569:, where they provided him with lists of personalities of the Catholic underground in Germany. As these Catholic figures were as equally opposed to Communism as Nazism, Philby, a Soviet spy, handed the list over to his handlers; when the British tried to contact the list of personages at the end of the war, it was found that most of them had been killed. The couple also tried unsuccessfully to persuade the British Foreign Office to allow leading members of the German opposition to help in rebuilding the country. They then asked for their status as "Guests of the Foreign Office" to be annulled and to be left to their own devices. Elisabeth found employment as an assistant teacher in
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was imminent. It was believed that he had absconded with the Abwehr's secret codes. This was untrue, but according to
British records, Vermehren nevertheless gave much valuable information to the Allies about German intelligence operations. Hitler now distrusted the Abwehr and Canaris, and on 18
426:, and both felt that their lives were at risk while they remained in Germany. Vermehren was excluded from military service due to a childhood injury, but managed to get himself assigned to the Abwehr late in 1943 with the help of Von Trott and Paul Leverkühn, the Abwehr station chief in
469:
on leave, the couple agreed they would defect to
Britain. So that Elisabeth could travel to Istanbul, she procured an official assignment from the Foreign Office in connection with the Archbishop's visit to Turkey. They travelled by train to Istanbul, but at the border crossing into
478:, though Vermehren was permitted to continue to Istanbul. In Sofia, the ambassador was a family friend who (in cooperation with the Abwehr station chief) sneaked her on board a diplomatic courier plane to Istanbul. Meanwhile, Erich had made overtures to the British
457:. Von Papen was a cousin of Elisabeth Vermehren, and as a result of this family tie, Vermehren was assigned to Istanbul as a junior-grade agent after two weeks' training in secret inks. Elisabeth, however, was detained by the Gestapo as a hostage.
501:. The Gestapo summoned them to Berlin in connection with the case, but anticipating what was in store for them, they refused, and defected in early February 1944. In the hope that their families would be protected from
838:
306:, a member of one of Germany's leading Catholic families. They married in October 1941. The Plettenbergs were also opposed to Hitler, and clandestinely distributed the banned anti-Nazi Papal
507:(detention for the crimes of a family member) as a result of their defection, their defection was made to appear to be a kidnapping by the British. The Vermehrens were smuggled to England via
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Despite the
Vermehrens' unwillingness to openly resist the Nazi regime, they inevitably found themselves in anti-Nazi circles, several of which centered on Vermehren's cousin
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organisations broke the news of the defection, knowing that it would cause havoc in
Germany's intelligence services, especially since the
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in the 1960s with Erich managing his firm's Swiss subsidiary until he was promoted as
Director for Europe in 1964. They then lived in
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Several members of the couple's families were arrested and interned, including Erich's parents, his elder brother
Michael and sister
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while Erich founded a small export company, which had limited success, and later found employment with a firm of brokers with
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before moving back to
Switzerland in 1966. They became active in the Catholic Traditionalist Movement following the
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The couple returned to
Germany in view of Elisabeth's failing health, and she died there in 2000. Erich died in
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Wartime
Activities of the German Diplomatic and Military Services During World War II, The C.I.A archives
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regime was such that they were considered politically unreliable. Erich's repeated refusal to join the
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marked him as unfit to "represent German youth", and he was prevented from taking up a
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A Journey through the Final Act: Ravensbrück, Buchenwald, Dachau: A Woman
Reports.
728:"NAZI DESERTER IDENTIFIED; Erich Vermehren Was Clerk in Reich Embassy in Turkey"
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497:, had been arrested on 12 January 1944 in connection with his attendance at the
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in 1937. As a result of this, Elisabeth's parents were imprisoned by the
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was revoked, making it impossible for him to travel outside Germany.
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the British Security Service records at the U.K national archives
181:, (23 December 1919 – 28 April 2005) was an ardent anti-Nazi, an
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The couple received word that a friend from the Foreign Office,
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A Spy among Friends : Philby and the Great Betrayal.
453:, who had been asked to meet Archbishop (later Cardinal)
437:, head of the Abwehr, was making peace overtures to the
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Ein Weites Herz : Die Zwei Leben Der Isa Vermehren
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
758:Coincidentally, von Trott had been Germany's 1931
679:. Erich was one of the founding members of the
561:The Vermehrens were given accommodation in the
482:, which already had a file on him, through its
271:to a family of lawyers whose opposition to the
796:Kim Philby, Spies, and the Dangers of Paranoia
8:
359:introducing citations to additional sources
635:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
235:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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699:Bassett, Richard. "A Lion of the Faith".
655:Learn how and when to remove this message
255:Learn how and when to remove this message
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
898:Roman Catholics in the German Resistance
701:Obituary of Erich Vermehren de Saventhem
683:movement, becoming its first president.
349:Relevant discussion may be found on the
298:in 1939, shortly after his elder sister
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587:Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
831:A biography of Elisabeth de Saventhem
302:, when he met the Countess Elisabeth
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633:adding citations to reliable sources
233:adding citations to reliable sources
44:adding citations to reliable sources
539:(RSHA), under the jurisdiction of
118:German anti-Nazi agent (1919–2005)
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868:Abwehr personnel of World War II
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342:relies largely or entirely on a
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883:German traditionalist Catholics
31:needs additional citations for
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893:Converts to Roman Catholicism
786:3. Aufl ed. Berlin: Ullstein.
667:The de Saventhems settled in
441:with the help of the German
175:Erich Vermeeren de Saventhem
161:Erich Vermeeren de Saventhem
480:Secret Intelligence Service
465:When Vermehren returned to
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532:invasion of Western Europe
585:. They settled near the
537:SS Security organisation
782:Wegner Matthias. 2007.
435:Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
294:Vermehren converted to
191:Catholic Traditionalist
179:Eric Maria de Saventhem
164:Eric Maria de Saventhem
878:German Rhodes Scholars
813:Macintyre, Ben. 2015.
677:Second Vatican Council
565:flat of the mother of
424:Adam von Trott zu Solz
267:Vermehren was born in
629:improve this section
355:improve this article
312:Mit brennender Sorge
229:improve this section
40:improve this article
817:London: Bloomsbury.
499:Frau Solf Tea Party
888:People from Lübeck
841:2015-03-29 at the
732:The New York Times
575:preparatory school
323:As an Abwehr agent
281:Rhodes scholarship
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858:1919 births
694:Main source
597:Later years
577:run by the
852:Categories
745:2024-05-03
714:References
567:Kim Philby
557:In England
528:propaganda
504:Sippenhaft
443:ambassador
381:newspapers
308:encyclical
197:Early life
137:1919-12-23
66:newspapers
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690:in 2005.
616:does not
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461:Defection
439:Americans
351:talk page
216:does not
839:Archived
799:Archived
681:Una Voce
526:British
472:Bulgaria
428:Istanbul
289:passport
637:removed
622:sources
395:scholar
317:Gestapo
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