Mathilde Carré
Encyclopedia
Mathilde Carré known as "La Chatte", was a French Resistance
agent during World War II
who turned double agent
.
Mathilde Carré was born in Le Creusot
, Saône-et-Loire
. In the 1930s she attended Sorbonne University
and became a teacher
. After her marriage, she moved to Algeria
with her husband Maurice Carré, who was later killed in World War II, during the campaign of Italy.
She returned to France, became a nurse and witnessed the country fall to the Germans. In 1940, she met a Polish Air Force
Captain named Roman Czerniawski
cryptonymed "Walenty" to the Poles
and "Armand" or "Victor" to the French
. Carré, who had contacts with the Vichy
Second Bureau, joined the headquarters section of his Franco-Polish Interallié espionage
network based in Paris under the cryptonym "Victoire" (as all the headquarters section staff had "V" initial names, in a network which named its agents and their sectors or areas of coverage for Christian names grouped by the letters of the alphabet) although nicknamed La Chatte, ("The She-cat") for her feline predatory and stealthy propensities.
On 17 November 1941, the Abwehr
's Hugo Bleicher
arrested Carré and many other members of Interallié; they had been betrayed by a double agent
. She was interrogated by him, agreed to become a double agent
herself and revealed all of the members of the network known to her. She began to work for Germans continuing to use the code name Victoire. She may also have become Bleicher's mistress.
According to Pierre de Vomécourt
, an agent of the Special Operations Executive
(SOE), he and a Resistance contact began to suspect her. When he confronted Carré, who had become his mistress, she confessed and together they planned to outwit the Abwehr.
She claimed she convinced Bleicher, and through him, his superiors, to send her to London
to infiltrate the SOE. In February 1942, she was exfiltrated to London with de Vomécourt. MI5
interrogated her about Abwehr techniques and played back her radio link for a period until her usefulness was exhausted, whereupon she was arrested and taken first to HM Prison Holloway
and then to HM Prison Aylesbury
for the rest of the war, where she acted as an informant against other detainees.
After the war Carré was deported to France where she faced charges for treason. At the trial, which started on 3 January 1949, the prosecution read from her diary: "What I wanted most was a good meal, a man, and, once more, Mozart
's Requiem
." Despite being defended by her wartime commander, Paul Archard, she was sentenced to death on 7 January 1949. Three months later, the sentence was commuted to 20 years in jail.
Mathilde Carré was released in September 1954. She published an account of her life in J'ai été "La Chatte" (1959; revised in 1975 as On m'appelait la Chatte ("I Was Called The Cat")), in which she rejected many statements that had been made about her and her activities during the war. She soon fell out of public view, and died in 1970.
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
agent during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
who turned double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
.
Mathilde Carré was born in Le Creusot
Le Creusot
Le Creusot is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgical companies such as ArcelorMittal, Schneider Electric, and Alstom.Since the 1990s, the...
, Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
. In the 1930s she attended Sorbonne University
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and became a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. After her marriage, she moved to Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
with her husband Maurice Carré, who was later killed in World War II, during the campaign of Italy.
She returned to France, became a nurse and witnessed the country fall to the Germans. In 1940, she met a Polish Air Force
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
Captain named Roman Czerniawski
Roman Czerniawski
Roman Garby-Czerniawski was a Polish Air Force Captain and Allied double agent during World War II, using the codename Brutus.-Life:...
cryptonymed "Walenty" to the Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
and "Armand" or "Victor" to the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
. Carré, who had contacts with the Vichy
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
Second Bureau, joined the headquarters section of his Franco-Polish Interallié espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
network based in Paris under the cryptonym "Victoire" (as all the headquarters section staff had "V" initial names, in a network which named its agents and their sectors or areas of coverage for Christian names grouped by the letters of the alphabet) although nicknamed La Chatte, ("The She-cat") for her feline predatory and stealthy propensities.
On 17 November 1941, the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
's Hugo Bleicher
Hugo Bleicher
Hugo Ernst Bleicher was a German senior non-commissioned officer of the Abwehr who worked against French Resistance in German-occupied France....
arrested Carré and many other members of Interallié; they had been betrayed by a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
. She was interrogated by him, agreed to become a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
herself and revealed all of the members of the network known to her. She began to work for Germans continuing to use the code name Victoire. She may also have become Bleicher's mistress.
According to Pierre de Vomécourt
Pierre de Vomécourt
Pierre de Crevoisier de Vomécourt was, during the Second World War, a Special Operations Executive agent, who founded and headed SOE's first Resistance network in occupied France, the AUTOGIRO network....
, an agent of the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE), he and a Resistance contact began to suspect her. When he confronted Carré, who had become his mistress, she confessed and together they planned to outwit the Abwehr.
She claimed she convinced Bleicher, and through him, his superiors, to send her to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to infiltrate the SOE. In February 1942, she was exfiltrated to London with de Vomécourt. MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
interrogated her about Abwehr techniques and played back her radio link for a period until her usefulness was exhausted, whereupon she was arrested and taken first to HM Prison Holloway
Holloway (HM Prison)
HM Prison Holloway is a closed category prison for adult women and Young Offenders, located in the Holloway area of the London Borough of Islington, in north and Inner London, England...
and then to HM Prison Aylesbury
Aylesbury (HM Prison)
HM Prison Aylesbury is a Young Offender Institution situated in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. The prison is located on the north side of the town centre, on Bierton Road...
for the rest of the war, where she acted as an informant against other detainees.
After the war Carré was deported to France where she faced charges for treason. At the trial, which started on 3 January 1949, the prosecution read from her diary: "What I wanted most was a good meal, a man, and, once more, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
." Despite being defended by her wartime commander, Paul Archard, she was sentenced to death on 7 January 1949. Three months later, the sentence was commuted to 20 years in jail.
Mathilde Carré was released in September 1954. She published an account of her life in J'ai été "La Chatte" (1959; revised in 1975 as On m'appelait la Chatte ("I Was Called The Cat")), in which she rejected many statements that had been made about her and her activities during the war. She soon fell out of public view, and died in 1970.
Further reading
- Paine, Lauran (1976). Mathilde Carré: Double Agent. London: Hale. ISBN 9780709155119.