Harold Cole
Harold Cole | |
|---|---|
A mugshot of Cole by the British police on 13 February 1939 | |
| Born | 24 January 1906 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 8 January 1946 (aged 39) Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Occupations | Criminal, British soldier, German agent |
| Espionage activity | |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service branch | Abwehr, Sicherheitsdienst |
| Service years | 1941–1945 |
| Codename | Paul Cole |
Harold Cole (24 January 1906 – 8 January 1946), also known as Harry Cole and Paul Cole (and many other aliases) was a British petty criminal, confidence man, British Army soldier, operative of the Pat O'Leary escape line, and an agent of Nazi Germany. In 1940 and 1941, he helped many British soldiers escape France after its surrender to Nazi Germany in World War II. He became a double agent for the Germans in December 1941 (or possibly earlier) and betrayed 150 escape line workers and members of the French Resistance to the Gestapo, of whom about 50 were executed or died in German concentration camps.
Cole has been described as "the worst traitor of the war." He deceived both the British and the Germans and escaped from prison on several occasions. He survived the war but was killed while resisting arrest by French police in Paris in January 1946.