László Almásy
Encyclopedia
László Ede Almásy de Zsadány et Törökszentmiklós (22 August 1895 – 22 March 1951) was a Hungarian aristocrat
, motorist, desert researcher, aviator
, Scout-leader
and soldier who also served as the basis for the protagonist in Michael Ondaatje
's 1992 novel The English Patient
and the movie
based on it.
(today Bernstein im Burgenland
, Austria
), into a Hungarian noble family (his father was the zoologist and ethnographer György Almásy
), and, from 1911 to 1914, was educated at Berrow School, situated in a private house in Eastbourne
, United Kingdom
where he was tutored by Daniel Wheeler.
, Almásy joined the 11th Regiment of Hussars along with his brother Janos. Almásy saw action against the Serbians, and then the Russians on the Eastern Front. In 1916, he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops. After being shot down over Northern Italy in March 1918, Almásy saw out the remainder of the war as a flight instructor.
Technical Institute. From November 1921 to June 1922, he lodged at the same address in Eastbourne. He was a member of the pioneering Eastbourne
Flying Club.
Almásy continued to support King Karl of Austria during the interwar period
. On two occasions, he drove Karl to Budapest
, Hungary
, when he tried to get his throne back. It may be that the King unofficially bestowed on him the title of Count
, that Almásy only used outside of Hungary.
After 1921, Almásy worked as a representative of the Austrian car firm Steyr Automobile
in Szombathely
, Hungary, and won many car races in the Steyr colors. He also organized hunting trips in the Kingdom of Egypt
for visiting Europeans.
In 1926, during his drive from Egypt
to the Sudan
along the Nile
, Almásy developed an interest in the area and later returned there to drive and hunt. He also demonstrated Steyr vehicles in desert
conditions in 1929 with two Steyr lorries and led his first expedition to the desert.
In 1932, Almásy left to find the legendary Zerzura
, "The Oasis of the Birds," with three Britons
, Sir Robert Clayton, Squadron Leader H.W.G.J. Penderel
and Patrick Clayton
. They were all sponsored by Prince Kemal el Din
. The expedition used both cars and an aeroplane. They cataloged prehistoric rock art sites, including the Cave of Swimmers
in Uweinat and Gilf Kebir
. They were also known to the Bedouin who avoided the caves but sometimes entered them to recover livestock. In 1933, Almásy claimed that he found the third valley of Zerzura
in Wadi Talh.
Almásy had succeeded in turning from an autodidact into a serious explorer. He was given the nickname Abu Ramla ("Father of the Sands") by his Bedouin
friends. However, by the mid-1930s, the time for research and adventure was drawing to a close.
In 1932, Almásy's former sponsor Clayton died — not from a crash-landing as described in "The English Patient" — but of an infection from a desert fly contracted in the Gilf Kebir region (died of aneurism in march of 1962). However, Clayton's wife did die one year later (1933) in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1934 or 1935, Almásy and his colleague Hansjoachim von der Esch
became the first Europeans to re-establish contact with the Magyarab
tribe in Nubia
, who speak Arabic but are believed to be the descendants of Nubian women and Hungarian soldiers serving in the Ottoman
army in the 16th century.
Almásy recorded some of his adventures in the book Az ismeretlen Szahara (The Unknown Sahara), first published in 1934 in Budapest. The German
edition, under the title Unbekannte Sahara. Mit Flugzeug und Auto in der Libyschen Wüste (The Unknown Sahara. By Aeroplane and Car in the Libyan Desert), was published five years later (1939) by Brockhaus in Leipzig
. It contains accounts of his most sensational discoveries like the one of the Jebel Uweinat (the highest mountain of the Eastern Sahara desert), of the rock paintings in the Gilf Kebir and of the lost oasis of Zerzura.
Almásy's role in relation to the Gilf Kebir was not that of a discoverer. The Bedouins knew of the cave, attributing the paintings inside to djinn or unpredictable spirits. Egyptian Prince Kemal ed Din wrote an article about Gilf Kebir for National Geographic in 1921. What Almásy did was to map and enter each cave and draw the paintings inside.
In 1935, Almásy may have provided Italian Marshal
Italo Balbo
with intelligence concerning the feasibility of advancing into Egypt
and the Sudan
from Italian North Africa
(Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI). This was during the Abyssinia Crisis
and Balbo was the Governor-General
of ASI.
In the following years, Almásy led archeological and ethnographical expeditions with the German ethnographer Leo Frobenius
. He also worked in Egypt at Almaza airfield as a flying instructor.
in 1939, Almásy had to return to Hungary. The British
suspected that he was a spy for the Italians
— and vice versa. In fact, he was a Hungarian who worked for which ever colonial power offered him the best surveying contract. Hungary formally joined the Axis powers by signing the Tripartite Pact
on 20 November 1940.
The German military intelligence service
(Abwehr) recruited Almásy in Budapest. As a Hungarian reserve officer, he was assigned to the German Air Force (Luftwaffe
) as a Captain (Hauptmann) and assigned to the Afrika Korps
. In 1941 and 1942, he worked with the German troops of Erwin Rommel
using his desert experience and led military missions. During "Operation Salaam
," Almásy infiltrated two German spies through enemy lines in a manner similar to the Allied Long Range Desert Group
. "Operation Salaam" was not a covert operation. Almásy and his team wore German uniforms. They also used American cars and a truck with German crosses surreptitiously incorporated as part of the vehicles camouflage pattern. Almásy delivered the German (Abwehr) agents Johannes Eppler
and his radio operator Hans-Gerd Sandstede to Cairo
in the same way. Rommel subsequently promoted Almásy to major.
As late as 1944, Almásy was involved with "Operation Dora." This was a Greek-based operation to set up a base at an abandoned Italian airstrip in the Libyan Desert
. The base would be used to infiltrate German agents into North Africa
to set up listening posts. Even this late in the war, the operation almost succeeded.
For delivering spies, he received the Iron Cross
(Eisernes Kreuz) from Rommel.
After the end of the North African Campaign
, Almásy relocated to Turkey
where he became involved in a plan to cause an Egyptian revolt which never materialized. He then returned to Budapest where with his contacts from the Roman Catholic Church
he helped save the lives of several Jewish families at a time when Jews
were being sent to concentration camps.
Austria
using a false passport under the name of Josef Grossman. He was escorted by MI6 agent Ronnie Waring, later known as the Duke of Valderano. When Almásy was pursued by a "hit squad" from the Soviet
"Committee for State Security" (Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty or KGB
), the British put him on an aeroplane to Cairo,where he was met by Mouktar and a British MI6 agent.
Almásy returned to Egypt at the invitation of King Farouk
and became the technical director of the newly founded Desert Research Institute, now present at Al-Matariyyah
District, Cairo.
in a hospital in Salzburg
, where he was then buried. The epitaph
on his grave, erected by Hungarian patriot
s in 1995, honors him as a "Pilot, Saharaforscher und Entdecker der Oase Zarzura" (Pilot, Sahara Explorer, and Discoverer of the Zerzura Oasis
).
, he took part in organizing the 4th World Scout Jamboree
in Gödöllő
, Hungary
where Almásy presented the Air Scouts
to Robert Baden-Powell
on August 9, 1933.
. His lover was a young soldier named Hans Entholt who was an officer in the Wehrmacht
and who was killed after stepping on a landmine. A staff member of the Heinrich Barth
Institute for African Studies where the letters are located, also confirmed that "Egyptian princes were among Almásy's lovers". The letters also confirmed that Almásy died from amoebic dysentry, in 1951.
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, motorist, desert researcher, aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, Scout-leader
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
and soldier who also served as the basis for the protagonist in Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
's 1992 novel The English Patient
The English Patient
The English Patient is a 1992 novel by Sri Lankan-Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje. The story deals with the gradually revealed histories of a critically burned English accented Hungarian man, his Canadian nurse, a Canadian-Italian thief, and an Indian sapper in the British Army as they live out...
and the movie
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
based on it.
Biography
Almásy was born in Borostyánkő, Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(today Bernstein im Burgenland
Bernstein im Burgenland
Bernstein is a municipality in Burgenland in the district Oberwart in Austria.-People:*László Almásy : a Hungarian aristocrat, motorist, desert researcher, aviator, Scout-leader and soldier who served as the basis for the protagonist in Michael Ondaatje's 1992 novel The English Patient and the...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
), into a Hungarian noble family (his father was the zoologist and ethnographer György Almásy
György Almásy
György Ede Almásy de Zsadány et Törökszentmiklós was a Hungarian Asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnographer. His son, László Almásy, was an aviator, Afrologist and soldier....
), and, from 1911 to 1914, was educated at Berrow School, situated in a private house in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where he was tutored by Daniel Wheeler.
World War I
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Almásy joined the 11th Regiment of Hussars along with his brother Janos. Almásy saw action against the Serbians, and then the Russians on the Eastern Front. In 1916, he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops. After being shot down over Northern Italy in March 1918, Almásy saw out the remainder of the war as a flight instructor.
Interwar period
After the war, Almásy returned to join the EastbourneEastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
Technical Institute. From November 1921 to June 1922, he lodged at the same address in Eastbourne. He was a member of the pioneering Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
Flying Club.
Almásy continued to support King Karl of Austria during the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
. On two occasions, he drove Karl to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, when he tried to get his throne back. It may be that the King unofficially bestowed on him the title of Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
, that Almásy only used outside of Hungary.
After 1921, Almásy worked as a representative of the Austrian car firm Steyr Automobile
Steyr automobile
Steyr was an Austrian automotive company from 1915 until 1990.Formed as a branch of Steyr Osterreichische Waffenfabriks-Gesellschaft in 1915, to diversify manufacturing, the founders hired 38-year-old designer Hans Ledwinka after he resigned from Nesselsdorfer-Wagenbau...
in Szombathely
Szombathely
Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria...
, Hungary, and won many car races in the Steyr colors. He also organized hunting trips in the Kingdom of Egypt
Kingdom of Egypt
The Kingdom of Egypt was the first modern Egyptian state, lasting from 1922 to 1953. The Kingdom was created in 1922 when the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt, in place since 1914. Sultan Fuad I became the first king of the new state...
for visiting Europeans.
In 1926, during his drive from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
along the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, Almásy developed an interest in the area and later returned there to drive and hunt. He also demonstrated Steyr vehicles in desert
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
conditions in 1929 with two Steyr lorries and led his first expedition to the desert.
In 1932, Almásy left to find the legendary Zerzura
Zerzura
-The rumor:Zerzura was long rumored to have existed deep in the desert west of the Nile River in Egypt or Libya. In writings dating back to the 13th century, the authors spoke of a city which was "white as a dove" and called it "The Oasis of Little Birds". In the Kitab al Kanuz, Zerzura is said to...
, "The Oasis of the Birds," with three Britons
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Sir Robert Clayton, Squadron Leader H.W.G.J. Penderel
Hubert Jones
Hubert William Godfrey Jones , also known as Hubert Wilson Godfrey Jones Penderel, was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories....
and Patrick Clayton
Pat Clayton
Patrick Andrew Clayton DSO MBE was a British surveyor and soldier. He was the basis for the character of Peter Madox in The English Patient....
. They were all sponsored by Prince Kemal el Din
Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein
Prince Kamal el Dine Hussein was the son of Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt.-Renunciation of succession rights:...
. The expedition used both cars and an aeroplane. They cataloged prehistoric rock art sites, including the Cave of Swimmers
Cave of Swimmers
The Cave of Swimmers is a cave with ancient rock art in the mountainous Gilf Kebir plateau of the Libyan Desert section of the Sahara. It is located in the New Valley Governorate of southwest Egypt, near the border with Libya.-History:...
in Uweinat and Gilf Kebir
Gilf Kebir
Gilf Kebir is a plateau in the New Valley Governorate of the remote southwest corner of Egypt, and southeast Libya. Its name translates as "the Great Barrier"...
. They were also known to the Bedouin who avoided the caves but sometimes entered them to recover livestock. In 1933, Almásy claimed that he found the third valley of Zerzura
Zerzura
-The rumor:Zerzura was long rumored to have existed deep in the desert west of the Nile River in Egypt or Libya. In writings dating back to the 13th century, the authors spoke of a city which was "white as a dove" and called it "The Oasis of Little Birds". In the Kitab al Kanuz, Zerzura is said to...
in Wadi Talh.
Almásy had succeeded in turning from an autodidact into a serious explorer. He was given the nickname Abu Ramla ("Father of the Sands") by his Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
friends. However, by the mid-1930s, the time for research and adventure was drawing to a close.
In 1932, Almásy's former sponsor Clayton died — not from a crash-landing as described in "The English Patient" — but of an infection from a desert fly contracted in the Gilf Kebir region (died of aneurism in march of 1962). However, Clayton's wife did die one year later (1933) in a mysterious plane crash.
In 1934 or 1935, Almásy and his colleague Hansjoachim von der Esch
Hansjoachim von der Esch
Hansjoachim von der Esch was a German explorer in Egypt and Libya.Esch had the academic degree of engineer. From 1929 to 1939 he worked representing a German enterprise in Egypt...
became the first Europeans to re-establish contact with the Magyarab
Magyarab
The Magyarab are a people living along the Nile River in Egypt and Sudan. They are of Hungarian ancestry, probably dating back to the late 16th century.- Name :The name "Magyarab" is not a combination of the words "Magyar" and "Arab" as is commonly assumed...
tribe in Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, who speak Arabic but are believed to be the descendants of Nubian women and Hungarian soldiers serving in the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
army in the 16th century.
Almásy recorded some of his adventures in the book Az ismeretlen Szahara (The Unknown Sahara), first published in 1934 in Budapest. The German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
edition, under the title Unbekannte Sahara. Mit Flugzeug und Auto in der Libyschen Wüste (The Unknown Sahara. By Aeroplane and Car in the Libyan Desert), was published five years later (1939) by Brockhaus in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. It contains accounts of his most sensational discoveries like the one of the Jebel Uweinat (the highest mountain of the Eastern Sahara desert), of the rock paintings in the Gilf Kebir and of the lost oasis of Zerzura.
Almásy's role in relation to the Gilf Kebir was not that of a discoverer. The Bedouins knew of the cave, attributing the paintings inside to djinn or unpredictable spirits. Egyptian Prince Kemal ed Din wrote an article about Gilf Kebir for National Geographic in 1921. What Almásy did was to map and enter each cave and draw the paintings inside.
In 1935, Almásy may have provided Italian Marshal
Marshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo
Italo Balbo was an Italian Blackshirt leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force , Governor-General of Libya, Commander-in-Chief of Italian North Africa , and the "heir apparent" to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.After serving in...
with intelligence concerning the feasibility of advancing into Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
from Italian North Africa
Italian North Africa
Italian North Africa was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until World War II...
(Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI). This was during the Abyssinia Crisis
Abyssinia Crisis
The Abyssinia Crisis was a diplomatic crisis during the interwar period originating in the "Walwal incident." This incident resulted from the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia...
and Balbo was the Governor-General
Governor-General
A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
of ASI.
In the following years, Almásy led archeological and ethnographical expeditions with the German ethnographer Leo Frobenius
Leo Frobenius
Leo Viktor Frobenius was an ethnologist and archaeologist and a major figure in German ethnography.-Life:He was born in Berlin as the son of a Prussian officer and died in Biganzolo, Lago Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy...
. He also worked in Egypt at Almaza airfield as a flying instructor.
World War II
After the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939, Almásy had to return to Hungary. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
suspected that he was a spy for the Italians
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
— and vice versa. In fact, he was a Hungarian who worked for which ever colonial power offered him the best surveying contract. Hungary formally joined the Axis powers by signing the Tripartite Pact
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also the Three-Power Pact, Axis Pact, Three-way Pact or Tripartite Treaty was a pact signed in Berlin, Germany on September 27, 1940, which established the Axis Powers of World War II...
on 20 November 1940.
The German military intelligence service
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
(Abwehr) recruited Almásy in Budapest. As a Hungarian reserve officer, he was assigned to the German Air Force (Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
) as a Captain (Hauptmann) and assigned to the Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
. In 1941 and 1942, he worked with the German troops of Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
using his desert experience and led military missions. During "Operation Salaam
Operation Salaam
Operation Salaam was a 1942 World War II military operation under the command of the Hungarian aristocrat and desert explorer László Almásy...
," Almásy infiltrated two German spies through enemy lines in a manner similar to the Allied Long Range Desert Group
Long Range Desert Group
The Long Range Desert Group was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commander of the German Afrika Corps, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, admitted that the LRDG "caused us more damage than any other British unit of equal strength".Originally called...
. "Operation Salaam" was not a covert operation. Almásy and his team wore German uniforms. They also used American cars and a truck with German crosses surreptitiously incorporated as part of the vehicles camouflage pattern. Almásy delivered the German (Abwehr) agents Johannes Eppler
Johannes Eppler
Johannes Eppler, also known as Hans Eppler, John Eppler, and Hussein Gaafer, was a World War II Abwehr spy, a German who had been raised in Egypt by his Egyptian stepfather. Eppler was arrested in July 1942 and is the subject of MI5 file KV 2/1467...
and his radio operator Hans-Gerd Sandstede to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in the same way. Rommel subsequently promoted Almásy to major.
As late as 1944, Almásy was involved with "Operation Dora." This was a Greek-based operation to set up a base at an abandoned Italian airstrip in the Libyan Desert
Libyan Desert
The Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately 1,100,000 km2, it extends approximately 1100 km from east to west, and 1,000 km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle...
. The base would be used to infiltrate German agents into North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
to set up listening posts. Even this late in the war, the operation almost succeeded.
For delivering spies, he received the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(Eisernes Kreuz) from Rommel.
After the end of the North African Campaign
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
, Almásy relocated to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where he became involved in a plan to cause an Egyptian revolt which never materialized. He then returned to Budapest where with his contacts from the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
he helped save the lives of several Jewish families at a time when Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
were being sent to concentration camps.
Post war
After the war, Almásy was arrested in Hungary and ended up in a Soviet prison. After the Communists took over in Hungary, he was tried for treason in the Communist People's Court. Eventually Almásy was acquitted. He escaped the country reputedly with the aid of the British intelligence which reportedly bribed Hungarian Communist officials to enable his release.The bribe was paid by Alaeddin Moukhtar cousin of King Farouk of Egypt. The British then spirited him into British occupiedAllied-administered Austria
The Allied occupation of Austria lasted from 1945 to 1955. Austria had been regarded by Nazi Germany as a constituent part of the German state, but in 1943 the Allied powers agreed in the Declaration of Moscow that it would be regarded as the first victim of Nazi aggression, and treated as a...
Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
using a false passport under the name of Josef Grossman. He was escorted by MI6 agent Ronnie Waring, later known as the Duke of Valderano. When Almásy was pursued by a "hit squad" from the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
"Committee for State Security" (Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty or KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
), the British put him on an aeroplane to Cairo,where he was met by Mouktar and a British MI6 agent.
Almásy returned to Egypt at the invitation of King Farouk
Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936....
and became the technical director of the newly founded Desert Research Institute, now present at Al-Matariyyah
Al-Matariyyah
Al-Matariyyah, Mataria or El Matariya is a district in the northern region of Greater Cairo, east of the Nile, in Egypt. The district is unrelated to the El Matareya coastal region in the Dakahlia Governorate...
District, Cairo.
Death
Almásy became ill in 1951 during a visit in Austria. He died of dysenteryDysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
in a hospital in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, where he was then buried. The epitaph
Epitaph
An epitaph is a short text honoring a deceased person, strictly speaking that is inscribed on their tombstone or plaque, but also used figuratively. Some are specified by the dead person beforehand, others chosen by those responsible for the burial...
on his grave, erected by Hungarian patriot
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
s in 1995, honors him as a "Pilot, Saharaforscher und Entdecker der Oase Zarzura" (Pilot, Sahara Explorer, and Discoverer of the Zerzura Oasis
Zerzura
-The rumor:Zerzura was long rumored to have existed deep in the desert west of the Nile River in Egypt or Libya. In writings dating back to the 13th century, the authors spoke of a city which was "white as a dove" and called it "The Oasis of Little Birds". In the Kitab al Kanuz, Zerzura is said to...
).
Scouting
From the beginning he was a member of the Scout movement. In 1921 Almásy became the International Commissioner of the Hungarian Scout Association. With Count Pál TelekiPál Teleki
Pál Count Teleki de Szék was prime minister of Hungary from 19 July 1920 to 14 April 1921 and from 16 February 1939 to 3 April 1941. He was also a famous expert in geography, a university professor, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and Chief Scout of the Hungarian Scout Association...
, he took part in organizing the 4th World Scout Jamboree
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree, a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from August 2 to August 13, 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different nations and additional territories...
in Gödöllő
Gödöllo
Gödöllő is a town situated in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is about 31,000 according to the 2001 census. It can be easily reached from Budapest with the suburban railway . Gödöllő is home to the Szent István...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
where Almásy presented the Air Scouts
Air Scouts
Air Scouts are members of the international Scouting movement, of their respective Scouting organisations as a branch, similar to Sea Scout branches, with a particular emphasis on an aviation themed programme and/or flying-based activities...
to Robert Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
on August 9, 1933.
Sexuality and death
Letters discovered in 2010 in Germany written by Almásy prove he, unlike the fictionalized character of the film The English Patient, was in fact homosexualHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. His lover was a young soldier named Hans Entholt who was an officer in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and who was killed after stepping on a landmine. A staff member of the Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.Barth is one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, not necessarily because of the length of his travels or the time he spent alone without European company in Africa, but because of his singular character.-Biography:Barth...
Institute for African Studies where the letters are located, also confirmed that "Egyptian princes were among Almásy's lovers". The letters also confirmed that Almásy died from amoebic dysentry, in 1951.