Johannes Eppler (1914–1999), also known as Hans Eppler, John Eppler, and Hussein Gaafer, was a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Abwehr
The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
spy, a German who had been raised in Egypt by his Egyptian stepfather. One of
Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of N ...
's spies during the
North African campaign
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
in World War II,
Operation Salaam led by
László Almásy
László Adolf Ede György Mária Almásy de Zsadány et Törökszentmiklós (; ; 22 August/3 November 1895 – 22 March 1951) was a Hungarian Aristocracy (class), aristocrat, motorist, desert exploration, desert explorer, aviator, Scouting, ...
spirited Eppler and Hans-Gerd Sandstede into Cairo although they were both arrested soon after arrival in July 1942. Eppler is the subject of
MI5
MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
file KV 2/1467.
After World War II, Eppler told dramatic stories about his spy exploits during the war, but historians have shown that his actual work was ineffective and amateurish.
Eppler and a colleague, disguised as British officers, infiltrated Cairo and made contact with the
Free Officers movement (Egypt), who were attempting to defect to the Axis. Their plans ultimately fell through and Eppler and future Egyptian president
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
were imprisoned together. According to Sadat, Eppler was visited in his cell by Winston Churchill in 1942 and offered leniency in exchange for a full confession.
Fictional portrayals
Eppler is the subject of a book by
Leonard Mosley, ''The Cat and the Mice'', and is again referenced in Mosley's ''The Druid''. Eppler and his radio operator Sandstede are played by
Adrian Hoven
Adrian Hoven (18 May 1922 – 28 April 1981) was an Austrian actor, producer and film director. He appeared in 100 films between 1947 and 1981. He was born in Wöllersdorf, Austria as ''Wilhelm Arpad Hofkirchner'' and died in Tegernsee, We ...
and
Neil McCallum in the British film of ''The Cat and the Mice'', retitled ''
Foxhole in Cairo'' (1960) (although Sandstede is renamed Sandy).
Another depiction of Eppler's exploits is in the German film ''
Rommel Calls Cairo'' (1959) based upon Eppler's book of the same name. In this film, Eppler is again portrayed by
Adrian Hoven
Adrian Hoven (18 May 1922 – 28 April 1981) was an Austrian actor, producer and film director. He appeared in 100 films between 1947 and 1981. He was born in Wöllersdorf, Austria as ''Wilhelm Arpad Hofkirchner'' and died in Tegernsee, We ...
.
Eppler portrayed Rommel in the French film ''
Le Mur de l'Atlantique'' (1970).
The film and novel ''
The English Patient
''The English Patient'' is a 1992 novel by Michael Ondaatje. The book follows four dissimilar people brought together at an Italian villa during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of the Second World War. The four main charact ...
'' also reference Operation Salaam and Eppler's activities.
Eppler's history is the same as that of the character Alexander (Achmed) Wolff, the Cairo spy in Ken Follett's "The Key to Rebecca" (1980).
See also
*''
The Key to Rebecca
''The Key to Rebecca'' is a novel by the British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980 by Pan Books (), it was a best-seller that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The code mentioned in the title is an intended throwback f ...
'' –
Ken Follett
Kenneth Martin Follett (born 5 June 1949) is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 198 million copies of his works. His books have been sold in over 80 countries.
Follett's commercial breakthrough came with ...
's novel, partly based on Eppler's activities.
Notes
References
*''The Cat and the Mice'' - Leonard Mosley, London 1960
*''Rommel ruft Kairo'' - Hans Eppler, 1959
- UK National Archives references"Deceiving Hitler"
1914 births
1999 deaths
Abwehr personnel of World War II
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom
World War II spies for Germany
{{Germany-mil-bio-stub