Reprint of a 1960s account of the famed Communist espionage ring that worked against the Nazi regime in both Germany and in Western Europe. It's admirably thorough in many parts, though one difficulty a reader has is keeping the entire cast of characters straight, as there's a bewildering roster that ends up changing names (and loyalties) all around. The book does tend to bog down toward the end, with a bit of rambling speculation about "Gestapo" Muller and his possible treachery. Also, the book was written before the (apparent?) discovery of Martin Bormann's remains. But still, you get a very good idea of professional tradecraft from the book, both in acting as spies, and in acting as spycatchers, most notably in how to run turned spies. ( )

To quote from the back of the bk: "Gilles Perrault's tense and dramatic documentary history depicts the rise and fall of the notorious Soviet spy ring the Germans called the Red Orchestra, which operated within the highest circles of the German General Staff from 1941 to 1944." It's mind-boggling to think about the courage that some people have during wartime. The 'Red Orchestra' threw parties for SS staff where they plied them w/ women who fucked them to glean their military secrets & got funding from them by selling black market goods. Interestingly, the technique of triangulation was supposedly developed by the nazis to find hidden radios of resistance groups. ( )

La Orquesta roja fue una red de espionaje comunista formada durante la II Guerra Mundial integrada por ciudadanos alemanes en contra de los nazis. Más allá del relato, a través de los hechos dramáticos que conmovieron al mundo, el autor indaga acerca de los motivos e intenciones de cuantos colaboraron heroicamente a las órdenes del polaco Leopoldo Trepper- "El gran Jefe"- en tan arriesgada lucha. ( )