“Casablanca” Meets the Spy World in WWII Story of Love and Espionage

The Librarians of Lisbon by Suzanne Nelson

Suzanne Nelson captures the allure, glamor and excitement of the glittering city and conveys the sense of intense danger as WWII was being fought on many far-flung battlefields.

The Librarians of Lisbon is accurately described on the cover as “A WWII story of love and espionage,” and novelist Suzanne Nelson certainly delivers, as promised, a fine work of historical fiction for adult readers.

This former children’s book editor and award-winning author has previously written dozens of middle grade and young adult novels including one that was made into a Hallmark movie.

It’s probable that many readers, including this one, don’t give a great deal of thought to the role of “neutral” Portugal during WWII and its function as a safe haven and refugee center. Any images conjured up likely pertain to Rick’s Café Americain in the much beloved Warner Brothers film classic Casablanca as its customers strive to reach Lisbon, the great embarkation point. Novels and history about wartime espionage, intrigue and resistance movements tend to center on the Axis and Allied powers actively engaged in fighting.

The Unsung Heroes of History

The author has creatively mixed the little-known yet factual role of American women librarians involved in espionage in Lisbon with fictional characters, along with others drawn from composites of real figures, who operated in the shadows of the dockyards and dingy back alleys and among the glamorous figures enjoying the glitzy nightlife in nearby clubs and casinos.

It’s a compelling work of fiction that honors the memory of brave American women who left the safety of their stateside homes to serve their country and to contribute to the war effort. They were responsible for the rescue of significant amounts of world literature banned and destined for destruction by the Nazi regime as well as priceless manuscripts, journals and rare books looted from libraries, museums and homes. These precious volumes were carefully wrapped, boxed and shipped for preservation in America.

They also microfilmed stacks of ephemera and captured items such as German military manuals, some of which became crucially important in assisting the allies in winning the war. They passed on information gleaned from reading German, Italian and Spanish newspapers, additionally deciphering encrypted messages and engaging in other clandestine operations while reporting to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the US Intelligence Agency formed during WWII.

A Country Wracked by Poverty & Tyranny

Pre-WWII Portugal’s economy was based on its importance to global trade centered on the great port and capital city Lisbon situated on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Tagus River, along with their mining and agricultural production.

It was a relatively poor country before emerging from the worldwide depression when Antonio de Oliveira Salazar became dictator in 1933, the same year Hitler rose to power in Germany. He declared Portugal to be “Estado Novo”, or “the New State”, enforced by a strong-armed secret police force and bolstered by press censorship.

He remained in office as Presidente and Prime Minister until illness forced him to retire in 1968. In neighboring Spain, Generalissimo Francisco Franco came to power in 1936 as the declared Head of State and fascist dictator and similarly held onto this position with an iron fist until his death in 1975.

Salazar’s regime had inherited a trade deficit of 40 million dollars making Nazi Germany’s gold irresistible to this ostensibly neutral nation. Portugal was rich in tungsten, also known as wolfram, vital to munitions manufacturing with deals struck that enriched the mine owners, the country and, additionally, greatly benefitted the Nazis.

By 1944, the deficit had become a 68 million dollar surplus. Portugal could sell tungsten to both the Allied and Axis powers but what made the transactions with Germany questionable at best was the Nazis unethical use of gold looted from Jewish firms and businesses to pay for this metal so vital to the war industry.

A Safe Haven — and Center of Wartime Espionage

The subplots of The Librarians of Lisbon center on the wolfram and other mining sales to the Nazis as well as on the plight of the refugees who desperately sought exit visas. The port of Lisbon was both a haven and an essential transit point, and for many, the last hope of an escape route west across the Atlantic Ocean.

Throughout the war years, about one million refugees, including political dissidents, Jews and former POWs of the allies, gathered, mingled, bargained and bartered whatever precious goods they possessed to obtain those essential exit and entry visas. Their wait could be months if not entirely futile. Despite the uncertainties and hardships of war, the Portuguese were welcoming and the climate more temperate than many parts of Europe. However, danger lurked with illegal seizures and deportation to death camps by Gestapo agents was all too common an occurrence. 

There was a curious confluence of mortal enemies intermingling daily in the streets, cafés, casinos, hotels and shops. Former German bombers, painted black, flew passengers routinely from Berlin while the Pan Am clipper service continued their service between New York and Lisbon on regularly scheduled flights. The beautifully preserved medieval city was flooded with diplomats, military personnel, journalists, spies, double agents, coders and code breakers from both sides.

The Americans worked closely with British intelligence officers along with army and naval attachés diligently gathering as much information as possible. Wealthy Europeans escaped the hardship and drudgery of war in comfortable salons among the Portuguese elite.

Notable celebrities and entertainers also passed through, including Noel Coward, Graham Greene and British intelligence officer Ian Fleming. It was widely believed English film star Leslie Howard was on a mission when the plane he was traveling in was shot down over the bay. Espionage was a dangerous game and Lisbon a vital center of its wartime operations.

Full-Time Librarians, Part-Time Spies

Suzanne Nelson captures the allure, glamor and excitement of the glittering city and conveys the sense of intense danger as WWII was being fought on many far-flung battlefields.

Enter The Librarians of Lisbon as fictional Bostonian librarians and best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice (Bea) Sullivan arrive to begin their dual occupations. They were recruited by the OSS in 1943 to become part-time intelligence agents at night and on weekends and full-time librarians during daylight hours.

Selene has been disowned by her disapproving family for breaking her engagement to a prominent and wealthy young man whom she had grown to despise for his arrogance and cruelty. Bea has similarly suffered disappointment and betrayal from the man she loved.

On assignment in Lisbon working with books and archival documents while engaging in espionage gave them the opportunity not only to travel during wartime, but also to serve their country. Neither woman was told the other was engaged in espionage although operating in such close quarters soon made it apparent. They were assigned to infiltrate the Axis intelligence network through acquaintance and flirtatiousness with the notorious men identified to them by their OSS leaders. They also were to befriend their girlfriends and mistresses in hopes of garnering information while sipping cocktails or freshening makeup in ladies’ lounges.

Selena befriends Luca Caldeira, a former diplomat who fell out of favor with President Salazar for flagrantly disobeying orders by issuing thousands of visas to displaced Jews and others in need of safe passage. He escaped execution solely because his twin brother was an Axis ally and owner of several tungsten mines.

Bea was more introverted and shyer but became involved in the activities of a supposed double agent named Gable. Excitement, action, romance and danger abound as the story unfolds.

Weaving In Suspenseful Real History

Suzanne Nelson is a gifted wordsmith whose meticulous research of the subject matter is evident in the novel. There were dozens of women who were academics, librarians and scholars who worked for the OSS in Lisbon and other major cities in aid of the Allied war effort, but were sworn to secrecy, leaving their stories untold.

The character Luca Caldeira is loosely based on Aristides de Sousa Mendes who was sometimes referred to as the “Oskar Schindler” of Portugal. However, instead of being a handsome, dashing young man, de Sousa Mendes was older, from a prominent family and married with fifteen children. He was educated as an attorney and served as a career diplomat for Portugal in many overseas posts.

Dictator Salazar implemented Circular 14, a directive forbidding visas to stateless persons which predominantly targeted Jewish refugees. While serving in Bordeaux in 1939, Aristides de Sousa Mendes signed over 1000 Visas in blatant defiance of the directive. With the assistance of his staff and his older children, he continued to sign additional Visas after Salazar had ordered him to cease.

He was then dispatched to Lisbon, subjected to a sham trial and convicted of treasonous acts in defiance of a dictatorial regime, then stripped of his diplomatic position despite the attempted intervention by his twin who remained in favor with Salazar. Unable to secure another job, he and his family became penniless and lost their estates. He died in 1954, still unable to clear his name and reputation.

In 1966, Israel declared him to be “Righteous Among Nations.” Thanks to the continuing efforts of his descendants, he was finally exonerated by the Portuguese government in 1988 and recognized for his selfless, heroic actions.

Here are some examples of other authors who have written both fiction and nonfiction about wartime espionage in Lisbon: Deborah Lawrenson, 300 Days of Sun; Elyse Graham, Book and Dagger; Kathy Peiss, Information Hunters; and the glamorous former model and American OSS spy who became Countess of Romanones after the war, Aline Griffith, who wrote a number of novels based on her experiences including The Spy Wore Red.