Destination Casablanca: Exile, Espionage, and the Battle for North Africa in World War II

by Meredith Hindley

Overview

This rollicking and panoramic history of Casablanca during the Second World War sheds light on the city as a key hub for European and American powers, and a place where spies, soldiers, and political agents exchanged secrets and vied for control.

In November 1942, as a part of Operation Torch, 33,000 American soldiers sailed undetected across the Atlantic and stormed the beaches of French Morocco. Seventy-four hours later, the Americans controlled the country and one of the most valuable wartime ports: Casablanca.

In the years preceding, Casablanca had evolved from an exotic travel destination to a key military target after France's surrender to Germany. Jewish refugees from Europe poured in, hoping to obtain visas and passage to the United States and beyond. Nazi agents and collaborators infiltrated the city in search of power and loyalty. The resistance was not far behind, as shopkeepers, celebrities, former French Foreign Legionnaires, and disgruntled bureaucrats formed a network of Allied spies. But once in American hands, Casablanca became a crucial logistical hub in the fight against Germany — and the site of Roosevelt and Churchill's demand for "unconditional surrender."

Rife with rogue soldiers, power grabs, and diplomatic intrigue, Destination Casablanca is the riveting and untold story of this glamorous city—memorialized in the classic film that was rush-released in 1942 to capitalize on the drama that was unfolding in North Africa at the heart of World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541762718
Publisher:	PublicAffairs
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	208,082
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Meredith Hindley is a historian and senior writer for Humanities, the quarterly review of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her work has also appeared in the New York Times, Salon, Christian Science Monitor, and Barnes and Noble Review. Hindley received her PhD from American University.

Table of Contents

Maps vi

Prologue xi

Part I Collaboration and Resistance

1 The Faraway War 2

2 The Twilight 8

3 The Fall of France 13

4 Rebel for the Republic 20

5 Two Men and a Mission 27

6 The Evacuees 31

7 A Painful Surprise 40

8 Acts of Kindness 46

9 The Refugee Club 52

10 Keep Your Enemies Closer 58

11 Mon Legionnaire 63

12 Definition and Concentration 70

13 The President's Secret Envoy 76

14 The Agreement 82

15 Visa Problems 91

16 Absent Without Leave 98

17 The Apostles 108

18 On the Road to Missour 117

19 The French Conscience 124

20 Generals on the Ledge 130

21 Up to the Neck and In to the Death 134

22 Calling Station Lincoln 141

23 Robin Hood, Tweedledum, and Tweedledee 148

24 Sympathy and Chivalry 154

25 Of Locusts and Missed Ships 165

26 Resistance in Jeopardy 171

27 A Nerve-Wracking State of Uncertainty 178

28 Ms. Baker Comes to Casablanca 183

29 Ballade of the Second Front 188

30 Lieutenant Colonel MacGowan 193

31 Baggage Compartment 198

32 We Need a Hero 204

Part II Torching Morocco

33 Zigzagging 214

34 Robert Is on Time 222

35 The Best Laid Plans 227

36 San 233

37 Fédala 239

38 Off the Coast of Casablanca 244

39 The American Consulate 253

40 Mehdia and Port Lyautey 259

41 Vichy 264

42 Convergence 266

43 Lowering the Flag 274

44 Aux Armes, Citoyens! 280

45 The Return 287

46 Gentlemen's Agreement 291

47 Algiers 300

48 The Darlan Deal 306

49 Crooks and Turncoats 314

Part III "Men Pass, France and Morocco Remain"

50 Aftermath in the White City 320

51 Cheerful and Effective Cooperation 328

52 Hope and Delay 335

53 Loyalty 340

54 Air Commodore Frankland and Don Quixote 346

55 Round Up the Usual Suspects 351

56 The Work Begins 356

57 To the Bitter End 361

58 Uneasy Lies a Head That Wears the Crown 366

59 The Horse Race 373

60 Unconditional Surrender 378

61 The Club Scene 384

62 Leadership 390

63 Emptying the Camps 395

64 Why Have You Not Left? 403

65 I Leave Morocco My Heart 408

Conclusion 414

Postscript: Film Versus History 424

Acknowledgments 427

Notes 430

Bibliography 473

Index 481

Editorial Reviews

"This is a book for historians, not film buffs... Digging deep into military archives in Britain, France and the U.S., Ms. Hindley has produced a scholarly narrative, weaving her way deftly among a large cast of characters, both familiar and unfamiliar... [An] authoritative and entertaining book."—Wall Street Journal

"With its lively storytelling and impressive scholarship, Destination Casablanca succeeds as a thorough and highly engaging chronicle of the French Moroccan theater of war."—Washington Post

"Compulsively readable, deeply engrossing new history... The charmed classic made in Hollywood's dream factories and the granular history recounted in Hindley's superb book fundamentally complement each other, entertaining and instructing us with their timeless tales of political intrigue, moral compromise, acts of courage and cowardice."—New Republic

"A compelling read, packed with a Casablanca-worthy cast of characters and a penetrating look at the inside workings of Vichy France...History buffs will love the colorful stories and the grand geopolitical scheming. But there's enough action, intrigue, and adventure to make Destination Casablanca a perfect beach read."—Foreign Policy

"Hindley delivers what could become the definitive account of Casablanca during World War II... The book should prove indispensable to scholars... Expertly researched and absorbing."—Kirkus Reviews

"Hindley's warm, detailed writing style portrays the determination and resources that America brought to Casablanca, the continuing plight of refugees, the stirrings of Moroccan nationalism, and the moving saga of American singer Josephine Baker's support for a free France. Extensively researched, this account is rife with personal accounts, political and diplomatic insights, and vivid depictions of the military process. Recommended for history buffs who will relish the author's skilled presentation of a little-known theater in World War II."—Library Journal

"Meredith Hindley deftly weaves together a history of the city of Casablanca and the events leading to the Anglo-American invasion and conquest of Northwest Africa in 1942-1943. Fascinating characters such as performer Josephine Baker and writer Arthur Koestler, along with a multitude of refugees, spies, and resistance fighters give her account unusual texture and variety. The military successes were capped by the Casablanca summit conference of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. A great read."—Richard Breitman, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, American University

"Here is an important, well-researched, and well-written account of a major aspect of World War II that is generally neglected in the existing literature. The reader is offered a convincing picture of the complicated interactions of the Americans and British with the supporters of Vichy and of the Free French, the local Muslim and Jewish leaders and population, and the agents of Germany. This reader does not know of any other successful unravelling of this theater's complexities."—Gerhard L. Weinberg, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina

"A fulcrum of history-wartime Casablanca-jumps to life in Meredith Hindley's masterful page-turner. Spies, jazz legends, generals, traitors, writers, war icons and assassins light up a tale of high-stakes intrigue in one of the world's great exotic settings."—Jonathan W. Jordan, bestselling author of Brothers, Rivals, Victors: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley and the Partnership that Drove the Allied Conquest in Europe

"A fine and faithful work of historical reconstruction."—Booklist

"A fascinating look into the reality of a complicated political situation that inspired a classic."—Shepherd Express

"As entertaining as it is informative."—Galveston County Daily News

"Exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, Destination Casablanca is a comprehensive and detailed military history that reads as smoothly and as inherently engaging as any novel."—Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
The Moroccan city of Casablanca became a setting for danger and courage after the German conquest of France during World War II. Here, historian Hindley brings the political, military, and human stories of the area to life. In the early years of the conflict, refugees sought safety from Hitler and Nazi Germany while rival French military and political factions jockeyed for power. The U.S. entry into the war brought the fighting to Casablanca in Operation Torch, a massive amphibious invasion in November 1941, which quickly led to Anglo-American control. The next major event for the city was a January 1943 conference, where U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill solidified their alliance. Hindley's warm, detailed writing style portrays the determination and resources that America brought to Casablanca, the continuing plight of refugees, the stirrings of Moroccan nationalism, and the moving saga of American singer Josephine Baker's support for a free France. Extensively researched, this account is rife with personal accounts, political and diplomatic insights, and vivid depictions of the military process. VERDICT Recommended for history buffs who will relish the author's skilled presentation of a little-known theater in World War II.—Elizabeth Hayford, formerly with Associated Coll. of the Midwest, Evanston, IL

Library Journal

2017-09-24
An impressive work of scholarship examines the role of the Moroccan port of Casablanca during World War II.For most Americans, Casablanca conjures images of Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, drama, war, heroics, and high romance. Students of WWII history, however, know that Casablanca refers not only to the Hollywood classic, but to the real Moroccan city that served a major role during the war. In her first book, Hindley, a historian and senior writer for the quarterly journal Humanities whose articles have also appeared in the New York Times and Salon, delivers what could become the definitive account of Casablanca during WWII. The author focuses mostly on the role of the city in Allied military strategy: Winston Churchill, especially, favored a strategy whereby North Africa would serve as "a base for attacking the Germans through the Mediterranean." Meanwhile, President Franklin Roosevelt's staff favored a cross-channel approach. "For them," writes the author, "North Africa was a potentially expensive and bloody diversion from the real goal of reclaiming France and then Germany." Hindley describes these military machinations in great detail, but she also humanizes the scholarship with stories of some of the refugees, resistance fighters, spies, and regular citizens who passed through Casablanca during the war. Regarding the last, the city "became an important destination for those attempting to escape the grip of the Nazis and make their way to Lisbon. A ticket to Casablanca might end with glory or death." While it is those personal stories that make the book accessible to general readers, the wealth of detail can become overwhelming; a seemingly endless parade of diplomats, spies, and political figures move through the narrative. Fewer details would have streamlined it, but the book should prove indispensable to scholars.Despite an overabundance of not-always-relevant detail, Hindley's account of WWII-era Casablanca is expertly researched and absorbing.

Kirkus Reviews