Hitler's Espionage Machine: The True Story Behind One of the World's Most Ruthless Spy Networks [Paperback]

Christer Jorgensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

From the roots of the German SA, or Stormtroopers, grew an espionage machine that rivaled and vexed the rest of the world through the thirties and right up to the final days of World War II. The SD, Abwehr, Gestapo, and many other units of the German intelligence operations were feared and hated, with good reason. This is the thrilling story of their ascent and demise.

Hitler's Espionage Machine examines in detail the history of each unit-its formation, the missions it carried out, and its importance in the war as a whole. It explores the myths that have grown up around the agencies, including the rumors that many of them are still active. It exposes the competition between the German agencies for Hitler's favor, and analyzes the effect this had on intelligence collection and dissemination, with particular focus on the notorious rivalry between the SS and the Abwehr.

Chapters discuss the foreign operations and counterintelligence methods of the Abwehr, the central military intelligence service; the brutal methods of the Sicherheitdienst (SD), the Nazi Party's inner security apparatus; and the power games of the Gestapo, which controlled resistance within the state. Further chapters evaluate the effectiveness of the naval and air security departments.

Drawing on firsthand accounts from the men who took part, as well as exhaustive research, Hitler's Espionage Machine convincingly argues that Hitler's intelligence apparatus was as intrinsic to his success as to his failure. It is a tour de force of intelligence writing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christer Jörgensen earned his Ph.D. at University College in London in 1999. He is the author of Rommel's Panzers and coauthor of Tanks in the Twentieth Century and Hitler's Arctic War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592283268
• ISBN-13: 978-1592283262
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,030,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars strange..., August 30, 2009

By 

DB "dbri" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitler's Espionage Machine: The True Story Behind One of the World's Most Ruthless Spy Networks (Paperback)

i have not read the whole book, just a small snippet about heydrich (p 200). it says the assassination happened "at the troja bridge, where the traffic usually ground to a halt"... other sources say it was at a hairpin turn in the road that required a slowdown as curves do (and it was before a bridge but... the point is the curve was the main reason for the slowdown and reason for attack, not the bridge and traffic). it also says that the village of lidice had 'links' to the assassins. other sources say they simply parachute-landed near there. small mistakes... ok.

but the book also says heydrich was not a racist, and not a 'dedicated nazi', but just a careerist. that is a very controversial argument but has no citations or discussion, the statement is just made. other sources point out he chaired the wanssee conference, sent orders to einsatzgruppen, and uhm ...... lots of other actions that would seem to be evidence for the opposite argument.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Solid Reference Book, October 7, 2008

By 

Michael Mandaville "Author: Citizen Soldier H... (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitler's Espionage Machine: The True Story Behind One of the World's Most Ruthless Spy Networks (Paperback)

This book is a very solid reference for the German Espionage machine. It covers considerable ground. The German espionage machine was divided essentially into the Abwehr under the traditional Army - Wehrmacht and the SD which was under the thumb of the SS. They were constant rivals, vying for power and prestige. This book details some excellent case studies and exploits of both groups. If you are interested in espionage and World War II history, then this book offers a strong grounding in the two agencies and their adventures.

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding in every way, February 22, 2007

By 

Konrad Baumeister - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hitler's Espionage Machine: The True Story Behind One of the World's Most Ruthless Spy Networks (Paperback)

Jorgensen's book on Nazi Germany's espionage apparatuses is at once well written, exhaustive in detail, well-researched, generously and thoughtfully illustrated, and a thrilling read. It is the best book of its kind I have read.

The book begins, shall we say, at the beginning - the early development of Imperial Germany's intelligence arm, Nicholai's Nachrichtendienst, prior to and during World War I, and constrasts its effectiveness with that of its adversaries. Upon Germany's loss of the war, this was disbanded, and from the time Weimar and then Nazi Germany once again thought to develop military and political intelligence it was playing catchup with its rivals.

The work was made more difficult still by the diffusion and dilution of effort which were a byproduct of Hitler's way of running the Third Reich. No one power center would be allowed to grow too strong unchecked, each would be in rivalry with every other. And so over time there were multiple competing intelligence services - the Wehrmacht's Abwehr under Canaris, the Nazi party's internal Gestapo, the SS Sicherheitsdienst operating wherever Himmler, Heydrich and Schellenberg could place their men, Gehlen's Fremde Heere Ost, Goering's Forschungsamt, naval intelligence, radio-intercept intelligence, even a small department under foreign secretary Rippentrop. There was considerable overlap, a good deal of confusion and double-dealing, and Jorgensen's conclusion ultimately is that this 'system' of devolved control and no central organization cost the German war effort considerably in efficiency.

Beyond the rise and organization of these various agencies, Jorgensen's book deals with concrete successes and failures of not only the Nazi intelligence services but also those of its competitors, including especially the GRU (Soviet military intelligence). There are chapters on the establishment of Communist spy networks in Germany, as well as the hunt to squash them. Numerous specific intelligence operations and efforts are examined in detail, and Jorgensen's writing makes these fascinating and tense. Some of the spectacular events are dealt with - Skorzeny's rescue of Mussolini from Gran Sasso, e.g. - but there is equally good stuff on much more quiet work such as radio counterintelligence, cryptography, code breaking, and the like.

An excellent addition to intelligence writing, and World War II history in general. Jorgensen's other WWII books are also well worth searching out, by the way.