had served in the Great War and in 1912 had been expelled from Switzerland. He had also been arrested on 30 October 1928 when he had been acting as a courier for the Italian intelligence service on a route between Lyons and Geneva.
Age about thirty-eight. Height about 5ft 9in. Normal build. Well-dressed appearance. âPrussianâ type. Round head. Fair hair, very thin in front. Clean-shaven. Straight nose. Speaks German with Prussian accent. Calm, unruffled manner. Heavy cigarette smoker. Very ardent Nazi. In peacetime travelled extensively as a merchant in North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Iran and Iraq, possibly on behalf of the Abwehr. Speaks German, French, Italian and Arabic. Married to a German, age about thirty. Has two daughters, the eldest being about sixteen. Is devoted to his family.
In Venice Levi was challenged that he had been linked to an agent known as JEAN who had been arrested in Paris after he had been discovered to have been working for the French Deuxième Bureau. Under interrogation, JEAN had denounced Levi as a British agent who had often visited the British embassy in Paris. Apparently JEAN had been employed by Travaglio in Holland before the war even though he had actually been working for the French, and Travaglio had later re-engaged him in Genoa. Somewhat embarrassed, Travaglio had been keen to have the accusations dismissed.
This subject had been a sensitive one for Levi because in February 1940, while in Genoa, he had been approached by a German or Polish Jew named Hermann who had expressed the wish to work for the British. Satisfying himself that Hermann was genuine, Levi had introduced him to Travaglio and persuaded him to send Hermann to Paris. There he had worked for Monsieur Petit of the Deuxième Bureau as a double agent. Levi recalled that he had later heard that Hermann had recruited two other Jews in Paris, including the drummer in a dance band in Paris, named Jacques, and that Hermann had been given a French passport in recognition of his work. Apparently, upon the fall of France, the trio had fled to Casablanca.
JEAN â S second arrest had happened soon after the detention in 1938 of a German from Alsace, Karl Kurt (alias Charles Masson), who hadbeen sentenced to death after a lengthy trial. Miraculously, Kurt had escaped from French custody as he had been escorted on a train into the unoccupied zone, and had been rescued by the Germans. When questioned Kurt claimed that he and fourteen of his network had been betrayed by an unnamed Frenchman, and later had gone to work for Travaglio in Italy. He was distinctive because he wrote his reports in characteristically microscopic handwriting, and in October 1940 in Rome Kurt and Travaglio had heard that JEAN had been arrested in Paris. Although Kurt had urged his execution for treason, Travaglio later mentioned that JEAN had been sent to a concentration camp.
According to Levi, he learned a week later in Rome that Kurt had been sent on a mission to Palestine via Syria to sabotage Allied oil pipelines. He was described as an experienced wireless operator and mechanic, of medium height, heavily built and with brown eyes. Levi encountered Kurt again in Rome in June or July 1941 when he learned that the original plan had been delayed because of his arrest, with another agent, in Tripoli while preparing for a mission behind enemy lines in Libya. Both men were then returned to Italy in handcuffs.
Radio contact with Cairo was finally established in July 1941 after a lengthy exchange of telegrams with Rome and Istanbul, and Helfferich urged Levi to return to Cairo to pay his agents and recruit another network in Egypt and Palestine and, feigning reluctance, Levi agreed to depart on 5 August. He underwent a briefing in Rome on 16 July, and was then granted leave so he could settle some family affairs in Genoa before his departure. He was given a new cipher, a radio schedule, a questionnaire and a large amount of British and
Age about thirty-eight. Height about 5ft 9in. Normal build. Well-dressed appearance. âPrussianâ type. Round head. Fair hair, very thin in front. Clean-shaven. Straight nose. Speaks German with Prussian accent. Calm, unruffled manner. Heavy cigarette smoker. Very ardent Nazi. In peacetime travelled extensively as a merchant in North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Iran and Iraq, possibly on behalf of the Abwehr. Speaks German, French, Italian and Arabic. Married to a German, age about thirty. Has two daughters, the eldest being about sixteen. Is devoted to his family.
In Venice Levi was challenged that he had been linked to an agent known as JEAN who had been arrested in Paris after he had been discovered to have been working for the French Deuxième Bureau. Under interrogation, JEAN had denounced Levi as a British agent who had often visited the British embassy in Paris. Apparently JEAN had been employed by Travaglio in Holland before the war even though he had actually been working for the French, and Travaglio had later re-engaged him in Genoa. Somewhat embarrassed, Travaglio had been keen to have the accusations dismissed.
This subject had been a sensitive one for Levi because in February 1940, while in Genoa, he had been approached by a German or Polish Jew named Hermann who had expressed the wish to work for the British. Satisfying himself that Hermann was genuine, Levi had introduced him to Travaglio and persuaded him to send Hermann to Paris. There he had worked for Monsieur Petit of the Deuxième Bureau as a double agent. Levi recalled that he had later heard that Hermann had recruited two other Jews in Paris, including the drummer in a dance band in Paris, named Jacques, and that Hermann had been given a French passport in recognition of his work. Apparently, upon the fall of France, the trio had fled to Casablanca.
JEAN â S second arrest had happened soon after the detention in 1938 of a German from Alsace, Karl Kurt (alias Charles Masson), who hadbeen sentenced to death after a lengthy trial. Miraculously, Kurt had escaped from French custody as he had been escorted on a train into the unoccupied zone, and had been rescued by the Germans. When questioned Kurt claimed that he and fourteen of his network had been betrayed by an unnamed Frenchman, and later had gone to work for Travaglio in Italy. He was distinctive because he wrote his reports in characteristically microscopic handwriting, and in October 1940 in Rome Kurt and Travaglio had heard that JEAN had been arrested in Paris. Although Kurt had urged his execution for treason, Travaglio later mentioned that JEAN had been sent to a concentration camp.
According to Levi, he learned a week later in Rome that Kurt had been sent on a mission to Palestine via Syria to sabotage Allied oil pipelines. He was described as an experienced wireless operator and mechanic, of medium height, heavily built and with brown eyes. Levi encountered Kurt again in Rome in June or July 1941 when he learned that the original plan had been delayed because of his arrest, with another agent, in Tripoli while preparing for a mission behind enemy lines in Libya. Both men were then returned to Italy in handcuffs.
Radio contact with Cairo was finally established in July 1941 after a lengthy exchange of telegrams with Rome and Istanbul, and Helfferich urged Levi to return to Cairo to pay his agents and recruit another network in Egypt and Palestine and, feigning reluctance, Levi agreed to depart on 5 August. He underwent a briefing in Rome on 16 July, and was then granted leave so he could settle some family affairs in Genoa before his departure. He was given a new cipher, a radio schedule, a questionnaire and a large amount of British and
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