The Greatest Double Agent Ever: How a Spanish Chicken Farmer Became the Most Important Double Agent in WWII

"Juan Pujol García was one of the rare individuals whose participation in World War II made him a Member of the Order of the British Empire and earned him the Iron Cross. He gained that unlikely distinction in perhaps the riskiest of all roles in espionage, that of a double agent. Despite ultimately working for the Allied cause, he created an elaborate fictional persona - complete with an invented spy network operating across Great Britain - who professed loyalty to the Nazi cause."

"Not only did Pujol get this character plugged into the real German intelligence system, he also got him on its payroll, receiving what came to the equivalent of more than $6 million in today's U.S. dollars for supplying information - information that ultimately contributed to the Axis' loss of the war."

"Radicalized, if that be the word, by the experience of having been drafted into the Spanish Civil War, he vowed to dedicate his life to 'the good of humanity.' Turned away by the British embassy, to which he'd offered his services because Britain opposed Nazi Germany, he went freelance, re-inventing himself as a Third Reich-loyal Spanish military man seeking an assignment in the U.K."

Juan Pujol García achieved the rare distinction of earning both the Order of the British Empire and the Iron Cross during World War II through his work as a double agent. After being rejected by the British embassy when he offered his services, he independently created an elaborate fictional identity as a Nazi-loyal Spanish military officer with an invented spy network operating across Great Britain. He successfully infiltrated German intelligence, placed his fictional persona on their payroll, and received payments equivalent to over $6 million in modern currency for supplying false information. This fabricated intelligence ultimately contributed to the Axis defeat. Unlike many remembered spies, Pujol began his espionage career independently, motivated by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War and a commitment to humanity's welfare.

Read at Open Culture