Noor Inayat Khan was in the midst of a desperate escape. She had been imprisoned for her activities as an Allied spy, but with the help of a screwdriver and two other prisoners, she was back under the Parisian stars. As she began to run, her thoughts leapt to the whirlwind of events that had brought her here…
Nur Inajat Kan je bila usred beznadežnog bekstva. Uhapšena je zbog aktivnosti u koje je bila uključena kao saveznički špijun, ali uz pomoć šrafcigera i druga dva zarobljenika, ponovo se našla pod zvezdama Pariza. Kako je krenula da trči, u mislima je odletela u vrtlog događaja koji su je tu doveli...
Born in Moscow in 1914 to an Indian Muslim father and an American mother, Noor was raised in a profoundly peaceful home. Her parents were Sufi pacifists, who put their faith in the power of music and compassion. They moved to Paris, where Noor studied child psychology and published children’s books. But all this changed with the advent of the Second World War. In May 1940, with the German army ready to occupy Paris, Noor and her brother were faced with a difficult choice. As pacifists, they believed that all disputes should be settled non-violently. But witnessing the devastation across Europe, they decided that standing on the sidelines was not an option.
Rođena u Moskvi 1914. godine od oca indijskog muslimana i majke Amerikanke, Nur je odgajana u vrlo mirnom domu. Njeni roditelji su bili sufijski pacifisti koji su verovali u moć muzike i saosećanja. Preselili su se u Pariz, gde je Nur studirala dečju psihologiju i objavljivala knjige za decu. Ali sve se to promenilo dolaskom Drugog svetskog rata. Maja 1940. godine, kada je nemačka vojska bila nadomak okupacije Pariza, Nur i njen brat su se suočili sa teškim izborom. Kao pacifisti, verovali su da sve sporove treba rešavati nenasilno. Ali kao svedoci razaranja širom Evrope, odlučili su da stajanje po strani nije opcija.
Traveling to England, Noor volunteered for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a radio operator. She immersed herself in wireless operations and Morse code– unaware that she was being monitored by a secret organization. The British Special Operations Executive was established to sabotage the Germans in Nazi-occupied countries. As a trained radio operator who knew Paris well and spoke fluent French, Noor was an attractive recruit. In her interview, she was warned that wireless operation was some of the most dangerous work in the intelligence field. Operators had to lug a conspicuous transmitter through enemy territory, and the clandestine agency couldn’t protect her if she was caught. Noor accepted her assignment immediately.
Kada je otišla u Englesku, Nur je volontirala u Ženskom pomoćnom vazduhoplovstvu i obučila se za radio-operatera. Udubila se u bežične operacije i Morzeovu azbuku, ne znajući da je nadzire tajna organizacija. Britanska Uprava za specijalne operacije osnovana je radi sabotaže Nemaca u zemljama koje su okupirali nacisti. Kao obučena radio-operaterka koja je dobro poznavala Pariz i tečno govorila francuski, Nur je bila privlačan kandidat. Tokom intervjua su je upozorili da bežične operacije spadaju u najopasnije poslove u okviru obaveštajne službe. Operateri su morali da provuku uočljiv predajnik kroz neprijateljsku teritoriju, a tajna agencija je nije mogla zaštititi u slučaju da je uhvate. Nur je odmah prihvatila zadatak.
While she was determined to take her pacifist principles as far as possible, Noor had to learn the art of espionage. She learned how to contact intelligence networks, pick a lock, resist interrogation and fire a gun. In June 1943 she landed in Angers, south of Paris, and made her way to the city armed with a false passport, a pistol and a few French francs. But her network was compromised. Within a week of her deployment, all her fellow agents were arrested, and Noor was called home.
Mada je bila odlučna da će se pridržavati principa pacifizma koliko god je moguće, Nur je morala da izuči veštinu špijunaže. Naučila je kako da kontaktira sa obaveštajnim mrežama, da obije bravu, odupire se ispitivanjima i puca iz pištolja. U junu 1943. godine je sletela u Anže, južno od Pariza, i stigla je do grada opremljena lažnim pasošem, pištoljem i nekoliko francuskih franaka. Ali njena mreža je bila ugrožena. Nedelju dana otkako je otpremljena, sve njene kolege agenti su uhapšeni, a Nur su pozvali da se vrati kući.
She convinced her supervisors to let her stay– which meant doing the work of six radio operators singlehandedly. Over the following months, she tracked and transported supplies to the French resistance, sent reports of Nazi activity back to London and arranged safe passage for allied soldiers. This work was essential to building the French resistance and Allied intelligence networks– and, ultimately, ending the war.
Ubedila je svoje nadređene da joj dopuste da ostane, što je značilo da će sama obavljati posao šest radio-operatera. Tokom narednih meseci, pratila je i prevozila zalihe za francuski pokret otpora, slala u London izveštaje o nacističkim aktivnostima i uređivala bezbedan prolaz za savezničke vojnike. Njen rad je bio ključan za izgradnju francuskog pokreta otpora i savezničke obaveštajne mreže, a, naposletku, i za okončanje rata.
Protected only by her quick thinking and charisma, she frequently talked her way out of questioning. When the Gestapo searched her on the train, she gave them a casual tour of her “film projector.” When an officer spotted her hanging her aerial, she chatted about her passion for listening to music on the radio– and charmed him into helping her set up the cable. In her entire four month tenure, her sharp wits and stealth never failed her. But her charm had inspired lethal jealousy. In October 1943, the sister of a colleague, in love with an agent that loved Noor, sold her address to the Gestapo.
Zaštićena samo svojim brzim razmišljanjem i harizmom, često bi se pričom izvukla od ispitivanja. Kada ju je Gestapo pretresao u vozu, iznela im je opušten prikaz svog „filmskog projektora“. Kada je vojnik primetio da kači antenu, čavrljala je o svojoj strasti prema slušanju muzike na radiju i šarmirala ga da joj pomogne da postavi kabl. Čitava četiri meseca na zadatku, njena oštroumnost i prikrivenost nisu je nikada izneverili. Ali njen šarm je pobudio kobnu ljubomoru. Oktobra 1943. godine je sestra jednog kolege, zaljubljena u agenta koji je voleo Nur, prodala njenu adresu Gestapou.
Noor refused to give away any information, focusing instead on her escape. Secreting a screwdriver away from the guards, they were able to loosen a skylight and slip out into the night. But just as the prisoners began to run for their lives, an air raid siren alerted her captors. Noor was caught once again and sent to a German prison. Then, on to Dachau concentration camp.
Nur je odbila da oda bilo kakvu informaciju i usredsredila se na bekstvo. Sakrila je šrafciger od stražara i tako su uspeli da olabave krovni prozor i iskradu se u noć. Ali čim su zatvorenici počeli da beže što brže mogu, sirena za vazdušni napad upozorila je one koji su je zarobili. Nur je ponovo uhvaćena i poslata u nemački zatvor. Zatim je prebačena u koncentracioni logor Dahau.
Despite being tortured, deprived and isolated, Noor gave nothing away. In the moments before her execution she is thought to have shouted “Liberté!” Since her heroic sacrifice, Noor has been honoured as a hero who waged secret battles behind enemy lines– paving the way for freedom without ever taking a life.
I pored toga što je bila mučena, uskraćivana za mnoge stvari i izolovana, Nur ništa nije odala. Neposredno pre nego što je pogubljena, smatra se da je povikala: „Sloboda!“ Nakon što je podnela herojsku žrtvu, Nur je nagrađena kao heroj koji je vodio tajne bitke iza neprijateljskih linija i utabao put ka slobodi, a da pri tome nije oduzeo nijedan život.