THE LONDON CAGE: Dr. A. A. Nofi reviews Helen Fry’s The London Cage: The Secret History of Britain’s World War II Interrogation Centre.

At first the “cage” housed captured U-Boat personnel and “well connected” prisoners. In 1944 the Brits began adding high ranking Nazi SS officers and soldiers suspected of committing war crimes.

Unbeknownst to the prisoners, however, the whole place was bugged, not just the housing facilities, but even parts of the garden. As the German prisoners talked, British intelligence personnel, often Jewish refugees from Nazism, were able to listen in on and record their conversations, which often yielded useful intelligence, and frequently incriminating evidence as well.

The cage was located in London’s posh Hyde Park district. Interesting review.