Violette Morris excelled at sports — all sports. She was an avid and fierce boxer, often defeating men. She was selected for the French national water polo team even though there was no women’s team at the time. She won gold medals in football at the 1921 and 1922 Women’s Olympiads. She was also successful in airplane racing, horseback riding, tennis, archery, diving, swimming, weightlifting. She expressed an interest in auto racing and underwent a voluntary mastectomy so she could fit in the cars more easily. She competed in and won a number of automobile events throughout the 1920s.
Violette was invited to participate in the 1936 Summer Olympics by Adolf Hitler. She happily obliged. Post-Olympics, Violette began collaborating with the Nazis, securing black market gasoline, spying and even torturing prisoners. Several reports claim that Violette enjoyed inflicting torture, often smiling and laughing during lengthy interrogations. She earned herself the nickname “The Hyena of the Gestapo.”
In April 1944, Violette’s car was sabotaged by members of the French Resistance. A few minutes into a journey from Lieurey, Violette’s car sputtered to a halt. She was driving members of the Nazi-sympathizing Bailleul family to Normandy. The car was ambushed by the French Resistance and all occupants were killed. Violette’s bullet-ridden body was taken to a morgue where it lay unclaimed for months. She was eventually buried in an unmarked communal grave. Violette was 51.