Customer Reviews

Canaris: Hitler's Master Spy

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Like Albert Speer and Walter Schellenberg, Whilhelm Canaris is one of those enigmatic figures who emerged from the Third Reich. Hohne's book, 'Canaris: Hitler's Master Spy,' is a penetrating look at Hitler's head of military intelligence during World War Two. Hohne traces the rise of Canaris from his days as a lieutenant in World War One to his tenure as head of the Ahwehr and finally to his ultimate downfall at the hands of the Gestapo. The narrative does sometimes go off on tangents (notably the chapters on Canaris's role in the murders of communist leaders in the 1920's,) but also provides amazing insights into German foreign intelligence and the military conspiracy against Hitler that culminated in the July 20th 1944 bomb attempt. For anyone interested in World War Two espionage, the inner-workings of Nazi Germany, or deeper matters of conscience, Hohne's book will more than delight.

I found this book to be an interresting and fast paced look into the little known life and death of one of the Third Reich's most ellusive characters. Certainly there has been less written about Admiral Canaris than most of the key figures on Nazi Germany and this book is a valuable work which provides details of Canaris' career from his earliest ventures into the world of espionage prior to World War I. I consider this a supurb reference and a critical piece of my WW2 collection.

This is a non-revised paperback version of a biography which first appeared in the late 1970s. The author spent six years working on the archives and the result is a very detailed treatment of Hitler's master spy. Canaris emerges as a Janus or two faced figure. Early in the war, he undoubtedly achieved a number of spy coups. However, he also had to take responsibility for several "botched" expeditions such as the unsuccessful attempts to land German spies in the USA. Following the death of his erstwhile friend Heydrich, SS leaders such as Kaltenbrunner tried to break up Canaris' spy network and place it under Gestapo control. Canaris was dismissed in March 1944, but retained faith that Hitler would rehabilitate him. He was eventually hanged for alleged complicity in the July 1944 plot to kill the Fuhrer. Canaris certainly had links with anti-Hitler factions, but his actual role is still ambiguous. His conscience and loyalties prevented him from being in the forefront of opposition. Author Heinz Hohne is meticulous but is not an easy read. Nor does he offer a chapter of conclusions on this enigmatic character.

This is a hard core,"meat and potato" book that goes into alot of complexities in regard to Canaris'naval career.For one thing a person could not for an instant doubt Canaris' personal courage.He was a U-boat officer during WW1 and the dangers he experienced were well described in the book. Canaris was from a more aristocratic type German family with possible Greek ancestors.He chooses a naval career because he sees it as his duty to his country."Duty to Germany" is the basic theme for all of his actions in the book.After WW1 he remains in the German navy and gets pulled into the politics,violence, and controversy surrounding Germany's defeat.Canaris landed a post in German intelligence and eventually became head of the Abwehr,the German equivalent of the CIA but with heavy military ties.He abhors all left wing violence but often overlooked right wing violence,and was party to releasing from jail Nazi sympathizers who committed acts of violence(even murder) for"political reasons".Although he was not a Nazi party member he was greatly in empathy with them and helped to establish their power base.He would live to regret it.
Canaris became disenchanted with the Nazis very early in the 1930's and in fact was keeping a record of the party's mistakes and misdeeds and hoping for a big slip up where the German people would overthrow the Hitler regime.Throughout the book he seems more like an impotent stenograher/spectator rather than the head of German Intelligence.Eventually Canaris' Abwehr become completely impotent and just another alphabet organization in Hitlers' Germany. Canaris definitely knew about the concentration camps,etc.A great portion of the book was spent describing Canaris' intelligence leaks of German vulnerability to the allied powers.He did this in hope the allies would intervene and save Germany from the "madman".Unfortunatley Canaris became so appalled by the Nazis that he kept immaculate records for the day of final reconning when Hitler would be overthtrown and Germany set free.In a chapter of espionage and intrique,a personal enemy of Admiral Canaris who wanted to "even up" told the Nazi police where Canaris had secreted the documents and that was pretty much the end for the Admiral.Canaris was appalled at Hitlers' sociopathic shennigans almost from the beginning.That was where the book shows that the Admiral made a mistake.He needed to be appalled at the VERY beginning. Apparently the Admiral believed that with his experience as a "master spy" he could safely navigate the Nazi waters and be one up on Hitlers "gang". His decision no doubt was based on what he believed was best for the German people.Easy for me to say because I only read the book,but the web of intrique,plots,etc.make this book a real true life spy thriller.He's nowhere close to a snowy white hero though!!I couldn't figure out if the title,"Hitlers'Master Spy"was supposed to have a question mark after it.If he was a master spy he appeared to be "out of the loop".
Also another big question was not adressed in the book.That is,"Was Canaris sacrificed by other Nazi hiearchy who were likewise trying to cut an advantageous deal with the allied powers"?Canaris would have been the one to be eliminated because he had alot of records that could have sent other prominent Nazis to one of Hitler's torture dungeons or a victorious allied gallows?.Most of the Nazis in fact already realized that Germany had lost the war by early 1943,so it appeared to be a scramble to make a deal with the west and "devil take the hindmost" Was Canaris and his cold pondering intellectualism the vulnerable fault that left him "the hindmost".

I have read many fiction WWII spy stories and thought it would be neat to get the real story on Canaris. This thing kind of reads like a difficult history book. I would suggest you get this ONLY if you are REAL serious about learning about him because it gives tons of trivial details, etc.