E 'in 1939, hundreds of thousands of refugees English civil war are languishing in refugee camps in France. Among these, a veteran of the Ebro campaign that is trying in vain to contact the French acquaintances. We try again, following a clandestine location. The following day, two high-ranking French military arrived in the car, threatening the camp commander forced him to open up and let them. They look for the veteran, and if they find him away, while some of the refugees is wondering what happened. A traitor to the Republic, according to some, or, if not, why the French have shown so much interest? The man was Antonio
Camazón. His ability? Deciphering codes. The story of
Camazón is fascinating, and still remains an enigma. Born in Valladolid in 1901, studied mathematics in Madrid. He joined the police, where he became commissioner, and subsequently passed to the secret services. His work in North Africa brought him into contact with a French colleague, Gustave Bertrand. When, after three years of war, he had to cross the border, in 1939, Bertrand was waiting for him. Now he was the commander of the service of the French General Staff cryptanalysis. Bertrand asked Camazón to help him set up a service interception and decryption. Camazón accepted.
Their destination was a castle in the north-east of Paris, called PC (Command) Bruno. When he got there, Camazón insierme 6 other Spaniards formed the Team D. Were officially enrolled in the Foreign Legion, but the fact that he was the Generalissimo Gamelin to give his blessing to the new arrivals made it clear that it was not common for recruits. Later they were joined by a group of Polish immigrants, the Z team, composed of Polish cryptanalysts fled Nazi-occupied Poland. Their names, Rejewski, Rozycki, Zigalski, are well known because they were the first to crack the German military Enigma code. A Bruno, Poles and English Republicans, beaten but not defeated, they continued to fight a common enemy.
After the fall of France in 1940, Bertrand and his companions continued their work in secret intelligence. They disappeared to the eye of Vichy and settled in the south of France, a new headquarters, called Cadix. The reports collected and deciphered were sent to England, where the Allies would have done it to good use. Then, when France "unoccupied" was occupied, Cadix was dismantled and its members sent in a hurry in Algeria. The Polish group eventually managed to reach England, but Camazón and his men have not heard anything for 60 years, as if it had been swallowed by the earth.
Only today have been found, and put together some pieces of the puzzle. Camazón or the group of Spaniards decided to continue to help the cause, they were hidden until they finally managed to contact the Allied troops landed in North Africa. So, they passed in Italy, to Germany, accompanied the soldiers who fought against Nazism in Europe. After the war, people like him were very much appreciated, and immediately accepted a job in France, the Foreign Ministry, which obviously had nothing to do with bureaucracy. One day, two North American representatives showed up at his house to tempt him with a better offer. Camazón was almost ready to accept, but decided to remain loyal to the country that had welcomed him and with whom he had so much trouble. The Americans insisted, reminding him that France was not his country, but the Aragonese answered clearly: "I will not be in the United States, because that's not my country."
The remaining years of Camazón are shrouded in darkness. It is believed that he continued to work in the service of deciphering the French government. In all that time, he never forgot his political affiliation. There is a letter, signed by him in 1956, demonstrating its commitment to the remains of the English Republic in France. He retired in 1966 and returned to Spain. Even if the police subjected him to an investigation, no one seemed to have nothing against him, and he could settle down quietly with his family in Jaca. There he lived the last years of his life, until his death on October 19, 1982.
Recently, the University of Zaragoza has formally presented in a documentary fund dedicated to him. The theme of these books suggests that its owner had been a spy or a diplomat. So that was named, unofficially, the "Library of the spy."
We have learned now that it is a part of the library Camazón Antonio, a man who spoke more than a dozen languages. The library of the lamp is a tribute to the cultural stature of its former owner. Consists of more than 800 dictionaries, grammars, glossaries and vocabularies of nearly two hundred languages \u200b\u200bof the world, from Breton to Sanskrit, Nepali from the Tuareg, the Maori in Finland. Including languages \u200b\u200bvery little encryption, such as the Sumerian and Mayan.
Without doubt, however, Camazón has brought its best secrets to the grave. At the University of Zaragoza, you can find a book on cryptography written by himself, but little else. His notebooks full of records are over the trash can, and also his correspondence. His books on cryptography have disappeared. His work as cryptanalysts which he took part in the two wars continue to be secret. And, after three quarters of a century, this French-Aragonese continues to be indecipherable!
(info taken from http://amazings.es/2011/02/17/los-siete-de-camazon/ )
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