Betty Carp
An older white woman wearing glasses, a dark top, and a necklace; her hair is center-parted and dressed back to the nape
Betty Carp, from a 1964 publication of the US Department of State
Born
Bertha Carp

June 15, 1895
Constantinople, Turkey
DiedJune 12, 1974
Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)Embassy official, OSS agent

Bertha "Betty" Carp (June 15, 1895 – June 12, 1974) was an American embassy official and intelligence agent, called "The Best Known American in Turkey".[1]

Early life

Carp was born in Constantinople, the daughter of German or Austrian parents.[2][3] She was educated at schools in Turkey, London, and Vienna.[4]

Career

Carp worked at the American embassies in Istanbul and Ankara for most of her life. She was hired by ambassador Henry Morgenthau in 1914 as a messenger, typist and telephone operator. She became an interpreter, attaché, consul, and political officer. She received the State Department's Superior Honor Award at her retirement in 1964 from Secretary of State Dean Rusk, who called her a "living legend" and noted that she "is to be commended for her sociological reports, especially on religious, minority, educational, and legal matters".[5][6] She was "confidant to two dozen ambassadors and their wives" and "knew all the policemen and the shopkeepers and the crippled children of Beyoglu."[3]

During World War II and after, from 1942 to 1947, Carp worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in New York,[7] where she compiled biographical profiles of Balkan leaders using her language skills and wide network of diplomatic contacts.[2][6] She was a longtime, close colleague to CIA director Allen Dulles.[2][8] She was also active in fundraising for the American Hospital in Istanbul.[4]

Personal life

Carp stood under 5 feet in height,[9] and her physique and demeanor were described as "matronly"; she used her nonthreatening appearance to advantage when making contacts and gathering intelligence.[10] She became a United States citizen in 1947.[6] Her apartment in Istanbul overlooked the Dolmabahce pier, and was an informal gathering place for the American intelligence community.[11] She died in Istanbul in 1974, a few days before her 79th birthday.[4] Her grave is in Feriköy Protestant Cemetery in Istanbul.[12] A biography of Carp based on her correspondence and other sources, The Best Known American in Turkey by Rifat N. Bali, was published in Turkish in 2014.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 The best known American in Turkey : Betty Carp. Rıfat N. Bali. Istanbul. 2014. ISBN 978-605-4326-99-0. OCLC 888359089.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Srodes, James (2000-07-01). Allen Dulles: Master of Spies. Regnery Publishing. pp. 127–129, 210, 490. ISBN 978-0-89526-223-3.
  3. 1 2 Criss, Bilge Nur; Esenbel, Selcuk; Greenwood, Tony (2011-07-12). American Turkish Encounters: Politics and Culture, 1830-1989. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4438-3260-1.
  4. 1 2 3 "Obituaries: Betty Carp". Department of State News Letter: 92. July 1974 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ↑ "123 Individuals, 32 Units Cited for Outstanding Service". Department of State News Letter: 7. June 1964 – via Internet Archive.
  6. 1 2 3 "Betty Carp Acclaimed as 'Living Legend'". Department of State News Letter: 38. February 1964 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ Hassell, Agostino von; MacRae, Sigrid (2013-12-10). Alliance of Enemies: The Untold Story of the Secret American and German Collaboration to End World War II. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-4668-5998-2.
  8. ↑ Waller, Douglas (2015-10-06). Disciples: The World War II Missions of the CIA Directors Who Fought for Wild Bill Donovan. Simon and Schuster. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4516-9376-8.
  9. ↑ "Istanbul". The Department of State News Letter: 62. September 1962. ISBN 9781439188477.
  10. ↑ King, Charles (2014-09-15). Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-24578-3.
  11. ↑ Clarridge, Duane R. (2009-11-24). A Spy For All Seasons: My Life in the CIA. Simon and Schuster. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-1-4391-8847-7.
  12. ↑ "Bertha Carp, 88, an Officer Of U.S. Consulate in Istanbul". The New York Times. 1974-06-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
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