Canaris: The Life and Death of Hitler's Spymaster
This biography of the Nazi intelligence chief who spied both for and against Hitler examines the life of one of WWII's most intriguing figures. An early supporter of Adolph Hitler, Wilhelm Canaris became chief of German military intelligence before secretly turning against the Nazi regime at the start of World War II. Throughout his career, few who knew him ever understood his plans. Even today, historians find Wilhelm Canaris a man of mystery among Hitler's top lieutenants.
The great protector of German opposition to Hitler, Canaris was also the one who prepared the Third Reich's major expansion plans. While he motivated those who were eager to bring down Hitler, he also hunted them as conspirators—one of the many contradictions he was forced to live with in order to stay in control of the Nazi spy network.This superbly researched biography follows Canaris's career from his first dabbling in the intelligence business during World War I through his time as head of the Abwehr to his execution in 1945 for his role in the July Plot. A highly readable account, it tells the story of an apparently old-fashioned naval officer, drawn into the web of the Nazi regime.
My Review
After reading about so many Nazis, it is nice to read something about a smart, competent man, who isn't a raving lunatic and a sociopath. Canaris was good at his job, but too smart for his own good. When you run Military Intelligence, you'll quickly figure out what is arrayed against you, and this made him involve himself in various coup attempts. The only one he didn't participate in finally exposed him. Unfortunately this book has to try to paint a picture without any input from Canaris himself, he never kept a diary or any notes, and was very secretive. So it mainly tells the stories that happened around him.