The Venlo Incident

A True Story of Double-Dealing, Captivity, and a Murderous Nazi Plot

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I
Cover of the book The Venlo Incident by Nigel Jones, Frontline Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nigel Jones ISBN: 9781473819726
Publisher: Frontline Books Publication: October 30, 2009
Imprint: Frontline Books Language: English
Author: Nigel Jones
ISBN: 9781473819726
Publisher: Frontline Books
Publication: October 30, 2009
Imprint: Frontline Books
Language: English

In November 1939, the Nazis used the so-called Venlo Incident as a pretext for invading the Netherlands. Following orders from Himmler, two British intelligence officers, Sigismund Payne Best and Richard Stevens, were captured from the Café Backus in the town of Venlo.

Best had been trying to contact German officers plotting against Hitler. The Netherlands had been an ideal ground for operations, because of its proximity to Germany and the fact that Dutch Intelligence was badly funded. When Best met the three agents – including Walter Schellenberg – he was carrying with him a list of British agents who were working in Europe. hen he arrived at the café, which was just over the Dutch border, he realised he had walked into a trap. A Dutch intelligence officer who accompanied them, Dirk Klop, was fatally wounded. Best and Stevens were taken into Germany. After their Berlin interrogation and torture they were taken to the notorious Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Hitler used the incident – together with the Elser bomb plot – as an excuse for war with the Netherlands, claiming their involvement with Britain violated their neutrality. As Nigel Jones explains, the incident was crucial in making the British suspicious of dealings with anti-Hitler resistance.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In November 1939, the Nazis used the so-called Venlo Incident as a pretext for invading the Netherlands. Following orders from Himmler, two British intelligence officers, Sigismund Payne Best and Richard Stevens, were captured from the Café Backus in the town of Venlo.

Best had been trying to contact German officers plotting against Hitler. The Netherlands had been an ideal ground for operations, because of its proximity to Germany and the fact that Dutch Intelligence was badly funded. When Best met the three agents – including Walter Schellenberg – he was carrying with him a list of British agents who were working in Europe. hen he arrived at the café, which was just over the Dutch border, he realised he had walked into a trap. A Dutch intelligence officer who accompanied them, Dirk Klop, was fatally wounded. Best and Stevens were taken into Germany. After their Berlin interrogation and torture they were taken to the notorious Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Hitler used the incident – together with the Elser bomb plot – as an excuse for war with the Netherlands, claiming their involvement with Britain violated their neutrality. As Nigel Jones explains, the incident was crucial in making the British suspicious of dealings with anti-Hitler resistance.

More books from Frontline Books

Cover of the book Last of the Ebb by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Aces of the Reich by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Bayonets For Hire by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Royal Observer Corps by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Voices from the Past: Waterloo 1815 by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Eyewitness in the Crimea by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book In the Words of Napoleon by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book With Wellington's Hussars in the Peninsula and Waterloo by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Sheriffmuir 1715 by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book With Winston Churchill at the Front by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Memoirs of Ernst Röhm by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book The Zeebrugge Raid 1918 by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book The Scourge of the Swastika by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Harry Smith’s Last Throw by Nigel Jones
Cover of the book Tobruk Commando by Nigel Jones
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy