Rudy de Mérode

Rudy de Mérode , from its true name Frederic Martin , was born in 1905 with Silly-on-Nied (the Moselle) and died, probably in Spain, at an unknown date to date. Originating in Luxembourg, the members of its family immigrated in France and were naturalized in the Twenties.

It will make studies of engineer with Strasbourg then in Germany.

In 1928, it is recruited by the Abwehr.
In 1934 takes part in work of the Ligne Maginot where having access to plans, it will communicate them to the German services. He is uncovered in 1935 and is condemned one year later to 10 years of detention for espionage which he will purge with the Prison of Clairvaux and at 20 years of prohibition of stay.

During the rout of June 1940 of the hundreds of thousands of people flee on the roads of France. The June 14th with Bar-sur-Aube a procession of prisoners is evacuated power station of Claivaux. Among them, condemned spies - of which Rudy de Mérode - which will benefit from anarchy to escape and require the assistance of the Germans.

Return to Paris

July 1940, it is the return to Paris and the installation with the Hôtel Lutetia with the seat of the German military information. It was affected at an office of purchase being used as cover with the espionage of Abwehr which it joined another agent of SD, Dutch, Gédéon van Houten says the baron d' Humières in an office of purchase to the 18 Rue Pétrarque in Paris.

At the beginning, it made information with team made up of thirty people under its orders for which it gave courses of espionnage.
The majority of them were taken again of justice, it used to locate them the goods or of the buildings. Its team requisitioned many apartments and private mansions while being presented in the form of a French police officer or generally as police allemand.
Sa speciality was the transport of funds, of the accumulated sums coming from the various traffics, but also from the search for gold in all its forms, jewels parts or ingots.

In 1941, they settled to the 70 Boulevard Maurice Barrès with Neuilly-sur-Seine, but van Houten and of Mérode separated for dissension in February 1942.

With the assistance of the DSK (Devisen Schütz Kommando; Detachment for the setting in safety of the currencies) they opened the trunks of the banks, the money and gold was repurchased at cheap price with the owners, in the event of refusal, the fate was regulated by the deportation. If the owner were Juif, all was confiscated and Gestapo dealt with the person, and that Ci finished in prison and often the deportation. The team of " the gestapo of Neuilly " confiscated more than four tons of Or.

Its network had accumulated enormous money sums and makes stop and off-set more than 500 people.

The escape towards Spain

At the beginning 1944, Abwehr charges it with creating an office in Spain by safety. It settles initially with Saint-Jean-with-Luz. In the middle of 1945, it is with Saint-Sebastien then it gained Madrid where it was made call " Prince de Mérode".

In 1953, it always lived in Spain but with an about sixty kilometers in the north of Madrid, in a briquettery. It was never worried by justice.

References

See also: Amorce=A to also see:, Friedrich Shepherd, Gédéon van Houten, Henri Lafont, Christian Masuy,

Magazine Historia Except Series n°26 1972 by Jacques Delarue
countesses of Gestapo ED. Grasset, 2007 by Cyril Eder,

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