Henri Koot

Henri Koot (Singaradja, 29 december 1883 – the Hague, 18 January 1959) was a Dutch expert in Cryptography and cryptology. During the Second World War he was commander of the Domestic armed forces.

Content

[hide]*1 early life and education

• 2 military career
• 3 Director of the rating
• 4 war period
• 5 Domestic armed forces Commander
• 6 end of the war
• Death 7
• 8 Greet Hofmans
• Literature 9
• 10 external link

Early life and education

Kale was born in the capital of Singaraja, Buleleng on Bali. He was the sixth of eleven children of Alexander Koot, architect at the Department of Water management in Dutch East Indies, and Alexandria Kien who was of Chinese descent. It was the second marriage of Koot senior. When Kale was four years old, his family moved to Surabaya. Kale here followed the primary school and the HBS. On september 16, 1901, when he was seventeen years old, he began to the KMA in Breda, as "cadet for the weapon of the infantry in Nederlandsch-Indië". In 1902 he was promoted to corporal, and sergeant in 1903 to.

Military career

On 22 July 1904 he did officer's exam; He succeeded as third best of his year, and that same day was appointed second lieutenant in the weapon of the infantry in Nederlandsch-Indië. Because he is not yet able to return directly to India, he was appointed Second Lieutenant à la suite of the Colonial Yard depot to Harderwijk, a purely administrative designation. In anticipation of his departure to the Indies established themselves to the Haguesome time Koot. By order of 21 February 1905 he was posted to Surabaya. He departed on 11 March and came to Surabaya on april 15 to. In 1907 , he was a member of military expeditions to Ceramand Ambon. In 1908 left Kale to Timor.

By Royal Decree of 23 July 1908 he was promoted to first lieutenant, and he was by decision of 29 August , retroactive to March 1908, appointed civil Lieutenant Governor about Timahoe Amfoeang-, Amfoeang-Naiklioe, Tahaip, Tefnei and Appointment, all landscapes in Central Timor. Per 12 may 1909 he was honorably revoked. Kale was transferred to Bandoeng. After three months he was transferred to Cimahi.

Director of the rating

On 20 August 1911 SS William I departed back to Koot per Netherlands on 1 november , where he began to study at the Higher Military school (HKS) in the Hague. He would never return to India. When in 1914 thefirst world war broke out, he remained with G.J. Sieburgh in the Hague. The other eight KNIL'ers returned back to India. Kale was assigned to section IV of the General staff (GSIV). He specialized in the decoding of intercepted radio messages. In 1918 he was promoted to captain. In the same year, he was by Queen Wilhelmina awarded the honorary Medal for Initiative and ingenuity in silver, due to its merit for the espionage services of Netherlands. When in 1919 the chiffreerafdeling was an independent Department of the General staff (GSIIIc) became Koot head of this Department. In 1920 he went of the KNIL after the Royal Dutch army. Kale was now head of the Cryptographic Agency. This newly formed agency answerable to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was an interdepartmental Office that the diplomatic service, the army, and the Navy was to be foreseen of code resources. Koots new feature carried the beautiful title Director of the figure. In 1927 he investigated the Enigmacipher for two months; at the end of that year, or early 1928 he brought report of his findings from. According to Kale could a using the Enigma encrypted message not be decrypted without knowledge of the key.

In addition to his work for the cryptology also Cryptographically Office gave Koot colleges and espionage to the higher War College. In 1929 he was lecturer in the practice of Malay at the University of Utrecht. He loved his speech on 28 October . In 1930 was promoted to reserve major general Kale. In the meantime he was on 16 november 1923 to Apeldoorn in the marriage with Maria Fritz, a three years older modiste. The couple settled in the Hague. End 1932 Koot received a letter in which he per 1 January 1933 was fired as head of the Cryptographic work desk. According to his wife, this came as a complete surprise to Koot. Would be specified as a reason for the dismissal that his function was raised because of cuts. Kale would be a wait from money received his resignation date and would continue as head of GSIIIc.

By the letter of resignation he had a deep personal crisis. Through the intermediary of Hendrikus Colijn he still knew, from India made Kale a cruise to the Caribbean for some on story to come. He visited Jamaica andPuerto Rico, among others. In 1934 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and reserve in 1937 to reserve Colonel. In 1939 led Koot many staff for a new level of listening and service, and for the service provider.Also, he designed a new code system, but there was no time left to enter this yet for the attack of Germany on Netherlands. His research group at the start of the mobilization he had denounced.

War Period

During the mobilization and war days in May 1940 worked closely with Jan SomerKoot, a captain in the KNIL and until the outbreak of the war Professor KMA, who worked at GSIIIa. After the capitulation of Netherlands was Koot in July 1940, head of the private Office of the Building Service. In september he was arrested, and imprisoned in the prison in Untersuchungshaft to Scheveningen (Oranje hotel). In december 1940 he was free again. From January 1941 to december of that year, he worked at the Secretariat of the Dutch Union. With resistance activities, he is not concerned, because he felt that he ran too much in the spotlight. From August 1942 he led a relief operation where food packages under Dutch prisoners of war in Germany were divided. Initially this involved a private action; from may 1943 he fulfilled the same function for the Red Cross. In late april 1944 he was again arrested. This time he was three weeks locked up because of Kundgebung deutschfeindlicher.

Domestic Armed Forces Commander

In the course of 1944 the resistance bundled to Domestic armed forces (BS). The order service (OD), the Council of resistance (RVV) and the Rural commando groups (LKP) one had to tour the triangle was called initially, and later the Delta-Commission. After retired general Isaac R. and Lieutenant Colonel V.E. Wilmar had thanks for the honor, Koot took command of the BS in itself. He complied with the subpoenas that he was allowed to establish its headquarters to Amsterdam because he felt that it was far too talkative in the Hague. (When he after the war for the Commission , a parliamentary inquiry into the Government's policy in the second world war he had to appear the Hague, described as a "very kletsgat".) As Chief of staff he Mr. de Boer to drew, a captain from the OD that came with the NS worked. Kale considered himself as a referee between the various warring parties within the Dutch resistance. In practice had the order service much influence on him. He argued with the knowledge of Prince Bernhard in a centralized command structure with a lot of power for the old-soldiers of the OD. Towering quarrels with the LKP and the RVV were the result.

End of the war

In april 1945 was Kale involved in the Netherlands with the Germans in surrender talks . Because the German Lieutenant-General p. Reichelt only wanted to speak with someone who are equal in rank, was temporarily promoted to reserve major general Kale. It would be especially to Kale due have been that the German capitulation in Netherlands not in a bloodbath is terminated. At the end of June, down his command and put Koot on 29 August he was awarded the military William order granted. An offer to head of to be the new National Security Agency he pointed off. In July 1945 he was Chairman of a purification Committee for officers of the Royal Army who are not prisoners of war had been. He remained so until July 1947.

On 1 October of that year, he left the military service. At the end of 1946 he was Chancellor of the Netherlands orders and thus President of the chapter of the military William order become, an honorary position which he took very seriously. The very secure and methodical Kale has a lot of orders, decorations, and the Dutch in his tenure meant that Museum of the Chancery . On the day before his 75th birthday he laid this funtion.

About Kale is written that he was exceptionally gifted but that his great erudition and knowledge of languages, he was fluent in several languages of the Indonesian archipelago, many remained unknown because he was "the zwijgzaamste der zwijgzamen". It was a big disappointment for Koot that he after the war not in making policy for Dutch East Indies was involved.

Death

Kale died at the age of 75 to the Hague after a heart attack. On 21 January 1959 , he was cremated in Crematorium Velsen to Three House, at his own request in silence.

Greet Hofmans

When Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard tobden with the health of their daughter, Marijkewould Kale to Bernhard have recommended the services of Greet Hofmans . Kale was friends with the family Van Heeckeren Van Molencaten in Hattem. Hamid would have successfully treated a niece of the family.

Literature

• G.J. van Ojen Jr. live and work by Henri Koot (1883-1959) (1978; Section Of Military History Royal Netherlands Army
• Robert d. Haslach Nishi no kaze, hare (1985)
• Loe de Jong the Kingdom of the Netherlands during World War II parts II, IV and Xb

External link

• English translation of Koots opinion about the Enigma