A few years ago, Jan Willem van den Braak, a Dutchman, wrote a book, Spion tegen Churchill, about a German spy who went by the name Jan Willem ter Braak (no relation!). The spy, whose real name was Engelbertus Fukken, parachuted into the UK in early November 1940 and managed to escape detection for five […]
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The Book Annas Spuren: Ein Opfer der NS-“Euthanasie” (Anna’s Traces: A Victim of Nazi “Euthanasia”). Sigrid Falkenstein. Herbig, Stuttgart. 2012. Introduction A few months ago, I faced the uncomfortable possibility that Josef’s sister, my great aunt, may have met an unnatural fate at the Hufeland Hospital in Berlin-Buch. Maria Jakobs was sent to the hospital
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The Book Spy! Six Stories of Modern Espionage. Richard Deacon and Nigel West. British Broadcasting Corporation, London. 1980. Background Given how much controversy the 1980 Spy! television episode on Camp 020 aroused… I thought I would try and track down the accompanying book, written by Richard Deacon and Nigel West. I found one online and
The Book They Came to Spy: An Account of Nazi Espionage in Great Britain. Stanley Firmin. London-Hutchison. 1947. Background For over a year, I’ve been meaning to review Stanley Firmin’s 1947 book, They Came to Spy, but somehow, there is always another blog that seems more pressing. But, today is the day. Mind you, I
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My journey to uncover the story of Josef Jakobs, my grandfather, really took off when I found the eleventh edition of After the Battle magazine in late 1980s. The two page spread on Josef in the magazine gave me way more information than any I had found to date. After contacting the editor, Winston Ramsey,
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The Book From Art to Life and Back: N.Y.-Berlin-Paris, 1925-1962. Yvonne Hagen. Xlibris. 2006. Background A relation of the Hagen clan, living in Norway, put me onto this book. Yvonne (née Forrest) Hagen was the wife of Karl Victor Hagen, who happened to be the son of Louis Georg Hagen, one of the individuals who
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The Book Langes Seil, Schneller Tod: Wie Großbritannien seine Mörder hängte.[Long rope, Fast Death: How Great Britain hanged their Murderers] Traugott Vitz, Kirchschlager. 2016. Background I had come across an English translation of a chapter from Langes Seil, Schneller Tod in February 2017. The chapter dealt with the execution of various wartime spies in Great
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The Book Out of Nazi Germany and Trying to Find my Way. Irene Matthews. Upfront Publishing. 2002. Background A relation of the Hagen clan, living in Norway, put me onto this book. Irene Matthews is the daughter of Ernst David & Clara Hagen, individuals who appeared as clients of Jürgen Ziebell in the black market
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The Book The M Room: Secret Listeners Who Bugged the Nazis. Helen Fry, Create Space Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. Background I bought this book as an e-book two years ago. Last year, it was republished on Yale University Press with a different title (The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II).
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A year and a half ago, I took a research detour into the career of Gösta Caroli. I had come across a reference which suggested that Caroli had been tried, condemned and executed by the British. This was news to me since there is no evidence of a trial, nor an execution. In fact, according
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