The agent who inspired James Bond: Who is Dusko Popov?

What did this agent named Dusko Popov do that inspired Sir Ian Fleming?

Son of a wealthy family

Dusko Popov was born in Serbia in 1912. His family was extremely wealthy and they provided him with a good life. Thanks to these opportunities, he began to travel the Adriatic coast as a child and studied at the best schools in Europe. He knew Italian, French, and German.

He got into trouble at school

He started to continue his school life in England. However, after his experiences in England, his life took a different direction. He had problems with school when he was caught by a teacher smoking. Being caught drunk at another school was his last memory at school.

Duško Popov (10 July 1912 – 10 August 1981) was a Serbian double agent who served as part of the MI6 and Abwehr during World War II. He passed off disinformation to Germany as part of the Double-Cross System while working as an agent for the Yugoslav government-in-exile in London.

The person who changed your life

Returning to Serbia after all this, Popov completed his higher education at the University of Belgrade. While he was going to Germany to improve his German, he met the person who changed his life. This man named Johann Jebsen quickly impressed Popov. They were both people who had the same tastes and loved to live the same style of life. Women and sports cars were the things the duo had in common. And Nazi hatred…

He was saved thanks to his friend

He drew attention to his opposition life during the days he lived in Germany. He often got into fights because of his sharp tongue. As a result of one of these fights in 1937, the Gestapo imprisoned him. Popov, who was imprisoned for 8 days, was released by his friend Johann Jebsen who welcomed him to Switzerland. In return for this kindness, he would say, "If there is anything I can do for you, you can tell me without hesitation."

He became a double agent

As the only way to escape the war, Nazi agent Johann Jebsen asked his friend for a favor in 1940. He asked him to help him. Dusko Popov, who refused at first, went to England instead. However, in England, they advised him to accept this offer and become a double agent. He then accepted this offer and his life changed radically.

Playboy moved on

The Nazis were not suspicious of Dusko Popov, who continued his rich life in England. Being rich was a big reason for this. Popov was also giving the information he received from the Germans to the British and conveying disinformed information to the Germans. Thus, he reversed many plans. Thanks to his Playboy lifestyle in civilian life, many people gathered around him, including agents.

Scene from movies

The Germans wanted to connect MI6 agents to them through Popov. In an operation called Operation Midas, they would give 50 thousand dollars to the agents through Dusko Popov and transfer it to themselves. Of course, the British were aware of this situation. They gave him Ian Fleming to keep him from doing anything stupid. The moments the duo lived in the casino were also included in the James Bond series. Knowing that he had the potential to lose that much money in gambling, Ian Fleming was furious when Popov wanted to gamble with a Lithuanian businessman. However, he gave up the game at the last minute, and this scene became the subject of the movie Casino Royal.

Did he know about Pearl Harbor?

Popov's next task was to establish an intelligence network for the USA. This time, the Germans would get information from the Americans. Naturally, he conveyed this opinion to the FBI. However, Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, ignored this operation because he did not like him very much. A few months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States was drawn into the war. Did the Germans know about the attack? Although Popov's narratives were not very convincing, they were never falsified.

He also has a finger in Normandy

At the end of the war, the Germans suffered one of their biggest blows in Normandy. The Germans were not supposed to know that the Allies would leave Normandy. That's why Popov took action. He tried to convince the Allies that they would land in Dieppe or Calais. He was successful in this too. Because of this intelligence, the Germans had to distribute their troops to various regions. They even believed that Normandy was a fake landing.

An end away from people

Dusko Popov went to France after the war. While living there, he wrote his memoirs in the 1970s. In 1981, while living a life away from people, he suffered from various diseases due to alcohol and cigarettes and died. Thus, the adventure of the real James Bond ended.