singing old student songs: Klaus Scholder, Die Mittwochsgesellschaft (Berlin, 1982).
journalist Ursula von Kardorff: Ursula von Kardorff, Berliner Aufzeichnungen (Munich, 1997).
“catastrophe” from their vocabulary: The word “catastrophe” was also eliminated from civil defense vehicles (formerly Katastropheneinsatz), which were now given the label “Emergency Help” (Soforthilfe). This observation comes from Victor Klemperer, who wrote in his diary on December 25, 1943: “The Nazis’ military reserves may be exhausted, their propaganda reserves are far from exhausted.” Victor Klemperer, I Will Bear Witness: A Diary of the Nazi Years 1942–1945, tr. Martin Chalmers (New York: Random House, 1999), p. 281.
“which is not likely”: Message from Allen Dulles to John Magruder, November 4, 1943. See also Kappa message, October 27, 1943: “805 is in no position to secure such information without risking his own security and thus causing a stoppage of information.” National Archives.
passed through his hands: Morgan, “The Spy the Nazis Missed.”
“his family. Merry Christmas!”: This letter is in the National Archives.
to Bern since August: This third visit is reported in particular in the biographical document by Gerald Mayer and Fritz Kolbe.
as usual, in advance: Biographical document by Gerald Mayer and Fritz Kolbe.
Messerschmitt 262 were assembled: “About a month and a half ago production on a new fighter plane, having a top speed of almost 1000 kilometers an hour, was begun. Reports on this plane by Gallant, leading test pilot in the Reich, were enthusiastic.” Kappa message, December 30, 1943, National Archives. The Messerschmitt Me-262 in question here was flown for the first time in July 1942. It was the first operational jet plane in history. Hitler had it presented to him in December 1943 and asked whether the plane could carry bombs (he was dreaming of a fast bomber). But the Luftwaffe pilots needed a fighter plane. Hitler prohibited this two-engine jet from being used as anything but a light bomber. The plane might have modified the course of the end of the conflict, but it was a victim of Hitler’s obsession with offensive materiel to the neglect of defensive armaments. Source: Philippe Ballarini.
was traveling in Belgium: Debriefing of Fritz Kolbe on the night of December 27, 1943, OSS Bern, National Archives.
bombed in August 1943: Kappa message, January 1, 1944, National Archives.
“fighting alongside the Nazis”: Kappa message, October 11, 1943.
“military developments from HQ”: Kappa message, October 13, 1943.
than seven hundred tons: Kappa message, January 7, 1944.
shipped to Germany: Kappa message, January 8, 1944.
“he take a rest”: Kappa message, October 20, 1943. The Japanese were very well informed about the Soviet Union. Fritz Kolbe transmitted several messages about Russia coming from Tokyo, notably a very precise evaluation of Russian military potential made by the Japanese (November 1943).
“Guarantee our borders?”: The cables about Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary are in the National Archives.
of a “militia state”: On the notion of “militia state,” see Jean-Pierre Azéma and Olivier Wieviorka, Vichy 1940–1944 (Paris: Perrin, 2000). In December 1943, Himmler demanded that René Bousquet be dismissed and replaced by the head of the Milice, Joseph Darnand. Bousquet was criticized, among other things, for having allowed the underground to develop.
part of the Germans: The following people were designated as suspect: Bernard Ménétrel, Jean Jardel, General Campet, and Lucien Romier. Kappa message, January 16, 1944 and Boston document no. 91, National Archives.
for influence against Pétain: Boston document no. 1067.
“Pétain’s group of associates”: Boston document no. 91.
“national stagnation and reaction”: Kappa message, January 8, 1944.
of a continuous increase: “Statistics for November 1943 (with the figures for November 1942 in parentheses); assassinations: 195 (15), destruction of rail lines: 293 (24), acts of sabotage using explosives: 443 (56), cable cutting: 48 (10), criminal arson: 94 (32).” National Archives.
former minister, Lucien Lamoureux: Lucien Lamoureux (1888–1970) represented the Allier department between the wars. He was a minister several times, of the budget (1933), of labor (1933–34), of colonies (1934), and of finance (1940). He voted in favor of granting full authority to Marshal Pétain.
such as Henri Ardant: On Henri Ardant, see Renaud de Rochebrune and Jean-Claude Hazéra, Les Patrons sous l’Occupation (Paris: Odile Jacob, 1995), pp. 693–722. Henri Ardant, as president of the Comité d’organisation des banques, was the principal spokesman for French private banks to the Germans and Vichy. He was convicted at the Liberation and spent thirteen months in prison from November 1944 to December 1945.
Yves Bréart de Boisanger: At the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the provisional government of General de Gaulle dismissed Yves Bréart de Boisanger from his post and replaced him with Emmanuel Monick. See Annie Lacroix-Riz, Industriels et banquiers sous l’Occupation (Paris: Armand Colin, 1999).
Marie Bell, Béatrice Bretty: Marie Bell (1900–85) was known primarily for her major roles in the theater (Phèdre at the Comédie-Française), but she also acted on screen (Carnet de Bal, Le Grand Jeu).
stronger than the Gestapo: This list of French personalities is preserved on microfilm in the National Archives (original German document of December 24, 1942).
“always a little nervous”: Biographical document by Gerald Mayer and Fritz Kolbe.
though nothing had happened: It was a miracle that the Gestapo did not discover George’s activities.” “The Story of George.”
by Fritz, the Kappa: It is not known why the name “Kappa” was chosen to designate the information supplied by Fritz Kolbe. As for the term “Boston series,” this is probably a name chosen at random.
of Crosica in October: The liberation of Corsica took place from September to October 4, 1943. It was the first French department to be liberated. Corsica had been annexed by Italy on November 11, 1942. Four Italian divisions had occupied it, joined in July 1943 by a brigade of the Waffen-SS and in September 1943 by a German division transferred from Sardinia.