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Title details for The Madam and the Spymaster by Urs Brunner - Available

The Madam and the Spymaster

The Secret History of the Most Famous Brothel in Wartime Berlin

by Urs Brunner
Nigel Jones
ebook
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This extraordinary story of a high-class Berlin brothel—taken over by the Nazi secret service—is one of the last untold tales of World War II.
There is no book in English about the wartime Berlin 'salon' run by Kitty Schmidt under the secret control of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Final Solution.

"Salon Kitty" was the most notorious brothel in the decadent Berlin of the Weimar Republic - the city of "Cabaret." But after the Nazis took power, it became something more dangerous: a spying center with every room wired for sound, staffed by female agents specially selected by the SS to coax secrets from their VIP clients.

Masterminded by Reinhard Heydrich, the spymaster whom Hitler himself called "the man with the iron heart," the exclusive establishment turned listening post was patronized by the Nazi leaders themselves, not knowing that hidden ears were listening.

The Madam and the Spymaster reveals the sensational true story of this forgotten part of espionage history. The deep research undertaken by Nigel Jones, Urs Brunner and Dr Julia Schrammel sheds new light on Nazi methods of control and coercion, and the way sex was abused for their own perverse purposes.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 4, 2023

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781639364305

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781639364305
      • File size: 76670 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      June 21, 2023
      Historians Brunner and Jones, along with journalist Schrammel, present the story of a brothel in wartime Berlin, "Salon Kitty," run by Kitty Schmidt, an elusive madam. Reinhard Heydrich, one of Hitler's spymasters and chief lieutenants, maneuvered the salon to support espionage efforts, not only to obtain secrets from visiting foreign dignitaries, but to spy on members of the Third Reich itself. Heydrich, nothing if not an opportunist, envisioned state secrets being spilled over pillow talk with carefully recruited "spy hostesses," who would utilize hidden microphones. The authors spend a lengthy section of the book exploring the mores of the Weimar Republic, the history of prostitution in Berlin, and the sexual proclivities of various Nazi henchmen. A prolonged discussion of Hitler's own sexual tastes, much speculated upon, may try the reader's patience. The authors acknowledge that the history of this brothel, and Kitty Schmidt herself, required a great deal of detective work and no small amount of conjecture. Was Kitty herself a Nazi sympathizer or a mere tool of the Third Reich? It will be up to the reader to decide.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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