How significant were Christine Granville´s Nazi data collection

for the British during World War II?

Franchesca Vega

History Internal Assessment

Count words: 1940

Index
Evaluation of sources ............................................................................................................. 3
Investigation .............................................................................................................................. 4
Evaluation of sources

Christine Granville was an important figure during Second World War. Studies of

her work as a secret spy have been superficial and underrated, which has made

me think “how significant were Christine Granville´s Nazi data collection for the

British during World War II?” In order to answer my question, I will be analyzing

two sources.

On one hand is the book written by Clare Mulley, THE SPY WHO LOVED The

Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville, Britain’s First Female Special Agent of

the Second World War, published in 2013, which is the entire biography of

Christine Granville plus the deep study of her works as a secret spy. The main

purpose of this work is to let the world know about Granville and her contribution

in the military and political environment. Its deep analysis in the life of Christine

Granville is a key factor that gives value to the source, as everything is explained

with several and well-argued details. Another important characteristic is that the

work also presents evidences of the work done by Granville, these are present in

anecdotes, testimonies, or even letters, which also grant value to the source.

Nevertheless, several missions of Granville continue under study or have not

been discover at all, hence, the work of Mulley might have some limitation when

identifying this incomplete analyses.

The following source is a web article published on September 2013 by Kieran

Corcoran with the title of Christine Granville: Britain’s first female special agent

who paved way for liberation of France. It is a brief but concise biography of

Christine Granville. The purpose of the author is to put into the spotlight the life

of a great secret agent. The article is full with photos, letters and even pictures of
the kit that Granville used as a spy, which gives value to the source. Also, it

contains anecdotes of the feats of Granville, which helps the reader to imagine

her work, giving more value to the source. However, it is not an official web site,

therefore it is a limitation to take in consideration.

Investigation

Every historical event has its iconic character(s), someone who have shown

braveness, ambitiousness, cunning, or, especially, power, and hence, has left a

mark in the timeline of human history. For instance, we can not remember the

Russian Revolution, without the tenacity of Vladimir Lenin, or the expansion of

the Napoleonic empire, without the ambitiousness of Napoleon Bonaparte.

However, not all those emblematic characters come into the spotlight, and many

of their contributions are not known and either have the recognition they deserve.

That is the case of Christine Granville, the first British female special agent during

Second World War, who infiltrated in the Nazi territory and, subsequently, leaked

their information and battlefield strategies to the British army. Many historians call

her “one of the most important women in the history of espionage” (Szymańska,

n.d), or even “the very first Bond girl” (Davies, n.d), and describe her as

“fearless…independent, strong-willed and at times ungovernable” (Masson,

2005). Her contributions had a huge meaning in the Nazi data collection for the

British during World War II, the problem is that her story and wartime missions

are merely known.

Christine Granville was the nickname that Winston Churchill gave to Krystyna

Skarbek, a strong and beautiful polish woman born on May 1st, 1908. She was

born in a family of great wealth. Nevertheless, after the death of her father, her
family passed through a difficult economic time, leading Krystyna to find a way to

maintain herself and help her family, it was that strongness and determination

that later characterized Krystyna as one of the greatest spies in history.

In 1938, she got married to Jerzy Gizycki, a diplomat, who will introduce her to

the “battlefield”, when Second World War broke out. Skarbek moved to London

and volunteered to work as a spy when the German army invaded her native

country, Poland, in 1939; her main objective was to undertake intelligence

missions and assist Polish resistance fighters in escaping from the country.

Krystyna Skarbek became part of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a

secret British government organization, to accomplish her missions. The SOE

focused Christine Granville on the liberation of forces as well as the rescue of

Polish and French resistance. However, during one mission, Granville achieved

to collect information about the resistance, as well as German strategies and

military plans. From this event on, Granville became the favorite agent of

Churchill and started to work in more missions that contributed in the Nazi data

collection. Between the most important data we have: evidence of Operation

Barbarossa, and the strategy and artillery of the German army.

From that moment on, she caused a huge impact in the history of World War II,

which unfortunately has been kept in the shadows. She died in June 1952, after

being stabbed by one of her suitors, in her hotel room, in the Shelbourne Hotel.

One year later, Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novel Casino Royale, and

a friend of Christine, paid her and her feats a tribute by creating the first Bond girl,

a character who englobes the essence of Granville and has become a role model

of braveness and female strength.

Both contributions of the filtration of Operation Barbarossa and German strategy

and artillery, helped Britain to prepare and evaluate the situation for futures plans.

Operation Barbarossa was the military code for the German invasion to the Soviet

Union territory. Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression

treaty, which permitted the correct and positive development of commerce and

trade, which in the long run, meant power. In 1940, Hitler gave the order to invade

the USSR, in order to keep, all the economic potential power under German

control. Blinded by his ambitiousness and seek of power, Hitler overestimated the

Soviet Union army and battlefield, as the territory of the Soviet Union was

surrounded by harsh winters. The result of Operation Barbarossa, the defeat of

the Germans, meant a change of direction in World War II.

Even though British did not participate in this conflict, the information about this

strategy did help them. The countries that took place in World War II did not know

the power and control of their enemies until a confrontation, they just generated

conclusion based on superstitions, that most of the time, led to overestimate the

strength and control of the other side. For example, Hitler overestimated Soviet

power. Thanks to the information about the German invasion strategy gained by

Granville, British were able to realize about the context of power in Germany.

While Granville was in active service in Budapest, along with a colleague, Aidan

Crawley, she recollected in a hidden microfilm, information about huge German

troops and tanks, that were about to be displayed on the Soviet border for a

surprise attack. The strategy of Hitler to invade the Soviet Union counted with the

dispose of three quarters of the German force, plus axis soldiers. The German

army was going to be divided in three subgroups, disposed to three tactical spots,

Leningrad, Moscow, and Kiev, in order to destroy the Soviet defense line, and
hence, expand the German territory. This was the first evidence handed to British

leaders about Operation Barbarossa. Thanks to this information, Churchill, prime

minister of the UK, was able to warn Stalin, president of the USSR, about the

attack, however his notice was ignored, causing one of the largest invasion and

bloodiest event on the history of Second World War. Nevertheless, the discovery

of Granville did help the British leaders to analyze in a deeper way the context of

the war and, hence, prepare and plan future plans of action, especially in terms

of clarifying what was the real target and its power in the politic and military

battlefield. According to BBC History Magazine, after knowing the information of

Operation Barbarossa, Churchill spoke on BBC radio, reiterating his detestation

of communism but insisting that any enemy of Hitler was friend of Britain: “If Hitler

invaded Hell, I would at least make a favorable reference to the Devil in the House

of Commons.” He saw Operation Barbarossa as a direct threat: “His invasion of

Russia is no more than a prelude to an invasion of the British Isles.” This message

was key to incentive nationalism, and hence, increase the strength of the British

army.

Nazis are known for their efficient and complex system of codification of

messages, especially the ones involving battlefield strategies and artillery. The

recollection of that type of data thanks to Granville meant an enormous

contribution in the study of Nazis equipment to the British. The first British female

secret spy used to gather this information in hidden microfilms, baggage, or as

tiny notes. According to Keith in her thesis, More Than Just A Pretty Face: The

Women Of The SOE And The OSS During World War II, the data that Granville

collected included “news of new gasses the Germans were producing, complete

with the formulas, as well as up-to-date information on ammunition factories in

Germany and Poland…detailed plans of aerodromes, aircraft

factories…torpedoes, U-boat…” (Keith, 2013), which allowed British army to

know how to defend themselves and also, implement new tactics to optimize the

attacks. For instance, along with the German strategy of the Operation

Barbarossa, she managed to gathered information about the creation of a series

of fuel and ammunition dumps of the German army. This information was later of

great use in the British military base in Cairo, Egypt, where the British trained

soldiers and developed tactics for further attacks; additionally British troops

remained to protect the canal and to train the Egyptian Army. The data of German

artillery granted by Christine, helped to rise the precision on tactics and eliminate

military gossip, which were mainly superstitions of the strength of the German

army.

By knowing information of the enemy, British took advantage and the control of

the situation. Additionally, thanks to other factors, as the several defeats of the

Germans in the battlefield, British knew how to take every information that

Granville gave it, and use it to their benefit. Although Granville did not participate

directly in fights or direction of troops, her contributions in the infiltration of Nazi

data helped British leaders to analyze and execute better strategies. Behind

every good tactic, comes a meticulous study of context and resources, which

could not have been possible done without Granville.

It is important to mention, that during her days of service in Cairo, British started

to suspect that Granville was a double spy due to her effectiveness and precision

in the Nazi information. According to Keith, author of the biography study of

Christine Granville, More Than Just a Pretty Face: The Women of The SOE and

the OSS During World War II, the stay in Cairo not only was to hand information,
but to interrogate Granville and her loyalty. This, among the other reasons stated

before, shows the level of significance that Granville had on the British.

To conclude, Christine Granville had a huge significance in World War II,

especially for the Nazi data collection for the British. Thanks to Granville, it was

possible to measure the strength of the German army and their intentions. By

knowing the quantity of soldiers and the type of weapons and artillery that

Germans were going to use in their attacks, British were able to have a better

preparation and take control over the battlefield. The weight of her importance for

the British can be measures by his nickname “the favorite spy of Churchill” and

the temporarily distrust that she generated on her team.

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