If you’ve read my historical fiction novel, The Librarians of Lisbon, then you’ve already met the lethal double agent Gable. He’s handsome, enigmatic, and mercurial—the man Bea loves to loathe. He’s a man who has as many identities as the lies he’s told to craft them. He works for the Allies and Germany, spinning secrets in a web of deceptive communications called The Spinnennetz.
The character Gable was inspired by a real World War II spy who crafted his own intricate web of lies to help defeat Hitler. Today, he is often referred to as one of the greatest spies of World War II. He is also credited with helping to ensure the successful Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944: D-Day.
Juan Pujol García
Juan Pujol García, also known as Agent Garbo, was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1914 and was trained to be a chicken farmer.
When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936, García initially refused to join the fight. Despite his attempts to avoid the conflict, eventually he felt he had no choice but to join in. He enlisted with the Republican forces only to defect and escape to join the Nationalists. But he was no happier fighting for the Nationalists. He didn’t agree with either side’s philosophies.
His experience in the Spanish Civil War impacted him greatly, instilling in him a deep loathing for totalitarianism. By 1940, he married Araceli González Carballo and moved to Madrid with their young family. But because of his hatred of fascism and communism, García soon felt compelled to join in another war effort.
When he learned that Britain was fighting against Adolf Hitler and Germany, García decided to offer up his services to Britain as a spy. But having no experience or training in espionage, he was met with a dead end. The British refused his help. They didn’t yet trust him.
Codename Alaric
Desperate to do his part to fight against the Axis powers, Juan Pujol García convinced Germany to enlist him as a spy. At that time, Germany planned to plant spies in the United Kingdom to gather information. García told his German handlers that he could provide information on British troop movements and military locations. The Germans believed him. Unbeknownst to them, at that point in time, García had never even set foot on British soil.
Operating under the German codename Alaric, Juan Pujol García moved to Lisbon and wove a masterful plan of deceit. From there, he crafted lie after lie to Germany.
With the help of his wife Araceli, he created correspondence to Germany from a network of fictitious agents he invented. Although he’d never been to Britain, he falsified information about British troops from these agents, who were supposedly living in the United Kingdom. To make his information as accurate as possible, García used British travel guidebooks, maps, and periodicals to help him craft believable correspondence.
He did make a few mistakes, once referring to people at a pub in Scotland drinking a “litre of wine,” rather than the ale or beer that was the most popular drink in Scotland at the time. Fortunately for him, the Germans never realized his mistake.
In fact, García’s storytelling talents were so effective that he soon earned the trust of the Germans and the attention of the British. Finally, in 1942, with Araceli’s aide, García was invited to become a double agent for Britain’s MI15.
Agent Garbo Is Born
He was given the codename Garbo (because the British likened him to the great actress Greta Garbo for his skills in deception).
He moved to London with his family, where he and Araceli continued to grow their masterful web of lies. Agent Garbo’s network of fictitious spies soon burgeoned to a staggering twenty-seven in number.
The imaginary world he concocted had a lasting impact on the Allied war efforts, especially as D-Day and the invasion of Normandy (known as Operation Overlord) approached. Garbo’s network and correspondence was instrumental in diverting Hitler’s attention away from the Normandy coastline. In some of his most famous correspondence to Germany, he informed his handlers that rumors of the Allies planning an invasion on the Normandy coast were false.
Instead, he tried to direct their attention to the coastline of Pas-de-Calais, stating that his agents had seen troops and tanks positioned along the coast in Suffolk, Kent, and Essex. The tanks, aircraft, and ships Garbo’s fictitious agents spoke of weren’t real. They were decoys, part of a “ghost army” built to trick Hitler and Germany.
When D-Day dawned, the Germans were taken by surprise. Although casualties were high in Normandy, the invasion was successful largely because Germany didn’t have the full extent of their own troops and artillery in place there.
The success was also due to Garbo’s craftiness and creativity. He received the highest honors from both sides. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire. He also received the German Iron Cross.
Once the war was over, Juan Pujol García feared that his true identity would be discovered by Germany, and that his life might be in danger.
With the help of MI15, he relocated to Venezuela with a new identity, where he made a life for himself as a teacher. MI15 spread rumors of his death, and over time, people stopped searching for Agent Garbo. Araceli didn’t remain in Venezuela, but instead lived out the remainder of her life in Madrid. Eventually, García faked his own death by spreading rumors that he’d died of a fever somewhere in Angola.
Juan Pujol García was believed dead until 1988, when historian Nigel West discovered the truth and visited García in Venezuela, where García admitted his true identity.
For those of you who’ve already read The Librarians of Lisbon, you know that my character, Gable, diverges from the true-to-life Garbo in many ways. In the book, Gable’s deceptions center on the wolfram trade rather than on Operation Overlord. Gable’s personal life, of course, is also very different from Garbo’s. But I had such fun drawing inspiration for Gable’s “spiderweb” from Garbo’s masterful one.
Juan Pujol García (Agent Garbo) was remarkable. He went to the greatest lengths to fight Hitler. Not with guns, knives, or bombs, but with fiction. He was a spy whose weapons were words, and who helped to ensure the Allied victory with his stealthy poisoned pen.
For more information about Juan Pujol García, visit:
https://www.history.com/news/spy-double-agent-death-hoax-world-war-2
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/history/world-war-ii/agent-garbo
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