TRAINED AS a German Spy

Radio Record, 21 August 1936, Page 25

TRAINED AS a German Spy

ta " : [ ErrEReERENTES | MANY stories have been written about spies and their activities during the Great War but the masterpiece has been generally acclaimed as Bernard Newman’s "Spy." Now an even greater work comes from the presses of Victory Gollancz-"German Spy." "Although my book ‘Spy’ was banned in Germany, it was published in most neighbouring countries," writes Bernard Newman :in the preface. "In the autumn of 1935- I received’ a letter from a complete stranger, a Bavarian named Ludwig Grein, addressed from Vienna. (where, apparently, he was an exile from Nazi persecution). .The letter. stated that he hag chanced on a copy of the Swedish edition of my story, andhad read it.with more. than usual interest because, during the war, he himself had served in the German Secret Service." When they met Grein. told Newman of his experiences while serving as driver. to a famous British commander, his methods of conveying messages: to the Germans. how the French worked a coal mine under the German lines, and how he used the mine passages for .personal delivery of the. more important messages. But -the greatest feat of all was when Grein organised a rebellion among the German prisoners ‘of war immediately behind the front line and almost turned the scales in Germiny's favour.. Most of his disclosures "have heen checked over by Newman and foutid to be true, Newman coticludes ‘the preface to:this remarkable book with: "I.may say that mary of the incidents of this extraordinary story are capable of confirmation. But even‘if it should prove that Grein has done to tore than pull my leg sevérely, I am.still indebted: to him for ote of the most Startling, exciting and ingeniotis yarns in the history of the literature of espionage, TI did aetually check up his narrative, and bad no difficulty in proving that Grein did indeed serve in the British Army, and that some of his incidents were true. Then, rending the story again. f threw up the pursuit, coming to the conclusion that it was such a darned good yarn that it, didn’t matter a damn whether -it was fiction’ or fact, or a niixture of both, and f have left ‘it ‘at that." "German Spy." Bernard Newman. Vieers, oor ,