Customer Reviews

Germany's Spies and Saboteurs

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This book seems like it is not a typical documentation of spying and sabateuring as most government and FBI files have publicized to America. It seems to be the "untold" story. A plus for this book is that it presents not only it's perspective upon the spy stories, but others' perspectives as well. Johnson chooses the stories well and alternates between different stories throughout the book, and thus held my interest.

This is my second book I have read by this author. It was an OK read and dealt with the little known spy and saboteur war in the United States and Great Britain in World War II. I did not know much about this war and how the Germans waged it. This book informed me of the war.

There was some interesting facts in this book. One was how the Germans conspired with the IRA and Ukrainian nationalists in the sabotage war in both countries. The IRA certainly helped the Germans in their use of explosives on both civilian and military sites. The other facts about the U Boat landings in the United States shed light on the use of saboteurs on the war industries. Some other recent books have dealt with some of these episodes.

One criticism I have of this author is that he tends to repeat himself in his writings. I believe he does this to make sure the reader gets his point. I'm not sure all the material he footnotes can be trusted and so his method of repeating himself is his way to make sure the reader believes what he thinks. I think he should let the facts stand by themselves.

This is an informative short read. There are probably better reads out there on this subject.

The received view about German saboteurs in US and in UK is that they were all captured soon after arrival on foreign soil, then executed or turned into double agents The author makes out a fair case that this was far from the truth. The most interesting case is perhaps that of Hans Hansen who parachuted into England in 1940 and appears to have fooled British Intelligence right up to 1945. There are also some intriguing accounts in the book about nazi spies in Latin America, the IRA connection with the Abwehr and the double dealing of FBI director J Edgar Hoover who continually overstated his own success. One caution: the bibliography contains only secondary sources. An excellent read rather than a work of scholarship.