Noor Inayat Khan was born a princess but died living the life of a spy while fighting the Nazis.
She was born in Moscow in 1914 to an American mother and an aristocratic Indian father, which made her a princess. Khan and her family soon moved to London and then Paris, where she went to school. After completing her education, she began writing children’s stories and may have gone on to lead the quiet life of a writer, but this was not her path.
When World War II broke out in Europe, Khan’s life took an unexpected turn. France fell to German forces in 1940. Khan fled to London with her family. Her life was forever changed. She was a gentle woman. She was raised as a pacifist by her father, a famous Sufi teacher. She did not believe in war but decided that she had to take a stand against the Nazis. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force later that year. And in 1942, she was recruited to become a spy and radio operator.
Though some of her spy trainers were unsure whether Khan was up to the job, she was given a dangerous mission. She flew and parachuted into France to join the resistance network in Paris. Her code name was “Madeleine.” Her mission was so dangerous that her spy trainers didn’t expect her to live more than six weeks. One by one, the other spies on her team were captured. Her bosses told her to return to England, but Khan refused. She continued her mission of sending messages to London while doing her best to avoid the German secret police.
Khan was eventually betrayed by a French fellow spy and arrested. Even worse, the secret police found copies of her secret radio signals and were able to trick Allied forces into sending new spies into their hands.
Khan didn’t sit back and wait for the war to end. She escaped prison but was caught. She was punished with solitary confinement and tortured for ten months. To her credit, she did not reveal any information to her captors the entire time she was there.
Eventually, Khan and three other agents were sent to Dachau concentration camp. She was killed there on September 13, 1944, less than a year before the end of the war. Her last word before being shot was ‘liberty.’
Read More:
Noor Inayat Khan
One Woman, Many Surprises: Pacifist Muslim, British Spy, WWII Hero
Noor Inayat Khan was born a princess. She died a spy while fighting the Nazis.
She was born in Moscow in 1914. Her mother was American. Her father was an Indian aristocrat. This made her a princess. Khan and her family moved to London and then Paris. After finishing school, she began writing children’s stories. She might have gone on to live the quiet life of a writer, but this was not her path.
When World War II broke out in Europe, Khan’s life took an unexpected turn. France fell to German forces in 1940. Khan ran away to London with her family. Her life was forever changed. She was a gentle woman. She did not believe in war but decided that she had to take a stand against the Nazis. She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force later that year. In 1942, she became a spy.
Her bosses didn’t know whether Khan was up to it, but she was given a dangerous job. She flew into France to join the resistance in Paris. Her code name was “Madeleine.” Her job was so dangerous that her bosses didn’t expect her to live. One by one, the other spies on her team were captured. Her bosses told her to return to England, but Khan refused. She continued sending messages to London while avoiding the German secret police.
Khan was betrayed by a French fellow spy and arrested. The secret police found copies of her secret radio signals. They also were able to trick the British into sending new spies into their hands.
Khan didn’t sit back and wait for the war to end. She escaped prison but was caught. She was tortured for ten months. To her credit, she did not give any information to her captors.
Khan and three other agents were sent to Dachau. She was killed there on September 13, 1944, less than a year before the end of the war. Her last word before being shot was ‘liberty.’
Read More:
Noor Inayat Khan
One Woman, Many Surprises: Pacifist Muslim, British Spy, WWII Hero
Thank you for supporting us!