THE SPY IN HITLER'S INNER CIRCLE

THE SPY IN HITLER'S INNER CIRCLE 
by Paul Paillole

Written by one of the members of French Intelligence during the war, this is the remarkable story of Hans-Thilo Schmidt told fully for the first time & now translated into English. 

Hans-Thilo Schmidt was a former German soldier who was still suffering from the effects of being gassed in the first world war. Struggling to make ends meet his brother, a high ranking army officer, recommended him for a job in the German Cipher Headquarters. 
In 1932 Hans decided to approach the French & offered intelligence in exchange for money. The amount & quality of that intelligence was extraordinary & would continue through the rest of the 1930's. 

Whilst the Poles were trying to build their own Enigma machine,
Schmidt's first intelligence exchange provided manuals & other documentation that the French passed on. This aided the Poles work immensely & would prove vital in the coming years.
Schmidt would go on to share intelligence on the Nazi Party, the Abwehr & the Wehrmacht. As well as Germany's re-armament programme. He even sent a warning regarding the German's upcoming invasion of Poland. 

Eventually German suspicions grew. Schmidt's phone was tapped & he had the sense he was being followed. 
In 1943 he was arrested & died soon after in a German prison. Our French Intelligence author believes Hans committed suicide. 
His brother, now a General &  serving on the Eastern Front, was relieved of command. An innocent victim of his brother's betrayal. A betrayal that must have saved countless lives in the world war that followed & one that surely deserves to be far better known. Incredible story!

The hardback edition of the book is available now, published by Casemate Publishing. 
I thank Casemate UK for this review copy. 

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