Share

cover art for Toto Koopman: Socialite, Vogue Model and WWII Spy

Dan Snow's History Hit

Toto Koopman: Socialite, Vogue Model and WWII Spy

Ep. 1230
•

Toto Koopman was remarkable; she was a high society socialite who risked her life wining and dining with Italian blackshirts in order to gather information for the Dutch intelligence service in WWII. When she refused to work as a spy for the Italians, she was thrown in a detention camp. She escaped and hid in the mountains. When she was captured again she was taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp. There, got a role at the hospital by pretending she was a nurse; she risked her own life forging documents to save the lives of women destined for the gas chamber. She was truly unapologetic about who she was, individualistic and brave. Before the war, she'd defied society's expectations as a Vogue cover model working with Coco Chanel by having high-profile relationships with both men and women - including Hollywood star Talulah Bankhead and newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook. So why have most of us never heard of her?


In this episode, author and historical novelist Maryka Biaggio gives a roaring account of the incredible life, achievements and character of Toto Koopman, a story we should all know.


Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.


Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.


If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!

You can take part in our listener survey here.

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 1547. Ian Fleming's Commandos

    36:21||Ep. 1547
    Amid the chilling tension of the Cold War, Ian Fleming captured readers with his character James Bond, whose missions were based on his experiences with the elite and secretive 30 Assault Unit in WWII. 30AU was established in 1942 by British Naval Intelligence and was overseen by Fleming. Their role was to capture secret German documents, weapon blueprints, and communication codes from behind enemy lines. They often targeted command centres, labs, and bunkers to recover valuable information and technology before they could be destroyed by retreating Axis forces.Dan is joined on the podcast by historian Dave Roberts to uncover some of the true stories behind the plots of From Russia with Love, Moonraker and The Man With the Golden Gun, and the array of real commandos who inspired Fleming's Bond.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

  • 1546. Dan Answers Your Endurance Questions

    26:32||Ep. 1546
    Dan answers subscriber's questions about the 1914 Endurance expedition and the 2022 search for the shipwreck. He tells the dark side of the Shackleton story, the tragedy of the Ross Sea Party, the team who operated on the opposite side of Antarctica laying supplies for Shackleton and his men and who suffered even worse losses. He also shares a bit more of the story behind the photographic plates left by Frank Hurley on the sinking Endurance as well as the impact of the extreme cold on Shackleton's men and how Dan himself found it when he was in Antarctica.Other episodes mentioned:Black Sea ShipwrecksWreck, Mutiny and Scandal on HMS WagerProduced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore. 

  • 1545. Escapees of Alcatraz

    36:48||Ep. 1545
    Alcatraz was the jewel in the crown of America's prison system. The wind-swept island fortress was the final stop for the nation's most dangerous criminals, including the notorious gangsters Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly. It was thought to be escape-proof - at least, until one night in June 1962, when three men on an improvised raft slipped into the icy waters of San Francisco Bay, never to be seen again. The inescapable prison had finally been beaten.Today we're joined by Jolene Babyak, a historian of Alcatraz and author of 'Breaking The Rock'. She grew up on the island and gives us a potted history of it as well as explaining how this daring 1962 prison break played out.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 1544. The True Story of London's Blitz

    42:04||Ep. 1544
    Dan explores stories of London's Blitz, beyond the stiff-upper-lip stereotypes Dan discovers an unexpected world of crime, sexual revolution and desperation. He is joined by Joshua Levine, historical advisor on the new Steve McQueen movie, Blitz, to uncover the everyday lives of Britons under relentless bombing and the extraordinary resilience that shaped a generation.Blitz will be available to stream on Apple TV from the 22nd of November 2024.Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

  • 1543. Gladiators: The Praetorian Guard

    29:40||Ep. 1543
    The true nexus of power in the Roman Empire wasn't in the Emperor's box but in the shadowy ranks of the Praetorian Guard. First established in 27 BCE by Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, they acted as his personal army and security escort. But it didn’t take long for their influence in Rome to become more insidious … they became kingmakers and power brokers with the ability to topple a dynasty at the drop of a hat. They were the ones who decided who lived and who died.Dan and Dr Simon Elliot, a leading voice in Roman History, walk the streets of Rome where Praetorian conspiracies and assassinations spilt imperial blood on the stones of the eternal city… This is episode 4 of 4 in our mini-series 'Gladiators'.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.  

  • 1542. Gladiators: The Real Spartacus

    40:58||Ep. 1542
    Spartacus is probably the most famous gladiator in history but how much of his legend is actually true? Dan is joined by Dr Rhiannon Evans, from Melbourne’s Le Trobe University, a leading expert in Ancient History and one of the hosts of the Emperors of Rome podcast to find out. They trace what little we know of his origins, his life in the gladiator school where he led a kitchen revolution and escaped with a cohort of other enslaved fighters before raising an army to fight a revolt that pushed the Roman Empire to the brink. From the Roman retaliation to the grisly fate that met the survivors, Dan and Rhiannon unravel the fact from the fiction.You can listen to Emperors of Rome, wherever you get your podcasts.This is episode 3 of a 4-part mini-series 'Gladiators'.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 1541. Gladiators: Myths vs Reality

    47:54||Ep. 1541
    Join Dan at Rome's Colosseum as he separates fact from fiction in the world of the gladiators. He traces the origins of gladiatorial fighting from funerary celebrations to elaborate spectacles in the arena, what it would take to make it to the top and what really happens when a gladiator loses the fight. With the help of expert historians, Dan explores the myths perpetuated in Hollywood movies, the role of the games in Roman political life and what you'd actually see if you got a ticket to the greatest show on earth.This is episode 2 in our 4-part mini-series 'Gladiators'Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 1540. Gladiators: The Colosseum

    48:43||Ep. 1540
    Join Dan on an adventure in Rome as he traces the true history of the gladiators. He begins his story in 64 AD with the great fire of Rome that left the city in ruin. From the ashes rose a new Emperor and his dreams for a gargantuan amphitheatre, unlike anything the Empire had ever seen. With the help of leading experts, Dan explores the building of the Colosseum, the biggest stage in the Roman world, and the ingenuity and cruelty of the entertainment that took place there during the inaugural 100 days of games in 80AD.This is episode 1 of a 4-part mini-series 'Gladiators'.Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal PatmoreEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.

  • 1538. Shackleton's Endurance Expedition

    01:14:08||Ep. 1538
    In this dramatic episode, Dan tells the incredible story of how Shackleton saved every single man on the fated Endurance expedition from perishing in Antarctica. In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.Do you have any questions for Dan after seeing the Endurance documentary on Disney+ or Nat Geo? If so send them to ds.hh@historyhit.com for a special episode where Dan answers your questions!Written and produced by Mariana Des Forges, edited by Dougal PatmoreEnjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’.We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.You can take part in our listener survey here.