She Was A Princess Who Became A Spy, And Her Love Of The Color Blue Led To Her Downfall
In 1943, Noor Inayat Khan was captured by the Gestapo and executed in the Dachau concentration camp after her clothing gave her away. Sadly, her love of the color blue led to her downfall.
She was the first female radio operator to be sent to Nazi-occupied France, where she spied on the enemy and played a major role in the success of the Allied landing on D-day. That made her a prime target for the Gestapo. So, how did she become a spy in the first place?
Noor Inayat Khan was a princess and descendant of the famous 17th-century Indian ruler, Tipu Sultan. She was born on January 1, 1914, in a monastery in Moscow.
Her father was Hazrat Inayat, a Sufi preacher, and her mother was an American named Ora Ray Baker. They met in California and were married in London.
In 1914, Moscow was in political turmoil. As World War I raged across Europe, the family moved to England, where three more children were born.
In 1927, Noor’s father returned to India. A few months later, they received the news that he had passed away. Noor’s mother was devastated by her husband’s death and fell into a depression.
At the age of 13, Noor was responsible for taking care of the household and her siblings. Eventually, she was able to draw her mother out of isolation.
In 1939, England and France announced war against Germany. The next year, she decided to volunteer in the war effort. She was trained as a radio operator in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.
Due to her skills in the French language and as a wireless operator, she was recruited as a secret agent to aid the resistance movements in occupied France.
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She learned to live with a false identity, handle guns, break locks, find sources, kill silently in the dark, and send letters in code.
Her code name was Madeleine. Finally, she was ready to embark on this most dangerous spy mission. She joined the Prosper circuit in Paris, but within a week, disaster struck.
All the top operatives were captured by the Gestapo. Noor went into hiding and stealthily gathered information about what was going on.
Eventually, she was contacted by London and instructed to return because the situation was getting too risky. However, she refused and insisted on staying. By mid-August, she was the only British agent left in Paris.
But then, she was betrayed by someone in the network. Her location was sold to the Nazis, who arrested her. She made several daring escape attempts, but ultimately failed. She stayed in a German prison for 10 months. She was kept chained and in isolation.
She was also beaten and tortured regularly but would not give up any information. On the night of September 11, Noor was sent to a concentration camp.
She spent all night being kicked and beaten until she was shot in the back of the head by Wilhelm Ruppert, an SS executioner.
Noor made many sacrifices and endured hardships to fight for what she believed in. She was not obligated to take up a position in the war, but she chose to anyway. Her courage and heroic deeds are an inspiration to us all.
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