Description
In a tale as twisted as any spy thriller discover how three women delivered critical evidence of Axis war crimes to Allied forces during World War II Mazzeo is a fascinating storyteller New York Journal of Books
In 1944 news of secret diaries kept by Italys Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano had permeated public consciousness What wasnt reported however was how three womena Fascists daughter a German spy and an American socialiterisked their lives to ensure the diaries would reach the Allies who would later use them as evidence against the Nazis at Nuremberg
In 1944 Benito Mussolinis daughter Edda gave Hitler and her father an ultimatum release her husband Galeazzo Ciano from prison or risk her leaking her husbands journals to the press To avoid the peril of exposing Nazi lies Hitler and Mussolini hunted for the diaries for months determined to destroy them
Hilde Beetz a German spy was deployed to seduce Ciano to learn the diaries location and take them from Edda As the seducer became the seduced Hilde converted as a double agent joining forces with Edda to save Ciano from execution When this failed Edda fled to Switzerland with Hildes daring assistance to keep Cianos final wish to see the diaries published for use by the Allies When American spymaster Allen Dulles learned of Eddas escape he sent in socialite Frances De Chollet an accidental spy telling her to find Edda gain her trust and crucially hand the diaries over to the Americans Together they succeeded in preserving one of the most important documents of WWII
Drawing from indepth research and firstperson interviews with people who witnessed these events Mazzeo gives readers a riveting look into this littleknown moment in history and shows how without Edda Hilde and Francess involvement certain convictions at Nuremberg would never have been possible
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