Heinz Höhne
Encyclopedia
Heinz Höhne was a German
journalist and historian who specialized in Nazi and intelligence history
.
Born in Berlin
in 1926, Höhne was educated there until he was called to fight during the last months of the Second World War. After the war, he studied journalism
in Munich
and went on to work for various newspapers as a freelance reporter. In 1955, he was hired by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel
, where he joined the foreign staff of the magazine and eventually took charge of the Anglo-American department. It is while employed for Der Spiegel that he became famous for his exploits. Heinz's controversial efforts in covering unexploited areas of Nazi history earned him renown as his painstaking efforts exposed and elucidated missing pieces of the Nazi puzzle. His most famous of these works is titled The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS. (Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf: Die Geschichte der SS). This work first appeared in 1967, and many other notable works subsequently followed, such as his 1971 revisionist study of the Soviet Union
's spy network entitled Codeword: Direktor. In 1976, Höhne went on to write Canaris
, a radical interpretation of Hitler's spymaster, who was in charge of the Abwehr
.
Another notable work from Höhne is Krieg im Dunkeln (1985), which examines the centuries old relationship between Russian and German intelligence. After his retirement, Heinz Höhne worked on a complete history of the Third Reich, the first volume of which, Gebt mir vier Jahre Zeit, appeared in 1996.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
journalist and historian who specialized in Nazi and intelligence history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
.
Born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1926, Höhne was educated there until he was called to fight during the last months of the Second World War. After the war, he studied journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and went on to work for various newspapers as a freelance reporter. In 1955, he was hired by the weekly magazine Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
, where he joined the foreign staff of the magazine and eventually took charge of the Anglo-American department. It is while employed for Der Spiegel that he became famous for his exploits. Heinz's controversial efforts in covering unexploited areas of Nazi history earned him renown as his painstaking efforts exposed and elucidated missing pieces of the Nazi puzzle. His most famous of these works is titled The Order of the Death's Head: The Story of Hitler's SS. (Der Orden unter dem Totenkopf: Die Geschichte der SS). This work first appeared in 1967, and many other notable works subsequently followed, such as his 1971 revisionist study of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's spy network entitled Codeword: Direktor. In 1976, Höhne went on to write Canaris
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
, a radical interpretation of Hitler's spymaster, who was in charge of the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
.
Another notable work from Höhne is Krieg im Dunkeln (1985), which examines the centuries old relationship between Russian and German intelligence. After his retirement, Heinz Höhne worked on a complete history of the Third Reich, the first volume of which, Gebt mir vier Jahre Zeit, appeared in 1996.