Hitler's Lost Spy

by Greg Clancy

  The contribution of the Swiss Consul in assisting Annette on her return is intriguing, in fact almost bizarre.

  Annette lived in Madagascar for a year prior to leaving for Australia, and her husband was an officer in the colonial government. Her social networks were very likely to have included other members of the French administration and their families. It is also probable that she knew senior members of the government including the Governor. Add the fact that she was a French citizen, and that she had claimed to have been recognised by the French government for her work during a medical crisis in the colony, why would the Swiss Consul be necessary to assist her ‘to establish her bona fides’ to that same government? Further, what information would the Consul have that others – namely the French authorities and Australian Security – didn’t have? Why would the Consul know more about Annette than the officials, and others, who had previously lived and socialised with her in Madagascar?

  Annette’s relationship with the Swiss Consul in Sydney was unusual, but that with the Swiss Consul in Madagascar appears extraordinary. As Switzerland had been representing Germany in all international consular matters since the invasion of Poland, it may have been that this representation went, at times, beyond normal diplomatic functions.

  The report quoted above also includes reference to a rumour that Annette may have returned to Australia.

  This was addressed in a memo from the Director-General of Security to the Director of Military Intelligence, dated 11 June 1942.

  I refer to your memorandum M.I.S. 1107 of the 23rd April, and in reply have to advise that, so far as it is known, the above-mentioned person has not re-entered Australia since her departure for Madagascar on 9th February, 1940, from Fremantle.

  Where, and from whom, the rumour of Annette’s re-appearance derived, is unknown.

  Nothing more is heard from Annette until the news of her suicide. Security had received information that she had worked in the German intelligence headquarters in Paris until the city was liberated. The declassified French archives do not offer any information on either Annette or her husband. Their files, whether German, or French, or both, may have joined thousands of others in furnaces at the war’s end, or been simply lost in time. Another possibility is that the files do in fact exist, but are collecting dust in a French archives basement, not yet declassified.

  The Smith’s Weekly article referred to in Chapter 1 states that Annette went to France to live in the region controlled by the Vichy government. This would be consistent with her activities in Australia, and would be an ideal location to prepare for German intelligence work. This information appears to have been derived from the only sources available at the time – from within the security services – but deemed to be of interest by Smith’s Weekly to its readers as Annette was what we would refer to today as a celebrity or media personality, and the secrecy attached to her case no longer applied.

  One interesting note in the article raises a final component in the mystery of Annette’s departure from Australia. This is the reference to her intention of sailing to Japan, and the refusal of authorities to allow it.

  Had she travelled to Japan as intended, new questions would arise. Why would a twenty-seven year old female, journeying alone, choose to travel to Madagascar via Japan in 1940? This would have been unusual in the extreme, not just due to it being unnecessarily dangerous for a young lady travelling independently, but the shipping connections would ensure the journey was long and expensive. Was there an entire branch of Annette’s activities that had completely bypassed the authorities in Australia? The German connection was established, but was there also a direct Japanese relationship beyond the aerial mapping of Newcastle harbour? It now appears a little more likely that Annette did in fact have a connection with the Japanese embassy in London and with the Japanese legation at the League of Nations.

  Annette’s disappointing personal circumstances – as they would have been when she departed Australia – could hardly provide an incentive for travelling to Japan. The country was at war with China and the democratic world was revolted at the inhumanity being inflicted on the Chinese people. Tourist facilities in Japan were very limited and a single Caucasian female traveller would be highly unlikely to find any enjoyment in that country. This was an authoritarian, male-dominant nation beset with militarism and hate, with a brutal social mind-set surviving from the 1700s. But, had Annette been travelling to Japan for something else, possibly on an invitation, her circumstances in the country may have been entirely different, and far more comfortable.

  Plugging the Gaps in Annette’s Story

  It is difficult to ignore that segment of the Annette Wagner story which commenced with her arrival back in Madagascar and ended on the pavement of the Paris Police Headquarters in 1946. Official documentation is non-existent, but there is some reporting, witness accounts and background data that, when placed within the perspective of the times, produce a projected outcome that follows a common sense evaluation.

  On that footing we may present a ‘most likely’ scenario of Annette’s six years following her departure from Australia:

  Annette returns to Madagascar, resolves her relationship with Robert, and at some juncture travels to Vichy following the fall of France in June 1940. Her association with German intelligence moves her to Paris and until the liberation of the city in August 1944 she works in the German intelligence headquarters. She then blends in with the French population until the war’s end when she emerges with a cover story totally devoid of her German (and traitorous) activities. She remains in France until summoned to the Police Headquarters in July 1946.

  Many people, both French and German, had reason to disappear as France was liberated. False identities abounded in the confusion of the German retreat and, with the right connections enemies of France could readily be determined as ‘displaced persons’ and accorded, at a minimum, some peace in their refuge.

  Annette’s peace, if she experienced any at all, would be short lived.

  FOOTNOTES

  * * *

  15 The Gorgon was requisitioned by the Australian navy following the outbreak of the war in the Pacific. Despite being damaged by Japanese bombs on three occasions, the ship survived the war, unlike the others Annette had previously sailed on.

  11

  Annette Wagner – A Profile of Paradox

  An appraisal of Annette Wagner’s two years in Australia demands the consideration of her credentials, personal qualities, conduct, and associations, based on the evidence we have. These features describe the core of the valuable data necessary to produce an inclusive insight into the lady, and to provide a hub to explain her espionage activities.

  In this appraisal there will be other items of information we would like to take into account, but compromises are necessary in consideration of the secrecy inherent in her role as a spy. Concealment, silence and deception always ensured that a great deal about Annette will never see the light of day.

  The evaluation commences with the questions:

  What material may be extracted from the evidence we have of Annette and her activities to broadly formulate the type of individual she was? What were the behavioural traits she demonstrated that were consistent with the expected functions of a pre-World War II female spy?

  The evidence is assembled from the surveillance operations, the Military Intelligence reporting and the CIB interview – data we may deem reliable.

  In this process, however, it is necessary to take into account two important obstacles that could interfere with the process of identifying conclusive results. The first is that if Annette had been a spy, she would have done what all good spies do and have adapted to her working and social environment. A spy’s community appearance may readily change to conform to the demands of another condition. If Annette had been a good spy and slotted in well with her temporary homeland, this would complicate the search for her ‘real’ distinctiveness.

  The second obstacle is that the per
iod of her residency in Australia – March 1938 to February 1940 – endured the continuing social impacts of the Great Depression, the political intrigues in Europe and Asia and the onset of World War II. In the Pacific region, Japan appeared destined for a broader war and ignored international calls for military and behavioural restraint. This was a period of great international anxiety, and an impending fear of a major military conflict lingered in the world’s capital cities. The era did not experience ‘normal’ international events, which generally produce a period of peace and economic stability. People react to such pressures in different ways and how these international background issues affected Annette comprises a small portion of cautious calculation, and a larger portion of speculation.

  How then, was Annette’s behaviour influenced by these two factors? There are three elements to consider: her background, as we know it, her presentation while in Australia (i.e. how a reasonable person would appraise her), and the collected facts on how she spent her spare time.

  The foremost problem in constructing a case against Annette evolves from the nature of her undercover activities. Should an individual excell in his or her occupation, this may result in public recognition – in one form or another. If a spy excels in his or her assignments, the opposite occurs, and a good spy with sufficient protection may disappear from the historical radar forever. The signals are that Annette was a very good spy, but this should not deter us from briefly probing into what we know of her and then drawing a comparison with her perceived character while she lived in Australia.

  First, a brief assessment of the activities that yielded considerable data on Annette.

  The Surveillance

  The precise covert procedures introduced to monitor Annette Wagner are unknown. For report purposes, detailing the methods used in most operations is unnecessary. The available records of the field agents who observed Annette derive solely from unusual events or ‘breakthrough’ comments that warranted a special file mention. The only useful information, in this regard, is that we know one of the agents, and possibly more, was female. A female agent would have been more successful in penetrating Annette’s inner circle of friends and associates than a male agent. The matter of importance is what information, and its reliability, the agents collected.

  The evidence also allows us to accept that the surveillance blueprint was intense – maybe not for the entire period of the operation, but certainly a good part of it. At The Manor, observing people entering Annette’s room at night, and leaving early in the morning, as had occurred, would have required one or more observers uncomfortably sheltering in the bushes nearby. At that time, it’s fair to suggest that Annette would have been monitored twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

  The information collected on Annette was not limited to apparent covert activities. There are details of her conversations in The Manor that clearly imply a source from within. This was subsequently confirmed in February 1939. There are opinions of her character obtained from others, such as Miss Caspers, mentioned below. Jack Clancy was a personal friend and his precise relationship with Annette would have been closely explored by Military Intelligence. There would have been others, all offering opinions that collectively may have assisted in shaping a character report inconsistent with Annette’s public face. Evidence may also have been acquired through her telephone taps, monitored mail and enquiries rendered at the radio stations at which she had worked.

  But inevitably, the surveillance net catches more than just the facts. The secret collection of information unavoidably means the entrapment of data that is not always reliable. An unbiased assessment of such information’s correctness may not always rank highly in the business of espionage. It is useful to look at some of this information to briefly consider interesting possibilities in Annette’s broader resume.

  The Surveillance Results – Rumour, Myth or Fact?

  There are interesting comments in Annette’s file that have not been described in earlier chapters. The reason for their omission has been the difficulty in locating documentary evidence to support their substance. Some examples from her file reports include the following:

  She has made various statements about herself, that she is of Swiss, French or Swedish origin.

  If you will refer to Colyn’s report on her dated 30/11/38, you will notice as I have the following points. This report suggests she was born in Corsica of Italian and French parents and was adopted at an early age. Speaks German fluently. Now she has not mentioned to her friends at The Manor that she speaks German at all. She has not mentioned her time at Newcastle either. The only thing missing is, what mail comes to The Manor for her? I am inclined to think none, but I will easily find out.

  The possibility that Annette’s origin may be other than we believe adds more mystery to an already secretive lady. Was the person bearing Annette’s name a 1930s equivalent of the modern day identity thief? It is an interesting thought, but all we can do is compare the available evidence against the opposing possibilities. This evidence corroborates Annette’s origins and early life as having occurred as she described. How the claims of her possibly being of Corsican or Swedish origin came about, we don’t know. Annette may have been responsible for this, but an incorrect interpretation or rumour was more likely.

  However, the mention of her ability to speak German is quite different. Being fluent in her father’s first language is more than a remote possibility. Although only seven when she moved to England, the elements of the language would have been in place and these may have been readily expanded upon later, at school, for example. Her meetings with Germans at The Manor would have been more comfortable with German as the language of choice.

  Interestingly, notes in Annette’s file refer on several occasions to the large volume of typing she carried out during the evenings. It was acknowledged in one report that this may have been related to script writing for her radio work, which is very plausible. But an extract from a report on Annette from the Australian Military Forces, 2nd Military District dated 30 November 1938, includes:

  Discreet enquiries were made through Mrs M16 for Wagner’s present address and Mrs M admitted that the movements of Wagner were very mysterious and were causing considerable worry and anxiety to her, that she appeared to be very busily occupied in writing and making notes and received considerable correspondence, and while professing to be anxious to take up a job, had apparently made no endeavours so to do.

  Plainly, in this instance, Annette’s ‘writing and making notes’ had nothing to do with script writing, this being prior to her finding employment in radio. It appeared as being suspiciously unusual – and it probably was.

  Her evening typing bouts at The Manor caused annoyance to some residents, and during her stay at the Hydro Majestic in July 1939, the volume of Annette’s typing drew complaints from other guests.

  What proportion of Annette’s typing was divided between her script work, personal correspondence and ‘other’ is of course unknown.

  Annette’s Physical Appearance

  The only known photograph of Annette is from the Australian Women’s Weekly accompanying the article detailed in Chapter 3. Her file includes the following note dated 1 April 1939.

  I now have an accurate description of her. Brunette, with dark curly hair and brown eyes, height about 5 ft. 7 in., slender, no make-up whatever except a little face powder, creamy complexion and very good skin, rather plump face, dresses quietly. Attractive woman.

  Another report to Military Intelligence includes:

  Dresses quietly, generally in tailor-mades, and straw hats for streetware. Does not favour makeup.

  From these descriptions, Annette appears to have been in the cast of a naturally attractive and conservative lady, with a good dress sense. Consistent with this description is the likelihood she was well presented with manners to match. Her choice of tailor-mades suggests she may have been more equipped to conduct her fashion program than could normally have been expected.


  Family and Early Years

  Annette’s mother, Sophie Schneider, passed away in 1919. Her father (according to Annette) did not work and was supported by income from an inheritance received by her mother. Following her mother’s passing, Annette, aged seven, lived in London with a relative who had married an Englishman. Annette spent her school years in London and remained there following the relocation of her adoptive parents to a town near Lewes in East Sussex. Her employment subsequent to leaving school has been previously detailed.

  Annette’s travelling experiences since leaving school were, for both her age and time, extensive. However, her travels in Europe would have followed the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. It is likely that the subsequent economic slump could have influenced her perspectives on life, as she witnessed the rapid increase in unemployment and the resulting evident hardship experienced by very large numbers of people.

  She would have also witnessed Germany setting the pace for recovery following the ascension of Hitler as Chancel or in 1933. As the German economy found its low point and gradually recovered while the remainder of Europe stumbled, Annette, like everyone else who travelled through Europe at the time, would have observed with some degree of admiration the economic achievements of the Nazi state. It is understandable that, at her impressionable age, the contrast between the German recovery and the economic pain in other countries would be directly related to the systems of government in Europe – one working and the others not. The impact and possible effect of the more unpleasant accompaniments to Nazism would probably have passed her by.

  The Missionary Enigma

  Nowhere in the known history of Annette is the term ‘conflict and contradiction’ more valid than her service to medical missions in southern Africa. From March 1934 to July 1935 Annette worked with the missions, in what capacity is unknown, but with an incentive as far from the motives of a foreign spy as is almost possible to imagine. The period of her work in the missions is in her early adult years and from this we can only draw positive findings.