Existing comment:
Consequences
A captured agent is bound hand and foot. His Gestapo torturers took this photo to document and improve their technique.
Cost of Silence:
Spies knew the consequences if caught. Of 393 SOE operatives in France, 104 were captured and killed. SOE Wing Commander Yeo-Thomas tried to take his own life rather than disclose information to his captors, but he was restrained. Interrogators beat and tortured him for days, yet Yeo-Thomas remained silent.
Despite the great risks and sacrifices of its agents, the SOE was never fully accepted by more established intelligence services, who dismissed its "cloak and dagger" warfare. |