The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-08-12


 world, Marie Ducret left the prison g and seclusion of the cloister she } for her crime-that of having sent death.
 Beautiful Marie Ducret was saved from the firing squad of Vincennes = the usual penalty of the spy-by the armistice. Her trial took place late in October. 1918, and she was condemned to death by the council of war. With the signing of the Armistice came her pardon. From the time she entered the prison she was held Up as an example.
 It was at the end of 1917 that Marie Ducret, then 20 years old, and tall, willowy brunette, of- fered her services to the head of the German Espionage Bureau in Switzerland. The efficient net work of the German organization had spread its tentacles all over France and her allies fronts, and the Germans were always ready to enroll young and beautiful women.
 The Germans had instituted veritable schools for spies in the various Swiss cities - Berne. Zu- rich, Bale and Geneva - and to one of these Marie Ducret was sent. At the end of the five weeks study she was ready to sell her country and her countrymen to the enemy.
 In March, 1918, she arrived in Paris, and immediately communi- cated with the German agent, camouflaged as a Swiss subject, in charge of operations in the French capital. She did not have long to wait, for at the end of three days her orders came through to proceed to the French front on the Somme, and she was handed a card accrediting her as journalist.
 A few days later Marie Ducret arrived at Montdidier, just behind the French lines. The authorities made no difficulties about giving her the necessary passes. After that it was child's play to ensnare a young officer whom she came across on one of her reconnoitering ex- cursions.
 Fascinated by her beauty, the lieutenant became her lover and the idyll had lasted two weeks when orders came for him to move on, up the line. Unwilling to part from his beautiful blone sweetheart - Marie had dyed her hair - he suggested she go with him. Violating military discipline, he installed her in a she'll wrecked cottage not two miles from head quarters. Almost two months elapsed before Fate caught up with them.
 According to an ex-Intelligence Department officer who relates the story, he was called at that time to headquarters, to discover why decisions made A hours be- fore seemed to be immediately known by the enemy, who timed his attacks accordingly. So far, several hundred men had lost their lives and 1t was evident that someone was betraying France.
 Suspicion fell on the young lieu tenant Important papers includ- ing statements of the days losses, future movements and so on were sent to Paris every night by auto- mobile and he was one of the six officers who had charge of assemb- ling them and handing them to the special messenger. By following his movements 1t was easy to discover the love nest and catch Marie Du- cret in the act of copying the secret documents.
 Brought before the headquarters staff, she confessed that for the past month she had copied all the documents which her lover brought home" to work on. These were then sent to the espionage bureau in Paris under pretext of letters to her family, by the same courier who took the documents to the ministry in Paris.
 After careful investigation, Marie Ducret alone was charged with high treason and escaped the death pen- alty as related. The lieutenant was found guilty of indiscretions only. Having volunteered for a dangerous mission, he was killed just before the end of hostilities.
 The religious order which Marie Ducret has joined Is that of the Sisters of Bethanie, Protestant organization. The sisters spend their lives in good works and pray CT, the nursing of the sick and care of children.
 yUhoY1 tho eide If Q trt1rk Ua va Vuax,