1 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: Diversion audio. A note this episode contains descriptions of violence 2 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,360 Speaker 1: that may be disturbing for some audiences. Please take care 3 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: in listening. This series is based on historical characters and 4 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: real events. Some dialogue has been imagined for dramatic purposes 5 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: when no primary source material is available. Virginia Hall's predicament 6 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: was pressing a spy working for the Nazis. She knew 7 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: his father Akhn real name Robert Alesh, had exposed her 8 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: identity to the enemy. Now she had to get out 9 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: of France and into Spain. And that meant an excruciating 10 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:06,959 Speaker 1: climb over thirty miles of tumultuous mountain terrain. It meant 11 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: crossing the Pyrenees. Well, it's it's a chain of mountains. 12 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: It stretches from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean like a 13 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: kind of belt, and it's a very natural border between 14 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: France and Spain. It's very wild. That's Edwards Sterton, a 15 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: BBC broadcaster who made a commemorative track across the Pyrenees 16 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: some seventy years after Virginia Hall, and gosh it was brutal. 17 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: I mean it really really was brutal. Some of it 18 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: you're almost climbing they put some guide ropes in so 19 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: you can hold yourself up, but just scrambling up rocks, 20 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: and it made you realize what it must have been 21 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: like for the people who did that during the war. 22 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: After his track, Sterton wrote a book called Cruel Crossing 23 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: Escaping Hitler Across the Pyrenees about the people who fled 24 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: occupied Europe via this mountain range during World War Two. 25 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: And I think that there is a strong sense that 26 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: the memory of what happened then, under the extraordinary heroism 27 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 1: that people and generosity of spirit actually that people showed, 28 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: needs to be remembered. The Pyrenees claimed many lives once 29 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: the Nazis took over France, as French immigrants downed Allied 30 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,519 Speaker 1: soldiers and Jewish Europeans attempted to flee over the mountains. 31 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: They were the back door who occupied Europe because if 32 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: you think about it, once the Germans had moved in 33 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: and occupied France and taken Belgium and Holland and so forth, 34 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: there was no other way out of Europe. You couldn't 35 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: go east because you bumped into Germany. There was the sea, 36 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: but that was extremely perilous. So the Pyrenees was really 37 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: the only sort of the emergency exit, if you like. 38 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: In the trek with arduous to say the least, some 39 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: froze to death, some suffocated from the lack of oxygen 40 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:01,919 Speaker 1: that came with the heights, Some fell into a rocky grave. 41 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: Others got lost and were never heard from again. That's 42 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,960 Speaker 1: nothing to say of the avalanches that plagued the mountains 43 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: every year. And on top of all that, there was 44 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: always the risk that you'd be captured by the Germans. 45 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 1: Edwards Sterton remembers the story he heard about a child 46 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: whose mother carried her across the mountain range. They had 47 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: one extraordinary memory that had come down to her from 48 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 1: her mother who carried her across the mountains, which was 49 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: that she cried as a child, as a childhood in 50 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: freezing cold temperatures and up in the mountains, and the 51 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: guide said, stop your child crying, because otherwise it'll alert 52 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: the Germans to where we are. And if you can't 53 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,080 Speaker 1: stop it crying, I'm going to shoot it, which I 54 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: mean sounds awful, But that kind of thing went on 55 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: in the high mountains in what were very extreme conditions 56 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: where everybody was risking their lives. Virginia knew that attempting 57 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: to try alone would mean death, especially given that she'd 58 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: be hiking with her prosthetic leg. Luckily, Peppignon, the town 59 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: she'd landed in, had a resistance contact she knew fairly well, 60 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: a man known to her by his code name Jill Bear. 61 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,400 Speaker 1: So I say to my friends, if you didn't want 62 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 1: the calf, you shouldn't have paid for the cow. Ah Mo, 63 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: my dear and darling a y surprise trip to Papignon 64 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: looking for some mountain air. You don't know the it? 65 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:45,880 Speaker 1: Can you get me over? You want to take the hike? 66 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,720 Speaker 1: I do so, Junior? Can you find me a guide? 67 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: Jor It's funny how faith works. Of course I can 68 00:04:55,880 --> 00:05:01,480 Speaker 1: get you a guide? Was the right price. I want 69 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: to introduce you to my friends Antoine Jean, and they 70 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: are desperate to get over the mountain as well. But 71 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:20,479 Speaker 1: they've come to me a bit empty pocketed. Virginia couldn't 72 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 1: help but feel betrayed. How could Gilbert be so avaricious 73 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: when four lives were at steak? But there's been news 74 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: recently of additional Germans entering France to defend against the 75 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: oncoming American forces. Fears were growing everywhere money would be 76 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,920 Speaker 1: even harder to come by. Gilbart was one of Virginia's 77 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: best contacts who specialized in shepherding runaways out of the country, 78 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,239 Speaker 1: but it always came with a price. What were you thinking, 79 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:57,280 Speaker 1: Gil seventy francs seventy tho you mean Rice Mark? You 80 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: intend to win the wall? Don't you? What good will 81 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: gentleman money be? Then? Funk, that's as much as I 82 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,000 Speaker 1: can do. Oh, I could have the five of us 83 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: bound together and rolled into the nearest sort of gestapo. 84 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:20,119 Speaker 1: Whichever works better for your wallet. Gilly, you've got the deer. 85 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:25,720 Speaker 1: Enjoy your trip. I would bundle up if I were you. 86 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: I'm Steven Talty and from Diversion. This is good Assassin's 87 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: Season two. Being killed would be the easy part. Being 88 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: tortured would be the hard part. Our intel suggests she 89 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,679 Speaker 1: is behind many of the prison bricks all over the country. 90 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: She's dangerous, so sabotage plus a little espionage paramilitary operations 91 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:04,280 Speaker 1: make things blow up. The message for Captain Bobby and 92 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: I believe I have found the nest of the Limping Lady. 93 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: Episode seven. Escape into the mountains late in the night 94 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: of November eleven, Virginia found herself in a car with 95 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: a three fleeing Frenchman driven by her context you'll bear 96 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: to the nearby town of Lava Lenai, where their guide 97 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: across the mountains was waiting for them. The ride was 98 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: mostly silent. Virginia felt shame emitting from the other passengers, Henri, 99 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: Antoine and Jean. They didn't seem like men who wanted 100 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: to accept any kind of charity. They arrived in love Alena, 101 00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: and Virginia was introduced to their guide, a tall, secular 102 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: Basque man introduced as one. When he saw that one 103 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: of the hikers was a woman. Once sneered, muttering a 104 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: curse of annoyance in Spanish to Gilbert. Virginia responded to 105 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: One's insult in Spanish, embarrassing him and quickly shutting him up. 106 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,679 Speaker 1: It wasn't the best first impression, but Virginia couldn't help herself. 107 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,400 Speaker 1: The route they would be taking over the Pyrenees was dangerous, 108 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: and one was unconvinced that a woman could handle the journey. 109 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: I think the pass were extremely picky about who they took, 110 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: precisely because it was so dangerous and they were risking 111 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: their own lives. So I collet you imagine any child 112 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 1: doing this on foot. To be honest, it's it's too tough. 113 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: That's Edwards Sterton again. Being a guide or passer was 114 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: incredibly dangerous. If they were found out they you know, 115 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: things could be very, very nasty. Indeed, and many of 116 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: them who worked or went off into camps in Germany, 117 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,120 Speaker 1: a lot of them died. A lot of them died 118 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: in really awful ways. The Germans had a system called 119 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: noc To, Niebel, Knight and Fog, which meant that people 120 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: just disciplined into the system of concentration camps and nobody 121 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,200 Speaker 1: knew where they were, which of course was intended to 122 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: frighten anybody considering going on to the wrong side and 123 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: joining an escapeline and helping people to get over over 124 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:34,320 Speaker 1: the Pyrenees. The next morning, November twelve, One woke up 125 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,199 Speaker 1: his crew by handing them knapsacks with food for the track. 126 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: He informed the four that they'd each be responsible for 127 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: rationing their own meals and they couldn't bring anything extra 128 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: as the added weight would slow them down. One gave 129 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,800 Speaker 1: them the impression he was a real mountain man, as 130 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: cold and hard as the rocky exteriors he navigated for 131 00:09:54,559 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: a living. Virginia quickly realized that she'd have to hide 132 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,720 Speaker 1: her false leg from one the entire trip, as there'd 133 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: be no way he'd bring her along if you found 134 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: out that, in addition to being a woman, she was 135 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:13,880 Speaker 1: also disabled. As the five march to the beginning of 136 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: the trail, one peppered them with facts about this part 137 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:20,080 Speaker 1: of the Pyrenees. The highest peak was estimated to be 138 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:23,720 Speaker 1: about eleven thousand feet, the range had cleaned over thirty 139 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: lives just that year, and there were rumors you could 140 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: hear the ghostly cries of the lost in the gusts 141 00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:34,680 Speaker 1: of wind that blew up from the valleys below. From 142 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: everything we know about her, Virginia Hall was not a 143 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: superstitious person. By all accounts. She was very rational, even skeptical. Still, 144 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: she couldn't help but listen for whispers in the wind 145 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: as they began their mountain ascent of the Pyrenees. Deep 146 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: deep snow, very very cold, absolutely routal conditions. I would 147 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: think Edwards Sterton again, you certainly freeze to death, no 148 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,720 Speaker 1: question about it. It's difficult to convey quite what it's 149 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:16,440 Speaker 1: like when it gets really really cold. Think of your worst, 150 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: your coldest cold day, and then multiply it by a 151 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,440 Speaker 1: hundred and remember, of course, that you are trying at 152 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 1: the same time to track very difficult to rain. Many 153 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: didn't make it, and a lot of those who did 154 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: make it tell stories of terrible choices. Either when your 155 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: when your friend is exhausted, do you leave him? Or 156 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:38,839 Speaker 1: do you do you try and bring it with you 157 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:49,079 Speaker 1: with you. It didn't take long before discomfort and fatigue 158 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: began to creep in. It took the group several hours 159 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: to hike uphill through the Orgay Valley in Virginia. Stump 160 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:00,079 Speaker 1: and began to feel rut raw. She could feel it 161 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: blistering against the course wood of her false leg, but 162 00:12:03,679 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: knew that stopping would reveal her disability too early. She 163 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: realized she couldn't ignore this reality for much longer. If 164 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,319 Speaker 1: she could just make it to the midpoint of the 165 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:18,559 Speaker 1: journey before she revealed anything to want, at least at 166 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:29,880 Speaker 1: that point, he wouldn't risk turning back. The people of 167 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: Marseille are established. According to Alicia Radio at the large 168 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:36,760 Speaker 1: number of troops the Germans are pouring into the city 169 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: each day so far has brought a larger block than 170 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:45,560 Speaker 1: the day before. Sixty contingents are expected. All available housing 171 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 1: accommodation has been requisited. Just days before Virginia began this 172 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:54,800 Speaker 1: mountain escape in November, the Nazi regime had in fact 173 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: extended its occupation and formal governance of France with a 174 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: further invasion of France's southern quote unquote reazone. So by 175 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: this time, some two years into the Nazi occupation, even 176 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,319 Speaker 1: the mountain ranges were patrolled by the Germans, especially at night. 177 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,760 Speaker 1: They've built a number of tiny three man ports at 178 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:18,679 Speaker 1: various checkpoints throughout the Pyrenees, which allowed them to capture 179 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: escape bees and fugitives and quickly process their papers for 180 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: deportation to concentration camps. Juan plan so the group was 181 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: mostly traveling in the evening and morning hours for the 182 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: long stretches with little natural cover. That way, hiding would 183 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: be easier if necessary. It was just one rule, never 184 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 1: fleet from the group. If I losed you for even 185 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: a minute, forever, it's not my job to find you. 186 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 1: It was one of the few things that Juan would 187 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: say the entire trip. He was stoic, no nonsense, but 188 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:04,839 Speaker 1: something about him made Virginia's highly attuned sensors suspicious. Luan 189 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: wasn't a member of the resistance. He was just one 190 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,240 Speaker 1: of Gilbart's contacts, and Virginia hadn't had time to check 191 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: his background. It was entirely possible that he could be 192 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 1: leading them right into the hands of the enemy. He 193 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,920 Speaker 1: had already been paid, and there was nothing stopping him 194 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,000 Speaker 1: from taking bribes from the Nazis. Once the idea popped 195 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: into her head, Virginia couldn't get it out. She imagined 196 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: finally reaching the highest peak of the Pyrenees, straining every 197 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: muscle in her body to make the ascent, only to 198 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 1: be handed over to the waiting, sickening smiles of Robert 199 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 1: Alesh and Klaus Barbie. She could practically hear Unlesha's voice 200 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: taunting her. I thought you were smarter than this, miss Oil, 201 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: and yet you are delieve it to me with your 202 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: fisthy tail between your legs. She noticed that much of 203 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: wh trail seemed to follow closely along a winding mountain stream. 204 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: Virginia decided that if he tried anything funny, she could 205 00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: take the knife she brought along to defend herself and 206 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: put some of her s O E combat training to 207 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: good use. Then maybe she could guide the men herself 208 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:21,280 Speaker 1: along the stream until they reached Spain. She was ready 209 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: to do it, but watching one on the trail and 210 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: noting again his enormous size and strength, she prayed one 211 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: was on the up and up. We'll find out after 212 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: the break. Hi, this is Stephen Talty, host of Good Assassins. 213 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 1: The folks that helped me bring you the show have 214 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: just launched another podcast that we think you'll like. It's 215 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: called War Queens. Every episode of War Queens tells the 216 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 1: story of a fearless, powerful female leader from history, from 217 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Tudor and Golden my Years, high stakes, wartime, gambles, Twain. 218 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 1: Goal is Queen Najinga's willingness to shed and occasionally drink blood, 219 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: to defend her kingdom, to endear Gandhi's war, to solve 220 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: a refugee crisis, and so many more. These are super 221 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: engrossing stories told by expert historians in a way that's 222 00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:24,800 Speaker 1: successible and interesting. It's great listening. Every episode of War 223 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:28,400 Speaker 1: Queens brings you the stories of extraordinary leaders, all of 224 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: them legends. War Queens is out now. Follow the show 225 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app, and wherever 226 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. The track was proving brutal. Juan 227 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: had led to four travelers out of the most dangerous 228 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 1: German hot zones, but now they faced an elemental disaster, 229 00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 1: deep heavy snow that devoured every step they took. This 230 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 1: was especially tough for Virginia, whose wooden leg was of 231 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:09,359 Speaker 1: almost no use. For stub was mangled, bloody, and splintered, 232 00:17:09,880 --> 00:17:12,160 Speaker 1: and she couldn't push it against the fallen snow floor 233 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: that came up as high as her knees. She instead 234 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: had to move forward on her good leg and quickly 235 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,320 Speaker 1: followed behind in a sidestepping motion that got one's attention. 236 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 1: He must have found it strange, but he didn't come now. 237 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 1: If you haven't already gotten a clear picture of Virginia 238 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: Hall as a tough, badass spine, the fact that she's 239 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:38,440 Speaker 1: managing this harsh, miserable mountain expedition with prosthetic leg should 240 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: bring it into focus. At a pass between the mountains, 241 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,159 Speaker 1: one noted they were at about eight thousand feet, so 242 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:50,360 Speaker 1: they'd have to be mindful of their breathing. He informed 243 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:54,240 Speaker 1: them a substantial break would be coming soon. Size of 244 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaker 1: relief came from the frozen exhausted room. Up ahead, one 245 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,480 Speaker 1: pointed out an old habit he used for his trips. Inside, 246 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,240 Speaker 1: he promised they'd find shelter and beds. The trio men 247 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,160 Speaker 1: were ecstatic. Virginia, on the other hand, knew this would 248 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: be the perfect place for an ambush. Still she didn't 249 00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:21,400 Speaker 1: really have another option. The cabin wasn't significantly warmer than 250 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,680 Speaker 1: what they trudged through for hours, but it did protect 251 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: them from the snow and wind. There are cuts for everyone. 252 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: Get some rest. We have to be on our feet. Soon. 253 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,840 Speaker 1: I'll make a fire. A fire will attract that engine, 254 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:44,120 Speaker 1: won't it. It'll be small. The wind will hide the smoke. Again, 255 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:48,119 Speaker 1: alarm bells sounded in Virginia's head. She had learned to 256 00:18:48,160 --> 00:18:51,239 Speaker 1: trust her gut and had served her well, and her 257 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:55,280 Speaker 1: guts were telling her something was wrong. But the screen 258 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: they had seemed to be following had fallen away. Her 259 00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: foot and hands were frozen. If one was a trader, 260 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:05,080 Speaker 1: there was really nothing she could do. She wouldn't win 261 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: a physical fight with him, and even if she did, 262 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,280 Speaker 1: she either freezed to death in the cabin or be 263 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:13,639 Speaker 1: lost in the mountains. Her best plan was to just 264 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:17,600 Speaker 1: play along with Wan and hope for the best, as 265 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:21,959 Speaker 1: Edward Sterton explains, and once you're at the top, stomping 266 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:24,160 Speaker 1: is not an option. You know. You can't just take 267 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:27,879 Speaker 1: a break. You have to keep going. After one finally 268 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: warmed the cabin with a fire, Virginia waited for the 269 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: men to fall asleep. Then she checked her bad leg. 270 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: Her stump was blistered and swollen, with blood oozing through 271 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: the sock. She cleaned it as best she could and 272 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:53,920 Speaker 1: carefully replace the dressing, all the while wincing an extreme pain. 273 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: After she dressed the wound, she attempted to get some sleep, 274 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: keeping her knife under her knapsack. If someone attacked, it 275 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:05,679 Speaker 1: was within arm's reach and she would go down fighting. 276 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: Virginia's later reports on Robert alesh imply he was always 277 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,119 Speaker 1: top of mind for her. She had made a thrilling 278 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: life for herself as a spy, and he had almost 279 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:22,840 Speaker 1: single handedly stolen it away, forcing her to flee France 280 00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: and her work with the Resistance. It isn't a stretch 281 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 1: to think that on this perilous journey he appeared to 282 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:34,440 Speaker 1: her in dreams and nightmares, still in hot pursuit. If 283 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: only you were smarter, you could have said so many No, no, 284 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 1: mae Hello. Virginia had fallen asleep and slept like a 285 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 1: rock for four hours. It took her a minute to 286 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,760 Speaker 1: register that Juan was addressing her with her code name, 287 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: It's time to go. She hadn't been attacked or turned 288 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,760 Speaker 1: over to the Gestapo. Robert Alesh was nowhere to be found. 289 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 1: In silence and embarrassed, Virginia prepared for the rest of 290 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: the trip. They packed up and returned to the trail. 291 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: After a few hours of hiking, the group arrived at 292 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,439 Speaker 1: a small village nestled in a valley. One claimed to 293 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,119 Speaker 1: know a family living in the town and said that 294 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: they had offered up their home to any Resistance fugitives. 295 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: It was the first time Virginia heard Juan actually referenced 296 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,919 Speaker 1: the Resistance, and this allowed some of her paranoia to 297 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:45,480 Speaker 1: dwindle away gusts. They arrived at the home of a 298 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: young couple named Philippe and and Marie. Their last names 299 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: have been lost to history belief and a Marie invited 300 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: the group in and treated them like family. Virginia had 301 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,159 Speaker 1: never been more elated to see civilization in her life. 302 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: But Leap also allowed Virginia to use his radio to 303 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: contact London so she could update them on her status 304 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 1: through the mountains. Using Morse code, Virginia informed the s 305 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: OE of her whereabouts there was a safe house midway 306 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: where the famous radio transmission took place. That's Judith Pearson, 307 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: an expert on Virginia Hall who wrote The Wolves at 308 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:26,479 Speaker 1: the Door, The True story of America's Greatest female Spine. 309 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,199 Speaker 1: She radioed to London saying that she was out of 310 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:36,680 Speaker 1: France and in Spain and halfway to where they would 311 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,120 Speaker 1: catch the train to Madrid. And they asked her if 312 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:43,879 Speaker 1: she was having any problems, and she replied, Cuthbert is 313 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: giving me trouble. And they responded, if Cuthbert is a bother, 314 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 1: have him eliminated. And of course no one knew that 315 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: Cuthbert was the name of her leg. Virginia felt like 316 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,840 Speaker 1: the worst of her journey was behind her. There was 317 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: only one more stretch to go. In Virginia's hellish hike 318 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: over the Pyrenees Mountains, the group said goodbye to their 319 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:12,360 Speaker 1: hosts and began their descent into lush, green Spanish valleys. Finally, 320 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,679 Speaker 1: they had crossed the French border and made it into Spain. 321 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:19,480 Speaker 1: Now they had to be wary of Spanish border guards. 322 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: At this point late in Spain's international allegiances were nebulous. Spain, 323 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: on the other side, of course, was neutral during the war, 324 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: neutral and leaning towards Germany at the beginning. Spain had 325 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 1: initially declared neutrality in the war, but offered volunteers to 326 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,560 Speaker 1: fight alongside the Germans against the Soviet Union, and sometimes 327 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: they made life difficult for people who came over the mountains. 328 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,920 Speaker 1: In some cases they even sent them back. However, Spain 329 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: was wary of fighting against the US, who was an 330 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 1: important trade partner, and they were terrified of an assault 331 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: from the British. Virginia wouldn't have to worry about German 332 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: troops on patrol in Spain, though she'd have to scrutinize 333 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:09,800 Speaker 1: citizens individual loyalties. Virginia's party managed to cross over the 334 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,200 Speaker 1: border without incident and arrived at their destination, the small 335 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:18,480 Speaker 1: town of San Juan de las avedisas One led them 336 00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: to a local safe house. When he informed them that 337 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: he'd be returning the next morning, his departure was anything 338 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: but sentimental. Virginia thanked him with some extra funds. He 339 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,320 Speaker 1: thanked her and returned, and then he was gone. Virginia 340 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,160 Speaker 1: couldn't help but be in awe of his survival skills 341 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:39,600 Speaker 1: as he disappeared back into the mountains that almost killed her. 342 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: Now they needed to catch a train out of town 343 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: to Barcelona after the break in a scene. The train's 344 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: departure to Barcelon lonac is at the next morning. S 345 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,119 Speaker 1: OE informants had given Virginia this time because they noted 346 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: that the Spanish police didn't patrol the station that early, 347 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:16,000 Speaker 1: they could easily get through without official passports. If true, 348 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: this would be a break for Virginia, who hadn't had 349 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,880 Speaker 1: time to forge fake documents before fleeing Leone. It wasn't 350 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: the type of careful prep Virginia usually adhered to, you stop, 351 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: but she'd been misinformed. The station did in fact have 352 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: four guards on duty, and they couldn't help but notice 353 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: a limping woman leading around three foreign looking men. They 354 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: were questioned, and when they couldn't provide the proper paperwork, 355 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: all four were arrested at gunpoint. Okay, let's go move it. 356 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 1: Virginia was separated from the group for questioning because she 357 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: didn't know the men personally, she didn't know their histories. 358 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,920 Speaker 1: The police drilled her for hours. She refused to answer 359 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,040 Speaker 1: the questions, saying only that she wished to speak to 360 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:11,720 Speaker 1: someone in the American embassy. Her requests were denied. Get 361 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:16,119 Speaker 1: in there. This is how Virginia Hall came to be 362 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 1: in a Spanish prison on November, just two trains away 363 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: from safety in London. She had come so far. She 364 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: had built a new resistance faction in France, she had 365 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,560 Speaker 1: stopped numerous German plots and saved numerous British and French lives. 366 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 1: She had out maneuvered her adversary and Robert lash one 367 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:42,800 Speaker 1: of the Gestapo's favorite spies, and now she was locked up. 368 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 1: She feared these local officers would contact others, discover she 369 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,159 Speaker 1: was wanted, and hand her over to the Germans to 370 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:54,439 Speaker 1: collect the price on her head. She had no moves 371 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,919 Speaker 1: to play, no hidden tools of escape or weapons to 372 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,520 Speaker 1: surprise her captors. It fell like the end of the road. 373 00:27:02,600 --> 00:27:05,160 Speaker 1: All she could do was pray they wouldn't, in fact, 374 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: discover what she really was. And although Virginia Hall was 375 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: a spy of great skill and talent, she had little 376 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 1: experience with prayer. That was Robert Alesh's expertise. Coming up 377 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: on the next episode of Good Assassins, I want to 378 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: speak to the American embassy. I'm an American. There was 379 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: no way she would survive even if they were able 380 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: to infiltrate her back into the country, and there were 381 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: too many things against her. Interrogation is not something that 382 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 1: I grow tired of. I mean, by this point, by especially, 383 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: you pretty much know that if you're an active asistance 384 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: and you get caught, you're going to suffer the greatest consequences. 385 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: If you have any questions for us about Good Assassins, 386 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: if you're curious about some aspect of Virginia Hall story, 387 00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: or have any comments on the podcast, we'd love to 388 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: hear from you. Please email us at good Assassins at 389 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: Diversion audio dot com. Make sure you spell assassins correctly. Again, 390 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 1: that's good Assassins at Diversion Audio dot com. We'll try 391 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:34,199 Speaker 1: to answer your questions on a future episode. Find us 392 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at diversion pods. Good Assassins 393 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,320 Speaker 1: is a production of Diversion Audio in association with I 394 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: Heart Podcasts. This season is hosted by Stephen Talti and 395 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 1: written by C. D. Carpenter, Produced and directed by Kevin 396 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: Thompson for Real Jet Packs Productions. Story editing by Jacob 397 00:28:55,320 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: Bronstein with editorial direction from Scott Waxman. Addition research and 398 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: reporting by Sophie McNulty. Theme music by Tyler Cash featuring 399 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: the voices of michaela Is Caerdo, Raphael cork Kill, Lenna Klingerman, 400 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:16,280 Speaker 1: John Pierkes, Andrew polk or Lock, Cassidy Monouel Felciano, Sean Gormley, 401 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:21,520 Speaker 1: Matthew Ament, and Steve Rautman. Sound design, mixing and mastering 402 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: by Paul Goodrich. Sound editing by Justin Kilpatrick. Executive producers 403 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: Jacob Bronstein, Mark Francis and Scott Waxman for Diversion Audio. 404 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: Diversion Audio