The Lisbon Route

by Ronald Weber

  76 “That’s that”: Quoted in Marino, A Quiet American, 317.

  76 “had to try”: In 1996 Fry joined Aristides de Sousa Mendes as one of Israel’s Righteous Among the Nations, and in his memory a tree was planted at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem. In 2000 the U.S. ambassador to France, Felix Rohatyn, dedicated in Marseille a square adjacent to the consulate as Place Varian Fry. In remarks at the time, he noted that his own family, as Polish Jews living in Paris, were refugees in the winter of 1941 and left for Marseille, where they may have been helped by Fry’s committee on a journey that took them to Casablanca, Lisbon, and eventually New York.

  Chapter 4: The Last Lap

  77 “remaining port”: William L. Shirer, Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934–1941 (New York, 1941), 542.

  78 “the writing room”: Ibid., 602.

  78 “the last lights?”: Ibid., 604.

  79 “lot of promise”: New York Times, June 15, 1940, 33. The wartime shipping situation is broadly described in Wyman, Paper Walls, 151–154.

  80 “concentration camp” conditions: New York Times, September 13, 1941, 19.

  80 proved to be useless: “Refugee Racket,” Time, December 30, 1940, 25.

  81 “at the earliest”: New York Times, January 26, 1941, 88.

  82 the attack came: A full account of the Zamzam affair is given in David Miller, Mercy Ships (London, 2008), 47–55.

  83 “party or two”: New York Times, May 29, 1941, 9.

  84 the airline offices: Beverley Baxter, “Traveler’s Report,” New Horizons, November 1941, 3. The magazine was a monthly published by Pan American. The report by Baxter, a British MP, was reprinted from Allied Newspapers, a British news syndicate.

  84 nominated another airline: Robert Daley, An American Saga: Juan Trippe and His Pan Am Empire (New York, 1980), 211.

  84 “became the terminus”: For more detail about flying boats developed by Boeing and other manufacturers, see ibid., 223–230.

  85 running water: The layout of the Clipper and details of the first passenger flight are given in ibid., 243–245.

  87 “not myself”: George F. Kennan, Memoirs, 1925–1950 (Boston, 1967), 156.

  87 dock workers: Henry J. Taylor, Time Runs Out (Garden City, N.Y., 1942), 299–300.

  87 sunk in the Atlantic: “Foreign Mail,” The New Yorker, April 5, 1941, 16.

  88 “all aboard, please”: New York Times, May 18, 1941, XX1.

  89 “inside of an airplane”: Elmer Rice, Flight to the West (New York, 1941), viii.

  90 in the lounge: Elmer Rice, Minority Report: An Autobiography (New York, 1963), 386.

  90 Lisbon Clipper: Stanley Cloud and Lynne Olson, The Murrow Boys (Boston, 1996), 107.

  91 pilot error: Daley, An American Saga, 251.

  91 “into a boat”: New York Times, February 25, 1943, 6.

  91 on crutches: Froman’s rescue, injuries, and relationship with Burn are described in Barbara Seuling, Say It with Music: The Life and Legacy of Jane Froman (Princeton, Ill., 2007), 118ff.

  92 “seen the stars”: Robertson, I Saw England, 213.

  92 “a war on”: Sheilah Graham, Hollywood Revisited (New York, 1985), 110.

  93 “Still Flying”: Marilyn Bender and Selig Altschul, The Chosen Instrument: Pan Am, Juan Trippe, the Rise and Fall of an American Entrepreneur (New York, 1982), 345.

  93 escorts above: Taylor, Time Runs Out, 285–286.

  Chapter 5: Gaiety, Plenty, and Brilliant Lights

  95 parallel American group: For the formation of the British escape group, see M. R. D. Foot and J. M. Langley, MI9 (London, 1979). The story of MIS-X is told in Lloyd R. Shoemaker, The Escape Factory (New York, 1990).

  96 on separate vessels: For Fry’s arrangement with the British, see Surrender on Demand, 76–78.

  97 stirred for duty: Fittko, Escape Through the Pyrenees, 159.

  97 “the occupied zone”: Fry, Surrender on Demand, 209.

  97 actually at sea: In Surrender on Demand, page 109, Fry gives the amount as 225,000 francs. The dollar figure is in Isenberg, A Hero of Our Own, 113.

  98 “Spanish looked away”: Quoted in Persico, Roosevelt’s Secret War, 321.

  98 in North Africa: Hayes, Wartime Mission in Spain, 102–103.

  99 about two weeks: Ibid., 103–104.

  99 east of Bordeaux: Chuck Yeager with Leo Janos, Yeager: An Autobiography (New York, 1985), 25–47. I follow this work for the account below.

  104 fighting Frenchmen: Hayes, Wartime Mission in Spain, 118–119.

  104 outside the attention: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1943, vol. 2, (Washington, D.C., 1964), 582.

  104 “for the duration”: Jack Alexander, “The Nazi Offensive in Lisbon,” Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1943, 86.

  104 was the exception: Jack Ilfrey with Mark S. Copeland, Happy Jack’s Go Buggy: A Fighter Pilot’s Story (Atglen, Pa., 1998), 35–39. I follow this work for the account below.

  104 “in my twenties”: Saint-Exupéry, Wartime Writings, 132.

  107 “experienced seamen”: My Three Years with Eisenhower: The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR (New York, 1946), 194–195.

  107 to destroy them: New York Times, December 28, 1942, 5.

  107 the Spanish frontier: New York Times, January 16, 1943, 1.

  108 much larger formation: New York Times, January 16, 1943, 3.

  108 Hanson W. Baldwin: New York Times, January 20, 1943, 4.

  108 “get home”: Foreign Relations of the United States, 1943, vol. 2, 582.

  109 held in Portugal: Ibid., 583–585.

  109 on enemy soil: Reynolds and Eleanor Packard, Balcony Empire: Fascist Italy at War (New York, 1942), 311ff. I follow this work for the account below. The Siena confinement is also described in “Back from the Axis,” Time, June 15, 1942, 69–70.

  111 drives about Portugal: The Reminiscences of Herbert C. Pell, Columbia University Oral History Collection, 1951, 423ff. Pell’s ministerial period in Portugal is also set out in Leonard Baker, Brahmin in Revolt: A Biography of Herbert C. Pell (Garden City, N.Y., 1972), 177ff.

  112 its own chauffeur: Baker, Brahmin in Revolt, 208–213.

  112 “fare of Lisbon”: Kennan, Memoirs, 136–138.

  113 Janson wrote: Janson’s log, http://384thbombgroup.com/pages/janson

  .html.

  114 “amateur theatricals”: Harold Macmillan, The Blast of War, 1939–1945 (New York, 1968), 312.

  115 “to make terms”: Quoted in Rick Atkinson, The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944 (New York, 2007), 187.

  115 German troops in Italy: Atkinson, The Day of Battle, 187–188.

  115 unconditional surrender: For the many plot twists on the way to an agreement, see ibid., 187–197. See also Butcher, My Three Years with Eisenhower, 391–395, and Macmillan, The Blast of War, 296–337.

  116 Allied headquarters: Macmillan, The Blast of War, 321.

  116 unwelcome surprise: The Canaris mission to Italy is recounted in Anthony Cave Brown, Bodyguard of Lies (New York, 1975), 305–307.

  116 Schwarze Kapelle: For the rise and fall of the Schwarze Kapelle, see ibid., 148ff and 300ff.

  117 “hearing in Lisbon”: Quoted in Otto John, Twice Through the Lines: The Autobiography of Otto John, trans. Richard Barry (New York, 1972), 99. John calls the MI6 agent, mentioned above, Tony Graham-Meingott.

  118 peace with Germany: Anthony Cave Brown, “C”: The Secret Life of Sir Stewart Graham Menzies (New York, 1987), 650.

  118 Menzies’s agreement: The motive is suggested in Brown, Bodyguard of Lies, 314–315.

  118 Lisbon Report: Ibid., 314.

  118 another nine months: Ibid., 792–793.

  118 Lufthansa flight: John, Twice Through the Lines, 95ff. I largely follow this work for the account below. See also H. R. Trevor-Roper’s introduction to John’s memoir and Peter Hoffmann, The History of the German Resistance, 1933–1945, trans. Richard Barry (Cambridge, Mass., 1977), 246–248.


  Chapter 6: Living There

  121 “embark for America”: Rougemont, Journal d’une époque, 443–444.

  122 “never mentioned”: Frederic Prokosch, “Landscape—With Figures,” Vogue’s First Reader (New York, 1942), 110. The passage is an edited version of one appearing in the Prokosch novel The Conspirators (London, 1943), 8.

  122 The Asiatics: For a present-day appreciation of Prokosch that concentrates on this novel, see Pico Iyer, “The Perfect Traveler,” New York Review of Books, November 18, 2004, 50–54.

  122 to two years: Frederic Prokosch, Voices: A Memoir (New York, 1983), 114–127. I largely follow this work for the account below.

  122 in squash: Radcliffe Squires, Frederic Prokosch (New York, 1964), 20–21.

  125 More substantial: Some reviewers made this point. For example, see Peter Monro Jack, “Lisbon in Wartime,” New York Times Book Review, January 24, 1943, 6.

  125 fine Rolls-Royce: Frederic Prokosch letter to the editor [“Is Hollywood Dying?”], The New Republic, November 13, 1944, 627.

  125 was newspaper writing: Muir, European Junction. I follow this work for the account below.

  126 “with embroidery”: Alice-Leone Moats, No Passport for Paris (New York, 1945), 14.

  128 “24 hours nicely”: Quoted in Mark Holloway, Norman Douglas: A Biography (London, 1976), 448.

  128 Lisbon in May: The uncertain nature of the trip is noted in ibid., 449.

  128 “A pretty tangle!”: Quoted in Nancy Cunard, Grand Man: Memories of Norman Douglas (London, 1954), 162. Quotations below also come from this work, pages 163–168.

  129 she uncovered: Polly Peabody, Occupied Territory (London, 1941). I follow this work for the account below.

  130 and the canteen: New York Times, March 7, 1940, 10; New York Times, March 10, 1940, 5.

  133 of refugee flight: Ronald Bodley, Flight into Portugal (London, 1941). I follow this work for the account below.

  133 “Bodley of Arabia”: The New Yorker, February 23, 1943, 10.

  136 knew from experience: Marya Mannes, Out of My Time (Garden City, N.Y., 1971).

  137 “Letter from Lisbon”: Marya Mannes, “Letter from Lisbon,” The New Yorker, July 1, 1944, 56–59.

  137 second Lisbon Letter: Marya Mannes, “Letter from Lisbon,” The New Yorker, July 22, 1944, 49–52.

  138 “under our noses”: Aline [Romanones], Countess of Romanones, The Spy Wore Red: My Adventures as an Undercover Agent in World War II (New York, 1987), 63.

  138 promised article: Marya Mannes, “In Lisbon—‘Dressed for Reaction,’” Vogue, September 1, 1944, 140ff.

  139 Irish legation: O’Donovan’s mission is recounted in Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses, “Investigating Portugal, Salazar and the New State: The Work of the Irish Legation in Lisbon, 1942–1945,” Contemporary European History, 11:3 (2002), 392–408. I follow this article for the account below.

  140 Ireland at the time: For more on Irish attraction to Salazar’s Portugal, see Clair Wills, That Neutral Ireland (Cambridge, Mass., 2007), 351–352.

  Chapter 7: Celebrité de Passage

  144 the side of: Noël Coward, Future Indefinite (Garden City, N.Y., 1954), 111–112.

  144 work there was: For Coward’s amusing account of his undemanding work routine, see ibid., 96ff.

  144 “proposition for America”: Quoted in ibid., 177.

  145 “acme of comfort”: Coward, Future Indefinite, 152. Quotations below also come from this work, pages 201–202.

  146 “is very important”: Quoted in Barry Day, ed., The Letters of Noël Coward (New York, 2007), 379.

  146 “propaganda for peace”: Quoted in Philip Ziegler, King Edward VIII: A Biography (New York, 1991), 366.

  147 “even greater mistake”: Quoted in Michael Bloch, Operation Willi: The Nazi Plot to Kidnap the Duke of Windsor (Toronto, 1987; orig. pub. 1984), 48.

  147 “of the country”: Ibid., 82.

  148 “an embarrassment”: Ibid., 57.

  148 neutrality regulations: Ibid., 73.

  149 “difficult situation”: Quoted in ibid., 79.

  149 the pages of: Corkill, “The Double Centenary Commemorations of 1940,” 162.

  149 “only for you”: David Eccles, By Safe Hand: Letters of Sybil and David Eccles, 1939–1942 (London, 1983), 132.

  149 “of the world”: Ibid., 139.

  150 “quite long enough”: Quoted in Bloch, Operation Willi, 121.

  150 “must be accepted”: Ibid., 122.

  150 “farewell to Europe”: Ibid., 115.

  150 “past sailing time”: New York Times, August 2, 1940, 1ff.

  150 a travel trailer: “Mr. and Mrs. Windsor,” Time, August 12, 1940, 20.

  151 “largely American”: “Playground Superintendents,” Time, July 22, 1940, 28,

  151 Duke responded: On this point, see Ziegler, King Edward VIII, 371. See also John H. Waller, The Unseen War in Europe: Espionage and Conspiracy in the Second World War (New York, 1996), 171–173.

  151 In memoirs: In an appendix to Operation Willi, Bloch examines the authenticity and reliability of Schellenberg’s published memoirs. He concludes the work is indeed Schellenberg’s and takes serious issue only with matters of chronology.

  152 “the dinner-table”: Walter Schellenberg, The Schellenberg Memoirs, ed. and trans. Louis Hagen (London, 1956), 138.

  152 “interests at heart”: Ibid., 138–139.

  152 “organized at once”: Ibid., 139.

  152 “to the situation”: Ibid., 141.

  153 with Germany: The telegram is reproduced in Bloch, Operation Willi, 195.

  153 “was closed”: Schellenberg, Memoirs, 142.

  154 state valuables: Paul D. Quinlan, The Playboy King: Carol II of Romania (Westport, Conn., 1995), 218. I largely follow this work for the account below.

  154 wishes of Berlin: Ibid., 226.

  154 armed police: New York Times, March 6, 1941, 23.

  154 “four dogs”: New York Times, October 15, 1940, 4.

  155 “King’s fate”: Muir, European Junction, 93–94.

  155 Portuguese soil: New York Times, March 6, 1941, 23; “Hohenzollern Hegira,” Time, March 17, 1941, 32.

  155 defying Germany: Quinlan, The Playboy King, 227.

  155 of the bill: New York Times, March 7, 1941, 10.

  155 up on them: New York Times, March 9, 1941, 16.

  155 double her gain: Aline [Romanones], The Spy Wore Red, 63–64.

  156 Nazi informants: Nettelbeck, Forever French, 18.

  156 “my own country”: New York Times, May 3, 1941, 17.

  156 “but no more”: New York Times, May 11, 1941, 30.

  157 “in their midst”: Muir, European Junction, 96.

  157 emerged as celebrities: The phrasing, in slightly different form, is applied to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Stacy Schiff, Saint-Exupéry: A Biography (New York, 1994), 343.

  157 “Ah, Mozart!”: Neil Baldwin, Man Ray: American Artist (New York, 2000), 227. Man Ray gives a slightly different account of the border crossing in Self Portrait (New York, 1963), 320.

  158 “pardoned him”: Ray, Self Portrait, 322.

  158 “know him?”: Saint-Exupéry, Wartime Writings, 103–105.

  158 In his honor: Schiff, Saint-Exupéry, 343.

  158 “extraordinary anguish”: Quoted in ibid.

  158 military tactics: New York Times, January 1, 1941, 20.

  159 “lapis lazuli”: Fry, Surrender on Demand, 185. In a stunning black-and-white portrait of Boyle by Man Ray, circa 1930, only one of her standard white earrings is visible. See Mellen, Kay Boyle, 174–175. Ray had earlier, in 1924, photographed Guggenheim in an exotic evening dress and holding a long cigarette holder. See Guggenheim, Out of This Century, 76–77.

  159 “to that fiend”: Quoted in Mellen, Kay Boyle, 253–254.

  160 “by Max Ernst”: Ibid.

  160 took a ship: Sullivan, Villa Air-Bel, 339.

  160 of the time: Guggenheim, Out of This Century, 241.

 
161 from the premises: Mellen, Kay Boyle, 254.

  161 “native friend”: Guggenheim, Out of This Century, 244.

  161 “Max loved”: Ibid., 242.

  162 “doesn’t to me”: New York Times Book Review, August 3, 1941, 2.

  162 “if one wished”: Cecil Beaton, Near East (London, 1943), 140.

  162 excursion to Sintra: Cecil Beaton, The Years Between: Diaries 1939–44 (London, 1965), 198–199.

  163 Lisbon studio: Hugh Vickers, Cecil Beaton: A Biography (Boston, 1985), 267.

  163 “to weep with”: Quoted in Jane Emery, Rose Macaulay: A Writer’s Life (London, 1991), 267. For Macaulay’s life and work, see also Sarah LeFanu, Rose Macaulay (London, 2003).

  164 through hints: On this point, see, among other passages devoted to the love affair, Emery, Rose Macaulay, 175–179.

  164 “begin life again”: Quoted in ibid., 272.

  164 “without approach”: Rose Macaulay, “Looking in on Lisbon,” The Spectator, July 2, 1943, 8. The article is reprinted in They Went to Portugal Too, ed. L. C. Taylor (Manchester, UK, 1990), 305–308.

  165 “Setúbal peninsula”: Rose Macauley, “Lisbon Day, London Day,” Anglo-Portuguese News, May 6, 1943, 5.

  165 “English in Portugal”: Quoted in Emery, Rose Macaulay, 278.

  166 was the star: Susan Lowndes, Introduction to They Went to Portugal Too, xxi. The introduction is a primary source of information about Macaulay’s time in Lisbon.

  167 “doing my best”: “The Luftwaffe Intercepts,” Time, June 14, 1943, 30.

  167 “to Bordeaux”: Quoted in Chris Goss, Bloody Biscay, rev. ed. (Manchester, UK, 2001), 54.

  168 “broad daylight”: Winston S. Churchill, The Hinge of Fate (Boston, 1950), 830.

  168 in books by: Ian Colvin, Flight 777 (London, 1957); Leslie Ruth Howard, A Quite Remarkable Father (New York, 1959); Ronald Howard, In Search of My Father (London, 1981).

  169 “movie star’s publicity”: Quoted in Aline [Romanones], The Spy Wore Red, 60–61.

  169 “state of alert”: Colvin, Flight 777, 198.