Author: Alan Malcher

Military historian and defence commentator

Odette Churchill GC (aka Hallows, Sansom). A rare television interview (c1980) discussing her service with the Special Operations Executive.

Introduction

Odette Churchill was one of the first women agents serving with the Special Operations Executive to arrive in occupied France to raise and support resistance.

During this interview , Odette talks about being tortured by the Gestapo at their Paris headquarters, but left out the following.

After refusing to provide information about her wireless operator (Adolphe Rabinovitch), who was in hiding and refusing to reveal the identities of members of the resistance, she was burnt on her back with a red-hot poker. Each time she fainted from the pain, she was revived with buckets of cold water being thrown over her to allow the torture to continue.

After burning failed to break her, all her toenails were pulled out, and she still refused to cooperate. Odette Churchill not only survived Ravensbruck concentration camp, when American troops began advancing, the camp commandant, SS-Sturbnamnfuhrer Frits Suhren, surrendered to Odette, and she handed him to American soldiers. Suhren gave Odette his personal sidearm, a Walther PPK pistol which is now owned by the Imperial War Museum in London. 

The Walther PPK belonging to Fritz Suhren now part of the Imperial War Museum collection.

Interview c1980