Marte Cohn

Marthe Cohn, (born in April 13, 1920 in Metz), is an author[1] and Holocaust survivor. In 2002, she co-authored with Wendy Holden a book about her experiences as part of the Intelligence Service of the French 1st Army, commanded by Marshal of France Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. Entitled, "Behind Enemy Lines: the True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany", the book details how Cohn, a nurse fluent in German, travelled into German territory and collected intelligence information for the French Army.

Cohn was decorated with the Croix de Guerre in 1945 with two citations (Decisions Number 134 signed by Le Lieutenant-Colonel Bouvet on August 9, 1945 & Number 1322 signed by Marechal Juin on November 10, 1945) for her work as a member of the First French Army Intelligence Service. After 13 unsuccessful attempts to cross the front in Alsace, she crossed the border into Germany near Schaffhausen in Switzerland. From Germany, she was able to report to her service two major pieces of information: that northwest of Freiburg, the Siegfried Line had been evacuated and where the remnant of the German Army laid in ambush in the Black Forest.

"Behind Enemy Lines" was published by Harmony Books. The book was translated in French by Helene Prouteau and published by Plon, the day she was officially awarded the title of Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, Decree Number 2702, MR 2004, by Mr. Andre Bord, former Minister of the Veterans in the Government of President Georges Pompidou. In 1999, the French government had awarded her the Médaille militaire, Decree Number 3465 MR 1999. In 2006, she was again honored by the Government of France with the Medaille of the Reconnaissance de la Nation. Also in 2006, her book was published in paperback by Three Rivers Press, while in France, "Derriere les Lignes Ennemies Une Espionne Juive dans l'Allemagne Nazie" was published by Selection du Reader's Digest. The Editions Tallandier, a prestigious publishing house in Paris published Marthe Cohn and Wendy Holden's book under the same title in paperback format.

References

  1. ↑ Garrison, Jessica (July 14, 2000). "Past Catches Up to Palos Verdes Woman--Carrying a Medal; Heroism: In World War II, Marthe Cohn crawled across enemy lines as a spy. Finally she is getting her due.". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Retrieved 29 April 2011.

Further reading