Glossary of Terms

• Allied Occupation Marks - Also known as the AM (Allied Military) Mark - The only legal tender in Berlin from 1944 until the Soviet blockade of mid-1948.
• Ami - German Slang - An American. A shortened version of Amerikaner.
• Au contraire - French - On the contrary.
• Babushka - Russian - Old woman or grandmother.
• Baker Street Irregulars - Nickname of the Special Operations Executive (see also SOE), after the fictional gang in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels.
• Baton - A type of club-type truncheon weapon. From the French, bâton, meaning stick.
• Beer Hall Putsch - Failed coup d’état by the Nazi Party against Germany’s Weimar Republic government in 1923.
• Belomors / Belomorkanal -Brand of cheap Soviet-era Russian cigarettes, still in production today.
• Bent - British slang - Morally crooked and corrupt.
• Bloke - English slang - A man.
• Boche - Slang - A derogatory term for a German.
• Bon Chance - French - Good Luck.
• Bordelle/s - French brothels.
• Bratwurst - A popular type of German sausage.
• Broomhandle Mauser (See Mauser)
• Bull - Slang - Policeman.
• Cheyenne - Indigenous people of the Great Plains in what is now the USA.
• Coffin Nail - Slang - Cigarette.
• Colt - American firearms manufacturer.
• Cognac - French luxury brandy from the wine-growing commune of Cognac.
• Copper - British slang - Policeman.
• Croix De Guerre - French military decoration, most often awarded for heroism in combat.
• D-Day - 6th June 1944 - The allied invasion of Normandy.
• Derrière - French - Behind.
• Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht (See Volkssturm)
• Dunkel - A type of German dark beer.
• Eau- de-vie - French clear fruit spirit. Similar to German schnapps.
• Ersatz - Product used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.
• F (France) Section - SOE’s Operational command for missions in France.
• Fairy - A homosexual man. Derogatory slang, but in common use in colloquial parlance at the time of the story. In German, the word schwul is used similarly.
• Feldgendarmerie - German military police.
• Fritz - Slang - Derogatory term for a German man.
• Frozen Meat Medal - German Winter Battle in the East Medal - Awarded for service on the Eastern Front between 15 November 1941 to 15 April 1942.
• Führer - German - The NSDAP Leader, Adolf Hitler. Literally means leader.
• Gendarmes - French paramilitary police.
• George Cross (GC) - Britain’s highest decoration for acts of gallantry and conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger, not in the presence of an enemy. Equal in stature to the Victoria Cross.
• Gestapo - Nazi secret state police.
• Gulag - Russian labour camp where most prisoners were starved or worked to death.
• Hasi - German - Informal name between lovers, akin to darling or honey bunny. From the German words for hare or wild rabbit.
• Hoi polloi - Proletariat. The masses, the common people.
• HQ - Headquarters.
• Ike - General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe.
• Intel - Intelligence.
• Iron Cross - Eisernes Kreuz (EK) - German military decoration with Prussian origins, awarded mostly for bravery in battle. Only holders of the standard second class award were eligible for the first class variant.
• Ivan - Slang - A Russian.
• John - Slang - Client of prostitutes.
• Kubelwagon - Small engined German light military vehicle, similar to an armoured Jeep.
• Kraut - Slang - A German. Due to their penchant for eating sauerkraut.
• Kurwa - Polish - Used colloquially as fuck is in English. Literally, though, means whore.
• Luckies / Lucky Strike - Brand of American cigarettes.
• Luger - German toggle-action semi-automatic pistol.
• Marks (See Allied Occupation Marks)
• Mauser - German firearm manufacturer, including the C96 known as the broomhandle, due to its ribbed cylindrical wooden hand grip.
• Military Cross (MC) - A decoration for bravery in the face of the enemy. At the time of the story was for officers only (with other ranks being eligible for the Military Medal). Second only to the Victoria or George Cross in order of precedence and stature.
• MP-40 - German sub-machine gun.
• Nagant - Russian firearms manufacturer.
• Nail (See Coffin Nail)
• NCO - Non-commissioned Officers, such as corporals and sergeants.
• Nom de Guerre - French - An assumed name under which a person engages in combat.
• NSDAP - Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterparte - (National Socialist German Workers Party) - The Nazis.
• Occupation Marks (See Allied Occupation Marks)
• Pan-Pan / Panhard 178 - A four man French reconnaissance 4x4 armoured car.
• Panzerfaust - Single-use anti-tank rocket launcher.
• Pied-à-Terre - French - Property for occasional use. Literally foot on the ground.
• (La) Piscine - French - The Swimming pool - nickname of the French Intelligence (SDECE) agency’s headquarters in Paris.
• Pips - The term used for the insignia of officer ranks in the British Army.
• Pomme De Terre - French - Potato.
• POW - Prisoner of War.
• Prefect - An older, senior boy at a school, given extra responsibilities, including discipline among younger pupils.
• Putsch - (see Beer Hall Putsch)
• Queer (see Fairy)
• Rendezvous / RV - French - A meeting at an agreed time and place.
• RSHA - Reichssicherheitshauptamt - The Reich Security Main Office.
• S-Bahn - Rapid railway transport system around Berlin (see also U-Bahn).
• Schmeisser (see MP-40)
• Schnapps (See Eau- de-vie)
• Schnitzel - Dish of fried, breaded, thin meat cutlet.
• SD - The Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS was the intelligence agency of the Nazi Party. A sub-division of the SS.
• SHAEF - Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force - The command group of the allied advance.
• Szkop - Polish Slang - Contemptuous term for a German, especially a soldier.
• SMG - Sub-Machine Gun.
• SOE - Special Operations Executive. Churchill’s WW2 Secret Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. He famously ordered them to set Europe ablaze!
• Sortie - Mission carried out by military troops or aircraft.
• SS - Schutzstaffel - was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
• Sten - A very basic select-fire blowback British submachine gun.
• Stogie - Slang - Cigar.
• Strasse - German - Street.
• Swan Vesta (See Vesta)
• Tail / Tricks - Euphemism for prostitution. Offering sex in return for payment. Referred to as selling tail or turning tricks.
• They - Euphemism used by the military and security services to refer to faceless or mysterious operatives. In this novel, refers to the commanders at headquarters.
• Trench Coat - Long coat, often made of waterproofed cotton. Originally worn by the military, but later developed into a fashionable civilian garment.
• Truncheon (See Baton)
• U-Bahn - Berlin rapid underground transport system (see also S-Bahn).
• Uncle Joe - Joseph Stalin.
• Ushanka - Traditional Russian fur hat.
• USAAF - United States Army Air Force.
• Vesta - Type of strike-anywhere match, most commonly produced under the Swan brand.
• Volkssturm - A national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II.
• Walther - German firearms manufacturer.
• Webley - British firearms manufacturer.
• Wehrmacht - German regular forces.
• Weimar Republic - Germany’s government 1919-33.
• Weissbier - Popular German cloudy wheat beer.
• Woodbine - Popular English cigarette.
• Yalta Conference - February 1945 - Meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe.
• Yank - British Slang - An American.
• Yid - Slang - Derogatory term for a Jew. Short for Yiddish.