Marthe Cohn, Jewish WWII Spy Who Infiltrated Nazi Germany, Dies at 105

Marthe Cohn, the remarkable French Jewish woman who risked her life to spy on Nazi Germany during World War II, passed away this week at the age of 105 in her home in Palos Verdes, California. With a story that reads like a wartime thriller, Cohn’s legacy is one of extraordinary bravery, personal tragedy, and unwavering dedication to truth and justice.

Standing just 4 feet 11 inches tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes, Cohn defied expectations and stereotypes. In 1944 and 1945, under the assumed identity of "Martha Ulrich," a German nurse searching for her lost fiancé, she successfully infiltrated Nazi Germany on behalf of French Army Intelligence. She gathered key intelligence on troop movements and defences, including details about the evacuation of the Siegfried Line and ambush locations in the Black Forest, information that proved critical to Allied military victories.

Born Marthe Hoffnung on April 13, 1920, in Metz, France, she was one of seven children in an Orthodox Jewish family. Her early life was shaped by rising antisemitism, and the horrors of the Holocaust touched her family directly. Her fiancé, a French Resistance fighter, was tortured and executed by the Nazis. Her sister, Stéphanie, was arrested and deported to Auschwitz while trying to help Jews flee to unoccupied France.

Driven by loss and a fierce sense of justice, Cohn volunteered for the French military after the liberation of Paris. Although initially rejected due to her size, she eventually persuaded officials to allow her to serve, first as a nurse and then as a spy due to her fluency in German. After 14 failed attempts, she successfully crossed into Nazi territory on her 15th try, carrying only a suitcase and a photograph of a fictional German fiancé to help gain trust among soldiers.

Despite her monumental contributions, Cohn kept her wartime experiences secret for decades, not even revealing them to her children. It wasn't until 1996, when interviewed by a Holocaust researcher, that she began to publicly share her story. From that point on, she spent over 25 years speaking at schools and community centers worldwide, educating younger generations about the Holocaust, resistance, and the moral imperative of standing up against hate.

Cohn’s memoir, Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany, published in 2002, remains a gripping first-person account of life and resistance behind enemy lines. Her life was also chronicled in the 2019 documentary Chichinette: The Accidental Spy, where she encouraged audiences to “be engaged” and “never accept any order your conscience cannot approve.”

For her valour, Cohn received numerous honours, including France’s Croix de Guerre (1945), Médaille Militaire (1999), and knighthood in the Legion of Honour, typically reserved for the most distinguished figures such as Winston Churchill.

Even in her final years, Cohn remained sharp and active. Speaking out in 2022 against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she reaffirmed her commitment to peace, saying, “War never solves any problem. Peace is sweet, and war is terrible.” When asked about the secret to her long life, she credited mental engagement: “You keep your brain very active all your life... I never expected to live so long, but I am in no hurry to die. When it comes, it comes.”

Cohn is survived by her two sons and extended family. She spent her post-war years working as a nurse alongside her husband, American medical student Major L. Cohn, in California. Her final message to the world was one of unity: “It’s time that we all get along and not worry about our religion, or our sex, or our looks, or our origins. That we all go along as human beings.”

Marthe Cohn bore witness until her last breath. Her story is not just a chapter of history, it’s a lesson in courage, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit. May her memory forever be a blessing.