Mariya Fortus
Maria Fortus | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Maria Alexandrovna Fortus |
| Born | 1900 Kherson, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1981 (aged 80–81) |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
Mariya Alexandrovna Fortus (Russian: Мария Фортус; 1900–1980)[1] was a Soviet Jewish translator and intelligence officer.
Biography
Fortus was born in 1900 in Kherson to the family of a rich Jewish banker. Her father abandoned the family in 1913, forcing Mariya and her sister Adelaida to work. She would work as an embroiderer while studying in a localgymnasium for boys. In 1916 she would join the Socialist Revolutionary Party, before leaving it for the Bolsheviks in 1917 with whom she participated in the Russian Civil War.[2]
Fortus married the Catalan anarchist Ramon Casanellas, who had fled to the Soviet Union as a refugee. Fortus and her husband spent time together in Spain, allowing her to develop a familiarity with the Spanish language and culture. This familiarity assisted her when she was appointed to a Soviet military delegation to Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where she served as a translator. While working in Spain, she used the false name Julia Jiménez Cárdenas. Fortus became an intelligence agent in World War II.[1] She primarily operated in the Ukrainian SSR, where she trained other intelligence officers. She was also involved in operations in the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Hungary.[3] Fortus received the Order of Lenin for her service.[4] The 1970 film Hail, Mary! was based on Fortus's life.[5]
References
- ^ a b Rodríguez-Espinosa, Marcos (2016-01-02). ""¡No Pasarán!": Translators under siege and ideological control in the Spanish Civil War". Perspectives. 24 (1): 22–35. doi:10.1080/0907676X.2015.1073765. ISSN 0907-676X. S2CID 147259319.
- ^ "Maria Fortus". www.yadvashem.org. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ Zalietok, Nataliia (2018-11-02). "British and Soviet Women in the Military Campaign of 1939-45: A Comparative Review". MCU Journal (Gender): 25. doi:10.21140/mcuj.2018si01. S2CID 187108179.
- ^ Baigorri-Jalón, Jesús (2021). "Appendix: Honors and Awards Received by Interpreters". Languages in the Crossfire: Interpreters in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-39610-2.
- ^ "Feature Film Premiered". Soviet Life. 1971-10-27. p. 27.
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