Virginia Hall
Encyclopedia
Virginia Hall, MBE
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(April 6, 1906 —July 14, 1982) was an American
spy
during World War II
. She was also known by many aliases: "Marie Monin", "Germaine", "Diane", "Marie of Lyon" and "Camille". The Germans gave her the nickname Artemis. The Gestapo reportedly considered her "the most dangerous of all Allied spies".
and Barnard College
(Columbia University), but wanted to finish her studies in Europe. With help from her parents, she traveled the Continent and studied in France
, Germany
, and Austria
, finally landing an appointment as a Consular Service clerk at the American Embassy in Warsaw
, Poland
in 1931. Hall had hoped to join the Foreign Service, but suffered a setback around 1932 when she accidentally shot herself in the left leg while hunting in Turkey. It was later amputated from the knee down, and replaced with a wooden appendage she named "Cuthbert". The injury foreclosed whatever chance she might have had for a diplomatic career, and she resigned from the Department of State in 1939.
. She joined the Ambulance Service before the fall of France and ended up in Vichy
-controlled territory when the fighting stopped in the summer of 1940. Hall made her way to London and volunteered for Britain's newly formed Special Operations Executive
, which sent her back to Vichy in August 1941.
She spent the next 15 months there, helping to coordinate the activities of the French Underground
in Vichy and the occupied zone of France. At the time she had the cover of a correspondent for the New York Post
.
When the Germans suddenly seized all of France in November 1942, Hall barely escaped to Spain
. Journeying back to London (after working for SOE for a time in Madrid), in July 1943 she was quietly made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE).
She joined the U.S. Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) Special Operations Branch in March 1944 and asked to return to occupied France. She hardly needed training in clandestine work behind enemy lines, and OSS promptly granted her request and landed her from a British MTB
in Brittany
(her artificial leg having kept her from parachuting in). Codenamed "Diane", she eluded the Gestapo
and contacted the French Resistance
in central France. She mapped drop zones for supplies and commandos from England, found safe houses, and linked up with a Jedburgh team
after the Allied Forces
landed at Normandy
. Hall helped train three battalions of Resistance forces to wage guerrilla warfare against the Germans and kept up a stream of valuable reporting until Allied troops overtook her small band in September.
in September 1945 personally awarded Virginia Hall a Distinguished Service Cross
— the only one awarded to a civilian woman in World War II.
agent Paul Goillot. In 1951, she joined the Central Intelligence Agency
working as an intelligence analyst on French parliamentary affairs. She retired in 1966 to a farm in Barnesville, Maryland
.
in Rockville, Maryland
in 1982, aged 76.
A biography exists in French: "L'Espionne. Virginia Hall, une Américaine dans la guerre", by Vincent Nouzille (2007) Fayard http://www.editions-fayard.fr/livre/fayard-241367-l-espionne-vincent-nouzille.htm l(Paris), a book reviewed by British historian M.R.D. Foot in "Studies in Intelligence", Vol 53, N°1, https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no1/l2019espionne-virginia-hall-une-americaine-dans-la.html. She was honoured in 2006 again, at the French and British embassies for her courageous work.
Note: Some of this information has been taken directly from the CIA https://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/oss/art05.htm
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...
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Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
(April 6, 1906 —July 14, 1982) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
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...
. She was also known by many aliases: "Marie Monin", "Germaine", "Diane", "Marie of Lyon" and "Camille". The Germans gave her the nickname Artemis. The Gestapo reportedly considered her "the most dangerous of all Allied spies".
Life
She was born in Baltimore, Maryland and attended prestigious Radcliffe CollegeRadcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
and Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
(Columbia University), but wanted to finish her studies in Europe. With help from her parents, she traveled the Continent and studied in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, finally landing an appointment as a Consular Service clerk at the American Embassy in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1931. Hall had hoped to join the Foreign Service, but suffered a setback around 1932 when she accidentally shot herself in the left leg while hunting in Turkey. It was later amputated from the knee down, and replaced with a wooden appendage she named "Cuthbert". The injury foreclosed whatever chance she might have had for a diplomatic career, and she resigned from the Department of State in 1939.
World War II
The coming of war that year found Hall in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. She joined the Ambulance Service before the fall of France and ended up in 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...
-controlled territory when the fighting stopped in the summer of 1940. Hall made her way to London and volunteered for Britain's newly formed 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...
, which sent her back to Vichy in August 1941.
She spent the next 15 months there, helping to coordinate the activities of the French Underground
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...
in Vichy and the occupied zone of France. At the time she had the cover of a correspondent for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
.
When the Germans suddenly seized all of France in November 1942, Hall barely escaped to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Journeying back to London (after working for SOE for a time in Madrid), in July 1943 she was quietly made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire
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...
(MBE).
She joined the U.S. Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) Special Operations Branch in March 1944 and asked to return to occupied France. She hardly needed training in clandestine work behind enemy lines, and OSS promptly granted her request and landed her from a British MTB
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
(her artificial leg having kept her from parachuting in). Codenamed "Diane", she eluded the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and contacted the French Resistance
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...
in central France. She mapped drop zones for supplies and commandos from England, found safe houses, and linked up with a Jedburgh team
Operation Jedburgh
Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II, in which personnel of the British Special Operations Executive, the U.S...
after the Allied Forces
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
landed at Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Hall helped train three battalions of Resistance forces to wage guerrilla warfare against the Germans and kept up a stream of valuable reporting until Allied troops overtook her small band in September.
Awards
For her efforts in France, General William Joseph DonovanWilliam Joseph Donovan
William Joseph Donovan was a United States soldier, lawyer and intelligence officer, best remembered as the wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services...
in September 1945 personally awarded Virginia Hall a Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
— the only one awarded to a civilian woman in World War II.
Post WWII
In 1950, she married OSSOffice of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
agent Paul Goillot. In 1951, she joined the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
working as an intelligence analyst on French parliamentary affairs. She retired in 1966 to a farm in Barnesville, Maryland
Barnesville, Maryland
Barnesville is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It was incorporated in 1888. The population was 161 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Barnesville is located at ....
.
Death
Virginia Hall Goillot died at the Shady Grove Adventist HospitalShady Grove Adventist Hospital
Shady Grove Adventist Hospital is a 336-licensed bed acute care facility located in Rockville, Maryland. Shady Grove Adventist Hospital provides a range of health services to the community such as high-risk obstetrical care, cardiac and vascular care, oncology services, orthopedic care, surgical...
in Rockville, Maryland
Rockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
in 1982, aged 76.
Legacy
Her story was told in "The Wolves at the Door : The True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy" by Judith L. Pearson (2005) The Lyons Press, ISBN 1-59228-762-X.A biography exists in French: "L'Espionne. Virginia Hall, une Américaine dans la guerre", by Vincent Nouzille (2007) Fayard http://www.editions-fayard.fr/livre/fayard-241367-l-espionne-vincent-nouzille.htm l(Paris), a book reviewed by British historian M.R.D. Foot in "Studies in Intelligence", Vol 53, N°1, https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no1/l2019espionne-virginia-hall-une-americaine-dans-la.html. She was honoured in 2006 again, at the French and British embassies for her courageous work.
Sources
- Marcus BinneyMarcus BinneyMarcus Binney, CBE is a British architectural historian and author. He is best known for his conservation work regarding Britain's heritage.-Early and family life:...
, The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Women Agents of SOE in the Second World War, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 2002, ISBN 0 340 81840 9, pp. 111–38 ("Virginia Hall") and passim.
External links
- "Ambassadors to honor female ww1 spy" by Ben Nuckols, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, 10 December 2006. - Special Operations article and Featured story about Virginia Hall on the CIA web site
- Times Online Article
- Article by MRD Foot in Studies in Intelligence vol 53 N°1 https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no1/l2019espionne-virginia-hall-une-americaine-dans-la.html
Note: Some of this information has been taken directly from the CIA https://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/oss/art05.htm