The Crimes of the Gestapo

ANDREW COOK

While the title of this book refers to the crimes committed by the German state secret police, what it’s actually about is the British organisation, MI14. This secret wartime intelligence organisation was set up by Churchill with the sole purpose of gathering intelligence on Germany and, as such, acted as a clearing house for information from MI5, MI6, MI9 and MI19, as well as having its own agents and network. Of prime interest was the Gestapo, so here we have stories about the Germans as collected in the files of MI14. It’s a potted history but has fascinating elements such as the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. It also exposes plenty of myths about the Gestapo and the Appendix are as interesting as the main text with things like the Gestapo officers responsible for executing prisoners from The Great Escape. It’s a little uneven in pacing but absolutely fascinating and a must-read.

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• Amberley Books

• ISBN 978-1-4456-9836-6

• 292 pages • Hardback • £20