Sigismund Payne Best
Encyclopedia
Captain Sigismund Payne Best OBE
(1885–1978) was a British Secret Intelligence Service
(SIS, more commonly known as MI-6) agent during World War I
and World War II
. As head of the highly secret Section Z in the Netherlands, Best was captured by the Gestapo in the November 9, 1939 Venlo Incident
.
Best served in the First World War as an intelligence officer on the British Army
General List, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre
.
Best's operations in the Netherlands stood at the crosswinds of a political storm. He had, on the orders of London but against all tradecraft, combined his NOC operations with those of Major Richard Henry Stevens
, a less-experienced operative who operated from the British Embassy as the head of a notional "Passport Control Office". The PCO (which, like Section Z, operated throughout Europe) was compromised before its operations were combined with those of Section Z, and thus it was a simple matter for the Germans to mount sting and counterintelligence operations against British agents throughout Europe.
A young Nazi lawyer, Walter Schellenberg
, had joined the Gestapo in August 1939, and the ambitious Sturmbannfuehrer became head of counterintelligence for the Reichssicherheitshauptamt
. In that capacity, he proposed a false flag
operation against Best and Stevens. Best was approached by a Dr. Fischer, a double agent in the employ of the Sicherheitsdienst
, who pretended to represent a disaffected cadre of high-ranking military officers.
Best, Stevens and Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Klop
(pretending, for neutrality's sake, to be a British national) began a series of meetings, which, despite Best's misgivings about Fischer and his putative friends (who were in fact SD agents), culminated in what pretended to be an agreement to form, post-Hitler, a united German-British front against the Soviet Union. The agreement included a period in which Hitler would be kept as a figurehead, then a restoration of democracy and legal protection for Jewish citizens.
In London, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
, having seen Hitler violate the Munich agreement
by seizing Czechoslovakia, was more than ready to foment a German coup. However, Best's suspicions that their German contacts might be double agents had been passed up the intelligence chain and the operatives were warned to stay away from the German border. In Britain, the top secret talks were seen by many — including the new First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill
— as another Munich.
In any case, not only were the talks a complicated German bluff, but the entire operation was brought to an abrupt end. Hitler had decided, over Schellenberg's objections, to have the British operatives abducted; the attempt by Georg Elser
to assassinate Hitler at the Bürgerbräukeller
, believed by Hitler to be the result of British machinations, forced the matter. The next day, in a daring and violent abduction, Best and Stevens were kidnapped from the Café Backus — Klop was fatally wounded in the shootout with Gestapo agents — and rushed to Berlin. Under interrogation, Best and Stevens gave up detailed information on British espionage activities. Worse, Stevens was carrying on him a plain text list of SIS agents in Europe.
, whose last message he relayed to Bonhoeffer's friend Bishop George Bell
. Bell and Bonhoeffer's efforts to interest the British government in supporting German anti-Nazi forces failed in large part because of Churchill's distaste for Chamberlain's actions and the fear of another Venlo Incident
.
In late April 1945 Best was transferred to Tyrol
together with about 140 other prominent concentration camp inmates, where the SS left the prisoners behind. He was liberated by the Fifth U.S. Army on May 5, 1945.
Best died in Britain, in 1978, having written a bestselling account of his war experiences.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1885–1978) was a British Secret Intelligence Service
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
(SIS, more commonly known as MI-6) agent during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and 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...
. As head of the highly secret Section Z in the Netherlands, Best was captured by the Gestapo in the November 9, 1939 Venlo Incident
Venlo Incident
The Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
.
Best served in the First World War as an intelligence officer on the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
General List, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
Best's operations in the Netherlands stood at the crosswinds of a political storm. He had, on the orders of London but against all tradecraft, combined his NOC operations with those of 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...
, a less-experienced operative who operated from the British Embassy as the head of a notional "Passport Control Office". The PCO (which, like Section Z, operated throughout Europe) was compromised before its operations were combined with those of Section Z, and thus it was a simple matter for the Germans to mount sting and counterintelligence operations against British agents throughout Europe.
A young Nazi lawyer, 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:...
, had joined the Gestapo in August 1939, and the ambitious Sturmbannfuehrer became head of counterintelligence for the Reichssicherheitshauptamt
RSHA
The RSHA, or Reichssicherheitshauptamt was an organization subordinate to Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacities as Chef der Deutschen Polizei and Reichsführer-SS...
. In that capacity, he proposed a false flag
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
operation against Best and Stevens. Best was approached by a Dr. Fischer, a double agent in the employ of the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, who pretended to represent a disaffected cadre of high-ranking military officers.
Best, Stevens and Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Klop
Dirk Klop
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...
(pretending, for neutrality's sake, to be a British national) began a series of meetings, which, despite Best's misgivings about Fischer and his putative friends (who were in fact SD agents), culminated in what pretended to be an agreement to form, post-Hitler, a united German-British front against the Soviet Union. The agreement included a period in which Hitler would be kept as a figurehead, then a restoration of democracy and legal protection for Jewish citizens.
In London, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, having seen Hitler violate the Munich agreement
Munich Agreement
The Munich Pact was an agreement permitting the Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without...
by seizing Czechoslovakia, was more than ready to foment a German coup. However, Best's suspicions that their German contacts might be double agents had been passed up the intelligence chain and the operatives were warned to stay away from the German border. In Britain, the top secret talks were seen by many — including the new First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
— as another Munich.
In any case, not only were the talks a complicated German bluff, but the entire operation was brought to an abrupt end. Hitler had decided, over Schellenberg's objections, to have the British operatives abducted; the attempt by Georg Elser
Georg Elser
Johann Georg Elser was a German opponent of Nazism. He is most remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but he also wanted to assassinate Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels in 1939....
to assassinate Hitler at the Bürgerbräukeller
Bürgerbräukeller
The Bürgerbräukeller was a large beer hall located in Munich, Germany. It was one of the large beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus company, and after Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu, the hall was transferred to that company. It was located on Rosenheimer Street in the neighborhood of...
, believed by Hitler to be the result of British machinations, forced the matter. The next day, in a daring and violent abduction, Best and Stevens were kidnapped from the Café Backus — Klop was fatally wounded in the shootout with Gestapo agents — and rushed to Berlin. Under interrogation, Best and Stevens gave up detailed information on British espionage activities. Worse, Stevens was carrying on him a plain text list of SIS agents in Europe.
Imprisonment
Best and Stevens were imprisoned at Sachsenhausen, and later at the Dachau concentration camp. During his imprisonment, Best came into contact with a number of famous figures, including not only Elser, but also the famed theologian Dietrich BonhoefferDietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
, whose last message he relayed to Bonhoeffer's friend Bishop George Bell
George Bell (bishop)
George Kennedy Allen Bell was an Anglican theologian, Dean of Canterbury, Bishop of Chichester, member of the House of Lords and a pioneer of the Ecumenical Movement.-Early career:...
. Bell and Bonhoeffer's efforts to interest the British government in supporting German anti-Nazi forces failed in large part because of Churchill's distaste for Chamberlain's actions and the fear of another Venlo Incident
Venlo Incident
The Venlo Incident was a covert German Sicherheitsdienst engineered capture of two British SIS agents on 9 November 1939....
.
In late April 1945 Best was transferred to Tyrol
Transport of concentration camp inmates to Tyrol
The Transport of Inmates of German Concentration Camps to Tyrol happened in late April 1945 and led to the only time such prisoners were liberated by German troops.- Transfer and liberation:...
together with about 140 other prominent concentration camp inmates, where the SS left the prisoners behind. He was liberated by the Fifth U.S. Army on May 5, 1945.
Best died in Britain, in 1978, having written a bestselling account of his war experiences.