The Gestapo cover art

The Gestapo

The Myth and Reality of Hitler's Secret Police

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The Gestapo

By: Frank McDonough
Narrated by: Paul McGann
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About this listen

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Drawing on a detailed examination of previously unpublished Gestapo case files this book relates the fascinating, vivid and disturbing accounts of a cross-section of ordinary and extraordinary people who opposed the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.

©2012 Frank McDonough (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Military War

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All stars
Most relevant  
Paul McGann an excellent narrator. So interesting to hear about cases from the war. Thank you

Amazing

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I still struggle to understand how people's inhumanity people seems to go unpunished and they were somehow exonerated very well-written and researched

gestapo

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thank heavens fo4 D Day and all those who fought tyranny in Europe and gave us freedom.

Disturbing

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It was interesting to get an alternative to the perspective of what is usually regarded as an evil institution which it certainly became towards the end of the war but to begin with it was something different and relied heavily on ordinary citizens ' informing

Different and worth listening to

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I learned an important lesson in listening to this book , how evil was perpetrated , how lenient the Gestapo could be and how most walked away from WW2 Scot free ,

deadly detectives

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Really well done, debunked some myths as well as having lots of the human face of the Gestapo and more importantly those who came into contact with them. Broad and thoughtful use of sources and highlighted some of the less well known stories of those living with the Gestapo. Narration great well paced. A forensic approach with a human narrative resulting in unintentional learning and no triggers to remind you of A Level Modern History

A detailed & engaging look at the Gestapo

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A very well read book. Lots of fascinating information that I have never heard before and very interesting information on specific cases. The end of the book covers the war crimes era and that was a real eye opener to me.

Stuff I never knew!

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The plodding narration made this a dull read. Plus the decision to say 'geshtapo' was an annoyance. This word is used a lot, so that's a lot of annoyance.

a bit of a drone

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I expected this to be the usual hysterical “he’s behind you” book about Hitler’s Germany ~ far from it. This is a book which has been thoroughly researched and is a fantastic listen on Audible. Paul McGann’s narration is outstanding. In fact he is the best narrator I have heard. Even better than Grover Gardener! I presently have about 120 Audible books so far. ! I have read many books about, what I refer to as, The Cult of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. It has been an interest of mine for years. How did it happen? Why did it happen? I expected this to be light reading. It is not. Frank McDonough has given us a glimpse of how ordinary Germans behaved and how some would report neighbours to settle scores. I knew the Gestapo was a small and under resourced organisation and Frank acknowledges this along with some interesting insights into Himmler’s thinking at the time. The book provides us with a picture of how the Gestapo operated and how people ‘used’ them. Buy it!

Excellent Book about real life in 1930s Germany

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This is an exceptional book, it busts a lot of myths about the notorious gestapo, but never the less still underlines the often arbitrary and extraordinary cruelty of the organisation

If you’re interested in the era..

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