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Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin
"A truly thrilling expose of the previously unknown Nazi assassination plot that could have changed history." — Edward Jay Epstein, New York Times b estselling author of The Assassination Chronicles
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a tale as riveting and suspenseful as any the true story of the Nazi plot to kill the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. during World War II.
The to kill the three most important and heavily guarded men in the world.
The a specially trained team headed by the killer known as The Most Dangerous Man in Europe.
The nothing less than the future of the Western world. The year is 1943 and the three Allied leaders—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—are meeting for the first time at a top-secret conference in Tehran. But the Nazis have learned about the meeting and Hitler sees it as his last chance to turn the tide. Although the war is undoubtedly lost, the Germans believe that perhaps a new set of Allied leaders might be willing to make a more reasonable peace in its aftermath. And so a plan is devised—code name Operation Long Jump—to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. Immediately, a highly trained, hand-picked team of Nazi commandos is assembled, trained, armed with special weapons, and parachuted into Iran. They have six days to complete the daring assignment before the statesmen will return home. With no margin for error and little time to spare, Mike Reilly, the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail—a man from a Montana silver mining town who describes himself as “an Irish cop with more muscle than brains”—must overcome his suspicions and instincts to work with a Soviet agent from the NKVD (the precursor to the KGB) to save the three most powerful men in the world. Filled with eight pages of black-and-white photographs, Night of the Assassins is a suspenseful true-life tale about an impossible mission, a ticking clock, and one man who stepped up to the challenge and prevented a world catastrophe.
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a tale as riveting and suspenseful as any the true story of the Nazi plot to kill the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. during World War II.
The to kill the three most important and heavily guarded men in the world.
The a specially trained team headed by the killer known as The Most Dangerous Man in Europe.
The nothing less than the future of the Western world. The year is 1943 and the three Allied leaders—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—are meeting for the first time at a top-secret conference in Tehran. But the Nazis have learned about the meeting and Hitler sees it as his last chance to turn the tide. Although the war is undoubtedly lost, the Germans believe that perhaps a new set of Allied leaders might be willing to make a more reasonable peace in its aftermath. And so a plan is devised—code name Operation Long Jump—to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. Immediately, a highly trained, hand-picked team of Nazi commandos is assembled, trained, armed with special weapons, and parachuted into Iran. They have six days to complete the daring assignment before the statesmen will return home. With no margin for error and little time to spare, Mike Reilly, the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail—a man from a Montana silver mining town who describes himself as “an Irish cop with more muscle than brains”—must overcome his suspicions and instincts to work with a Soviet agent from the NKVD (the precursor to the KGB) to save the three most powerful men in the world. Filled with eight pages of black-and-white photographs, Night of the Assassins is a suspenseful true-life tale about an impossible mission, a ticking clock, and one man who stepped up to the challenge and prevented a world catastrophe.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published June 2, 2020
247 people are currently reading
3583 people want to read
About the author
Howard Blum
33 books310 followersHoward Blum is the author of New York Times bestsellers including Dark Invasion, the Edgar Award–winner American Lightning, as well as Wanted!, The Gold Exodus, Gangland, and The Floor of Heaven. Blum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. While at the New York Times, he was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He is the father of three children, and lives in Connecticut.
Get in touch!
Website: www.HowardBlum.com
Email: Howard@HowardBlum.com
Facebook: Like Howard Blum on Facebook
Twitter: @HowardBlum and @FloorOfHeaven
Get in touch!
Website: www.HowardBlum.com
Email: Howard@HowardBlum.com
Facebook: Like Howard Blum on Facebook
Twitter: @HowardBlum and @FloorOfHeaven
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
March 31, 2023
This was a book where I did not know where the line was between fact and fiction at times. The author does a great job with his research, but how much of the material is fact will always be lost to time as some of the information is still debated to this day. The book also reads a bit too much like a spy novel, and it would have been a really good one had it been that. Still some good background information surrounding the main plot of the book. I would not recommend this book too highly.
December 27, 2021
Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin by Howard Blum is a perfect example, at least in my case, that no matter how much you read on a narrowly focused area like World War II, there's always something that you've never heard about.
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a tale as riveting and suspenseful as any thriller: the true story of the Nazi plot to kill the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. during World War II. The mission: to kill the three most important and heavily guarded men in the world. The assassins: a specially trained team headed by the killer known as The Most Dangerous Man in Europe. The stakes: nothing less than the future of the Western world.
The year is 1943 and the three Allied leaders—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—are meeting for the first time at a top-secret conference in Tehran. But the Nazis have learned about the meeting and Hitler sees it as his last chance to turn the tide of the war. Although the war is undoubtedly lost, the Germans believe that perhaps a new set of Allied leaders might be willing to make a more reasonable peace in its aftermath. And so a plan is devised—code name Operation Long Jump—to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. Why has this not been more widely known!
Immediately, a highly trained, hand-picked team of Nazi commandos is assembled, trained, armed with special weapons, and parachuted into Iran. They have six-days to complete the daring assignment before the statesmen will return home. With no margin for error and little time to spare, Mike Reilly, the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail—a man from a Montana silver mining town who describes himself as “an Irish cop with more muscle than brains”—must overcome his suspicions and instincts to work with a Soviet agent from the NKVD (the precursor to the KGB) to save the three most powerful men in the world. Things could have been so different!
I have to wonder what else of significance have I not yet "discovered"!
The New York Times bestselling author returns with a tale as riveting and suspenseful as any thriller: the true story of the Nazi plot to kill the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R. during World War II. The mission: to kill the three most important and heavily guarded men in the world. The assassins: a specially trained team headed by the killer known as The Most Dangerous Man in Europe. The stakes: nothing less than the future of the Western world.
The year is 1943 and the three Allied leaders—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin—are meeting for the first time at a top-secret conference in Tehran. But the Nazis have learned about the meeting and Hitler sees it as his last chance to turn the tide of the war. Although the war is undoubtedly lost, the Germans believe that perhaps a new set of Allied leaders might be willing to make a more reasonable peace in its aftermath. And so a plan is devised—code name Operation Long Jump—to assassinate FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. Why has this not been more widely known!
Immediately, a highly trained, hand-picked team of Nazi commandos is assembled, trained, armed with special weapons, and parachuted into Iran. They have six-days to complete the daring assignment before the statesmen will return home. With no margin for error and little time to spare, Mike Reilly, the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail—a man from a Montana silver mining town who describes himself as “an Irish cop with more muscle than brains”—must overcome his suspicions and instincts to work with a Soviet agent from the NKVD (the precursor to the KGB) to save the three most powerful men in the world. Things could have been so different!
I have to wonder what else of significance have I not yet "discovered"!
May 26, 2020
Though World War II would drag on for two more years, it was clear in 1943 that Germany would be defeated. When the Allies announced that only Germany’s unconditional surrender would be acceptable, the Nazis in power became desperate to find ways to force a negotiated peace, one that would spare them punishment for their crimes against humanity. When a cracked code revealed that the Allies’ “Big Three”—Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin--would meet in person in late 1943, SS intelligence officer Walter Schellenberg proposed a hit squad, thinking that assassinating all three would force the Allies to negotiate with Germany.
When Schellenberg learned that the Big Three meeting would be in Tehran, he was ecstatic. Iran was nominally neutral, but it had been friendly to Germany and it was full of German agents, many of whom had been in place for years. Schellenberg recruited Otto Skorzeny, the Nazis’ hero who had rescued Mussolini from house arrest in a daring glider raid on a mountaintop retreat. Skorzeny would train a team of 50 or so who would parachute in, go to ground with the help of local agents, and then, when the time was right, breach the embassy where they expected the Big Three to be meeting. A combination of bombs and automatic weapons would make short work of the protection, and then the plan was to ensure the Big Three would look their Nazi assassins in the eyes before being slaughtered.
Blum sets up his story as a sort of cat-and-mouse game between Schellenberg and Mike Reilly, Roosevelt’s top Secret Service agent. Reilly, who later wrote a memoir of his time in the Secret Service, was determined to do everything possible to protect FDR, whom he called The Boss, wherever he went. He obsessively checked out all remote locations in advance and barely slept when FDR was on the move.
Blum has done a ton of research, including in recently opened archives, especially from Russia. He details the long and painstaking preparation for the mission. In one horrifying paragraph, he also describes how Schellenberg and Skorzeny used inmates of the Sachsenhausen camp as test poisoned bullets, gas grenades and worse.
Once the mission gets underway, it’s hard to remember that this is nonfiction, not an action-packed espionage novel. There are double agents, betrayals, underground passageways, teenage street spies on bicycles, a machine-gun-armed desk straight out of a Bond movie, nick-of-time escapes and, as in so many action flicks, evil Nazis.
Here and there the writing is florid and Blum uses some odd descriptions (for example, someone “meeching through the shadows of neutral Lisbon,” and Admiral Canaris “fixed his gaze lavishly on the young SS general”), but since this book is way more like an action thriller than an academic history book, the writing didn’t put me off. This is an entertaining tale of a lesser-known World War II operation.
Thanks to HarperCollins for providing a free digital review copy, via NetGalley.
When Schellenberg learned that the Big Three meeting would be in Tehran, he was ecstatic. Iran was nominally neutral, but it had been friendly to Germany and it was full of German agents, many of whom had been in place for years. Schellenberg recruited Otto Skorzeny, the Nazis’ hero who had rescued Mussolini from house arrest in a daring glider raid on a mountaintop retreat. Skorzeny would train a team of 50 or so who would parachute in, go to ground with the help of local agents, and then, when the time was right, breach the embassy where they expected the Big Three to be meeting. A combination of bombs and automatic weapons would make short work of the protection, and then the plan was to ensure the Big Three would look their Nazi assassins in the eyes before being slaughtered.
Blum sets up his story as a sort of cat-and-mouse game between Schellenberg and Mike Reilly, Roosevelt’s top Secret Service agent. Reilly, who later wrote a memoir of his time in the Secret Service, was determined to do everything possible to protect FDR, whom he called The Boss, wherever he went. He obsessively checked out all remote locations in advance and barely slept when FDR was on the move.
Blum has done a ton of research, including in recently opened archives, especially from Russia. He details the long and painstaking preparation for the mission. In one horrifying paragraph, he also describes how Schellenberg and Skorzeny used inmates of the Sachsenhausen camp as test poisoned bullets, gas grenades and worse.
Once the mission gets underway, it’s hard to remember that this is nonfiction, not an action-packed espionage novel. There are double agents, betrayals, underground passageways, teenage street spies on bicycles, a machine-gun-armed desk straight out of a Bond movie, nick-of-time escapes and, as in so many action flicks, evil Nazis.
Here and there the writing is florid and Blum uses some odd descriptions (for example, someone “meeching through the shadows of neutral Lisbon,” and Admiral Canaris “fixed his gaze lavishly on the young SS general”), but since this book is way more like an action thriller than an academic history book, the writing didn’t put me off. This is an entertaining tale of a lesser-known World War II operation.
Thanks to HarperCollins for providing a free digital review copy, via NetGalley.
July 21, 2020
Intriguing, well-documented, surprising ...
(This was a Goodreads giveaway win!! HURRAY)
The account of how the Third Reich plotted/planned to assassinate Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill - all at the same time! - when they met shortly before the end of the war. I had no idea this had ever happened, and so it seems, few did. After various documents were unclassified by Russia, the author delved into this fascinating subject and what a book he wrote! A requirement for every reader of WW2 nonfiction. For me, it ranks right up there with 'Berlin Diary,' by William Shirer.
One thing to mention: this couldn't have been an easy book to write. First off, it deals with intelligence, spies, spy networks, and persons with pseudonyms or alternate names and many, many sources who are apt to give false or incomplete information. This is mentioned by the author at the end of the book. (Well of course - who trusts a spy? Not even another spy? Or a spy's best friend. Or spouse. Or the woman he shares a bed with...)
Though 'pillow talk' often has its place, as it does in the book. At the center of this story is Mike Reilly, a man with a rural background who becomes, almost unwittingly, Roosevelt's chief bodyguard in charge of all the other security rolling around the president. Mike spends endless sleepless nights, constantly worrying over and safeguarding FDR - and that's just on a daily basis. Now throw in a trip overseas to meet the other two world leaders - and at first Mike has NO idea where they are going. Malta? Cairo? Somewhere else? And the fact that FDR, sort of like Churchill who I recently read a book about, was absolutely fearless (or reckless?) when it came to personal safety. There are times the book reads like a sort of ordinary, historical account: FDR went here; I (Mike) did this and that. And then suddenly it sort of 'kabooms!' as the President says he's gonna do this and damn the safety measures - and Mike knows best; he'll protect me.
This is written in OMNI, but you do see Mike's thoughts all over the place. He's a chronic worrier yet a meticulous planner and in the ending scenes when things look...
THEY NEED TO MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS.
But it would have to be a three-parter, or series on HBO or Netflix, as there are so many parts to this, so many 'characters.' Russian agents. German spies. Iranian agents. Spies who are turncoats. Spies you can trust? Spies you can't! And Mike and FDR. The American/British/Russian military who can be stubborn, helpful, arrogant - and all three at the same time. There's also Stalin and his cohorts and cronies. Churchill and the Brits. And a woman who sleeps around a bit ...
(How could spies ever exist without her?)
It's a great read, highly-detailed. A nonfiction book that reads like an adventure thriller.
One of my current favorites.
Five spy-entrenched stars.
(This was a Goodreads giveaway win!! HURRAY)
The account of how the Third Reich plotted/planned to assassinate Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill - all at the same time! - when they met shortly before the end of the war. I had no idea this had ever happened, and so it seems, few did. After various documents were unclassified by Russia, the author delved into this fascinating subject and what a book he wrote! A requirement for every reader of WW2 nonfiction. For me, it ranks right up there with 'Berlin Diary,' by William Shirer.
One thing to mention: this couldn't have been an easy book to write. First off, it deals with intelligence, spies, spy networks, and persons with pseudonyms or alternate names and many, many sources who are apt to give false or incomplete information. This is mentioned by the author at the end of the book. (Well of course - who trusts a spy? Not even another spy? Or a spy's best friend. Or spouse. Or the woman he shares a bed with...)
Though 'pillow talk' often has its place, as it does in the book. At the center of this story is Mike Reilly, a man with a rural background who becomes, almost unwittingly, Roosevelt's chief bodyguard in charge of all the other security rolling around the president. Mike spends endless sleepless nights, constantly worrying over and safeguarding FDR - and that's just on a daily basis. Now throw in a trip overseas to meet the other two world leaders - and at first Mike has NO idea where they are going. Malta? Cairo? Somewhere else? And the fact that FDR, sort of like Churchill who I recently read a book about, was absolutely fearless (or reckless?) when it came to personal safety. There are times the book reads like a sort of ordinary, historical account: FDR went here; I (Mike) did this and that. And then suddenly it sort of 'kabooms!' as the President says he's gonna do this and damn the safety measures - and Mike knows best; he'll protect me.
This is written in OMNI, but you do see Mike's thoughts all over the place. He's a chronic worrier yet a meticulous planner and in the ending scenes when things look...
THEY NEED TO MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS.
But it would have to be a three-parter, or series on HBO or Netflix, as there are so many parts to this, so many 'characters.' Russian agents. German spies. Iranian agents. Spies who are turncoats. Spies you can trust? Spies you can't! And Mike and FDR. The American/British/Russian military who can be stubborn, helpful, arrogant - and all three at the same time. There's also Stalin and his cohorts and cronies. Churchill and the Brits. And a woman who sleeps around a bit ...
(How could spies ever exist without her?)
It's a great read, highly-detailed. A nonfiction book that reads like an adventure thriller.
One of my current favorites.
Five spy-entrenched stars.
March 24, 2020
Goodreads giveaway. I gave this book to my dad, the history buff in our family. He finished this book in a day, and asked me to give it a 5-star rating because he really enjoyed it.
My dad had no knowledge of Hitler's plot to kill FDR, Churchill and Stalin, it was never in the history books or in the required teachings at any of our schools. This is the kind of history we live for; the untold truths that can only come from first-hand accounts of the action.
The first thing I noticed about the book was the intricate, and creative cover of the book. It isn't your typical history book, just by judging the cover, you can assume it is going to be an interesting read. The book didn't disappoint because every morning before I had my coffee, my dad would be right there trying to tell me all about this book.
Me, without caffeine wasn't capable of listening to him ramble on about the facts and figures in the book. Therefore, I am unable to give you a completely insightful review of this book because I didn't personally read it. However, after listening to my dad rave on for three days now, I might pick it up and give it a whirl.
My dad had no knowledge of Hitler's plot to kill FDR, Churchill and Stalin, it was never in the history books or in the required teachings at any of our schools. This is the kind of history we live for; the untold truths that can only come from first-hand accounts of the action.
The first thing I noticed about the book was the intricate, and creative cover of the book. It isn't your typical history book, just by judging the cover, you can assume it is going to be an interesting read. The book didn't disappoint because every morning before I had my coffee, my dad would be right there trying to tell me all about this book.
Me, without caffeine wasn't capable of listening to him ramble on about the facts and figures in the book. Therefore, I am unable to give you a completely insightful review of this book because I didn't personally read it. However, after listening to my dad rave on for three days now, I might pick it up and give it a whirl.
July 6, 2020
Interesting. The overall idea of the book is good but… a lot of it was filler. It is about 50% Blum riffing as though he is the inner thoughts of the two or more main characters; Secret Service agent Reilly or one of the various Nazi scum.
I do not think this approach works to the large degree he did it. It is a good idea but, I think it is best used at pivotal moments when, a character (well, a real person) is at a crossroads in the history and the decision they have to make.
If he had cut it to maybe 20% of the book, that would be OK. The internal thought dramatization became kind of boring to read. Not this again, skim, skim… Back to the facts…
I also just started Reilly's autobiography after finishing this and, well, a lot was just lifted strait from that!
OK, sure, has to be done but, maybe in a different voice or method?
I do give 4-5 stars for bringing the various stories together into one sequence. That alone was enough and would have made a good book. The dramatic internal voice was just boring after a few chapters and not needed to the degree it was employed.
I do not think this approach works to the large degree he did it. It is a good idea but, I think it is best used at pivotal moments when, a character (well, a real person) is at a crossroads in the history and the decision they have to make.
If he had cut it to maybe 20% of the book, that would be OK. The internal thought dramatization became kind of boring to read. Not this again, skim, skim… Back to the facts…
I also just started Reilly's autobiography after finishing this and, well, a lot was just lifted strait from that!
OK, sure, has to be done but, maybe in a different voice or method?
I do give 4-5 stars for bringing the various stories together into one sequence. That alone was enough and would have made a good book. The dramatic internal voice was just boring after a few chapters and not needed to the degree it was employed.
January 31, 2025
این کتاب با استفاده از گزارش و اسنادهای تاریخی، خاطرات نظامیان ماجرای توطئه و عملیات نازیها به رهبری اتو اسکورتسنی برای ترور رهبران متفقین، چرچیل، روزولت و استالین، در ججدوم رو بررسی کرده و نشان داده که چطور این تهدید خنثی شد!
این کتاب رو به عنوان یک ناداستان تاریخی میشه در نظر گرفت. سبک داستانگونه زیادش که داره ممکنه برای کسی مثل یکم خستهکننده باشه، البته اوایل کتاب اینطور بود و کم کم از داستانپردازی زیاد کم شد! به نظرم نویسنده بیشتر روی داستانپردازی تمرکز کرده بود تا تحلیل تاریخی.
این کتاب رو به عنوان یک ناداستان تاریخی میشه در نظر گرفت. سبک داستانگونه زیادش که داره ممکنه برای کسی مثل یکم خستهکننده باشه، البته اوایل کتاب اینطور بود و کم کم از داستانپردازی زیاد کم شد! به نظرم نویسنده بیشتر روی داستانپردازی تمرکز کرده بود تا تحلیل تاریخی.
September 21, 2024
Many believe that the most important World War II conference between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt took place at Yalta. For those who despise Roosevelt it was at Yalta that the president was duped by the Soviet leader which would lead directly to the Cold War following the president’s death. Obviously, Yalta was of prime importance when one examines the post-war period, but in fact according to historian Keith Eubanks in his landmark study, SUMMIT AT TEHRAN, the agreements reached at Yalta and much of the postwar settlement were fashioned by the Tehran discussions.
Since Tehran was the first meeting of the “Big Three” coming at a time when it was becoming increasingly clear that the Germans were going to lose the war, anything the Nazis could do to prevent the allied leaders from developing plans to bring the war to a conclusion and what the post-war world would look like was imperative. For Adolf Hitler, if his commandos could disrupt the conference of perhaps kill allied leadership, new heads of state might be willing to develop more reasonable policies toward Germany other than the goal of “unconditional surrender” announced by Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference on January 24, 1943. In Howard Blum’s NIGHT OF THE ASSASSINS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF HITLER’S PLOT TO KILL FDR, CHURCHILL, AND STALIN the author explores events and decision making surrounding the Nazi plan to assassinate allied leaders – code named Operation Long Jump. Blum’s effort is not a work of counterfactual history discussing what might have occurred had the Nazi plan been carried out, but an interesting historical monograph that unwraps how close the Nazis came to success.
Blum’s work reads like an engrossing spy thriller, when in fact it is a true story. It reads like a well written novel, but in reality it is a narrative history at its best. The monograph itself is presented on parallel lines. First is the competition between SS General Walter Schellenberg who headed Section 6 of the Reich Security Office (RSHA), and Michael Reilly, the Secret Service agent who was the head of President Roosevelt’s security detail. The author, having examined the pertinent documentation, delves into the mindset of both figures and the strategies they developed in order to achieve their goals. For Schellenberg it was to decapitate allied leadership, and for Reilly to thwart any assassination attempts and keep the “Big Three” safe. The second thread that Blum catalogues are the measures taken to protect Roosevelt and his allied compatriots and Nazi covert plans over a two year period to offset the fact that the war seemed lost by killing the “Big Three” and hoping that replacement leaders would be more amenable. Third, are the character studies of each of the important personages in the story. From Schellenberg and his commando operatives, allied and Nazi spies, to Reilly.
Blum’s commitment to detail is the highlight of the narrative. For example, the removal of tons of seized opium from smugglers stored in the basement of the Treasury building in Washington to create a safe space for Roosevelt after December 7, 1941, or the use of Al Capone’s automobile that was outfitted with amazing safety features for the time to protect the president. Other examples include Churchill’s capacity to ingest brandy and scotch and his lax approach for his own security. Blum delves deeply into the spy craft that was employed highlighting agents, double agents, recruitment of commandos, training for the assassination missions and other aspects of intelligence dexterity.
The author does a useful job discussing the competition within the Nazi bureaucracy exemplified by the relationship between General Schellenberg head of Section 6 of SS intelligence, and the head of Abwehr, the military espionage branch of the Wehrmacht, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. Another example of this competition is highlighted by the Abwehr commando training program centered at Lake Quenz headed by Major Rudolph von Holten-Pflug produced jealousy on the part of Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS who ordered Captain Otto Skorzeny to create an SS version of Lake Quenz. It would be Skorzeny who had rescued Benito Mussolini from Allied control who would train the commandos and lead them into Teheran to assassinate their targets. Other key players include Franz Mayr and Roman Gamotha, German spies who had been dropped into Iran in 1940, one of which turned out to be a double agent; Julius Berthold Schilze-Holthus, a Nazi diplomat stationed in Teheran; Nasr Khan who led the Qashqai Tribe’s military arm who allied with the Germans; Lili Sanjari, Roman Gamotha’s secretary and Franz Mayr’s mistress among many other characters.
At various times it appears that Schellenberg’s plot would be successful. By November 1943, all the pieces he put into place had come together. Abwehr and SD agents had successfully gone undercover in Iran early in the war. Two agents remained active, one in Teheran, and the other in the tribal hill country. In previous operations commandos had parachuted into Iran and established the procedures for aerial insertion missions with the necessary equipment to carry out the plot. Further, the alliance with Nasr Khan remained firm. Lastly, Hitler had complete confidence that Otto Skorzeny, the very tactician who had supervised the training and execution for previous missions into Iran, could carry out a successful assassination mission.
It is interesting to explore how Reilly and the American secret service tried to keep the President and his entourage safe. Reilly had to deal with a stubborn president who enjoyed certain peccadillos of life that he was wanting to give up. Further, plans seemed to change almost on a dime especially as negotiations with Stalin to choose the site of the meeting constantly ran into roadblocks. Other aspects of the trip to Tehran after it was finally chosen were that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-Shek would first meet in Cairo which created more headaches for Reilly and company.
The role played by the Russians is consequential for a country that was occupied by both the Soviet Union and the United States. During the war, Iran became a major transshipment route for American Lend-Lease aid to the Soviets, and thousands of American, British, and Russian troops controlled the major cities and ports, particularly Tehran. Blum shows the ruthless nature of the Soviet precautions as Soviet intelligence and secret police agents of the NKVD, the forerunner of the infamous KGB, began a massive sweep of Tehran to arrest any German national or potential sympathizer when the first hint of a conspiracy is heard. For Reilly, the role of Soviet intelligence was concerning with their nest of secret agents and posers in Teheran, and how he could work with his Soviet counterparts to ensure the safety of the “Big Three.” Reilly’s concerns were also evident when Stalin offered to have the American delegation moved to the Soviet compound in the city. The rationale was clear, the American embassy was just outside the city and would require a short car ride each day for the president creating an interesting target. A move to the Soviet compound would include Russian eavesdropping devices placed throughout where the American delegation would be staying – certainly, a dilemma for the Americans. Interestingly, Roosevelt was not keen staying at the British compound located near the Russians either.
Blum uses Russian archival sources only made public in the last twenty years along with an ample collection of other primary and secondary sources as he weaves a fast-paced story of how Nazi intelligence services and special commando units tried to infiltrate an assassination team into Iran. It is a story that would make Ken Follett, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming proud. In the end the Germans would come closer to a successful suicide mission that is generally believed. Except for the usual difficulties of controlling foreign intelligence operatives-greed, stupidity, and bad luck, the Nazis might have gotten their commandos within lethal proximity to the “Big Three” and conducted a successful war altering mission.
If you would like to read an updated version of the story see Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch’s THE NAZI CONSPIRACY: THE SECRET PLOT TO KILL ROOSEVELT, STALIN, AND CHURCHILL.
Since Tehran was the first meeting of the “Big Three” coming at a time when it was becoming increasingly clear that the Germans were going to lose the war, anything the Nazis could do to prevent the allied leaders from developing plans to bring the war to a conclusion and what the post-war world would look like was imperative. For Adolf Hitler, if his commandos could disrupt the conference of perhaps kill allied leadership, new heads of state might be willing to develop more reasonable policies toward Germany other than the goal of “unconditional surrender” announced by Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference on January 24, 1943. In Howard Blum’s NIGHT OF THE ASSASSINS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF HITLER’S PLOT TO KILL FDR, CHURCHILL, AND STALIN the author explores events and decision making surrounding the Nazi plan to assassinate allied leaders – code named Operation Long Jump. Blum’s effort is not a work of counterfactual history discussing what might have occurred had the Nazi plan been carried out, but an interesting historical monograph that unwraps how close the Nazis came to success.
Blum’s work reads like an engrossing spy thriller, when in fact it is a true story. It reads like a well written novel, but in reality it is a narrative history at its best. The monograph itself is presented on parallel lines. First is the competition between SS General Walter Schellenberg who headed Section 6 of the Reich Security Office (RSHA), and Michael Reilly, the Secret Service agent who was the head of President Roosevelt’s security detail. The author, having examined the pertinent documentation, delves into the mindset of both figures and the strategies they developed in order to achieve their goals. For Schellenberg it was to decapitate allied leadership, and for Reilly to thwart any assassination attempts and keep the “Big Three” safe. The second thread that Blum catalogues are the measures taken to protect Roosevelt and his allied compatriots and Nazi covert plans over a two year period to offset the fact that the war seemed lost by killing the “Big Three” and hoping that replacement leaders would be more amenable. Third, are the character studies of each of the important personages in the story. From Schellenberg and his commando operatives, allied and Nazi spies, to Reilly.
Blum’s commitment to detail is the highlight of the narrative. For example, the removal of tons of seized opium from smugglers stored in the basement of the Treasury building in Washington to create a safe space for Roosevelt after December 7, 1941, or the use of Al Capone’s automobile that was outfitted with amazing safety features for the time to protect the president. Other examples include Churchill’s capacity to ingest brandy and scotch and his lax approach for his own security. Blum delves deeply into the spy craft that was employed highlighting agents, double agents, recruitment of commandos, training for the assassination missions and other aspects of intelligence dexterity.
The author does a useful job discussing the competition within the Nazi bureaucracy exemplified by the relationship between General Schellenberg head of Section 6 of SS intelligence, and the head of Abwehr, the military espionage branch of the Wehrmacht, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. Another example of this competition is highlighted by the Abwehr commando training program centered at Lake Quenz headed by Major Rudolph von Holten-Pflug produced jealousy on the part of Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS who ordered Captain Otto Skorzeny to create an SS version of Lake Quenz. It would be Skorzeny who had rescued Benito Mussolini from Allied control who would train the commandos and lead them into Teheran to assassinate their targets. Other key players include Franz Mayr and Roman Gamotha, German spies who had been dropped into Iran in 1940, one of which turned out to be a double agent; Julius Berthold Schilze-Holthus, a Nazi diplomat stationed in Teheran; Nasr Khan who led the Qashqai Tribe’s military arm who allied with the Germans; Lili Sanjari, Roman Gamotha’s secretary and Franz Mayr’s mistress among many other characters.
At various times it appears that Schellenberg’s plot would be successful. By November 1943, all the pieces he put into place had come together. Abwehr and SD agents had successfully gone undercover in Iran early in the war. Two agents remained active, one in Teheran, and the other in the tribal hill country. In previous operations commandos had parachuted into Iran and established the procedures for aerial insertion missions with the necessary equipment to carry out the plot. Further, the alliance with Nasr Khan remained firm. Lastly, Hitler had complete confidence that Otto Skorzeny, the very tactician who had supervised the training and execution for previous missions into Iran, could carry out a successful assassination mission.
It is interesting to explore how Reilly and the American secret service tried to keep the President and his entourage safe. Reilly had to deal with a stubborn president who enjoyed certain peccadillos of life that he was wanting to give up. Further, plans seemed to change almost on a dime especially as negotiations with Stalin to choose the site of the meeting constantly ran into roadblocks. Other aspects of the trip to Tehran after it was finally chosen were that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-Shek would first meet in Cairo which created more headaches for Reilly and company.
The role played by the Russians is consequential for a country that was occupied by both the Soviet Union and the United States. During the war, Iran became a major transshipment route for American Lend-Lease aid to the Soviets, and thousands of American, British, and Russian troops controlled the major cities and ports, particularly Tehran. Blum shows the ruthless nature of the Soviet precautions as Soviet intelligence and secret police agents of the NKVD, the forerunner of the infamous KGB, began a massive sweep of Tehran to arrest any German national or potential sympathizer when the first hint of a conspiracy is heard. For Reilly, the role of Soviet intelligence was concerning with their nest of secret agents and posers in Teheran, and how he could work with his Soviet counterparts to ensure the safety of the “Big Three.” Reilly’s concerns were also evident when Stalin offered to have the American delegation moved to the Soviet compound in the city. The rationale was clear, the American embassy was just outside the city and would require a short car ride each day for the president creating an interesting target. A move to the Soviet compound would include Russian eavesdropping devices placed throughout where the American delegation would be staying – certainly, a dilemma for the Americans. Interestingly, Roosevelt was not keen staying at the British compound located near the Russians either.
Blum uses Russian archival sources only made public in the last twenty years along with an ample collection of other primary and secondary sources as he weaves a fast-paced story of how Nazi intelligence services and special commando units tried to infiltrate an assassination team into Iran. It is a story that would make Ken Follett, Robert Ludlum, and Ian Fleming proud. In the end the Germans would come closer to a successful suicide mission that is generally believed. Except for the usual difficulties of controlling foreign intelligence operatives-greed, stupidity, and bad luck, the Nazis might have gotten their commandos within lethal proximity to the “Big Three” and conducted a successful war altering mission.
If you would like to read an updated version of the story see Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch’s THE NAZI CONSPIRACY: THE SECRET PLOT TO KILL ROOSEVELT, STALIN, AND CHURCHILL.
June 1, 2021
Plenty of twists and turns to be a good non-fiction mystery/thriller, but even better since it is a true (enough) story and the outcome is known. As Blum writes about his sources and the process, you can never be sure that you have the full true story when dealing with state espionage secrets that are revealed decades later. His research was extensive and weaving of facts and timelines presented in a very compelling manner.
December 23, 2020
Novelists including Ken Follett, Jack Higgins, Alan Furst, and Philip Kerr have indulged us with thrilling accounts of spies and saboteurs in World War II. Rarely, though, have they managed to equal in their fiction the sheer audacity of the real-world Nazi plot to kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin which unfolded in Tehran late in November 1943. This is a story that no novelist could possibly invent and expect to be believed. And Howard Blum tells it with all the skills of a thriller writer in his deeply-researched book, Night of the Assassins.
Two engaging central characters
Blum’s story revolves around Mike Reilly (1910-73) and Walter Schellenberg (1910-52). Reilly was the head of the United States Secret Service during World War II and served as President Franklin Roosevelt’s personal bodyguard. Schellenberg was the equivalent of a brigadier general in the Nazi SS, for which he headed foreign intelligence. He was the counterpart of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the military intelligence unit, the Abwehr, which Schellenberg’s organization absorbed later in the war. These two characters dominate the action. However, a third person, SS Captain (later Colonel) Otto Skorzeny (1908-75), plays an important role as well. Skorzeny, “Hitler’s favorite soldier,” was the commando who rescued Mussolini.
An immensely complex story made simple
Blum does a masterful job of simplifying an immensely complex story using techniques familiar to any thriller reader. An academic attempting to relate the same events would struggle to make it readable. After all, the assassination plot at the center of this tale involved not just Reilly, Schellenberg, and Skorzeny but also Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and Wilhelm Canaris. Others who enter the story include Adolf Hitler, Reza Shah Pahlavi, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and a long list of Nazi commandos as well as both Allied and Nazi diplomats, spies, and double agents. The story involved Iranian wrestlers and a powerful Iranian tribal leader, too. In Hollywood, this might have been called a “cast of thousands.”
It’s not as though Blum was unaware of all these players. His six-page list of sources makes clear how intensively he researched this long-neglected story. Night of the Assassins is a marvel of popular history. Blum conveys as a comprehensible Nazi plot to kill FDR what might in other hands have degenerated into a confusing survey of dueling Nazi and Allied intelligence services.
The amazing story in a nutshell
Forcing a livable settlement
Walter Schellenberg had long dreamed of an espionage coup that could change the course of the war. When spies brought him word that the Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) would meet late in November 1943, he fantasized that his chance had come. He teamed up with his rival, Wilhelm Canaris, to design a joint operation to assassinate all three. Both Schellenberg and Canaris were realists. Neither was a Nazi zealot. They realized Germany had lost the war. What they hoped to achieve by killing the Big Three was to force the Allies to negotiate a livable settlement that would prevent their facing a war crimes tribunal.
A Nazi plot to kill FDR with hundreds of moving parts
When the pair learned the conference would be held in Tehran, they counted themselves lucky. Both the SS and the Abwehr had placed agents there who could help hide paratroops dropped nearby and guide them through the city. Elaborate preparations then began to train and equip two commando teams to carry out an extremely clever attack plan one of the Nazi agents in Tehran devised.
From the first, the plan went awry in its execution. Soviet agents rounded up most of the commandos (and executed them without delay). However, a small, third team meant to spy on the two larger groups survived. Hiding out in the Iranian capital, they prepared to carry out with six men what had been planned for fifty. And they just might have pulled it off.
The monumental challenge to protect a wheelchair-bound leader
Meanwhile, as the Nazi plot graduated from fantasy to reality and finally went into operation, Mike Reilly faced a constant struggle to protect FDR. The Boss, as he called him, was confined to a wheelchair and limited to brief, excruciating times on his feet in heavy braces. Reilly faced endless challenges to move the President on and off ships and airplanes and through city streets in the open automobiles FDR favored.
Those challenges multiplied in Cairo, where FDR met Churchill and Chiang Kai-Shek in advance of the Big Three conference, and then proliferated in the teeming streets of Tehran. Reilly seems to have gotten little sleep for months as the event drew near. As word of the Nazi scheme trickled out to him from Soviet intelligence, he grew increasingly agitated. Blum adroitly conveys the terror that kept him awake at nights until the President left Tehran at long last.
About the author
Howard Blum is the author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, several of which were bestsellers. Previously he worked as a reporter for the Village Voice and the New York Times. Night of the Assassins is the third of his books about World War II. He is based in New York.
Two engaging central characters
Blum’s story revolves around Mike Reilly (1910-73) and Walter Schellenberg (1910-52). Reilly was the head of the United States Secret Service during World War II and served as President Franklin Roosevelt’s personal bodyguard. Schellenberg was the equivalent of a brigadier general in the Nazi SS, for which he headed foreign intelligence. He was the counterpart of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, chief of the military intelligence unit, the Abwehr, which Schellenberg’s organization absorbed later in the war. These two characters dominate the action. However, a third person, SS Captain (later Colonel) Otto Skorzeny (1908-75), plays an important role as well. Skorzeny, “Hitler’s favorite soldier,” was the commando who rescued Mussolini.
An immensely complex story made simple
Blum does a masterful job of simplifying an immensely complex story using techniques familiar to any thriller reader. An academic attempting to relate the same events would struggle to make it readable. After all, the assassination plot at the center of this tale involved not just Reilly, Schellenberg, and Skorzeny but also Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and Wilhelm Canaris. Others who enter the story include Adolf Hitler, Reza Shah Pahlavi, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and a long list of Nazi commandos as well as both Allied and Nazi diplomats, spies, and double agents. The story involved Iranian wrestlers and a powerful Iranian tribal leader, too. In Hollywood, this might have been called a “cast of thousands.”
It’s not as though Blum was unaware of all these players. His six-page list of sources makes clear how intensively he researched this long-neglected story. Night of the Assassins is a marvel of popular history. Blum conveys as a comprehensible Nazi plot to kill FDR what might in other hands have degenerated into a confusing survey of dueling Nazi and Allied intelligence services.
The amazing story in a nutshell
Forcing a livable settlement
Walter Schellenberg had long dreamed of an espionage coup that could change the course of the war. When spies brought him word that the Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin) would meet late in November 1943, he fantasized that his chance had come. He teamed up with his rival, Wilhelm Canaris, to design a joint operation to assassinate all three. Both Schellenberg and Canaris were realists. Neither was a Nazi zealot. They realized Germany had lost the war. What they hoped to achieve by killing the Big Three was to force the Allies to negotiate a livable settlement that would prevent their facing a war crimes tribunal.
A Nazi plot to kill FDR with hundreds of moving parts
When the pair learned the conference would be held in Tehran, they counted themselves lucky. Both the SS and the Abwehr had placed agents there who could help hide paratroops dropped nearby and guide them through the city. Elaborate preparations then began to train and equip two commando teams to carry out an extremely clever attack plan one of the Nazi agents in Tehran devised.
From the first, the plan went awry in its execution. Soviet agents rounded up most of the commandos (and executed them without delay). However, a small, third team meant to spy on the two larger groups survived. Hiding out in the Iranian capital, they prepared to carry out with six men what had been planned for fifty. And they just might have pulled it off.
The monumental challenge to protect a wheelchair-bound leader
Meanwhile, as the Nazi plot graduated from fantasy to reality and finally went into operation, Mike Reilly faced a constant struggle to protect FDR. The Boss, as he called him, was confined to a wheelchair and limited to brief, excruciating times on his feet in heavy braces. Reilly faced endless challenges to move the President on and off ships and airplanes and through city streets in the open automobiles FDR favored.
Those challenges multiplied in Cairo, where FDR met Churchill and Chiang Kai-Shek in advance of the Big Three conference, and then proliferated in the teeming streets of Tehran. Reilly seems to have gotten little sleep for months as the event drew near. As word of the Nazi scheme trickled out to him from Soviet intelligence, he grew increasingly agitated. Blum adroitly conveys the terror that kept him awake at nights until the President left Tehran at long last.
About the author
Howard Blum is the author of more than a dozen nonfiction books, several of which were bestsellers. Previously he worked as a reporter for the Village Voice and the New York Times. Night of the Assassins is the third of his books about World War II. He is based in New York.
February 15, 2023
Interesting take on how Hitler plotted to kill the three major players of the Allies. It puts us on both sides of the story, so you can see how this was a "all or nothing" plan, but carefully thought.
I also liked how the author imagined the story taking place, it makes the book easier to read, it's not just a documentary.
For those who like to learn more about history, and the history of WW II in particular, this an interesting take, more even because it approaches, even if only on the surface, the (negative) impact that the Allies also had in countries like Iran to keep this war going.
I also liked how the author imagined the story taking place, it makes the book easier to read, it's not just a documentary.
For those who like to learn more about history, and the history of WW II in particular, this an interesting take, more even because it approaches, even if only on the surface, the (negative) impact that the Allies also had in countries like Iran to keep this war going.
October 29, 2020
Books about history, and especially World War II, frequently bear the promotional blurb “reads like a thriller,” or some variation thereof. Usually it’s not true, suggesting whatever reviewer or ad man bestowed the label is either being generous or isn’t familiar with thrillers.
“Reads like a thriller” is applied to Howard Blum’s new “Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler’s Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.” However, in this case, the label is accurate.
“Night of the Assassins”—a good size and relatively short for a World War II book—focuses on a very specific event, and apart from some necessary exposition, never really loses focus of the story it’s telling (the substance of the Tehran summit is near-unmentioned, for instance).
It’s almost one of those situations where the less you know about the particulars the more you’ll enjoy it, but suffice it to say you’ll probably race through the last fourth of the book, at least. The only drawback is the one inherent to combining a WWII and spy narrative, e.g. there are agents of America, Britain, Russia, Germany and Iran; factor in shifting loyalties and agents being turned and you need a flow chart to keep track of who’s on which side…
But again, as the book goes on, the confusing allegiances are pared down, leading to a conclusion (not altogether unfunny) more entertaining than you’d think.
“Reads like a thriller” is applied to Howard Blum’s new “Night of the Assassins: The Untold Story of Hitler’s Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin.” However, in this case, the label is accurate.
“Night of the Assassins”—a good size and relatively short for a World War II book—focuses on a very specific event, and apart from some necessary exposition, never really loses focus of the story it’s telling (the substance of the Tehran summit is near-unmentioned, for instance).
It’s almost one of those situations where the less you know about the particulars the more you’ll enjoy it, but suffice it to say you’ll probably race through the last fourth of the book, at least. The only drawback is the one inherent to combining a WWII and spy narrative, e.g. there are agents of America, Britain, Russia, Germany and Iran; factor in shifting loyalties and agents being turned and you need a flow chart to keep track of who’s on which side…
But again, as the book goes on, the confusing allegiances are pared down, leading to a conclusion (not altogether unfunny) more entertaining than you’d think.
October 3, 2023
Não morro de interesse pelo tema (o livro foi uma oferta), mas, ainda assim, ele tem sumo. Dava, nas mãos certas, um desses intrigantes livros sobre especificidades históricas que deixam uma pessoa agarrada durante uns quantos dias tortuosos. As mãos de Howard Blum, parecem-me, não foram as certas. Primeiro porque, indeciso quanto à abordagem a tomar, tomou a infeliz decisão de ficar a meio caminho entre um livro de história sério e um livro de espionagem barato, razão pela qual escasseia o valor histórico se o considerarmos livro de história - já que não se sabe quando acaba o facto e começa a ficção - e parece estranhamente atrofiado, se o considerarmos como romance. Segundo porque para escrever tão contundente livro, o autor teve que enfiar copiosas quantidades de palha entre os capítulos. O sintetismo anda subvalorizado.
Não sendo horrível, não deixará saudades. Mais um a apanhar pó na prateleira.
Não sendo horrível, não deixará saudades. Mais um a apanhar pó na prateleira.
May 23, 2022
The facts of this very interesting historical tale should have made a good book, but it is written and read in an annoying fashion that spoiled it for me. The author places himself inside the heads of the major players and purports to tell us in great detail every thought and feeling they had about the unfolding action. And the performer for the audio book version reads it all with a John Wayne swagger that only makes it worse.
It actually comes close to being historical fiction rather than history.
It actually comes close to being historical fiction rather than history.
September 23, 2022
As long as you don't question the validity of the so-called facts presented and read it as a novel, it is an interesting read about how one American protected his president. I'm pretty sure the security of the president was the work of a whole lot of people than just one man though. On the other hand, if everything written was true, than that was fantastic sleuthing work.
December 20, 2023
an incredibly boring history lecture
June 21, 2020
This is a good book about a very real plot to change the course of history through a bold plan--the Nazi Third Reich, realizing at last that they were on the road to ruin, tried a Hail Mary pass in Teheran. After a series of details fell into their hands, the Nazis thought they had a chance to kill the three leaders of World War II by finding the one weak spot in the closely guarded location. Simultaneously a Secret Service agent is also planning--by trying to think through every possible vector for an attack. And only a wild series of improbable coincidences, both good and bad, narrowly averted the violent removal of the leaders of the Allied forces against the Nazis.
I found this to be an intriguing book, written in the style of a thriller more than in a sober analysis of history--but that's intended, and it kept the book moving. Of course, we know that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin were never assassinated in WWII, and that the Nazis failed not only in killing the leaders but also in changing the outcome of the war. But because of the style of this book, I was still on the edge of my seat, wondering how the leaders would be saved.
I found this to be an intriguing book, written in the style of a thriller more than in a sober analysis of history--but that's intended, and it kept the book moving. Of course, we know that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin were never assassinated in WWII, and that the Nazis failed not only in killing the leaders but also in changing the outcome of the war. But because of the style of this book, I was still on the edge of my seat, wondering how the leaders would be saved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2020
As a history buff, especially military history, when I read the synopsis about this book I was intrigued. It lived up to its promise with a riveting story. I thought it was well-researched and I found myself reading well into the night. I received an Uncorrected e-proof from NetGalley in return for an unbiased review. Thank you NetGalley!
Read
June 3, 2020Night of the Assassins is a book that history buffs will not want to put down. A book that lives up to its promise with an intriguing story. Night of the Assassins is a well researched and well-written book that is full of captivating information.
quit-but-might-try-again
September 12, 2020There's a lot of background to get through in the early going. I found myself not in the mood to slog through all the setup, but maybe some other time.
February 21, 2023
A very interesting piece of history to learn
September 1, 2022
This little-heralded tale is fairly straightforward.
Adolph Hitler, mostly as spite and a strategy for reversing Nazi losses, and Walter Stallenberg, the Nazi spy chief, believing that decapitating the Allied leadership would improve German chances for a moderate, settled peace treaty, decided to murder FDR, Churchill, and Stalin when the three determined to meet. US and British intelligence routinely feared the possibility that an attempt would be made on their leaders' lives, but they had no specific information about specific and imminent Nazi strategies to do so.
The Nazis, at the same time, had no specific information regarding when or where the Allied leaders were to meet, but they knew something was intended and at least being planned. A valet in the American embassy made himself known to German intelligence, he got paid off in counterfeit British pounds (the Nazis always paid off and paid their bills in counterfeit British pounds since no one accepted the Reichsmark), and Nazi planning became specific and terrifying.
Thanks to Russian intelligence (and Russian brutality), the assassination plot, which included 3 teams of commandos--all killers by history and instinct--were captured and the assassination plot collapsed.
The story and the writing are electrifying (and I have read a lot of spy and intelligence stories) and as well documented as classified wartime information permit us to know. Blum has accomplished what I think is a brilliant effort of storytelling and he does it by telling this story around the work of Mike Reilly, Chief of FDR's Secret Service prtoective detail, and the activities of Nazis Stallenberg, William Canaris, and 2 little known Iranian Nazis who set up the Nazi kill team for the assassination in Tehran.
Reading about the collapse of the plot toward the book's end is a joy and truly remarkable piece of writing. Even if a reader has no interest in intelligence activities, the story is worth every moment of the reader's time.
Adolph Hitler, mostly as spite and a strategy for reversing Nazi losses, and Walter Stallenberg, the Nazi spy chief, believing that decapitating the Allied leadership would improve German chances for a moderate, settled peace treaty, decided to murder FDR, Churchill, and Stalin when the three determined to meet. US and British intelligence routinely feared the possibility that an attempt would be made on their leaders' lives, but they had no specific information about specific and imminent Nazi strategies to do so.
The Nazis, at the same time, had no specific information regarding when or where the Allied leaders were to meet, but they knew something was intended and at least being planned. A valet in the American embassy made himself known to German intelligence, he got paid off in counterfeit British pounds (the Nazis always paid off and paid their bills in counterfeit British pounds since no one accepted the Reichsmark), and Nazi planning became specific and terrifying.
Thanks to Russian intelligence (and Russian brutality), the assassination plot, which included 3 teams of commandos--all killers by history and instinct--were captured and the assassination plot collapsed.
The story and the writing are electrifying (and I have read a lot of spy and intelligence stories) and as well documented as classified wartime information permit us to know. Blum has accomplished what I think is a brilliant effort of storytelling and he does it by telling this story around the work of Mike Reilly, Chief of FDR's Secret Service prtoective detail, and the activities of Nazis Stallenberg, William Canaris, and 2 little known Iranian Nazis who set up the Nazi kill team for the assassination in Tehran.
Reading about the collapse of the plot toward the book's end is a joy and truly remarkable piece of writing. Even if a reader has no interest in intelligence activities, the story is worth every moment of the reader's time.
July 8, 2020
Blum is a great narrative historian who brings to light little known or little read about historical events and presents them fairly and comprehensively. This title brings to light a plan to take out "The Big Three" at the Tehran Conference during WWII. The German commandos and high command were seeking to avoid the "unconditional surrender" that was mandated by FDR, Churchill and Stalin by putting their faith in a plan to assassinate the world leaders in an effort to negotiate a peace plan with their successors, as the path of the war was likely going to end with the German surrender and countless war criminals brought to justice (which is what happened). Blum brings up the possibility of what would have occurred had this covert operation been successful in Iran. It is intriguing and there are page-turning sections that are riveting, but Blum also has a tendency to get bogged down in too much detail which can cause the book to drag for 30-40 pages. Overall, it is a solid historical read and one that will bring up interesting pieces of espionage and historical circumstances for even the most dedicated WWII history enthusiast.
August 28, 2022
Spoiler Alert!
The plot failed.
Howard Blum has created a gem. A real story informing history books, illuminating the importance of tradecraft, and bringing bit players on stage with powerful leaders.
Iran, with resources once coveted by Germany becomes a client state with many embracing the Nazi dogma and ideals. Meager intelligence resources are put in place and go to ground, remaining aware. Competing German intelligence organizations share information. Preparing. Hoping.
Failures in the field. Genius insights - who knew a clean water supply could be so valuable and so vulnerable.
A man from Montana, planning to be a lawyer, becomes a secret service agent assigned to the President. Traumatized by a rubber knife thrown at his boss he knows the stakes. A life lost. A president lost. And in time of war, an unfathomable loss.
Night of the Assassins provides insight into how intelligence agencies operate, especially those in authoritarian regimes. Whether Russian or German, the agencies took a strategic view, manipulating sources, plotting against enemies, and ruthlessly engaging or eliminating threats, real and perceived.
A great read!
The plot failed.
Howard Blum has created a gem. A real story informing history books, illuminating the importance of tradecraft, and bringing bit players on stage with powerful leaders.
Iran, with resources once coveted by Germany becomes a client state with many embracing the Nazi dogma and ideals. Meager intelligence resources are put in place and go to ground, remaining aware. Competing German intelligence organizations share information. Preparing. Hoping.
Failures in the field. Genius insights - who knew a clean water supply could be so valuable and so vulnerable.
A man from Montana, planning to be a lawyer, becomes a secret service agent assigned to the President. Traumatized by a rubber knife thrown at his boss he knows the stakes. A life lost. A president lost. And in time of war, an unfathomable loss.
Night of the Assassins provides insight into how intelligence agencies operate, especially those in authoritarian regimes. Whether Russian or German, the agencies took a strategic view, manipulating sources, plotting against enemies, and ruthlessly engaging or eliminating threats, real and perceived.
A great read!
October 15, 2022
Disclaimer: I listened to quite a melodramatic audio book version. Some reviews have mentioned that it is “well documented”. Listening to the story’s details I cannot help but thinking how a silly work of fiction is documented. Blum has obviously, dare I say, made up most of its details.
All the sources on Long Jump, besides the Soviet sources, mention that the operation is largely a Soviet fantasy/propaganda. So many details of the story that Blum relates could not be possibly true. The very existence of some characters like the loose-lipped murderous SS officer Oertel or the Tehrani street thug, Ebtehaj are doubtful. There is a good Wikipedia page on the subject with some existing documents. Blum’s story hardly makes any sense outside of a cheap boy’s magazine story context. It is very surprising (say disturbing) that Blum is a Pulitzer winning author and this would be his handiwork.
All the sources on Long Jump, besides the Soviet sources, mention that the operation is largely a Soviet fantasy/propaganda. So many details of the story that Blum relates could not be possibly true. The very existence of some characters like the loose-lipped murderous SS officer Oertel or the Tehrani street thug, Ebtehaj are doubtful. There is a good Wikipedia page on the subject with some existing documents. Blum’s story hardly makes any sense outside of a cheap boy’s magazine story context. It is very surprising (say disturbing) that Blum is a Pulitzer winning author and this would be his handiwork.
May 28, 2020
A genuine espionage/covert ops thriller.
Well written, deeply researched, and excellently sourced, it shows there are still incredible tales of WW2 even 75 years later.
Well written, deeply researched, and excellently sourced, it shows there are still incredible tales of WW2 even 75 years later.
May 25, 2023
The Night of the Assassins sells its entire premise hard from the title alone. There's no illusions as to what's within the book.
It is a thoroughly well researched novel with intimate details earned through careful and obsessive combing through records, diaries, reports and other such articles. It has information on political movements, organizations, and military groups I had no knowledge of beforehand.
With all that said, the book gets lost at times in the attempt to frame a good deal of it through a detective novel/spy thriller lens. When the author deviates from historical record and documented or at the very least recorded thoughts and reactions, it quite often repeats itself awkwardly. There's only so many times one can read 'crippled president' before you feel like the Author was looking for a way to keep FDR relevant.
Our true focus is Mike Reilly, the Secret Service agent who feels like he was torn from the pages of a knuckledusting, swashbuckling pulp novel, or at the very least gave authors of the era notes on how to write a hero of that genre. He's an imposing figure but the author more often than not makes him feel like a manic wet blanket. That notwithstanding the man is a strong focal point for the book as it goes along, his paranoia (legitimate and understandable given his job) and tireless efforts to try and account for every possible threat and hiccup and bolt out of the clear blue sky guides us along as the very real apparatus of Nazi Germany's military and security forces work to try and zero in on the 'Big Three' leaders of the Allied war effort.
The pedigree of the Nazi agents and officers who put it upon themselves to execute the Hail Mary operation of 'Kill 'em all at dinner' is it's own impressive rogues gallery of professional soldiers, aristocrats, thugs turned spies, and spies turned thugs. But then again, the language used really does feel insistent, very 'faction'-esque, as in writing like an old pulp novelist but talking about real men and organizations. It struck me as corny at times given the otherwise solid academic work and effective writing throughout.
This all does build a stirring narrative but it kind of loses its heat and light in the last third as a simple fact preempts each strained attempt at maintaining a feeling of tension and threat; The Big 3 met and went on their merry way to win the war, FDR dying at a resort, Stalin on the floor of his Dacha's office, and Churchill years later in his own bed. You can feel the author banging away at the keyboard trying to make the shadow of a dagger on the wall seem menacing while the reality of what didn't happen undermines it. The level of minute detail beforehand makes the ultimate outcome of the operation and the fate of the operatives feel... underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly invested throughout, but in the end the smoke screens and rug pulls and cliffhangers by the author feel like sleight of hand and misdirection to detract from a short, sudden stop. The end was less interesting than the road to get there, which was very, very interesting and stimulating.
I recommend it, I just know I won't be re-reading it, other than maybe using the further reading and reference list for the more interesting parts.
It is a thoroughly well researched novel with intimate details earned through careful and obsessive combing through records, diaries, reports and other such articles. It has information on political movements, organizations, and military groups I had no knowledge of beforehand.
With all that said, the book gets lost at times in the attempt to frame a good deal of it through a detective novel/spy thriller lens. When the author deviates from historical record and documented or at the very least recorded thoughts and reactions, it quite often repeats itself awkwardly. There's only so many times one can read 'crippled president' before you feel like the Author was looking for a way to keep FDR relevant.
Our true focus is Mike Reilly, the Secret Service agent who feels like he was torn from the pages of a knuckledusting, swashbuckling pulp novel, or at the very least gave authors of the era notes on how to write a hero of that genre. He's an imposing figure but the author more often than not makes him feel like a manic wet blanket. That notwithstanding the man is a strong focal point for the book as it goes along, his paranoia (legitimate and understandable given his job) and tireless efforts to try and account for every possible threat and hiccup and bolt out of the clear blue sky guides us along as the very real apparatus of Nazi Germany's military and security forces work to try and zero in on the 'Big Three' leaders of the Allied war effort.
The pedigree of the Nazi agents and officers who put it upon themselves to execute the Hail Mary operation of 'Kill 'em all at dinner' is it's own impressive rogues gallery of professional soldiers, aristocrats, thugs turned spies, and spies turned thugs. But then again, the language used really does feel insistent, very 'faction'-esque, as in writing like an old pulp novelist but talking about real men and organizations. It struck me as corny at times given the otherwise solid academic work and effective writing throughout.
This all does build a stirring narrative but it kind of loses its heat and light in the last third as a simple fact preempts each strained attempt at maintaining a feeling of tension and threat; The Big 3 met and went on their merry way to win the war, FDR dying at a resort, Stalin on the floor of his Dacha's office, and Churchill years later in his own bed. You can feel the author banging away at the keyboard trying to make the shadow of a dagger on the wall seem menacing while the reality of what didn't happen undermines it. The level of minute detail beforehand makes the ultimate outcome of the operation and the fate of the operatives feel... underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly invested throughout, but in the end the smoke screens and rug pulls and cliffhangers by the author feel like sleight of hand and misdirection to detract from a short, sudden stop. The end was less interesting than the road to get there, which was very, very interesting and stimulating.
I recommend it, I just know I won't be re-reading it, other than maybe using the further reading and reference list for the more interesting parts.
June 29, 2020
As a fan of Erik Larson’s, whose taut nonfiction reads like the very best of novels, I was thrilled to receive a review copy of Howard Blum’s latest book, Night of the Assassins, anticipating a great read. I was not disappointed.
Doggedly researched, richly detailed, and told with propulsive, cinematic urgency, we approach the political intrigue of “Operation Long Jump,” the plot to simultaneously assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at the 1943 Tehran Conference during World War II, by meeting the main players whose roles drive the story forward:
Mike Reilly is the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail, a man dedicated to his boss’s safety, but burdened by the ever-present and unpredictable dangers that lurk. Walter Schellenberg, a high-ranking member of the SS foreign intelligence branch, who faces with dread the Nazi’s seemingly inescapable defeat, and, in a moment of “inspiration” (in collaboration with veteran spymaster, Wilhelm Canaris), births an audacious idea, one that would obliterate the “total surrender” threatened by the Allies: an assassination triumvirate. With Hitler’s blessing, and every intelligence department searching for the time and place of the three Allies’ planned meeting, all systems are put into motion. Enter SS officer Otto Skorzeny, who earned the title, “most dangerous man in Europe,” for his daring rescue of Mussolini during a 1943 Italian coup, who becomes the point-person chosen to facilitate this even more daring escapade.
From the moment he sets the stage, Blum expertly swings the narrative back and forth from Reilly’s herculean efforts to assist FDR in his duties while protecting him from the heightened dangers of wartime, Schellenberg’s urgent scramble to gather essential intelligence while assembling the various and eclectic parties around the world to advance the operation, Skorzeny’s painstaking preparation for what is surely a “mission impossible,” and, as we feel the critical mass of events build, our own anxiety ratchets up with the escalating suspense.
As one who’s read much both fiction and nonfiction on the topic of World War II, it is always a fascinating learning experience to dive into a story that, told with the mastery and dedication to detail as Blum’s, educates me to a powerful historical chapter I knew little about. While we know, because history has already informed us, that the mission was unsuccessful, the electrifying journey toward that ultimate denouement is, to use a cliched term, nail-biting. And given the filmic style of Blum’s narrative, it is easy to picture every character, every place, even the smells and sounds of the streets where events play out, as you race down the timeline of unfolding events.
A brilliant telling of a shocking, daring mission that would have changed the course of history.
Doggedly researched, richly detailed, and told with propulsive, cinematic urgency, we approach the political intrigue of “Operation Long Jump,” the plot to simultaneously assassinate Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin at the 1943 Tehran Conference during World War II, by meeting the main players whose roles drive the story forward:
Mike Reilly is the head of FDR’s Secret Service detail, a man dedicated to his boss’s safety, but burdened by the ever-present and unpredictable dangers that lurk. Walter Schellenberg, a high-ranking member of the SS foreign intelligence branch, who faces with dread the Nazi’s seemingly inescapable defeat, and, in a moment of “inspiration” (in collaboration with veteran spymaster, Wilhelm Canaris), births an audacious idea, one that would obliterate the “total surrender” threatened by the Allies: an assassination triumvirate. With Hitler’s blessing, and every intelligence department searching for the time and place of the three Allies’ planned meeting, all systems are put into motion. Enter SS officer Otto Skorzeny, who earned the title, “most dangerous man in Europe,” for his daring rescue of Mussolini during a 1943 Italian coup, who becomes the point-person chosen to facilitate this even more daring escapade.
From the moment he sets the stage, Blum expertly swings the narrative back and forth from Reilly’s herculean efforts to assist FDR in his duties while protecting him from the heightened dangers of wartime, Schellenberg’s urgent scramble to gather essential intelligence while assembling the various and eclectic parties around the world to advance the operation, Skorzeny’s painstaking preparation for what is surely a “mission impossible,” and, as we feel the critical mass of events build, our own anxiety ratchets up with the escalating suspense.
As one who’s read much both fiction and nonfiction on the topic of World War II, it is always a fascinating learning experience to dive into a story that, told with the mastery and dedication to detail as Blum’s, educates me to a powerful historical chapter I knew little about. While we know, because history has already informed us, that the mission was unsuccessful, the electrifying journey toward that ultimate denouement is, to use a cliched term, nail-biting. And given the filmic style of Blum’s narrative, it is easy to picture every character, every place, even the smells and sounds of the streets where events play out, as you race down the timeline of unfolding events.
A brilliant telling of a shocking, daring mission that would have changed the course of history.
March 19, 2023
This book by Howard Blum was a surprise to me. None of us learn enough about WWII in school, but I've read numerous histories about the war, and had absolutely no idea that Germany tried to assassinate the three leaders in Iran. Presented from both sides of view, both American and German, this book really lays out what happened as this assignment plays out. I'm sure the Germans thought this was a last ditch effort to change the course of the War which was pretty well determined at this point in 1943. You have to wonder what would have happened if they had managed to assassinate the three leaders...I don't imagine it would have changed the course of the war, but it probably would have prolonged it. I'm sure Truman would have handled the end of the war, in much the same way as he handled Japan.
You have to feel sorry for Mike Reilly who was in charge of protecting Roosevelt. What a task, when Roosevelt was determined to put himself in danger in order to end the war, and provide for what happened after the end of the war. Plus he was severely disabled, and getting Roosevelt around was extremely awkward. And the funny thing is, the more spy and daggers they played to keep him safe, the more fun Roosevelt had. He was able to do things he would never been able to do otherwise.
This book took me a little longer to get through because I was reading other stuff, plus working on a paper...but really worth the time and effort. Thoroughly enjoyed this bit of history. Thank heavens that the Germans did not succeed and we had both Roosevelt and Churchill longer to save the world (in spite of their many bad faults)!
You have to feel sorry for Mike Reilly who was in charge of protecting Roosevelt. What a task, when Roosevelt was determined to put himself in danger in order to end the war, and provide for what happened after the end of the war. Plus he was severely disabled, and getting Roosevelt around was extremely awkward. And the funny thing is, the more spy and daggers they played to keep him safe, the more fun Roosevelt had. He was able to do things he would never been able to do otherwise.
This book took me a little longer to get through because I was reading other stuff, plus working on a paper...but really worth the time and effort. Thoroughly enjoyed this bit of history. Thank heavens that the Germans did not succeed and we had both Roosevelt and Churchill longer to save the world (in spite of their many bad faults)!
April 29, 2020
The cover of this book is what attracted me to it; "Night of the Assassins: the Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin." The author, Howard Blum is a well-known and respected journalist and author. So I selected it and was approved by NetGalley to read and review this book. From the title, it sounded like a World War II Nazi spy thriller; an Alan Furst or Ken Follett story full of intrigue, Nazi spies infiltrating enemy territory. Mr. Blum's book was all this and more - it was non-fiction. I have read many books about World War II and I don't ever recall coming across the story of this assassination attempt.
The book starts off, in my opinion, a bit slow and I wondered if I would ever become involved in the story. But after the foundation was laid, it got more and more interesting. Even though we all know what the outcome of this plan was, it became a page-turner after a while. There were times that I wondered, when Blum seemed to enter the minds of the players, how much of a true story this was. But following the finale of the story, the author offered pages of notes and bibliography citing formerly classified documents as well as memoirs of some of the people involved. Mr. Blum seems to have done an enormous amount of research in order to present this very interesting piece of World War II history.
The book starts off, in my opinion, a bit slow and I wondered if I would ever become involved in the story. But after the foundation was laid, it got more and more interesting. Even though we all know what the outcome of this plan was, it became a page-turner after a while. There were times that I wondered, when Blum seemed to enter the minds of the players, how much of a true story this was. But following the finale of the story, the author offered pages of notes and bibliography citing formerly classified documents as well as memoirs of some of the people involved. Mr. Blum seems to have done an enormous amount of research in order to present this very interesting piece of World War II history.
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