A “fascinating” account of the British director of Naval Intelligence who was interned during the Second World War as a Nazi sympathizer (The Armourer).
Between the First and Second World Wars, there was a growth of fascism in Britain and anxiety about revolution was in the air. Concerns of a possible Fascist attempt to overthrow the established order were high, not to mention the rise of Hitler and the threat of invasion.
With secret clubs and clandestine meetings now a threat, the security services decided to infiltrate their ranks. Sir Barry Domvile had served with honor during the First World War and had risen to director of Naval Intelligence. He became involved with Oswald Mosley and other far right leaders, also visiting prominent Nazis in Germany with whom he became enamored and formed “The Link,” a far right, pro-German organization. Concerns were raised and in 1940 he, along with his wife and son, were detained and imprisoned without trial under Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939, under suspicion of being involved in a secret plot to bring in a Fascist Government.
Hitler’s Munich Man gives a detailed account of Domvile’s background, detention, and hearings that were held behind closed doors and reveals the extent of his Fascism, pro-German attitudes and anti-Semitism. The first book to throw a spotlight on the saga, it examines his writings, both open and issued under a pseudonym, and considers the legitimacy of his detention. With photographs from the German archives, substantial coverage using the Secret Service files, Domvile’s personal diaries, and other sources, the book will illuminate and inform the reader.
