Dirk Klop
Encyclopedia
Dirk Klop was a Dutch
army intelligence officer
, notable for his part in the Venlo Incident
.
Klop was born in Nieuw-Helvoet
in South Holland
and lived for a time in Canada. In 1939 he was serving as a lieutenant
with the Netherlands army general staff at The Hague
, under Bert Sas
who was the Netherlands Military Attaché
in Berlin. On 9 November 1939 posing as an English army captain under the assumed name 'Coppins', he travelled to the Café Backus near the town of Venlo
close to the German border. In the Buick
car
with him and Dutch driver Jan Lemmens were two British agents; Captain Sigismund Payne Best
and Major Richard Henry Stevens
.
Their objective was a promised meeting with a German general who was a leader of the German resistance
to Hitler, following on from three previous meetings with what they believed were more junior officers opposed to Hitler, one of whom was in fact Walter Schellenberg
of the Reich Central Security Office. Immediately upon arrival a convertible car full of German special agents led by Alfred Naujocks
of the SD drew up in front of their own vehicle and one of the occupants opened fire. Klop returned fire with a revolver, but was then mortally wounded by a burst of submachine gun
fire. Best and Stevens surrendered and they were all taken across the border into Germany where Klop died of his wounds in the evangelical hospital in Düsseldorf
.
Adolf Hitler
justified his later invasion of the
neutral
Netherlands partly by citing the complicity of the Dutch with the British Secret Service that was revealed by this incident
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
army intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
, notable for his part in the Venlo Incident
Venlo Incident
The Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
.
Klop was born in Nieuw-Helvoet
Nieuw-Helvoet
Nieuw-Helvoet is a former village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is now a neighbourhood in the north of the town of Hellevoetsluis.Nieuw-Helvoet was a separate municipality until 1960, when it became part of Hellevoetsluis....
in South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
and lived for a time in Canada. In 1939 he was serving as a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
with the Netherlands army general staff at The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, under Bert Sas
Bert Sas
Bert Sas was the Netherlands military attaché in Berlin at the time of the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940....
who was the Netherlands Military Attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
in Berlin. On 9 November 1939 posing as an English army captain under the assumed name 'Coppins', he travelled to the Café Backus near the town of Venlo
Venlo
Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
close to the German border. In the Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
car
with him and Dutch driver Jan Lemmens were two British agents; Captain Sigismund Payne Best
Sigismund Payne Best
Captain Sigismund Payne Best OBE was a British Secret Intelligence Service agent during World War I and World War II...
and Major Richard Henry Stevens
Richard Henry Stevens
Richard Henry Stevens was a major in the British Army and from 1939 Head of the Passport Control Office of the British Secret Intelligence Service in the Netherlands. His name is closely associated with the Venlo Incident in 1939.In 1939 Stevens was transferred to Europe from India where he was...
.
Their objective was a promised meeting with a German general who was a leader of the German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to Hitler, following on from three previous meetings with what they believed were more junior officers opposed to Hitler, one of whom was in fact Walter Schellenberg
Walter Schellenberg
Walther Friedrich Schellenberg was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the ranks of the SS to become the head of foreign intelligence following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944.-Biography:...
of the Reich Central Security Office. Immediately upon arrival a convertible car full of German special agents led by Alfred Naujocks
Alfred Naujocks
Alfred Helmut Naujocks, alias Hans Müller, Alfred Bonsen, or Rudolf Möbert , was an SS-Sturmbannführer , and took part in a staged incident intended to provide the justification for the attack on Poland by Nazi Germany, which in turn provoked the Second World War in Europe.-Early life:Naujocks was...
of the SD drew up in front of their own vehicle and one of the occupants opened fire. Klop returned fire with a revolver, but was then mortally wounded by a burst of submachine gun
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
fire. Best and Stevens surrendered and they were all taken across the border into Germany where Klop died of his wounds in the evangelical hospital in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
justified his later invasion of the
neutral
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
Netherlands partly by citing the complicity of the Dutch with the British Secret Service that was revealed by this incident