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Canaris: Hitler's Master Spy
Viewing Hitler's director of espionage as some bizarre Jekyl-and-Hyde figure, Hohne investigates Wilhelm Canaris's involvement in several conspiracies to overthrow the Nazi regime, including one of many unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Hitler
703 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 22, 2017
An excellent, detailed study of Canaris. I have only read the first 120 pages or so, focusing on Canaris' early relationship with Heydrich and the agreements between the Abwehr and the Gestapo. Some of those events, and Hohne's fascinating observations of both Canaris and Heydrich may find their way into my currently underway sequel to A Flood of Evil. Later, when my story reaches those years (1939+), I will read further of Canaris' efforts to destroy Hitler.
January 7, 2008
Fascinating account of Canaris, head of army intelligence under Hitler. One of the founding members of the Schwartz Kappell(black orchestra) group attempting to assassinate Hitler and save Germany from the inevitable destruction total war. Made several overtures to allies (and gave up military secrets) in an attempt to cut a deal, but FDR wouldn't deal. Eventually hanged for his crimes (with Bonhoeffer) in a concentration camp two weeks before its liberation.
Pretty dense translation from the German.. but interesting read.
Pretty dense translation from the German.. but interesting read.
December 13, 2010
Excellent author dedicated detailed research with a sure precision for detail and accuracy. Not sentimental brutally true to the historical imperative. We owe him and his colleagues a huge debt of gratitude.
May 3, 2025
I knew practically nothing about Canaris himself when I started this aside from a short, shabby bio on him I read a few years back that I didn't like. Hohne is a meticulous document hound, with sometimes 350 plus notations in a chapter, so you can be dead certain of the research and it pays off in this intricate bio of a puzzling man addicted to cloak and dagger, fond of scheming just for the sake of the scheme regardless of purpose and whose eventual equivocal attitude to the Reich plagued him from 1938 on.
He's the poster child for the German Resistance's dilly dallying, convinced (most of the time) that Hitler had to go by one means or another but absolutely undecided how to make it happen, hoping someone else would do the dirty work for them. Add to this the ridiculous amount of incriminating evidence Canaris and Oster put down on paper and preserved in 2 different safes and it makes you wonder how he and anyone on his immediate staff ever qualified to run a secret intelligence service in the first place.
His downfall is relayed in three slow motion, very long chapters that chart every twist and turn and can be a challenge to get through, but Hohne's insistence on completionist zeal can't be faulted. A German author writing a bio of a prominent member of the Nazi regime has the added burden to demonstrate he has little sympathy for the devil lest it be misconstrued as approval.
Really the most amazing aspect of this saga is that Canaris wasn't outed long, long before the assassination attempt of 20 July put him in the spotlight, yet that's how it went. Himmler often put in a good word for him and protected him, scheming in his own way for a different outcome, Schellenberg had been taken in by his personality years ago when Heydrich was still living and Hitler thought well of his intelligence chief for most of his tenure. In a regime that lived on suspicion and infighting for power, everyone was slow on the uptake that Canaris wasn't what he seemed. His clandestine meeting with Donovan and Menzies in Spain is absolutely ridiculous -- how was it not noticed by someone in the SD or Gestapo, whose personnel were thick as flies in Spain?
His final days and mock trial are also a bit of a perplexing nature. With the Reich falling apart and the Allies rampaging through the country, it seems utterly ludicrous for the SS to go through the motions of a military tribunal style not quite court martial for treason in a concentration camp, to make the execution look somewhat legal. Surely a truck ride to a secluded woody spot followed by a shot to the neck and a fast burial were more in line with the spirit and necessity of the times.
One thing Hohne doesn't mention is that had Canaris lived through the endgame of the Reich he would likely have stood in the dock at Nuremberg, too, for war crimes. His Secret Field Police had carried out executions of Poles, both Jews and Gentiles, during the Polish campaign in 1939 and his Brandenburger special ops unit might have some crimes to answer for, also. One wonders if the slippery little admiral might have been able to pull off a stunt like Speer did and worm his way free of the noose.
A very thorough and thought provoking biography of one of the enigmatic men of the Reich.
He's the poster child for the German Resistance's dilly dallying, convinced (most of the time) that Hitler had to go by one means or another but absolutely undecided how to make it happen, hoping someone else would do the dirty work for them. Add to this the ridiculous amount of incriminating evidence Canaris and Oster put down on paper and preserved in 2 different safes and it makes you wonder how he and anyone on his immediate staff ever qualified to run a secret intelligence service in the first place.
His downfall is relayed in three slow motion, very long chapters that chart every twist and turn and can be a challenge to get through, but Hohne's insistence on completionist zeal can't be faulted. A German author writing a bio of a prominent member of the Nazi regime has the added burden to demonstrate he has little sympathy for the devil lest it be misconstrued as approval.
Really the most amazing aspect of this saga is that Canaris wasn't outed long, long before the assassination attempt of 20 July put him in the spotlight, yet that's how it went. Himmler often put in a good word for him and protected him, scheming in his own way for a different outcome, Schellenberg had been taken in by his personality years ago when Heydrich was still living and Hitler thought well of his intelligence chief for most of his tenure. In a regime that lived on suspicion and infighting for power, everyone was slow on the uptake that Canaris wasn't what he seemed. His clandestine meeting with Donovan and Menzies in Spain is absolutely ridiculous -- how was it not noticed by someone in the SD or Gestapo, whose personnel were thick as flies in Spain?
His final days and mock trial are also a bit of a perplexing nature. With the Reich falling apart and the Allies rampaging through the country, it seems utterly ludicrous for the SS to go through the motions of a military tribunal style not quite court martial for treason in a concentration camp, to make the execution look somewhat legal. Surely a truck ride to a secluded woody spot followed by a shot to the neck and a fast burial were more in line with the spirit and necessity of the times.
One thing Hohne doesn't mention is that had Canaris lived through the endgame of the Reich he would likely have stood in the dock at Nuremberg, too, for war crimes. His Secret Field Police had carried out executions of Poles, both Jews and Gentiles, during the Polish campaign in 1939 and his Brandenburger special ops unit might have some crimes to answer for, also. One wonders if the slippery little admiral might have been able to pull off a stunt like Speer did and worm his way free of the noose.
A very thorough and thought provoking biography of one of the enigmatic men of the Reich.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews