Servants of Evil

A Look Behind the Scenes of the Nazi Secret Services

Cloak and dagger. The symbolic term for espionage, counter-espionage, and an extreme form of covert diplomacy and sophisticated intrigue. The simplified idea that the secret front decided everything of substance in the run-up to the Second World War and then during it is far from reality. However, it would be equally untrue to believe that these behind-the-scenes and, in many ways, still uncharted events had no influence on the course of history.
In Volume VIII of the Český ČAS Edition, the renowned writer and publicist Roman Cílek allows us a glimpse behind the curtain of the Nazi secret services. This 'peeking behind' is unique in that, over several decades, he personally interviewed a whole range of protagonists in the actions that changed the course of history, from Adolf Hitler's rise to power until the fall of the 'Third Reich', and visited many of the 'crime scenes'. We will be guided through the cynically cold, meticulously planned acts of Nazi criminals primarily by Heydrich's top agent, Alfred Helmut Naujocks, who was active practically all over Europe. The then-Czechoslovakia, as a setting, as well as its agents, play a significant role in the book, whether it concerns the murder of Ing. Formis, who broadcast against Hitler, the compromising of Soviet Marshal Tukhachevsky, which led to his execution, the involvement in the 'Venlo Incident', which is featured in every textbook for aspiring spies, or the activities of the Sicherheitsdienst before the Munich Diktat and in connection with the establishment of the Slovak State and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
The arsenal of weapons used by the Nazi secret services was remarkable for its sophistication and breadth. To name just a few: murder, kidnapping, blackmail including the use of prostitutes, forgery of documents and banknotes… Looming ominously over willing agents like Naujocks, capable of anything, are those who served evil most fervently: the Führer Adolf Hitler, the seemingly jovial 'Reichsheini' Heinrich Himmler, and the devil in human form, Reinhard Heydrich. All of them, along with a wide array of other figures, are brought to life before us thanks to the exceptional writing of Roman Cílek, who dedicated decades to searching for the traces left behind by Hitler's servants of evil.