Marisa spent two hours with my husband and me, taking us to some of Lisbon’s most infamous spy hotels and meeting places. She has a wealth of knowledge about World War II spies and about Lisbon. In this intereview, she answers questions about espionage during World War II in Lisbon:Why was Lisbon called the “City of Spies” and what sort of legacy does it leave behind in World War II espionage history?
Lisbon was dubbed a city of spies by a great American historian called Douglas Wheeler. In an occupied Europe with no lights and no hope, Lisbon was the city of lights, glamour, hotels, champagne, and European royal families fleeing Nazism and, above all, spies. As the last bastion of freedom, all the spies were here, playing the game of propaganda and counterpropaganda, gathering precious information and spreading false information on enemy networks. Lisbon was the great chessboard of espionage.
What role did the Azores Islands play in espionage in World War II? How did the islands help or hurt to Allies’ cause?
The role that the islands of the Azores played during the Second World War was, as a PhD student doing my research in espionage during WW2, what impressed me the most. The geographical position of the islands is, and was, always favourable as a platform for supplying submarines and planes. For Himmler and Hitler, the occupation of the islands was the means to prepare for the invasion of the United States from there. Fortunately, the German generals didn’t think the same as their boss and Hitler was convinced, by Admiral Raeder, not to go ahead with the plan to invade the islands. It´s my conviction that if Hitler had occupied the Azores islands in 1940, the history of the Second World War would have been a different story, dangerously different. The Allies, especially Roosevelt and Churchill, always understood the importance of the islands and planned to invade the archipelago in 1943. Salazar, the Portuguese dictator, defended strict neutrality however, when he became aware that the occupation of the islands was imminent, with or without his approval, he signed the agreement to cede the bases in the Azores to the British, who invited their American friends and allies to occupy the Lajes base on Terceira Island. But even knowing all this, it was a surprise when I saw the names of the large number of German spies operating on the islands, to read the complaints from the Allies about the espionage carried out on those. The amount of documentation produced by the British secret services about the spies in the Azores is tremendous. I recently published all this information in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence in an article called, “How the Azores Became an Espionage Centerpiece During World War II. Was Portuguese Neutrality at Risk?” That, I invite you to read.
Agent Garbo, or Juan Pujol García, was one of the double agents who operated in Lisbon during World War II and one of the inspirations for the character Agent Gable in THE LIBRARIANS OF LISBON. What made Agent Garbo unique in the “spy world” of Lisbon? What is your favorite fact about him and why?
I can’t wait to read The Librarians of Lisbon, because Garbo is my favourite spy of all time. He is a man without qualities, or rather, his qualities are deception, lying and manipulation, and he was so effective that Hitler considered him his best spy. Within his prodigious mind, he created a fake network of 26 spies, which never existed. Each spy had their handwriting, personality and expressions, and all of them existed only in the head of this Catalan who never spoke German and could speak terrible English.
What is one of your favorite facts about Duško Popov and the time he spent in Lisbon and Estoril during the war?
Well, Dusko Popov was the kind of man with whom it would be quite difficult not to fall in love immediately. Tall, with beautiful blue eyes, charming, rich, and educated, he spoke five languages, was an excellent athlete and, above all, was an inveterate seducer. He was also brilliant and meticulous. In 1941, Popov convinced the Germans that he had found a Jewish man in New York who was willing to “launder” German funds, which were then used to finance MI6. The famous “Midas” plan was carried out in Portugal and one night, probably 3 August 1941, after receiving $38,000 from German spy chief von Karsthoff in Lisbon, he was followed by a naval agent named Ian Fleming. What happened next is portrayed in the book and movie “Casino Royal.” There is no doubt, in my mind, that Dusko Popov is the inspiration for James Bond, that the Casino Royal is the Estoril Casino, and that James Bond would not have lasted 24 hours, as Dusko told Paris Match in 1977.
Tell us about some of the most important locations for espionage work in Lisbon during the war.
There are plenty, but I must choose two: Hotel Palácio in Estoril, which has a small museum with registration visas for Dusko Popov and Ian Fleming, and Hotel Avenida in Lisboa. The Avenida Palace has one of the most beautiful bars in the world, with a piano reminiscent of the movie “Casablanca.” In both hotels, the order is to sit down, order a Vesper, the original James Bond’s Martini, and imagine the glamour of these hotels in 1940. It’s not too difficult because both hotels are still beautiful and glamorous.
What was the role British spies played in Lisbon during the war? Which British spy had the most influence over the war’s outcome?
The different spy networks, MI6, SOE and MI9, played a decisive role in the success of the Allies during the Second World War. More than a spy, I would highlight the incredible work of MI9 in Portugal, a network that made it possible to save thousands of refugees, persecuted politicians from Poland, France, and the occupied areas that strengthened local resistance. With the help of the border population, who hid these men and women in their homes until they were safe, MI9 saved thousands of lives which, in turn, contributed to saving thousands of lives.
Who is the spy that operated in World War II Lisbon that fascinates you the most? Why?
Garbo, for sure. Based in Lisbon in 1941, he fooled the Abwehr and the Gestapo. All he had was a copy of the Blue Guide to England, a few magazines he had found in his local library, and a prodigious imagination. He created a fake network of spies in the Hotel Suiço Atlântico in Lisboa as if he were in London, with so few mistakes that he still impresses the researchers, the spies, and the scholars. The work he had done saved thousands of lives in 1944 because he convinced the Abwehr that the D-Day landing would be in Pas de Calais and not in Normandy. But I’m currently fascinated by the role Josephine Baker played during the war. I think this part of her story deserves to be told better because she was a brilliant spy. Why not write a book about her, Suzanne?
What is the most important fact you’d like people to take away from Portugal’s role in World War II?
That Portugal was the true free land of espionage. Portuguese neutrality allowed spies to operate here almost freely if their actions weren’t too obvious and didn’t jeopardize Portuguese neutrality. Salazar rolled the dice for both sides of the war and the beautiful and mystical Azores islands were the platform most desired by all sides of the war. If the islands had been occupied by the Germans, the story told today would be very different. And that Lisbon, yesterday as today, is a city full of secrets…
More about Marisa:
She has published several articles on espionage and is currently completing her doctoral thesis, “Hidden in Plain Sight: The British Espionage in Portugal during World War II and the Anglo-Portuguese relations.”
