Deception

The first book to tell the complete story of Adolf Eichmann's plan to deceive the last Jews of Europe.

'I suppose you know who I am? I was in charge of the actions in Germany and Poland and Czechoslovakia. I am prepared to sell you one million Jews: Goods for blood ... Blood for goods.'

These were the chilling words uttered by one of the most notorious Nazi bureaucrats, SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann, to a young Jewish businessman called Joel Brand in the spring of 1944. Brand embarked on a desperate mission to persuade the Allies to barter with Eichmann – and failed.

400,000 Hungarian Jews were taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau packed in cattle trains, gassed, and then incinerated. For decades after 1945, many blamed the Allies for callously abandoning a million Hungarian Jews to their fate. In Deception, Christopher Hale presents a new account of the 'Brand Mission' based on evidence in the national archives of Germany, Hungary, Britain and the United States.

Hale reveals that Eichmann's offer formed one part of a monstrous deception designed to outwit the leaders of the last surviving Jewish community in Europe. The deception was more complex and – from the German point of view – more successful than any equivalent operation mounted by the British secret service such as 'Operation Mincemeat'.

About the Author

Christopher Hale is the author of Himmler's Crusadev (Bantam, 2003), Hitler's Foreign Executioners (THP, 2011) and Massacre in Malaya (THP, 2013). He has made numerous documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4 and many other broadcasters. Himmler's Crusade won the prestigious Italian Premio Gambrinus 'Giuseppe Mazzotti' prize. Hitler's Foreign Executioners was longlisted for the History Today/Longman's History Book of the Year in 2011 and was a bestseller in Poland. He lives in Berlin.