Roger Masson

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Roger Masson from western Switzerland (* July 1, 1894 - October 19, 1967 ), entitled to reside in Veytaux, Canton of Vaud , was Colonel Brigadier and head of the military intelligence service in Switzerland during the Second World War .

Life

Roger Masson completed his training as a qualified military scientist at the ETH Zurich . He then was an instruction officer in the Swiss Army and was then appointed head of the military intelligence service (secret service) in 1937. During the World War he organized a secret communication link with the Nazi German Security Service (SD), led by SS-Standartenführer Walter Schellenberg . It was promoted by General Henri Guisan , but rejected by the Federal Council.

Critical appraisal

Assessment of the German Wehrmacht by Roger Masson (bottom of the page)

Roger Masson fell into disrepute after the war - in contrast to General Guisan, who was celebrated as a hero - because of this secret line of news, and investigations were initiated against him. The use of the line by the general is still unclear. At the time when the military threat to Switzerland was greatest, namely immediately after the defeat of France in June 1940, Guisan expressed himself "convinced that the Germans now primarily exert political and economic pressure". The question arises where Guisan got this conviction from after General Heinz Guderian drove up to the border with his tanks. In any case, one thesis on this is that Guisan informed the Germans via Masson's line that he wanted to demobilize two thirds of the Swiss troops - as happened later and officially communicated in June 1940 only in a very general way.

See also

literature

  • Pierre-Th. Braunschweig: Secret line to Berlin. The Masson-Schellenberg news line and the Swiss news service in World War II. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-85823-194-0 (also: Bern, Univ., Diss.).
  • Pierre-Th. Braunschweig: Secret Channel to Berlin. The Masson-Schellenberg Connection and Swiss Intelligence in World War II. Casemate, Philadelphia PA 2004, ISBN 0-9725572-1-0 .
  • Jakob Tanner : "Réduit national" and foreign trade. Interactions between military dissuasion and economic cooperation with the Axis powers. In: Philipp Sarasin , Regina Wecker (eds.): Raubgold, Reduit, refugees. On the history of Switzerland in the Second World War. Chronos, Zurich 1998, ISBN 3-905312-56-5 , pp. 81-103.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Masson, Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss military, Colonel Brigadier and Chief of the Swiss Military Intelligence Service during World War II
DATE OF BIRTH July 1, 1894
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1967