Beating the Nazi Invader: Hitler's Spies, Saboteurs and Secrets in Britain 1940

by Neil R Storey

Overview

Beating the Invader is a revealing and disturbing exploration of the darker history of Nazis, spies and ‘Fifth Columnist’ saboteurs in Britain and the extensive top secret counter-measures taken before and during the real threat of invasion in 1940.

The author’s research describes the Nazi Party organization in Britain and reveals the existence of the Gestapo headquarters in central London. The reader gains vivid insights into Nazi agents and terrorist cells, the Special Branch and MI5 teams who hunted them and investigated murders believed to have been committed by Third Reich agents on British soil.

Accessing a host of recently de-classified files the book explores the highly classified measures taken for the protection of the Royal Family, national treasures and gold reserves. The British government made extensive plans for the continuation of government in the event of invasion including the creation of all-powerful Regional Commissioners, ‘Black Lists’ of suspected collaborators and a British resistance organization. We also learn of the Nazis’ own occupation measures for suborning the population and the infamous Sonderfahndungsliste G.B, the Nazi ‘Special Wanted List’.

The result is a fascinating insight into the measures and actions taken to ensure that Great Britain did not succumb to the gravest threat of enemy invasion and occupation for centuries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526797230
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	02/13/2025
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

NEIL R STOREY is an award-winning historian and author who specialises in the impact of war on British society in the first half of the 20th Century. A graduate of the University of East Anglia, he lectures across the UK and has assembled a fine collection of original First and Second World War images to illustrate his works. Neil has published over forty books, has written for national magazines and journals and appears on television documentaries and factual programmes as a guest historian including Who Do You Think You Are? and The Buildings That Fought Hitler.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

Introduction viii

Chapter 1 Nazis in Britain 1930-1939 1

Chapter 2 Victims of Nazi Vengeance 9

Chapter 3 Sympathisers and 'Spyclists' 33

Chapter 4 Spies Among Us 44

Chapter 5 Fatalities of Spy Mania? 70

Chapter 6 The Venlo Incident 74

Chapter 7 Operation Lena 87

Chapter 8 The Undetected? 139

Chapter 9 The Fifth Column 157

Chapter 10 The British Black List 196

Chapter 11 In the Event of Invasion 203

Chapter 12 The Invasion That Never Was 237

Appendix I Civil Defence Regions, Commissioners, Headquarters and Regional Security Liaison Officers, December 1940 274

Appendix II Maxwell Knight's Account of 'The Wolkoff- Kent Case' 276

Appendix III Victor Rothschild on Sabotage 282

Notes 286

Bibliography 298

Index 303

Editorial Reviews

"Storey details the various attempts at infiltrating spy/saboteurs starting with four landed by boat on 2 September 1940."

Intelligencer

12/11/2020

Historian Storey (The King's Men) writes a compelling examination of an aspect of World War II that always has a rapt audience: espionage. The narrative focuses on the many ways that Germany attempted to infiltrate Great Britain before and during the war, from Hitler Youth excursions near factories and landmarks to planted domestic servants with dubious loyalties, and the myriad ways British intelligence was able to repel or deceive them in response, and counter with their own infiltrations. Some chapters go into deep detail about specific occurrences of supposed assassinations and parachute operations, all rife with Hollywood potential. Storey also drops plenty of additional juicy material in the endnotes, along with brief mentions of other stories and events that beg for further investigation, such as the significance of the Gestapo headquarters in central London. VERDICT With a cast of colorful characters, some familiar and others not, and a variety of stories that will be new to casual readers, this is a strong recommendation for most libraries with history-loving patrons. For readers of Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre and A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell.—Amanda Ray, Iowa City P.L.

Library Journal