Hitler's Spy Chief

By: Richard Bassett

Narrated by: Mark Topping

How Hitler's spy chief sabotaged the German war effort.

Wilhelm Canaris was appointed by Hitler to head the Abwehr (the German secret service) 18 months after the Nazis came to power. But Canaris turned against the Fuhrer and the Nazi regime, believing that Hitler would start a war Germany could not win. In 1938 he was involved in an attempted coup, undermined by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. In 1940 he sabotaged the German plan to invade England and fed General Franco vital information that helped him keep Spain out of the war.

For years he played a dangerous double game, desperately trying to keep one step ahead of the Gestapo. The SS chief, Heinrich Himmler, became suspicious of the Abwehr and by 1944, when Abwehr personnel were involved in the attempted assassination of Hitler, he had the evidence to arrest Canaris himself. Canaris was executed a few weeks before the end of the war.

©2006 Richard Bassett (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Canaris, a spy, but for who?

A must read for anyone even remotely interested in espionage. Couldn't stop listening. Looking forward to getting a hard copy to add to my library.

Great book, well written

Churchill Roosevelt and Ken Philby kill a lot of good people because of there goals. And worst off left the communists prospering to continue to drag the world down.

Must for history fans

This mostly unknown story about one of the most important figure of WW2 will shine light on what could have, did and didn’t happen behind the scenes of war.

A Brilliant Man Doing Good While Surrounded By Evil

I first heard about Wilhelm Canaris from a friend in college. He described him a the equivalent of a puppeteer or someone who plays 3-D chess. What impressed me about this history was Canaris’ high moral character, great mind and willingness to do the right thing even when it could cause him to be tortured and/or lose his life.

Great book on a very complicated man.

Admiral Canaris was the head of the Nazi Abwehr- Hitlers secret intelligence agency. He set up arms deals and alliances for the Third Reich while undermining Hitlers agenda. I don't know how he kept his story straight. I vision a circus performer spinning plates on sticks the way he weaved operations to advance the Third Reich while openly negotiating with the British intelligence. He was torn by his Catholic faith and his military duty, which he knew would lead Germany to destruction under Hitler's maniacal leadership. It eventually cost him his life. In the last days of the Reich they hung him and revived him just to kill him again. Nothing but respect for this crafty old man!

well researched but dry

This is a great book, the author has put a lot of work into it, but it's dry. i found it hard to get into it.

An amazing life and career

Wilhelm Canaris is an example of a life lived in the face of constant stress and anxiety. Only a man with a solid sense of self and morality can persevere in these conditions. Canaris is an example of such a person in my view. This book is well written and narrated. It begins before WW I and ends at his death at the hands of the gestapo thugs. Here is a person who manipulated situations, circumstances and people within the nazi party with the deft hand of any chess master. He spends time thinking about how his opponents, friends and acquaintances think, behave and act within their circumstances. Amazing story that is well told. Hitler never had a clue his Adwert spymaster was working against him.

not much going on, more of a biography

Very little action or interesting content. Just drones on about the guys whole life story.