When Schellenberg spotted the red Lincoln approaching the Café Backus that blustery November 9, he stepped outside. As soon as the vehicle had pulled up in front and backed into the parking lot alongside the red brick building, an open-topped Ford roared in from Germany beneath the raised black-and-white barrier. One of its 13 occupants, his feet braced on the running board, fired a shot into the air. Riding low under its heavy load, the Ford screeched to a stop in a cloud of dust, bumper-to-bumper with Best’s Lincoln.

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Naujocks’ SD crew rushed toward its startled prey. Klop recovered quickly from his shock, drew a revolver and sent two slugs through the German car’s windshield just as Naujocks was sliding out of the front seat. No one was hit. Crouched low, Klop ran toward the road. Shots filled the air, convincing nearby Dutch customs men
to stay back. “Hands up! You have no chance,” Naujocks said to Best and Stevens, who were now standing beside their car. Handcuffs were produced. Meanwhile, a submachine gun burst sent Klop tumbling to the ground. To the cries of “Hup! Hup!” Best, Stevens, Lemmens and the fatally wounded Klop were hurried on foot to the German customs house. Schellenberg and his companion drove across the border. The kidnapping operation was over in minutes.

Onlookers gathered, and Dutch soldiers belatedly rushed to the scene. All they saw were cartridge cases, a dissipating cloud of acrid gun smoke and a blood stain. The assailants, their prisoners and the cars were gone. Best, Stevens and Lemmens were rushed to Berlin for interrogation. In Stevens’ pocket was a recently scrawled list of people, including all of MI-6’s agents, who were to be pulled out of Holland in case of a German invasion. Both British spymasters revealed a considerable amount of valuable information during the nearly four weeks they were questioned. As one British official said, “Our entire espionage system in Western Europe was mopped up…in a single swoop.” He also indicated it was “a blessing in disguise,” since the Intelligence system was quite compromised and ineffective in any case.

The driver, Lemmens, was released in late 1940 and returned to the German-occupied Netherlands. Best and Stevens were sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Interestingly, the would-be assassin Elser also became a Sachsenhausen inmate. Kept alive probably because Hitler considered the Munich bombing case unresolved, he was subsequently transferred to the Dachau camp. In April 1945, as Allied armies approached, Elser was shot and cremated. Best and Stevens were liberated by U.S. forces that same month. The pair returned to Britain, where Stephens died in 1965 and Best in 1978. Schellenberg, who went on to become the overall head of Nazi foreign intelligence, settled in Italy after serving a light sentence imposed in a postwar trial. He died there in 1952. Naujocks escaped the war crimes hearings and died in Germany in 1960.

The Venlo Incident had widespread fallout that went beyond the obliteration of Britain’s station in the Netherlands and the Z Organization. It proved to be a long-lasting blow to genuine anti-Hitler activities inside Germany, affecting everything from internal efforts to outside support. The Führer also used the incident to justify his ultimate invasion of Holland, stating that Klop’s involvement proved Dutch neutrality was a sham.

Furthermore, not only were British-Dutch relations soured, but France’s suspicions were roused that London was trying to make a separate peace behind its back. Hitler’s prestige at home was increased by the Venlo Incident, and he was handed a tremendous propaganda victory, one that included tying the British to the attempt on his life.

Finally, MI-6 received one of the greatest embarrassments in its history. British Intelligence agents remained perplexed about the events at Venlo until November 22, when the Nazis revealed what had happened. Clearly, the incident at the Café Backus was a crucial opening battle in World War II’s intelligence war. *

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