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The biggest drug bust in British history occurred in the early
hours of 25 March 1977: 800 officers made 120 arrests and seized a
staggering 6,000,000 tabs of LSD. The raids focused on two acid
manufacturing centres: one hidden in an isolated farmhouse in
deepest Wales, the other in a suburban house on a leafy residential
street in south-west London. Between them they supplied acid to
most of the UK, Europe, America and beyond. Tabs bearing their logo
were recovered as far away as Australia. James Wyllie tells the
extraordinary story of how a middle-aged American academic, two
idealistic British students, a public school cad and an American
hustler formed the Microdot Gang and created an acid production
line designed to turn on the world. It is the story of Operation
Julie - a police operation unprecedented in scale, sophistication
and complexity, the brainchild of an old-school detective who led
an investigation that would eventually involve the security
services, the FBI, the DEA, the Canadian authorities and the Swiss
police. Ranging over a decade and across several continents, The
Microdot Gang is also a tale of how a cultural movement became a
criminal enterprise, inspiring the war on drugs and launching a
revolution that left an enduring and complex legacy.
Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Bormann, Hess - names
synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps
less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margaret, Lina, Gerda and
Ilse ... These are the women behind the infamous men - complex
individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by
Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology.
Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost,
raised families and quarrelled with their husbands and each other,
all the while jostling for position with the mighty Fuhrer himself.
And yet they have been treated as minor characters, their
significance ignored, as if they were unaware of their husband's
murderous acts, despite the evidence that was all around them: the
stolen art on their walls, the slave labour in their homes, and the
produce grown in concentration camps on their tables. Nazi Wives
explores these women in detail for the first time, skilfully
interweaving their stories through years of struggle, power,
decline and destruction into the post-war twilight of denial and
delusion.
They were the most unlikely siblings - one, Adolf Hitler's most
trusted henchman, the other a fervent anti-Nazi. Hermann Goering
was a founder member of the Nazi Party, who became commander of the
Luftwaffe, ordering the terror bombing of civilians and prompting
the use of slave labour in his factories. His brother, Albert,
loathed Hitler's regime and saved hundreds - possibly thousands -
across Europe from Nazi persecution. He deferred to Hermann as head
of the family but spent nearly a decade working against his
brother's regime. If he had been anyone else, he would have been
imprisoned or executed. Despite their extreme and differing
beliefs, Hermann sheltered his brother from prosecution and they
remained close throughout the war. Here, for the first time, James
Wyllie brings Albert out of the shadows and explores the
extraordinary relationship of the Goering brothers.
Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Bormann, Hess - names
synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps
less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margaret, Lina, Gerda and
Ilse ... These are the women behind the infamous men - complex
individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by
Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology.
Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost,
raised families and quarrelled with their husbands and each other,
all the while jostling for position with the mighty Fuhrer himself.
And yet they have been treated as minor characters, their
significance ignored, as if they were unaware of their husband's
murderous acts, despite the evidence that was all around them: the
stolen art on their walls, the slave labour in their homes, and the
produce grown in concentration camps on their tables. Nazi Wives
explores these women in detail for the first time, skilfully
interweaving their stories through years of struggle, power,
decline and destruction into the post-war twilight of denial and
delusion.
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