Sisters in Resistance
How a German Spy, a Banker's Wife, and Mussolini's Daughter Outwitted the Nazis
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher 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: “A tantalizingly novelistic history lesson" (Kirkus).
In 1944, news of secret diaries kept by Italy's Foreign Minister, Galeazzo Ciano, had permeated public consciousness. What wasn't reported, however, was how three women—a Fascist's daughter, a German spy, and an American banker’s wife—risked 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 Mussolini's daughter, Edda, gave Hitler and her father an ultimatum: release her husband, Galeazzo Ciano, from prison, or risk her leaking her husband's 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 Hilde’s daring assistance to keep Ciano's final wish: to see the diaries published for use by the Allies. When American spymaster Allen Dulles learned of Edda's escape, he sent in 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 in‑depth research and first-person interviews with people who witnessed these events, Mazzeo gives readers a riveting look into this little‑known moment in history and shows how, without Edda, Hilde, and Frances's involvement, certain convictions at Nuremberg would never have been possible.
Includes a Reading Group Guide.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
University of Montreal literature professor Mazzeo (Eliza Hamilton) unravels a tangled knot of Fascist intrigue and family infighting in this riveting WWII history. At the center of the story are Italian foreign minister Galleazzo Ciano and his wife, Edda, Benito Mussolini's favorite daughter. In 1943, Ciano voted with the Fascist Party's Grand Council to oust Mussolini. His replacement was Ciano's archrival, Pietro Badoglio, who, in a bid to solidify his power, put Ciano under house arrest. This prompted Edda to approach a group of Nazi officials with a proposal: if they helped the Cianos flee to Spain, Edda would hand over her husband's diaries (which contained state secrets and unflattering depictions of Italian and German officials) so they could further their own aims with Hitler. After striking a deal, the family was betrayed and ended up in Germany, where S.S. agent Hilde Beetz fell in love with Ciano while seducing him into revealing the whereabouts of his diaries. Hitler eventually returned Mussolini to power and sent the Cianos back to Italy, where Ciano was executed in 1944. Soon after, Beetz brokered a deal between Edda and U.S. intelligence, which wanted Ciano's diaries for evidence against the Nazis in postwar trials. Mazzeo efficiently relates these complex events and renders empathetic portraits of the story's main players. WWII buffs will be enthralled.
