Playing cards have been a staple of entertainment for centuries, but did you know that Bicycle Playing Cards were once used as an actual tool for espionage? These seemingly ordinary decks played a secret role in helping prisoners of war escape during World War II. Let’s dive into this fascinating bit of history where card tricks took on a whole new meaning.
This past weekend I was visiting Washington DC with my family and we made our way to the "International Spy Museum" - and I stumbled across this gem - a Bicycle Deck with a hidden map! I never knew this was a thing that existed so I did a bit of research on it and I'm sharing it with you below. Do you have this deck here at PlayingCardHub? Let me know I'd love to see it
The Clever Escape Plan
During World War II, captured Allied soldiers often found themselves imprisoned in German POW camps, facing nearly impossible odds of escape. While the Geneva Convention ensured that prisoners could receive care packages from humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross, intelligence agencies saw an opportunity to get creative. The U.S. military, in collaboration with the United States Playing Card Company (the makers of Bicycle cards), devised a brilliant method to smuggle escape maps into these camps—hidden inside decks of playing cards.
How Did It Work?
The concept was genius in its simplicity. Special decks of Bicycle cards were created with concealed maps that revealed escape routes when soaked in water or peeled apart layer by layer. These maps were printed on thin sheets and sandwiched between the two layers of a card, making them completely undetectable during casual inspection.
When prisoners received these playing cards in care packages, they could discreetly separate them to access the hidden maps. These maps provided valuable information about the terrain, roadways, and key landmarks—everything an escapee needed to navigate enemy territory and find their way to safety.
The Legacy of Bicycle’s Secret Decks
This secret operation was highly classified at the time, and details remained hidden for decades. While the exact number of decks produced and their specific successes are difficult to determine, it is widely believed that these playing cards contributed to several successful escapes. Today, these wartime Bicycle decks are an iconic part of espionage history and a testament to human ingenuity in times of crisis.
