Camp Z: How British Intelligence Broke Hitler's Deputy - Hardcover

McGinty, Stephen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0857380702 ISBN 13: 9780857380708

Publisher: Quercus Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

On 10 May 1941 Rudolph Hess, then the Deputy Fuhrer, parachuted over Renfrewshire in Scotland on a mission to meet with the Duke of Hamilton, ostensibly to broker a peace deal with the British government. After being held in the Tower of London, he was transferred to Mytchett Place near Aldershot on 20 May, under the codename of 'Z'. The house was fitted with microphones and sound recording equipment, guarded by a battalion of soldiers and codenamed Camp Z. Churchill's instructions were that Hess should be strictly isolated, and that every effort should be taken to get any information out of him that might be useful. During the ensuing thirteen months a psychological battle was waged between intelligence officers using the new Freudian techniques of 'dynamic psychologies', and the man who had been a heartbeat away from Hitler. Stephen McGinty uses new documentation, contemporaneous reports, diaries, letters and memos to piece together a riveting account of the claustrophobia, paranoia and high-stakes gamesmanship being played out in an English country house. CAMP Z is a 'locked room mystery' where the 'locked room' is a man's head, and information which could help change the course of the Second World War lies inside a mind which no one can decide, with any degree of confidence, is either sane or insane. Hess was given a life sentence at the Nuremberg Trials, and from 1966 to his death in 1987 he was the sole remaining prisoner of Spandau Prison.

About this title

About the Author

cGinty is an award-winning journalist with The Scotsman newspaper. He has also worked for the Sunday Times in London and the Glasgow Herald. His first book, This Turbulent Priest (2003) was described by the Daily Telegraph as 'The year's most unlikely page-turner'. His also the author of Churchill's Cigar (2007) and Fire In The Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster (2008).

From the Back Cover

How do you crack a man whose secrets could end the war?

From the Inside Flap

On 10 May 1941, Rudolf Hess, then the Deputy Fuhrer, parachuted over Renfrewshire in Scotland on a mission to meet with the Duke of Hamilton, ostensibly to broker a peace deal with the British government. After being held in the Tower of London, he was transferred to Mytchett Place near Aldershot on 20 May, under the codename of 'Z'. The house was fitted with microphones and sound recording equipment, guarded by a battalion of soldiers and codenamed 'Camp Z'.
Churchill's instructions were that Hess should be strictly isolated, with every effort taken to get any information out of him that might help change the course of the Second World War. During the ensuing months a psychological battle was waged between intelligence officers using the new Freudian techniques of 'dynamic psychologies', and he man who had been a heartbeat away from Hitler.
Stephen McGinty uses documentation, contemporaneous reports, diaries, letters and memos to piece together a riveting account of the claustrophobia, paranoia and high-stakes gamesmanship being played out in an English country house. CAMP Z is a 'locked room mystery' where the 'locked room' is a man's mind that no one can conclude, with any degree of confidence, is sane.

Edition details

• Publisher: Quercus Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0857380702
• ISBN 13: 9780857380708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352