German Intelligence during the Second World War: The Canary Islands as a Case Study
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Between 1939 and 1945, the Canary Islands, an important region of nominally neutral or non-belligerent Spain, were a site of military planning, diplomacy, propaganda, naval supply, and intelligence. Most practically, the Third Reich utilized the islands as a supply station for ships and submarines. It could also draw on the National Socialist sympathies of the large and integrated German community. It established intelligence-gathering campaigns in four forms: (1) naval intelligence gathered by the secret supply service of the German Navy, (2) a network of espionage, information, subversion and sabotage operations organized by the Abwehr, which connected the islands with Río de Oro, Ifni and Cabo Juby in Spanish Sahara, (3) a military radio monitoring and interception substation; and (4) surveillance and information-gathering undertaken by agents of police organizations. This article considers the role played by German intelligence in the Canary Islands as a case study of wartime intelligence operations.
Source: German History
Author: Marta García Cabrera
Institution: Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,169
OpenAlex ID: W4404168008