A full list of suspected wartime traitors, including the Duke of Bedford, Sir Oswald Mosley and many other members of the British upper classes who would have been arrested in the event of a German invasion has been released for the first time at the National Archives.
The "Suspect List", which fills hundreds of pages of dog-eared papers kept in thick files, was one of the most closely guarded of wartime secrets and even now, 60 years to the day after it was formally closed, is still shrouded in mystery.
In the list of more than 400 people drawn up by MI5 and Special Branch, coal miners and hairdressers rub shoulders with dukes and retired admirals, while bank managers are collected together with doctors, dentists and ladies of leisure.
Britain in early 1941 was terrified by the prospect of invasion, and the Suspect List was drawn up so that people who had not already been interned as Nazi sympathisers could be seized to prevent them acting as spies or saboteurs for the Germans.
The country was divided into regions, with a commissioner appointed for each. The list for each region is included in the documents released except, inexplicably, London - which almost certainly contains the names of more Establishment figures.
The files show that the first task of the post-invasion regime was the seizure of people on the Suspect List, who would all be put into prison or internment camps without trial.
story
~One might wonder today if all countries maintain their own "Suspect Lists" in case of invasion or national emergencies.
Which celebrities and politicians are on ours? Who's the oldest member?... from before WII? Who might be the youngest?
Who's job to update; eliminating people who've died, adding names...and on who's recommendation? The FBI?
Is there a software program that takes all the guess-work out of listing potential enemies of the state, future Homeland detainees?
Are there many families on the list? Corporate boards? Clubs? Churches? Schools?
Wouldn't the American people like to know the criteria for a "Suspect List"? You'ld think by now an enterprising reporter would've earned a Pulitzer with its story.
Is it a crime to acknowledge that such a list exists?
There must be a American suspect list from WII and the Cold War, and updated since 9/11 for national emergencies and martial law?
Could it be the "No Fly List" supersized?
Could the various federal law enforcement agencies have their own secret lists? Could the 50 American states have lists too?
Posted by Cieciel at October 29, 2004 01:25 AM