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(More customer reviews)Walter Schellenberg is one of those enigmatic figures that emerged from the ruins of the Third Reich. Like the memiors of Hitler's armaments minister, Albert Speer, Schellenberg's account gives us a penetrating look into the inner workings of the Nazi regime. Unlike Speer's account however, Schellenberg sticks to his own field, intelligence, and completly ignores the larger, darker questions of the men he served so faithfully. That aside, 'The Labyrinth' is a remarkable glimpse into the world of German intelligence during World War Two. Schellenberg gives us the same kind of intimate portrait of Heinrich Himmler that Albert Speer gave of Adolf Hitler in 'Inside the Third Reich.' Schellenberg also gives us a memorable look at men like Reinhard Heydrich, Whilhelm Canaris, Heinrich Mueller, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner. But the heart of this work is Schellenberg's own experiences as head of foreign intelligence and counter intelligence. Included are Schellenberg's scheme to kidnap the Duke of Windsor in Portugal in 1940, his 'turning' of Russian POW's to the Nazi cause, and his capture of two British secret service officers on the Dutch-German border in 1939. The narrative ends with Schellenberg's attempts to secure the surrender of the western armies to the allies on behalf of Himmler. For anyone interested in the Nazi intelligence system of the Second World War or of true spy stories in general this is a work that will not disappoint. If you enjoyed this work you might want to check out Gerald Reitlinger's 'SS: Alibi of a nation, 1922-45,' for a larger picture of the German SS.
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This unique account of Hitler's corrupt regime illuminates more vividly than any other the deepening atmosphere of terror and unreality in which the Nazi leadership lived as the war progressed. Schellenberg recounts with firsthand knowledge the motivations and machinations surrounding the Nazi Army's every move in Poland, Austria, and Russia. But this remarkable inside account is perhaps most memorable for its riveting portraits of Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler, Heinrich Mueller, Ernst Kaltenbrunner—men whom Schellenberg calls, with stunning lack of irony, "Hitler's willing executioners."
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