Inside The Gestapo

After the invasion of Nazi Germany, Helene, a young Jewish woman, risked her life to participate in the resistance disguised as a secretary in the office headquarters of the Gestapo. This book details some of her experiences there, and also testifies to some of the horrific times her fellow citizens had to endure.

A compelling firsthand account of life behind bars in Nazi Germany, from the point of view of a young member of the Polish Underground.

Name as a 2016 Book of the Year by the Spectator A Daily Telegraph 'Book of the Week' (August 2015) Longlisted for 2016 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize Ranked in 100 Best Books of 2015 in the Daily Telegraph Professor Frank McDonough is one of the leading scholars and most popular writers on the history of Nazi Germany. Frank McDonough's work has been described as, 'modern history writing at its very best...Ground-breaking, fascinating, occasionally deeply revisionist' by renowned historian Andrew Roberts. Drawing on a detailed examination of previously unpublished Gestapo case files this book relates the fascinating, vivid and disturbing accounts of a cross-section of ordinary and extraordinary people who opposed the Nazi regime. It also tells the equally disturbing stories of their friends, neighbours, colleagues and even relatives who were often drawn into the Gestapo's web of intrigue. The book reveals, too, the cold-blooded and efficient methods of the Gestapo officers. This book will also show that the Gestapo lacked the manpower and resources to spy on everyone as it was reliant on tip offs from the general public. Yet this did not mean the Gestapo was a weak or inefficient instrument of Nazi terror. On the contrary, it ruthlessly and efficiently targeted its officers against clearly defined political and racial 'enemies of the people'. The Gestapo will provide a chilling new doorway into the everyday life of the Third Reich and give powerful testimony from the victims of Nazi terror and poignant life stories of those who opposed Hitler's regime while challenging popular myths about the Gestapo.

Draws on the latest research to present a history of the Gestapo, from its creation during the Weimar Republic to the fate of its officers after World War II, and unravel the truths and mysteries behind its rule.

From its creation in 1933 until Hitler's death in May 1945, anyone living in Nazi-controlled territory lived in fear of a visit from the Gestapo, the secret state police. This is a lively and expert account of this notorious but little-understood secret police that terrorized hundreds of thousands of people across Europe.

Lucie Aubrac (1912-2007), born Bernard into a Catholic family of winegrowers, was teaching history in a Lyon high school and newly married to Raymond Samuel, a Jewish engineer, when World War II broke out and divided France. The couple, living in the Vichy zone, soon joined the Resistance movement in opposition to the Nazis and their collaborators. Outwitting the Gestapo is Lucie’s harrowing account of her participation in the Resistance: of the months when, though pregnant, she planned and took part in raids to free comrades — including her husband, under Nazi death sentence — from the prisons of Klaus Barbie, the infamous Butcher of Lyon. Her book is also the basis for the 1997 French movie, Lucie Aubrac, which was released in the United States in 1999. The translator, Konrad Bieber, is an emeritus professor of French and comparative literature at SUNY, Stony Brook, and a survivor of Nazi Terror. The introducer is Margaret Collins Weitz, professor of humanities and languages at Suffolk University in Boston. “A breathtaking account that feeds the soul as much as it satisfies the appetite for vicarious danger.” — Kirkus Reviews “Lively and absorbing... [Aubrac's] book interweaves the everyday experience of incredibly hard times... with Resistance activities.” — London Review of Books “There is a relish for the idiosyncratic ramifications of human character that reveal themselves in crisis... As the record of a female résistante’s exploits, Aubrac’s account is doubly valuable. [There is] a compelling sense of immediacy as events unfold.” —Washington Post Book World “An excellent historical introduction on the Resistance movement... and an appropriately taut translation... enhance the impact of this stirring tale of heroism, which concerns not only Resistance members but ordinary citizens, notably women.” — Publishers Weekly “This book is riveting. Adventure, terror, horror, and excitement are all here; it is a feminist class as well... full of interesting information about wartime food, clothes, schooling and manners. It is also a sturdy tale of married love, sustained and requited. The translation is so good that it reads as if it had been written in English.” — Times Literary Supplement “In Ils partiront dans l'ivresse, we find the whole Lucie Aubrac with her candor, spontaneity and narrative art... But these are not the only qualities of the book: it exudes a spirit of solidarity among all résistants... and a great respect for the humble people who at one time or another assisted the Resistance without belonging to it. All in all, an extraordinary testimony by an extraordinary woman.” — Claude Lévy, Vingtième Siècle, revue d'histoire

Traitors in the Gestapo By: J.H. Ahlin Traitors in the Gestapo, a compelling story of love and hate in Nazi Germany, tells the story of Jenz and Ezekiel, Jews who grow up in the dark shadow of the National Socialist Workers Party (Nazism) under Adolf Hitler. To help disguise his Jewish heritage, Jenz’s parents send him to Hitler Youth Camp in 1936. As life grows more harsh and restrictive for Jews in Germany in the late 1930’s, Jenz helps Ezekiel change his identity to Vitali Carapezza, which allows him entrance to the Technical University in Berlin. Jenz, because of his Aryan appearance, is “invited” to join the SS. As both Jenz and Ezekiel grow appalled and sickened byt the treatment of Jews, they conceal their identities to become involved in secret work. Their actions, fraught with intrigue and danger, change the course of the war and thwart the Gestapo’s reign of terror.