Spies of the Kaiser

Spies of the Kaiser examines the scope and objectives of German covert operations in Great Britain before and during the First World War. It assesses the effect of German espionage on Anglo-German relations and discusses the extent to which the fear of German espionage in the United Kingdom shaped the British intelligence community in the early Twentieth-century. The study is based on original archival material, including hitherto unexploited German records and recently declassified British documents.

Autorentext

THOMAS BOGHARDT is Historian at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, USA He was the 2002-2003 Thyssen Scholar at Georgetown University's BMW Center for German and European Studies, and has taught European history and international relations at Oxford and the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan. He received his PhD in modern history from the University of Oxford, UK.

Zusammenfassung
German espionage in Great Britain during the First World War era provides a continuing source of fascination, but the true activities of the 'Spies of the Kaiser' have long been shrouded in mystery. Thomas Boghardt's study, based on hitherto untapped British and German sources, examines for the first time the scope and objectives of German covert operations in Great Britain before and during the First World War, and challenges the traditional view that MI5, the British security service, was able to thwart German espionage. Spies of the Kaiser reveals how the German secret services employed anthrax and sabotage against the Allies in the First World War and how the spectre of German espionage profoundly shaped the emerging British intelligence community. It is a highly relevant and timely book for today's world in which terrorist threats and the role of the secret services in democratic societies remain intensely debated issues.

Inhalt

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction The Origins of German Naval Intelligence The Origins of British Counter-Espionage German Espionage in Great Britain Before World War I The Outbreak of World War I German Espionage in Great Britain, 1914-1917 Beyond Espionage The Decline of German Naval Intelligence, 1917-1919 Conclusion Notes Appendices Bibliography Index