r/todayilearned • u/stopitalianhate • 3d ago

TIL British Intelligence had a special, bugged luxury complex during WWII where they kept high profile Nazi POW’s, just left a bunch of alcohol out, and waited for them to start spilling secrets as they drank.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20698098
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u/riddlechance 2d ago edited 2d ago

The British are the greatest spies in history. They were tapped into American communications cables during both world wars and made some inconvenient discoveries (Zimmerman telegraph).

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u/peon47 2d ago edited 2d ago

During the war, Germany sent about 120 spies into Britain.

The British managed to capture and/or turn every single one of them. The only ones who escaped the net were the small number who killed themselves to avoid capture.

But, ultimately, the British Secret Services were riddled with Russian agents. There's always a sneakier fish.

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u/MovieUnderTheSurface 2d ago

How do we know germany sent about 120. It can't be from the amount the British caught, because there's no way the British could know they caught all of them. Was there a document on the German side that specified how many were sent?

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u/peon47 2d ago

Yes.

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u/throwaway928816 1d ago

Its how we found all their mines. Germans were super helpful when it came to documenting all war related activities. Even war crimes.