The Spy in Hitler's Inner Circle

Book excerpt: This thrilling account of WWII espionage by the former French secret service chief chronicles an Allied spy’s actions in the German Cipher Office. A spy for the French Secret Service during World War II, Hans-Thilo Schmidt was embedded in the nerve center of the Third Reich. From deep within Hitler’s most sensitive operations, Schmidt created an intelligence network between France, Poland, and England. In The Spy in Hitler’s Inner Circle, France’s former secret service chief, Paul Paillole, offers a revealing chronicle of how Schmidt helped the Allies infiltrate German agencies and crack their encryption system, the Enigma machine. Paillole details how Schmidt delivered intelligence to France right from the source of the German Cipher Office. Revealed here are the most secret aspects of the so-called war of numbers that led to Alan Turing’s historic codebreaking achievement at Bletchley Park. From information about Germany’s rearmament and the reoccupation of the Rhineland to fundamental technical intelligence about the Enigma machine, Schmidt’s contributions were key to the Allied victory in the intelligence war.