The German spy Caught with a Lemon 110 Years Ago

A unique exhibition based on the secret files of Britain’s intelligence agency MI5 has started in London’s National Archives. Many rare items like a 110-year-old dried lemon, spy cameras, microdots hidden in talcum powder cans and the briefcase left by Soviet spy Guy Burgess can be seen in it. The exhibition gives a glimpse of MI’s 115-year spying world. The lemon shown in it was found in 1914 from German spy Karl Muller who was caught in Britain during the First World War. This lemon was found in the pocket of Muller’s overcoat. Investigation revealed that Muller had sent information about the British army to Germany in invisible ink made from its juice. Muller was shot in the Tower of London in 1915.

Bought a Car with Money from German Spies

MI5 took money from German spies after Muller’s murder. She asked the British government for more money to show that she was alive. The German intelligence agency sent the money and MI5 used the money to buy a car, naming it ‘The Muller’. However, the British Treasury objected to this expenditure. The exhibition also highlights the change in MI5’s perception of women, which considered them unsuitable for spying.

German Dictator Adolf Hitler was also Deceived

Items from Thames House’s Secret Museum and records declassified include MI5, which began in 1909 with just two officers. During the Second World War, which began in 1939, MI5 fed misinformation to Germany through captured Nazi agents, confusing Hitler about the location of the 1944 Allied invasion.