Hitler’s Traitors Dissent, Espionage and the Hunt For Dissenters

Hitler’s Traitors Dissent, Espionage and the Hunt For Dissenters compiled by

Edward Harrison and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 248

This collection of vivid essays examines some of the most fascinating aspects of the German

resistance to Hitler. It includes the first translations into English of pioneering studies on the

role of a leading Nazi in the July Plot, the flight of Rudolf Hess to Britain and the vigorous

controversy over Hugh Trevor-Roper’s investigation of Hitler’s death. The book also explores

vociferous Catholic dissent in Franconia and the conspiracies against the Third Reich of the

revolutionary New Beginning movement. Through the study of important personalities and

dramatic events this book explores the possibilities and challenges faced by Germans in

attempts to frustrate and defy Hitler’s tyranny.

I would like to say that I enjoyed the 6 different essays compiled in this book, on Rudolph

Hess, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, the Monasteries and two reports about Hugh

Trevor Roper. Whilst I can see the first two fitting in well with the title of the book, I find the

essays about the monasteries and the two about Hugh Trevor Roper don’t really fit the

title well, it’s as if the book goes off on a slightly different tangent. But as I say they are all

perfectly good essays, maybe it’s me and I haven’t grasped this book properly.

Spies Who Changed History

Spies Who Changed History written by Nigel West and published by Frontline

Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

Spies have made an extraordinary impact on the history of the 20th Century, but fourteen

in particular can be said to have been demonstrably important. As one might expect, few

are household names, and it is only with the benefit of recently declassified files that we

can now fully appreciate the nature of their contribution.

The criteria for selection have been the degree to which each can now be seen to have had a very definite influence on a specific course of events, either directly, by passing vital classified material, or indirectly, by organizing or managing a group of spies. Those selected were active in the First World War, the inter-war period, the Second World War, the Cold War and even the post-Cold War era.

These include Walther Dewé who formed a spy ring in German-occupied Belgium during the First World War. This train-watching network, known as ‘White Lady’, reported on German troop deployments and possible weaknesses in the German defences. Extending its operations into northern France, the ring provided 75 per cent of the information received by GHQ, British Expeditionary Force. By the time of the Armistice in 1918, Dewé’s group had a staggering 1,300 members.

Olga Gray, the 27-year-old daughter of a Daily Mail journalist, was employed as a secretary by the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1931 she undertook a mission for MI5 to penetrate the organization and discover its secret channel of communication with Moscow. Gray learned that the Party’s cipher was based on Treasure Island and this breakthrough enabled the Party’s messages to be read by Whitehall cryptographers.

These, and other surprising stories, are revealed in this fascinating insight into a secret world inhabited by mysterious and shadowy characters, all of whom, though larger than life, really did exist.

This book Spies Who Changed History, basically tells the stories of 24 spies from around the world in each chapter, these range from the Great War up to the end of the Cold War. These are all well-written and go into good detail about the spying missions, the cause and the outcome. I quite enjoyed this book as the stories were more factual rather than the added-on fiction or adjectively based. So I think those who want more detail in their reading will enjoy this book. I have also read a couple of Nigel West books previously and his book is always of a detailed kind and are comprehensively informed. A good book for the spy lover.

Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill

Hitler’s Spy Against Churchill written by Jan-Willem van den Braak

and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 312

From the summer of 1940 until May 1941, nearly twenty German Abwehr agents were

dropped by boat or parachute into England during what was known as Operation Lena,

all in preparation for Hitler's planned invasion of England. The invasion itself would never

happen and in fact, after the war, one of the Abwehr commanders declared that the

operation was doomed to failure.

There is no doubt that the operation did indeed become a fiasco, with almost all of the officers being arrested within a very brief period of time. Some of the men were executed, while others became double agents and spied for Britain against Germany. Only one man managed to stay at large for five months before eventually committing suicide: Jan Willem Ter Braak. Amazingly, his background and objectives had always remained unclear, and none of the other Lena spies had ever even heard of him. Even after the opening of the secret service files in England and the Netherlands over 50 years later, Jan Willem Ter Braak remained a 'mystery man', as the military historian Ladislas Farago famously described him.

In this book, the author – his near-namesake – examines the short and tragic life of Jan Willem Ter Braak for the first time. Using in-depth research, he investigates the possibility that Ter Braak was sent to kill the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and discovers why his fate has remained largely unknown for so long.

This is quite an intriguing little book that has all the elements of an espionage thriller,

with a bit of light fiasco thrown into the mix. This book follows the story mainly of one

man, Jan Willem Ter Braak, although he was part of a group of people trained to act

as agents or spies in order to start an invasion of Britain during the war. Ter Braak

was a rather evasive or reclusive character who nobody really got to know well. So

here lies the mystery around a man who nobody really knew or what he got up to.

This book I found was quite gripping and was a really quick but enjoyable read, and

I had never heard of this story before either. A book I really enjoyed and would most

certainly recommend it.

Secret Service Against the Nazi Regime

Secret Service Against the Nazi Regime written by Edward Harrison and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

An edited collection of peer-reviewed articles using newly-released sources - British,

German and Italian - integrated to form a fascinating narrative of the intelligence-led

fight of the British Secret Service in the existential struggle with Nazi Germany. The

main sections are: British Secret Warfare and the Nazi Challenge; Counter-

Intelligence Against Axis Spies; and Hugh Trevor-Roper and Secret Service. An

inside and authentic story with original and little-known but vital themes including the

British Military Mission to Poland, the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in

Poland, British subversion in French East Africa, 'on secret service for the Duce',

British Radio Intelligence, and J C Masterman and the Security Service. This is a

uniquely human story of survival with all the drama of power struggles, personality

clashes, errors, heroism, human intelligence.

This is an excellent book that looks at the secret service operations and plans to try and hinder the Nazi regime around Europe and Northern Africa. It’s a fascinating collection of works that really draws the reader into various worlds of danger, extremism and bravery. The members of the secret services had to show great bravery and skill as the possible end result would have been certain death. To think many of these agents were having to work secret so if anything went wrong, then everything would have been denied.

I really enjoyed this book, an ideal read for those that write about spy dramas and

espionage as this book shows exactly how it would have been. A book that they say

would be hard to put down. Well written and captivated the reader. Pen & Sword have

really got me into this spy world and espionage, with great books about some great

intelligence agencies.

Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill?

Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill? written by David Tremain and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 304

There have been many remarkable women who served British Intelligence during the Second

World War. One whose dubious claim to have worked for them is a fascinating tale involving

three marriages – the first, to a spurious White Russian prince; the second to a

playboy-turned-criminal involved in a major jewellery robbery in the heart of London’s Mayfair

in the late 1930s. After the war, she became romantically involved with a well-known British

Fascist, but finally married another notorious criminal whom she had met earlier during the war.

The descriptions variously ascribed to her ranged from ‘remarkable’ and ‘quite ravishing’ to ‘…a woman whose loose living would make her an object of shame on any farmyard.

Until now, very little has been recorded about Stella Lonsdale’s life. She doesn’t even merit a mention in the two official histories of MI5, even though she managed to tie them up in knots for years. This book will explore the role this strange woman may or may not have played in working for British Intelligence, the French Deuxième Bureau, or the Abwehr – German military intelligence – during the Second World War, using her MI5 files as a primary source.

I should probably admit that I had never heard of Stella Lonsdale, but in a way, I can see why and why not. In a fascinating book that delves deep into the story and the circumstances involved, the information is a lot and very comprehensive. Hopefully, this isn’t spoiling it for anyone but this book clears her name of being any sort of spy for Nazi Germany. Although her lifestyle and friends might not have been to everyone’s taste, this book digs deep and does a lot of research to vindicate her and is very comprehensively written. I think this book could deter some readers because there was a lot of detail and information, but I pushed on through and in the end, it was a good read. Certainly one for those that love their spy game type reads.