Acting

John Eppler

Johannes Eppler (1914–1999), also known as Hans Eppler, John Eppler, and Hussein Gaafer, was a World War II Abwehr spy, a German who had been raised in Egypt by his Egyptian stepfather. One of Rommel's spies during the North African campaign in World War II, Operation Salaam led by László Almásy spirited Eppler and Hans-Gerd Sandstede into Cairo although they were both arrested soon after arrival in July 1942. Eppler is the subject of MI5 file KV 2/1467. After World War II, Eppler told dramatic stories about his spy exploits during the war, but historians have shown that his actual work was ineffective and amateurish. Eppler and a colleague, disguised as British officers, infiltrated Cairo and made contact with the Free Officers movement, who were attempting to defect to the Axis. Their plans ultimately fell through and Eppler and future Egyptian president Anwar Sadat were imprisoned together. According to Sadat, Eppler was visited in his cell by Winston Churchill in 1942 and offered leniency in exchange for a full confession.