Masquerade: Treason, the Holocaust, and an Irish Impostor

217 Pages·2017·6.691 MB·English

by  Mark M. Hull, Vera Moynes

M a s q u e r a d e
T R E A S O N ,
T H E H O L O C A U S T ,
A N D A N
I R I S H I M P O S T O R
MARK M. HULL AND VERA MOYNES
Masquerade

Masquer ade
Treason, the Holocaust, and
an Irish Impostor
Mark M. Hull and Vera Moynes
University of Oklahoma Press : Norman
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication data
Names: Hull, Mark M., 1962 – author. | Moynes, Vera, 1970 – author.
Title: Masquerade : treason, the Holocaust, and an Irish impostor / Mark M.
Hull and Vera Moynes.
Description: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [2017] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016036175 | ISBN 978- 0- 8061- 5634- 7 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 978- 0- 8061- 5718- 4 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: O’Mara, Róisín. | Authors, Irish—Biography. |
Irish—Germany—Biography. | Irish—Germany—History—20th century. |
National socialism—Influence.
Classification: LCC DA965.O564 H85 2017 | DDC 305.8916/2043092 [B] —dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036175
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the
Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library
Resources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division
of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or
108 of the United States Copyright Act—without the prior written permission of the
University of Oklahoma Press. To request permission to reproduce selections from
this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Drive,
Norman, OK 73069, or email [email protected].
Contents
•
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
1. Point of Origin 10
2. Little Girl Lost 13
3. Rosaleen Abroad 20
4. Der Krieg 37
5. Francis Stuart 41
6. Best Laid Plans 51
7. Life in the Heart of the Reich 58
8. Publishing in Berlin: Irische Freiheitskämpfer and a
Government Memorandum 70
9. Radio Star 76
10. Collapse 92
11. Defense of the Realm 95
12. 1945 to 1977: The Theater, a Playschool, and a Museum
in the West 102
13. Letters from Europe, 1977–1982, and In Search of
Irish Saints 113
14. Accessory after the Fact 128
Conclusion 146
Contents
Notes 155
Bibliography 183
Index 195
vi
Illustrations
•
Jean Muir at the time of her marriage to Ian Hamilton 60
Sir Ian and Lady Hamilton 61
The Hamilton Clan, 1938 62
Harry Knight and Lady Hamilton, early 1930s 63
Sir Ian Hamilton and Adolf Hitler 64
Hamilton and Hitler in Berchtesgaden 64
Hamilton and Hitler at lunch 65
Phyllis “Rosaleen” James as she appeared on MI5’s
“Renegades” list 66
The building that housed the Inishmaan museum 67
Rosaleen James looks on as Irish Government Minister
Tom O’Donnell opens the Inishmaan museum 67
Cover of Who Is She Outside? Róisín’s Memoirs 68
Cover of At Home and Abroad, Memoirs 2 69
vii

Acknowledgments
•
It is almost impossible to list the many people who have so generously
given their time and material to this project, but here’s an attempt: Kate
O’Brien and the staff of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at
King’s College London—they were invariably intelligent, knowledgeable,
helpful, professional, and cheerful; Sir Ian Kershaw; Dr. John Koegel;
Professor Eunan O’Halpin; Geoffrey Elborn; my old friend, Comman-
dant (ret.) Victor Laing, formerly at the Irish Military Archives (Victor
knows more about the secretive world of Irish history than anyone else);
Dr. David O’Donoghue, a generous historian and friend; David Pryce-
Jones; Michelle Goodman, City of Westminster Archives Centre; Dr.
Deborah Lipstadt, Emory University; Dr. Richard Spence, University of
Idaho; Dr. Phil Tomaselli; Dr. Roderich Jakobi; Dr. Penny Steinbach; Dr.
William Kaut, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth;
Dr. Nicholas Murray, Naval War College; Dr. Greg Hospodor; the ever-
helpful people at the National Archives in Kew; my parents Don and
Jane Hull, and, of course, Heidi Williams.
Vera is very grateful for the testimonials of Máire Phaidí Uí Mhaol
Chonaire and Noirín Uí Ghoill, Aran Islands, Co. Galway; and Aon-
ghus Ó hAonghusa, Dublin, regarding Ursula James’s work in Galway
and on the island of Inishmaan. For contacts, thanks to ‘Scéal Aniar,’
Raidió na Gaeltachta. Míle buíochas do Phádraig Ó Snodaigh, Coiscéim!
Thanks also to library and archives staff and to colleagues, friends, and
others who shared material or provided feedback: Joseph Canning, Car-
dinal Ó Fiaich Memorial Library and Archives; Monica Crump, James
Hardiman Library, Galway; Andreas Dan, Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv,
ix