About book A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins And The Missing Agents Of WWII. (2006)
Sarah Helm, A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII, (New York, Anchor Books 2005) Kindle EditiontSarah Helm, author of A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII, is no stranger to the journalistic pursuits and rabbit trails in covering foreign affairs. She began her career as a journalist with the Sunday Times and later became a founding member of a start-up newspaper, The Independent. She spent her time here covering “official secret stories” as the Home Affairs correspondent and in 1989 became the Diplomatic editor, covering the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Gulf War. She garnered several awards for her coverage and in 1995 moved to Brussels to cover European affairs. Helm’s background in the politics and diplomacy of European culture served as a foundation for her mixture of a first person narrative for describing her research on Vera Atkins and her third person approach in telling the story of Vera’s hunt for the missing agents of the SOE in post-World War II Europe. Helm uncovers a subplot or motive for Vera’s secretive existence and provides a sympathetic picture of the “cagey” Spy Mistress by searching her papers, retracing her steps, and weaving a first-hand account of the hunt for the missing agents of the SOE. Helm provides a convincing justification for Vera’s ethnic vulnerability, lack of traditional femininity, and her protective nature by cleverly telling her story as one that retells the gender binary by revising how we see femininity in parallel to one of the missing agents, Nora Inayat Khan. tThe book begins with Helm’s visit to an aging Vera Atkins who, with as much stoicism as close acquaintances testified of her character, refuses to divulge any information about her time in SOE. Helms stated that she “hadn’t come to interview Vera about her own life” but the story of her life and her role in Special Operations Executive (SOE) were so intertwined, one story could not be understood without unraveling the mystery of Vera Atkins’ past because she only reported her activity as of 1941. During Helm’s only interview with Vera, she asked Vera why she was chosen for the work to which Vera responded “One didn’t know” and asked that they “leave it like that”. tHelms divides the book into the geographical sections of England, Romania, Germany and back to England to give the reader a cultural backdrop for each chapter contained in the section. It also chronologically advances the reader and is peppered with current testimony from Helm’s research with survivors. Helm conducted one on one interviews with Vera Atkins’ associates and friends, years after the events in question and pieces together a portrait of Atkins that shows her as an emotionally complex individual. Using newly released documents about the SOE, Helm pieces together a clear picture of the day to day activities of the government department and introduces a cast of characters such as Violette Szabo, celebrated for her toughness in the face of death while maintaining her femininity in the 1958 movie, Carve Her Name with Pride, Nora Inayat Khan, Madeleine Oamenrment, and Odette Samsom. tHelms provides some possible clarity on why Violette was celebrated as the idea SOE agent and not Nora, who was tortured, chained and died bravely at Dachau with the her last recorded words as “liberte” . It is possible that Vera, who consulted on the movie project, could have had a hand in the selection of the story in order to keep the suspicion away from SOE. The movie also the women in the SOE as ultra feminine and took several liberties to ensure that the women were portrayed as proper ladies by showing Violette in love and shopping. The portrayal was stark contrast to the description provided by Helm. tThe revision of Nora’s story and nature of her death would have cast a shadow of doubt on the competency of SOE and upset the gender boundaries because she was “a bloody mess” after torture and was shot in the head from behind. Vera closed the chapter on that story after one revision due to a perceived mistaken identity when she identified another agent, Sonia, in a drawing provided by a detainee. The SOE had already been infiltrated by the Germans during the war because of careless mistakes. The SOE had to protect its image and questions of incompetence could lead to the mistrust of command, namely Vera, who had to apply for naturalization during the war because she wasn’t a British citizen by birth. Further inquiry into Vera’s past would have revealed her Jewish heritage and her familial ties with the Germans. tVera takes on many characteristics, such as stoicism that are normally associated with males, but given her position as the female leader of SOE, she needed to be detached to perform her assigned role. Gender is also revised because of the entire SOE program. Women trained and actively participated in the war effort behind enemy lines. Up until the discovery that the SOE deployed women, most conversation of the day was around women’s sexuality, uniforms, and venereal disease. The SOE trained with men and defended themselves with firearms. Vera is also dogmatic and tireless when it comes to tracking down her agents in the aftermath of World War II. She relentlessly interrogates prisoners of war, provides testimony at war crimes trials and holds her emotions together for all on lookers, which is considered to be quite a feat for a woman. She retains her secrecy throughout her life and only offers small glimpses into her world.tHelms’ portrayal and insight on the events surrounding Vera’s quest of the truth of her agent’s whereabouts delivered a strong message and painted Vera a matron of her troops, determined to bring closure to the events in question. Because she portrays Vera as strong, she falls short in providing a viable explanation as of why she didn’t turn Henri Devicourt in and bring him to justice because of his role in the sabotage of the Prosper Circuit and posing as a possible double agent. Vera, who often overstepped the line gender lines through the nature of her job, didn’t dare to challenge a man. It seems very unlikely given the description of her character. tReading and following the trail of Vera’s investigation coupled with Helm’s investigation to fill in the blanks was a refreshing approach to storytelling. It helped bring clarity to the entire story, but the same effect could have been achieved with a more straight forward approach that told the story and offered explanation towards the end. tThe author’s ability to track down first hand testimony or folk lore passed to the next generation for clarity with supporting documents was amazing but it limited some of the validity of the testimony where no documents existed. For example, she interviewed Vera’s close friends and associates when they were in their senior years when memories weren’t quite as sharp. This can be attributed to her journalist approach to the story, which made for excellent story telling, but limited the historical approach to be considered a secondary source instead of primary. tHelms’ offering of an explanation as of why Vera Atkins was able to break barriers and protect her profession and personal identity is interesting but only recommended in concert with a course that focuses specifically on the SOE or spy networks in World War II. Some understanding of the political, economic and social climate of Europe during post World War II is also helpful for students and enthusiastic. Utilization of this book will offer students a perspective on the war crimes trials, atrocities of the concentration camps, and how the SOE navigated that terrain to document the activity of its agents. Narrowing the focus of a course to the SOE or spy networks will allow for more focus and discussion around the topic and the book will serve as a catalyst for that discussion. This book is also suitable for non-academic historical enthusiasts or upper division college courses. Bianca A. Woodard Georgia Regents University Senior
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII is a book about journeys. A lot of journeys. Firstly it is the author Sarah Helm’s journey to discover the real Vera Atkins who she met only once in 1998. She initially came to see Atkins about the agents but found that to understand what happened to the agents she needed to understand Vera Atkins herself, a woman who said of her Romanian past: “It is something on which I have closed the book. I have closed the book on many things in life.”We discover how SOE was created and how Vera was recruited. In very readable prose Helm explains the workings of SOE and the climate of the times. When after the war more than a hundred SOE agents hadn’t returned Vera begins a journey to find out what happened to them.We learn how Atkins took care of each of the female recruits in turn, including checking what they were wearing, their cover story and in many cases escorting them to the airfield to see them off. Noor Inayat Khan and Violette Szabo (the mother of a small child) were favourites. Helm interviews former SOE agents and staff at SOE headquarters in Baker Street to find out more about the elusive Vera Atkins and the agents. A former filing clerk in MI5 tells Sarah, “They were all told it was life and death but it didn’t seem to bother them.”Helm then writes about many of the female SOE agents including Yvonne Rudellat, Nora Inayat Khan, Violette Szabo and others. She also investigates the disaster of the Prosper Circuit of F Section and explains the system by which the radio operators kept in touch with SOE headquarters at Orchard Court. And then of course there is Charles Buckmaster and Henri Dericourt. And Vera’s silence just when she should have been speaking up.By September 1944 with Paris back in the hands of the Allies Vera Atkins begins her task in earnest. It is three months since the Normandy landings but still over a hundred agents are missing. This is the part of the A Life in Secrets I really wanted to read about - the fate of the missing agents, including thirteen women. And I definitely wasn’t disappointed! Helm’s skilful and thorough investigations of Vera’s own investigations - her trips to Germany to interview Germans who had captured and killed the agents, is unputdownable, particularly the problems Atkins encountered in identifying the fourth woman who died at Natzweiler. The details are sometimes horrifying but the women’s bravery in the face of appalling treatment and death is beyond words. There are also the journeys made by the relatives of the dead agents in search of what really happened to their loved ones. Soon after the war parents, brother and sisters turned up at Vera Atkins doorstep looking for the truth. In the sixties, the sons, daughters, nieces and nephews sought Vera out, including Tania Szabo, Violette Szabo’s daughter.In the latter part of the book Helm travels to Romania to uncover the real Vera Atkins and a mysterious mission she undertook early in the war. One goodreads reader commented that there was just too much information towards the end of this book about Vera Atkins herself. I disagree. Without revealing more, all I can say is that the key to understanding what happened to F Section is, I believe, hidden in Vera Atkins’s past.
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I had slightly mixed feelings about this one. It was at times extremely captivating. I just had to find out the fate of these agents but the problem I had was that I could have totally done without having to read about Vera Atkins because I found her to be not at all likeable in any way. In hindsight I would have been much more interested in reading something else that was focused solely on the agents. I also really struggled with the level of incompetence, lies and back covering that went on by Miss Atkins, SOE and the British Government. The incompetence was so shocking that I struggled to read about it. These issues aside it is clear that Sarah Helm thoroughly researched this book. She travelled extensively to investigate and follow up on leads in order to piece together Ms Atkins' life and the lives of the SOE agents. I was however left wondering why one line of enquiry (regarding a conspiracy theory) wasn't follwed up on and was instead completely cast aside as not worth pursuing when in every other lead or suggestion Ms Helm was so very thorough in attempting to confirm facts.
—Belle
This biography of Vera Atkins is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. I was amazed at the breadth and depth of Helm's research. I was amazed at the level of incompetence in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), clandestinely established by the British to place saboteurs into Europe.They were engaged in recruiting, and setting up resistance organizations as well as supporting them behind enemy lines. The ability to rationalize away grave mistakes in judgment as the result of the fog of war or inexperience on the part of operatives was mind boggling. Vera Atkins was born Vera May Rosenberg in Romania in 1908. Her parents who were Jews wanted desperately to be something else. After her father's death she and one of her brothers dropped Rosenberg and took their mother's very English maiden name. She put her past behind her and never spoke of it again. After Dunkirk the OSE was formed and Vera secured a position in the new agency. She was competent and resourceful, a valuable employee who was promoted inside the agency. It was her job to help recruit, train and send off the operatives. She always took them to the plane that would take them to their assignment. She was the one who knew everyone and everything about their background, training and aliases. She was the one who, after the defeat of the Germans, went to the continent to find out what had happened to the agents who had not returned. She gathered information for the war crimes trials and participated in them as a witness. After the SOE was shut down she became its publicist and advocated for keeping the heroism of those who died alive. Her role at the SOE shaped the remainder of her life as she was alternately considered both hero and villain, selfish and selfless, patriot and traitor. Helms does a good job of considering all sides while shedding light on a secret life that remained hidden for over 70 years. A worthwhile read.
—Yvonne
This is the true story of Britain's Special Operations Executive and how, after World War II, its "spy mistress" went in search of her missing agents. Clearly, "A Life in Secrets" has all the makings of a great book, but it never quite engaged me. For one thing, the protagonist, the austere, self-absorbed Vera Atkins, is not very likable. Plus, the SOE -- sort of a kid sister to MI6 -- was filled with incompetents at the staff level, and this is the reason so many of Atkins' agents went missing. Author Sarah Helm did some admirable research, but she tries to tell too many stories, and it all becomes a muddle. I ended up using the index to skip forward and find out what happened to those agents I found most interesting.
—Douglas Perry
