram Peper on a request by resistance veteran, Haarlem city councillor Belinda Thone.[80]
  33. ^ According to Dutch General Practitioner Dr Hans.C Moolenburgh, Lindemans' autopsy revealed unexplained high levels of Arsenic.[81]
  34. ^ Lindemans surviving brother and two daughters witnessed the exhumation.[82]

See also

References

  1. ^ "La ligne de démarcation: Un acte de foi dans la Patrie, Tome XVI, by Rémy, published by Librairie académique Perrin, 1969
  2. ^ "Was Arnhem Betrayed ?", by Loe de Jong, article published in Encounter, June 1981.
  3. ^ "La ligne de démarcation: Un acte de foi dans la Patrie", Tome XVI, by Colonel Rémy, published by Librairie académique Perrin, 1969
  4. ^ "Spy Catcher", by Oreste Pinto, published by Nelson, 1964, pg. 129
  5. ^ "Liddell Hart: 15/15/50", [1947–1951],1957, King's College London, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives.
  6. ^ "Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914", by Dennis Merrill and Thomas G.Paterson, published by Cengage learning Inc, 7th edition, 2009, pg. 175
  7. ^ "My Testament", by Capt. Peter Baker, MC, published by John Calder, March 1955, pp. 112-113.
  8. ^ "Uncertain Horizons: Canadians and their world in 1945", ed by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, pg. 53
  9. ^ Studies in Intelligence, issue 1, published by the U.S Central Intelligence Agency, 1998, pg. 109
  10. ^ Uncertain horizons:Canadians and their world in 1945, ed. by Greg Donaghy, published by the Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, pg. 54
  11. ^ Flee the Captor, by Herbert Ford, published by Review & Herald Publishing 1994, pg. 243
  12. ^ The Lindemans Affair, by Anne Lambert under the pen name Anne Laurens, published by Allan Wingate, 1971, pg. 39
  13. ^ The Wiener Library Bulletin, published by Wiener Library 1956, Volume 10, pg. 9
  14. ^ "Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg, 14 November 1945 - 1 October 1946 Documents and other material in evidence, Numbers 257-F to 180-L", vol. XXXVII, published at Nuremberg, Germany, 1949, pp. 298-299
  15. ^ "Les oubliés de Romainville", by Thomas Fontaine, published by Tallandier Editions, 2005, pg. 92
  16. ^ Camp 20 MI5 and the Nazi spies, introduction by Oliver Hoare, Public Record Office, 2000, pg. 327
  17. ^ "German Intelligence Agents and Suspected Agents, Christian LINDEMANS, alias Christian BRANT, German codename KING KONG", 1944 Nov 10-1944 Nov 19, Reference KV 2/233, National Archives
  18. ^ London Calling North Pole, by Hermann J.Giskes, published by William Kimber, London, 1953.
  19. ^ "Gerhardt HUNTERMANN: German. As an Abwehr officer in the Netherlands and deputy to GISKES, HUNTERMANN was closely involved with 'Nordpol', the operation in which a number of SOE agents were turned into German double agents. He was interrogated at Camp 020 in 1945", 1945 May 07-1945 Aug 31, Reference KV 2/967, National Archives.
  20. ^ To Win the Winter Sky: The Air War Over the Ardennes,1944-1945, by Danny S. Parker, published by Combined Publishing 1999, pg. 120
  21. ^ Killer Elite, by Michael Smith, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson 2006.
  22. ^ "Saturday at M.I.9 The Classic Account of the WW2 Allied Escape Organisation", by Airey Neave, published by Pen and Sword Military 2010, pg. 260
  23. ^ Shot Down and on the Run, by Graham Pitchfork, published by Dundurn Group Ltd 2003, pg. 12
  24. ^ "The Guy Liddell Diaries Vol.II,1942-1945, MI5's Director of Counter-Espionage in World War II", edited by Rupert Allason under the pen name Nigel West, published by Routledge, pg. 266
  25. ^ "H. R. H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands: An Authorised Biography", by Alden Hatch, published by Harrap, London 1962, pg. 124
  26. ^ "H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands: An Authorised Biography", by Alden Hatch, published by Harrap, London 1962, pg. 115
  27. ^ "The Changing Commonwealth Proceedings of the fourth unofficial Commonwealth Relations Conference held at Bigwin Inn, Ontario, Canada, September 8–18, 1949", by Frederic Hubert Soward, published by Oxford University Press, 1950, pg. 239
  28. ^ Uncertain horizons: Canadians and their world in 1945, edited by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, pg. 57
  29. ^ "H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands: An Authorised Biography", by Alden Hatch, published by Harrap, London 1962, pg. 116
  30. ^ A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan, published by Simon and Schuster, pg. 155
  31. ^ Battle for Antwerp the liberation of the city and the opening of the Scheldt 1944, by James Louis Moulton, Published by Ian Allan, London 1978, pg. 18
  32. ^ Confession of Faith, pg. 131, by Peter Baker published by Falcon Press 1946.
  33. ^ MI 9 The British Secret Service that Fostered Escape and Evasion 1939-1945, and its American Counterpart, by Langley J.M and Foot M.R.D, London 1979, p.222
  34. ^ Fight Another Day, by Langley J.M, published by Collins London 1974, p.222-3.
  35. ^ Les grandes décisions de la deuxiéme Guerre mondiale 1944-1945, by Jacques de Launay, published by Edito-service 1975, volume 3, p.181
  36. ^ A Bridge Too Far, by Cornelius Ryan, published by Simon and Schuster, p.156
  37. ^ Operation Market-Garden Then and Now, edited by Karel Margry, published by After The Battle 2002, Volume 1, p.173.
  38. ^ U.S.A. Airborne 50th Anniversary 1940–1990, by Bart Hagerman, Turner Publishing Company 1990, p.123
  39. ^ Arnhem, by Major-General R.E .Urquart, published by Cassel and Co Ltd London 1958, p.42
  40. ^ The Siefried Line Campaign, by Charles B. MacDonald, published by Center of Military History United States Army Washington, D.C, 1993, p.141
  41. ^ Office of The Chief Historian (German Branch), Manuscript B-117, General Kurt Student's Post-War Interrogation Report, pp.10–11
  42. ^ British Intelligence in the Second World War, Security and Counter-Intelligence, by F.H. Hinsley and C.A.G. Simkins, published by Stationery Office Books 1990, volume 4, p.377.
  43. ^ MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909–1949, by Keith Jeffery, published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2010, p.544
  44. ^ The Knickerbocker, The Magazine of the Low Countries, Volume 5, Numéro 2, Atlantic observer 1945, p.9
  45. ^ Uncertain Horizons:Canadians and their world in 1945, ed by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of The Second World War, 1997, p.58
  46. ^ Studied in intelligence, numero 1, published by the U.S Central Intelligence Agency, 1998, p.111
  47. ^ Studied in intelligence, numero 1, published by the U.S Central Intelligence Agency, 1998, p.116
  48. ^ "My Testament", p. 118
  49. ^ Was Arnhem Betrayed ?, by Loe de Jong, article published in Encounter, June 1981.
  50. ^ Uncertain horizons:Canadians and their world in 1945, ed by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, p.62
  51. ^ "La ligne de démarcation: Un acte de foi dans la Patrie, Tome XVI, by Colonel Rémy, published by Librairie académique Perrin, 1969
  52. ^ :'The Sword of St Michael: The 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, by Guy Lofaro, published by Da Capo Press.
  53. ^ "I5 files reveal how 'King Kong' betrayed Allies", The Independent, 20 April 2000.
  54. ^ Pinto, Oreste (1972) Spy Catcher, Thomas Nelson & Sons, Ltd. pp. 136-137; ISBN 0-176-35054-3
  55. ^ British Intelligence in the Second World War, Its Influence on Strategy and Operations, by F.H. Hinsley, E.E. Thomas, C.A.G. Simkins and C.F.G. Ramsom, published by Stationery Office Books 1988, volume 3, part 2, pg. 385
  56. ^ "My Testament", pg. 116
  57. ^ "Was Arnhem Betrayed ?", by Loe de Jong, article published in Encounter (June 1981)
  58. ^ "German Intelligence Agents and Suspected Agents, Christian LINDEMANS, alias Christian BRANT, German codename KING KONG", 1944 Nov 10-1944 Nov 19, Reference KV 2/233, National Archives
  59. ^ "Trial of King Kong Vital But File Has Disappeared". The Miami News. 16 June 1950. p. 8.
  60. ^ "The Guy Liddell Diaries Vol.II,1942-1945, MI5's Director of Counter-Espionage in World War II", edited by Nigel West, published by Routledge, pg. 239
  61. ^ "Uncertain Horizons: Canadians and their world in 1945", ed by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, pg. 58
  62. ^ "Uncertain Horizons: Canadians and their world in 1945", ed by Greg Donaghy, published by Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War 1997, pg. 58
  63. ^ London Calling North Pole, by Hermann J. Giskes, published by William Kimber, London, 1953.
  64. ^ "German Intelligence Officers, Herman GISKES", 1945 Jul 26-1947 Feb 26, Reference KV 2/963, National Archives
  65. ^ "Cornelis Johannes Antonius Verloop: Dutch, operating mainly in Belgium and Northern France", 1944 Oct 05-1944 May 06, Reference KV 2/139, National Archives.
  66. ^ "Trial of King Kong Vital But File Has Disappeared". The Miami News. 16 June 1950. p. 8.
  67. ^ "A thread of deceit: espionage myths of World War II", by Nigel West, published by Random House 1985, pg. 112
  68. ^ Spycatcher, by Lieutenant-Colonel Oreste Pinto, published by T. Werner Laurie Ltd. 1952
  69. ^ "No thumbscrews were needed to make King Kong talk". The Courier-Mail. 25 May 1950. p. 2.
  70. ^ "Was Arnhem Betrayed ?", by Loe de Jong, article published in Encounter (June 1981)
  71. ^ The News Media and The Law, volume 7, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (1986), pg. 233
  72. ^ The Knickerbocker, The Magazine of the Low Countries, volume 6, Atlantic Observer (1946)
  73. ^ Associated Press, Paul Verschuur, 4 January 1986, Dutch Council Rules on Wartime Spy Case Disclosure
  74. ^ The News Media and The Law, volume 7, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press 1986, pg. 234
  75. ^ "Exhumation to confirm death of war traitor". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 June 1986. p. 7.
  76. ^ "Status of Dutch double agent remains mystery". Ottawa Citizen. 14 June 1986. p. 11.
  77. ^ "Cornelis Johannes Antonius Verloop: Dutch, operating mainly in Belgium and Northern France", 1944 Oct 05-1944 May 06, Reference KV 2/139, National Archives
  78. ^ "Cornelis Johannes Antonius Verloop: Dutch, operating mainly in Belgium and Northern France", 1944 Oct 05-1944 May 06, Reference KV 2/139, National Archives
  79. ^ "Cornelis Johannes Antonius Verloop: Dutch, operating mainly in Belgium and Northern France", 1944 Oct 05-1944 May 06, Reference KV 2/139, National Archives
  80. ^ "Experts bid to solve riddle of Arnhem traitor". The Glasgow Herald. 16 June 1986. p. 4.
  81. ^ "As Chance Would Have it, A Study in Coincidences", by H.C Moolenburgh, published by The C.W Daniel Company Limited, 1998
  82. ^ "Exhumation confirms war traitor is dead". The Glasgow Herald. 18 June 1986. p. 4.
  83. ^ The Courier, Examination confirms identity of double agent's body, 17 June 1986
  84. ^ Operation Market-Garden Then and Now, volume 1 by Karel Magry published by After the Battle, 2002
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