Film Review: Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story

The narration describes Noor (January 2, 1914 – September 13, 1944) as:

• daughter of Hazrat Inayat Khan (July 5, 1882 – February 5, 1927) and Ameena Begum (Ora Ray Baker, May 8, 1892 – May 1, 1949);
• great-great-great-granddaughter of Tipu Sultan (November 20, 1750 – May 4, 1799), Tiger of Mysore against British-colonized India;
• multi-cultural multi-linguist in England (at Bloomsbury), France (Suresnes), and Russia (St. Petersburg); and
• supporter of Indian independence.

It evidences Noor’s qualifications through:

• enlistment in Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) on November 19, 1940;
• promotion from Aircraftwoman 2^nd Class wireless operation to bomber training school and section officer assistance; and
• recruitment into SOE’s F (France) Section.

It focuses upon Noor’s embracing Hazrat’s activist-directed, divine-filled, lie-free, music-infused, Sufi-interpreted reality. 

History gives Noor super-performances, June 17 to October 13, 1943, despite Physician/Prosper network head Francis Suttill’s (March 17, 1910 – March 23, 1945) arrest June 24^th. Croix de Guerre, Dispatches Mention, and George Cross honor Noor’s:

• besting Karl Bömelburg (October 28, 1885 - January 1, 1946), Hans Kieffer (December 4, 1900 – June 26, 1947), and Ernst Vogt;
• escaping November 25^th from 84 Avénue Foch with Léon Faye (June 10, 1899 – January 30, 1945) and John Starr (died 1996);
• experiencing assaults, isolation, shackles; and
• relocating to Pforzheim November 27^th.

Info-trails indicate Yolande Beekman’s (born November 7, 1911), Madeleine Damerment’s (born November 11, 1917), Noor’s, and Eliane Browne-Bartroli Plewman’s (born December 6, 1917) executions at Dachau September 13, 1944.

So Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story juxtaposes geo-historically insightful documents, images, interviews, and performances through:

• Drs. Thomas Childers, Hanna Diamond, Matthew D. Green, Juliette Pattinson, Homayra Ziad;
• John Danley (Henri Déricourt), Joe Isenberg (Leo), Thomas Keegan (Francis), Jeff Mocho (Karl), Emilie Moskal (Mrs. Pinchon), Grace Srinivasan (Noor), Mike Sullivan (Maurice Buckmaster), Ryan Thomas (John), Lisa Tuvalo (Madame Balachowsky);
• Charles David Denler, composer;
• Carrie Gardner, co-producer/writer;
• Char Gardner, producer;
• Nick Gardner, cinematographer;
• Robert H. Gardner, director/producer;
• David Harper, Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, nephews;
• Dame Helen Mirren, narrator;
• Pat Moran + Associates, casting specialist;
• Jeremy Morrison, editor/producer;
• North Baltimore Mennonite Church, 4615 Roland Avenue, Maryland;
• Public Broadcasting Service;
• Rebecca Shpak, production designer; and
• Unity Productions Foundation. 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Hon. Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan (code name Madeleine), wireless operator with F Section, Special Operations Executive, Royal Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Imperial War Museums Collections, Photographs: Special Operations Executive (SOE) and special Forces Agents During the Second World War
Catalog no. HU 74868; Imperial War Museum, Kennington, South East London: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons@ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Noor_Inayat_Khan.jpeg

Noor's father was North Indian classical musician and founder and teacher of Universal Sufism, Hazrat Inayat Khan (July 5, 1882-February 5, 1927).
1911 photograph taken in San Francisco; Nekbakht Foundation, Suresnes, Île-de-France, north central France: Sohrob nabatian, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Hazrat_Inayat_Khan_taken_at_Taber_Stanford_studios_in_San_Francisco,_1911.jpg

Dame Helen Mirren (July 26, 1945) narrated "Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story."
The Debt (Eine offene Rechnung) photocall, Berlin, Germany; Sunday, September 18, 2011: HelenMirrennews, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/58642091@N04/6165469271

"Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story -- Trailer" (3:16)
Uploaded December 19, 2013, by unityproductionsfnd to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2nM12xbAUM

Unveiling ceremony for memorial to Noor Inayat Khan was held Thursday, November 8, 2012.
Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, Borough of Camden, central London: Matt Brown (Matt From London), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/11481884723/

Basu, Shrabani. 2007. Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan. Omega Publications, Inc.

Dalton, Samantha. 8 November 2012. “Noor Inayat Khan: The Indian Princess Who Spied for Britain.” BBC: News > UK. Retrieved April 2015.

• Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20240693

"Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story." PBS.org. Premiered September 9, 2014. Retrieved April 2015.

• Available at: http://www.pbs.org/program/enemy-reich/

Fuller, Jean Overton. 1988. Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan (Madeleine). With a Foreword by Baroness Ward of North Tyneside. East-West Publications.

Inayat Khan, Hazrat. 2006. Nature Meditations. Omega Publications, Inc.

Inayat Khan, Noor. 2013. King Akbar’s Daughter: Stories for Everyone as Told by Noor Inayat Khan. Omega Publications, Inc.

Inayat Khan, Noor. 1985. Twenty Jataka Tales. Illustrated by H. Willebeek Le Mair. Inner Traditions.

Inayat-Khan, Pir Zia. (Compiler and Editor). 2013. Caravan of Souls: An Introduction to the Sufi Path of Hazrat Inayat Khan. Omega Publications, Inc.

Kronemer, Alexander. September 8, 2014 (Updated November 8, 2014). “The Noor Inayat Khan Story, A Muslim Heroine Who Fought the Nazis in WWII.” Huff Post: Religion > Islam. The Huffington Post.com, Inc. Retrieved April 2015.

• Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexander-kronemer/noor-inayat-khan-muslim_b_5785576.html

Perrin, Nigel. “Noor Inayat Khan.” SOE Agent Profiles. Retrieved April 2015.

• Available at: http://nigelperrin.com/soe-noor-inayat-khan.htm#.VR2aAyvIa1Q

Simkin, John. September 1997 (Updated August 2014). “Noor Inayat Khan.” Spartacus Educational: Second World War > Secret Service. Retrieved April 2015.

• Available at: http://spartacus-educational.com/SOEnoor.htm