Canadian Secret Agents in the Second World War

Adam S. Eterovich

These are the stories of gallant people whose names deserve to be engraved forever on Canada's roll of honour. Some of them did not survive - were captured, tortured by the Gestapo and then executed. These are stories, simply told, of real heroes, hitherto unsung but no less inspiring despite the passage of time. Many Canadians fought behind the enemy lines in the Second World War as agents for the British organizations that, stealthily, slowly at first but with growing effectiveness, operated escape routes and sabotage networks in occupied countries. Of these whose names are known, details of their activities are often sketchy, but, as this account points out, all were people of rare courage and dedication. They all knew, without exception, that, if captured, they could not look for the smallest protection from the Geneva convention. And they knew, also, that the risks of capture were high.

As one country after another fell to the Nazi occupation, a darkness and silence descended, followed shortly by the curfew, the pre-dawn round-up, and mass deportations - all in the name of the new order.

But the leaders of the new order did not reckon with the indomitable courage of the individual. The urge towards freedom is irrepressible. Multiplied many times, it generates a force which cannot be measured in terms of tanks or machine guns firing hundreds of rounds a minute. Many times in the past it has slowed the onslaught of a tyrant and help bring about his downfall. I am glad that this tribute to a rare brand of courage and heroism is being published by the Canadian Department of Veterans Affairs. It is testimony to the belief that wars will ultimately cease - not because war becomes too terrible to endure, but because no matter how terrible war becomes, the free spirit of men and women, as exemplified in these brief but moving records, will always survive and rise again like gleaming sparks from the ashes.

William Stephenson is a Canadian who was the chief of British Security Coordination - a world-wide intelligence operation set up by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Second World War. With its headquarters in New York City, its aim was to challenge the spread of Nazism throughout the free world by engaging in underground warfare.

Stephenson, whose code name was "Intrepid", acted as an intermediary between Churchill and United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the crucial final years of the war. After a long period of continued secrecy, historians have now acknowledged that this operation provided an essential back-up to military and political measures in the fighting of the Second World War.

We all know that many Canadians fought with the Allied forces to defend democracy during the Second World War. Many of these people were killed or wounded and all made tremendous sacrifices serving their country.

Not so well known are the contributions of a small, but unique, group of Canadians who served the cause of freedom in a different way - those who volunteered to be "secret agents". These brave men and women worked behind enemy lines in German-occupied Europe and Japanese-occupied Asia supporting the efforts of the underground Resistance movements. These Resistance movements were made up of local people fighting against Fascist powers trying to take over their countries.

Although Canadians from all backgrounds volunteered to go behind enemy lines, secret agents came primarily from three groups: French Canadians, immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe, and Chinese-Canadians. Between the years 1939 and 1945, they served in France, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Italy, Burma, Malaya and Sarawak. Unlike their counterparts in the military forces, they received no public recognition for their extremely dangerous work. They had no rousing send-offs. For the name of their game was secrecy - and the outcome depended on individual acts of courage.

Canadians who became secret agents during the Second World War served with two British secret organizations: The Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) and M.I.9 (Military Intelligence).

S.O.E. was the larger of the two organizations, with almost 14,000 members at its peak of operation in 1944. In the words of Winston Churchill, its task was "to set Europe" - and later Asia - "ablaze". It was established in 1940 to fight the Fascist invaders of Europe and Asia from within the occupied countries. Specially-trained S.O.E. agents were smuggled into these countries where they linked up with members of local Resistance movements, trained them, and organized them into a fighting force to harass and weaken the enemy before the Allied advance.

M.I.9 was a smaller organization, concerned with Allied prisoners-of-war and Allied airmen shot down over enemy territory. Its function was to help them escape, by supplying agents and their helpers with money, radio communication and supplies.

Once accepted by either of these organizations, agents underwent a course of rigorous training in preparation for the dangerous tasks ahead.

The stories which follow are only a handful taken from the many that are known. The common thread which runs through them all is courage - an ingredient these people demonstrated in large measure. Some of them also gave their lives. It is hoped that by publishing several of their stories here, this small group of extremely courageous Canadians will finally get some of the recognition they so deserve.

Croatian Canadian Agents

When Yugoslavia was invaded by the Germans in April 1941, many Canadians who had been born in Yugoslavia, or whose parents had been born there, volunteered to go in as secret agents to assist in the country's liberation from the Nazis. To find people of Yugoslav background who spoke Serbian or Croatian, S.O.E. actively recruited among Yugoslav emigrants in Canada.

Most of the Yugoslav-Canadians recruited for intelligence work were hard-working tradesmen and labourers in their thirties and forties. They were predominantly members of left-wing unions or organizations. An estimated 20 Yugoslav-Canadians went into Yugoslavia with S.O.E. and two with M.I.9.

In Yugoslavia there were two rival guerrilla parties within the Resistance movement: a right-wing group called the Chetniks led by Draza Mihailovic and a communist Partisan group led by Tito. The Allies eventually supported Tito's Partisan group which, despite its communist nature, proved to be more reliable and determined in their resistance to the Germans.

The first Yugoslav-Canadians to parachute into western Croatia in Yugoslavia were Paul Pavlic, who had been a shipyard worker in Vancouver, Peter Erdeljac, a stone mason and Alexandre Simic. Their mission was to establish a communications link between Tito and British headquarters in Cairo. Pavlic and Erdeljac knew the area well from their childhood and, by visiting the local Partisan headquarters, quickly set up the required radio link between Tito and the Allies.

The determination of this group of agents is well illustrated by the service of another Yugoslav-Canadian, Nikola Kombol, who returned three times to Yugoslavia in the service of S.O.E. He was 43 years old and working as a lumberjack in Vancouver when he volunteered for service with S.O.E. He parachuted into Yugoslavia on July 3, 1943 and worked as an interpreter for several British liaison missions. The extremely harsh conditions of living with the Partisans undermined Kombol's health so badly that he had to be evacuated to a military hospital in Cairo. Despite this, he returned twice with S.O.E. and finally, chose to remain in his homeland after the war ended.

Conclusion

Canadians joined with men and women from many countries to fight for democracy. These people were rugged individualists, idealistic and willing to put their lives on the line to defend their ideals. Theirs was a lonely, dangerous and demanding job.

While they often worked alone, the success of their missions depended on the establishment of a team of reliable people who could work smoothly together. Unlike those who fought in the organized military forces, secret agents had to personally enlist the cooperation of like-minded individuals to create this team. Officially, they did not have a high military rank and yet they were definitely leaders.

There is no question that these Canadians made a difference to the people in occupied countries and to the final outcome of the Second World War. Through their uncommonly courageous acts, they saved many lives.

This is dedicated to the following brave men and women who faced countless risks in enemy-occupied territory to help others win freedom:

Peter Lizza, Rudolph Bozanich, Steve Markos, Steve Mate, Marko Pavicich, George Diclic, Mica Pavicich, Paul Pavlic, Milan Druzic, Stevan Serdar, Joe Sharic, Alexandre Simic, André Durovecz, Peter Erdeljac, Janez Smrke, Ivan Starcevic, Nikola Kombol, A.D. Yaritch,