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By Root 498 0

notable success: he managed to persuade John Christmas Moeller, the chairman of the Conservative Party, to escape to Sweden. The politician, who had known Tommy Sneum and his family since before the war, didn’t leave Denmark alone. He packed his family into a secret compartment on the escape boat, and the voyage to freedom went like clockwork. They later flew from Stockholm to Scotland and arrived in London in mid-May 1942. Christmas Moeller was soon elected chairman of the Free Danish Council, which became the closest thing to a Danish government-in-exile during the war.

Rottboell remained in Copenhagen, working with Duus Hansen. Their activities would soon become more hazardous than ever.

By late May, Sneum’s imprisonment in Sweden had reached a critical phase. It was clear to Tommy that, for whatever reason, the Princes had been unable to keep their promise to have him freed. He explained: ‘I had planned to go back to England, give them my reports and then parachute back into Denmark, all inside three months. But it wasn’t turning out that way.’ He wondered whether the cautious old professionals of Danish Intelligence had exerted enough pressure to secure his release. In reality, the Princes had used all their influence in the other direction—to ensure that he was kept under lock and key in Sweden, so that he could never threaten their cosy existence again.

Tommy and Arne had spent a total of eight weeks in jail by now. Tommy felt his spirits sink by the day, as the monotony and solitude began to get the better of him: ‘I was let out of my cell to empty my piss-pot in the morning but I wasn’t allowed to speak to anyone. Twice a day all the other prisoners went out for exercise surrounded by guards with machine-guns, rifles and pistols. I was just taken to a back yard to walk on my own with a policeman watching me. There was no way out.’

Unless Tommy gambled soon, he feared he could be left to rot behind bars until the end of the war. He had realized that the spy world was a murky one long before he had left Denmark. Either you played dirty or you lost—and he didn’t intend to lose. He insisted upon a new meeting with Einar Karstengren. ‘Because of the time I have now spent here,’ Tommy warned the prison governor, ‘a very serious situation has developed outside, which could present a grave threat to Swedish lives. You need to contact Captain Wahlqvist of Swedish Naval Intelligence, here in Malmo; and Kriminal-Kommissarie Runerheim of the Malmo police. I suggest you do it straight away. Tell them to hurry to the prison without delay.’ Karstengren knew that Wahlqvist and Runerheim were key spymasters in Swedish Intelligence, and it was with some satisfaction that Tommy noted the concern etched on the governor’s face as he left the cell. He had set the wheels in motion for a bitter game to begin. Sure enough, Runerheim arrived at the prison later that day.

Tommy recalled: ‘He was a tall fellow, good-looking, well dressed, probably in his mid-forties. He looked strong, confident and formidable. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. He was accompanied to my cell by the Nazi, Karstengren. Then the prison governor left the cell to Runerheim and myself.’

‘Why have you brought me out here?’ demanded the police chief, clearly irritated. ‘I’m extremely busy.’

Undaunted, Sneum drilled him with a stare. ‘You know why. You made an agreement with some Danish officers we both know. The agreement was that I would be released within two weeks. Now there is talk that I could be handed over to the Germans. If that happens, I promise you I won’t be the only one.’

‘What are you saying?’

‘I’m talking about your precious agents in Poland and Germany,’ said Sneum menacingly. ‘I know you have networks there. And I gave one of my people in Denmark some instructions. If he doesn’t get my coded postcard from Stockholm by the end of the first week in June, he’s going to send a letter to the Germans. He’ll tell them all about your spies in Poland and Germany. Your name is on the list, too. It could be messy.’

Runerheim tried to smile. ‘You