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A Memorable History of Deception and Spy Capers

Khalid Elhassan June 7, 2020 34 min

Operation Mincemeat - World War II — Items recovered from Major Martin and his briefcase. BBC

27. A Stylish Spy

Dusan “Dusko” Popov (1912 – 1981) was WWII triple agent who received medals from both the Germans and the British. A largely unrecognized hero, Popov played a significant role in the Allied deception that secured success on D-Day. Popov did it in style: helping defeat the Nazis while living the dream life of playboys, partying it up in top-notch night clubs and casinos with a bevy of beauties and famous actresses.

Popov pulled it off because he was blessed with natural charm, smoothness, good looks that set hearts aflutter, plus an agreeable manner that drew people to him. His charisma, coolness, wit, and looks, made an impression upon a British intelligence officer named Ian Fleming. After the war, Fleming created James Bond and modeled much of Agent 007 upon the smooth Popov.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.