Juan Pujol, a young Spanish antifascist, became agent GARBO, a master of deception and intrigue. His story contains all the hallmarks of classic spy adventure-enciphered messages, secret inks, items concealed in cakes-culminating in one of the greatest strategic deceptions in history. Through a ring of invented subagents, GARBO and his MI5 controllers succeeded in convincing the Germans that the DDay landings were only a diversionary tactic, thus safeguarding the Allied landings and hastening the end of the war in Europe.

Secret History Files is an exciting series from The National Archives that puts covert history in readers’ hands. Dossiers previously classified as Top Secret are now available, with an explanatory introduction and background analysis by expert historians.

Publisher’s Note: This publication brings you in full the ‘Summary of the Garbo Case 1941-1945’ by Tomas Harris. All document references are to the original files, which may be consulted under supervision at the National Archives, Kew. Our intention is to reproduce the material as faithfully as possible without compromising the integrity of the original. This means that the occasional inconsistency or typing error survives from Harris’s text. The symbol […] is used where material from the original document has been retained under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958.