His movements had been tracked by undercover agents beforehand and his acquaintances questioned. [8], At the age of 18, Popov enrolled in the University of Belgrade, seeking an undergraduate degree in law. Hong Lung. I don't read many biographies, which I free Before he could leave, he was arrested by the Gestapo, who accused him of being a communist. 0:28. [18] In February 1940, he received a message from Jebsen, asking to meet him at the Hotel Serbian King in Belgrade. [3][4][a] His parents were Milorad and Zora Popov. In 1974, Popov published an autobiography titled Spy/Counterspy, "a racy account of his adventures that read like a James Bond novel." Popov himself said Hoover was quite suspicious and distrustful of him and, according to author William "Mole" Wood, when Hoover discovered Popov had brought a woman from New York State to Florida, threatened to have him arrested under the Mann Act if he did not leave the US immediately. During a televised interview, Duško Popov related having informed the FBI on 12 August 1941 of the impending attack on Pearl Harbor. Alan Road tracked down the fantastically named Dusko Popov – codename Tricycle – a British double agent in semi-retirement as a lawyer living in the south of France. It was later discovered that the Abwehr still regarded Popov as an asset and he was brought back into use by the British. Feature documentary film about the Serbian James Bond, Dusko Popov, intelligence agent that inspired the writer Ian Fleming to create the indestructible agent 007. "Duško despised Nazism," biographer Larry Loftis writes, "and since he wasn't German, he believed he owed no allegiance to Hitler or the state. Dusko Popov was born on July 10, 1912 in Serbia. Miller describes it … [9] Duško and his brothers spent most of their formative years along the Adriatic coast, and were avid athletes and outdoorsmen.[4]. [8][10] He had previously endured a caning at the teacher's hands after being caught smoking a cigarette. Another caning was adjudicated after Popov missed a detention, and so as to evade further corporal punishment, Popov grabbed the teacher's cane and snapped it in two before his classmates. Popov fed enough MI6-approved information to the Germans to keep them happy and unaware of his actions,[23] and was well-paid for his services. The Culper Ring both turned the tide of the American Revolution and helped shape the world of espionage. Today on the show, we talk about Dusko Popov and his career as a double agent during World War II. Dušan "Duško" Popov OBE (Serbian Cyrillic: Душан "Душко" Попов; 10 July 1912 – 10 August 1981) was a Serbian triple agent who served as part of the MI6 and Abwehr during World War II, and passed off disinformation to Germany as part of the Double-Cross System and working also as agent for the Yugoslav government-in-exile in London. He made contact with the FBI and explained what he had been asked to do. [4] When Popov was an infant, the family left Titel and permanently relocated to their summer residence in Dubrovnik, which was their home for much of the year. Popov himself delivered two speeches at the club, arguing in favour of democracy. He persuaded Jebsen, then the president of the club, to inform him of the debate topics in advance and passed this information along to the British and American debaters. Records from as early as 1773 describe them as the most affluent family there. Born July 10, 1912, in Titel, Serbia, Dusan “Dusko” Miladoroff Popov was the second of Milorad Popov’s three sons-Ivan, Dusko, and Vladan-and the grandson of Omer Popov, a wealthy banker and industrialist who had built a sizeable empire of factories, mines, and retail businesses. Popov is considered one of Ian Fleming's primary inspirations for the character of James Bond. Dusko Popov – James Bond who really lived! Popov discovered that the German debaters were all hand-picked party members who chose the subject of each debate beforehand and vigorously rehearsed Nazi talking points. “My name is Popov, Dusko Popov.” Well, it doesn’t have the same bite as “My name is Bond, James Bond,” but Dusko Popov, a Yugoslavian double agent … Inside, there’s a … Dusko Popov is the real 007 (though he was never given that code name), and the true story of his life and career as a double agent is far more compelling than anything Fleming, or anyone else for that matter, could ever dream up. Apart from MI6 and the Abwehr, he also reported to the Yugoslav intelligence service, which assigned him the codename Duško. DerekElliott. The assignments given to him were of great value to the British in assessing enemy plans and thinking. He stayed in Estoril once again, at the Hotel Palácio, between 31 March and 12 April 1944. Masterman's book convinced Popov that it was time to make his exploits public. After only four months, he was expelled following an altercation with a teacher. He was ordered to leave Germany within 24 hours, and upon collecting his belongings, boarded a train for Switzerland. As a young woman Ieva Lesinska was faced with an agonising choice. [30], By the early 1980s, years of chain smoking and heavy drinking had taken a toll on Popov's health. Jebsen's death at the hands of the Nazis had a profound emotional impact on Popov. He was codenamed Tricycle by the British MI5 because he was the head of a group of three double agents.[1]. [6] The family was exceedingly wealthy and owed its fortune to Popov's paternal grandfather, Omer, a wealthy banker and industrialist who founded a number of factories, mines, and retail businesses. [25] During his stay, he met Ian Fleming, at the time working for the British Royal Navy. [16] He soon arrived in Basel and found Jebsen waiting for him on the station platform. Jebsen's ability to travel across Europe on business trips would remain unimpeded so long as he submitted reports detailing the information he had received from his business contacts. Popov used his cover position to report periodically to his Abwehr handlers in Portugal. In 1972, John Cecil Masterman published The Double Cross System in the War of 1939 to 1945, an intimate account of wartime British military deception. They boasted a sizeable collection of villas and yachts, and were attended by servants, even on their travels. In 1929, Popov's father enrolled him into Ewell Castle, a prestigious preparatory school in Surrey. [7] Popov's father expanded the family's business interests to include real estate dealings. Before its publication, Popov had no intention of revealing his wartime activities, believing that the MI6 would not allow it. Download PDF Into the Lion's Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond FREE. Popov's codename was 'Agent Tricycle' in Britain's espionage circles. It was this gentlemanly worldliness—that he could mingle in the highest circles of society—that made Popov such an attractive spy for German and British intelligence. As a Serbian double agent during the Second World War, Popov was an expert gambler, known womaniser and even crossed paths with James Bond's creator Ian Fleming. [27] He was given ample funds and an intelligence questionnaire (a list of intelligence targets, later published as an appendix to J.C. Masterman's book The Double Cross System). Dusan ‘Dusko’ Popov was a double agent working for MI5 during World War II under the code name ‘Tricycle’ and the Abwehr under the code name ‘Ivan’. Jebsen informed Popov of the role he played in securing his release. He spoke English, Italian and French all three languages, he also knew improvisational German. "[12] In 1934, Popov enrolled in the University of Freiburg, intent on securing a doctorate in law. [11] "Women ... found him irresistible," Times columnist Ben Macintyre writes, "with his easy manner, loose, sensual mouth ... and green ... bedroom eyes. Before its publication, Popov had no intention of revealing his wartime activities, believing that the MI6 would not allow it. Just another film set in Dubrovnik, you might say. Although the Bond stories were often fantasy-driven, they did incorporate some real places, incidents and, occasionally, organisations such as SMERSH Try Prime Cart [8] Between the ages of 12 and 16, he attended a lycée in Paris. He has been the subject of a number of non-fiction books and documentaries. [13] Around the same time, he befriended a fellow student, Johnny Jebsen, the son of a German shipping magnate. After studying law at Belgrade University, he moved to Germany for further study. Over the next four years, he became a familiar face in Belgrade's cafes and nightclubs, and had the reputation of a ladies' man. However, probably it is not commonly known that his real-life inspiration was MI6 agent, Dusko Popov, who was born in Belgrade, Serbia. Several of the events described in the book were either entirely fictional, such as a fistfight Popov claimed to have had with a German agent, exaggerated for dramatic effect, or could not be substantiated through subsequently declassified intelligence records. [20] Jebsen said military service was not an option because he suffered from varicose veins. Larry and I discuss how Dusko got involved with spying, the insanely dangerous missions he went on and the real-life encounter between him and Ian Fleming that inspired one of popular culture’s most iconic characters. Popov was born 10 July 1912 in Titel, Austro-Hungary, to a wealthy family. Popov was shocked to find Jebsen a nervous wreck, chain smoking and drinking exorbitantly. BEST OF 2020: His name was Popov. Popov's stint at the school proved to be short lived. 007 in Dubrovnik: Meet Duško Popov, Fleming's Bond Inspiration Bond, the Dubrovnik connection. Miller describes it as "fundamentally accurate, if occasionally embellished". Godfrey, Bond fans, is the link between Lisbon, Ian Fleming, Casino Estoril, and one very special MI6 double agent—Dusko Popov. DUSAN POPOV Serbian double-agent, known also as 'Tricycle' ... was the codename of DUSAN DUSKO POPOV a Serbian agent working for MI5 [29] Popov's wife and children were apparently unaware of his past until the book's publication. He was disappointed that many foreign students appeared to be swayed by the pro-Nazi arguments espoused there. "[13], In the summer of 1937, Popov completed his doctoral thesis, and decided to celebrate by embarking on a trip to Paris. Apart from his native Serbian, Popov was fluent in Italian, German and French by his teenage years. Dusko Popov. 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