During the Second World War, Szabo was recruited by
the Special Operations Executive (SOE) to work as an
agent in German-occupied Europe. She spoke fluent
French and was sent to France in 1944, having been
recruited as an agent in 1942.
Szabo joined the SOE’s ‘F’ Section after the death of
her husband Etienne, who had been fighting as part
of the French Foreign Legion in North Africa. On her
first mission to France in April 1944, she acted as
courier to Philippe Liewer, whose resistance network
in the Rouen area of France had been uncovered by
the Gestapo. Violette’s job was to try to and
re-establish contact with members of the network
and gather vital intelligence.
Her second mission began on 07th June 1944, the day
after D-Day. She, Liewer and another agent
parachuted into south-west France, near Limoges, to
set up a new network with local resistance groups.
Three days later Szabo was on a courier trip with a
resistance leader known as ‘Anastasie’ when they
encountered German forces. Their car was stopped
at a road block and a gun battle took place. \/iolette
was captured but helped ensure that Anastasie was
able to escape. After capture, Szabo was brutally
interrogated in Fresnes prison in Paris before being
deported by train to Germany. During the journey the
train was attacked by British aircraft, and Violette and
another female prisoner took the opportunity - at
great personal risk - to take water to the male
prisoners.
Szabo was executed at Ravensbruck concentration
camp in early 1945.
Szabo’s story and those of other SOE agents feature
in our exhibition ‘Spies, Lies and Deception’, currently
on at IWM London. See the link in our bio for more.
The first photo shows Szabo and the second shows
her daughter, Tania, receiving her mother's
posthumous George Cross, 28th January 1947.
