History
In the 1930s, Salon Kitty was a high-class brothel at 11 Giesebrechtstrasse in Charlottenburg, a wealthy district of Berlin. Its usual clientele included German dignitaries and foreign diplomats. Its owner and madame was Kitty Schmidt.
The idea to use Salon Kitty for espionage purposes came from Reinhard Heydrich, but SD chief Walter Schellenberg did most of the work. Instead of infiltrating the brothel, Schellenberg decided to take it over.
Kitty Schmidt had been sending money to British banks with fleeing refugees ever since the Nazis took power in Germany. When she eventually decided to leave the country on June 28, 1939, SD agents arrested her at the Dutch border and took her to Gestapo HQ. There Schellenberg made her an offer: either cooperate with the Nazis or be sent to a concentration camp.
The SD closed the brothel for repairs and refurbished it with numerous concealed microphones; wires from the microphones led to a cellar and from there to a room equipped with five monitoring desks and recording turntables. The idea was to entertain prominent guests with wine and women, so they would disclose secrets or talk about their real opinions.
Berlin's vice squad (the Sittenpolizei) arrested dozens of Berlin prostitutes and selected 20 as potential agents to work at Salon Kitty. They were put through seven weeks of rigorous indoctrination and training. Among other things, they were trained to recognize military uniforms, and to glean secrets from innocuous conversation. They were not told about the microphones but had to make a report after every encounter.
In March 1940, Schmidt was told to continue as if nothing had happened, except that now she had a special book of twenty additional girls she should show only to certain clients. If a customer used the phrase "I come from Rothenburg", she was instructed to show him the book, allow him make his decision and call for the girl he had selected. The girl would spend the night with the guest and depart later.
Read more about this topic: Salon Kitty
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Humankind has understood history as a series of battles because, to this day, it regards conflict as the central facet of life.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
“To a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostles of the martial virtues, tend not to die fighting when the time comes. History is full of ignominious getaways by the great and famous.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)