The story of Hanns Scharff, Nazi Germany’s master interrogator who questioned American POWs with subtle, startlingly effective tactics.
During World War II, German Intelligence Officer Hanns Scharff gained the reputation as the man who could magically get all the answers he needed from a prisoner of war. In most cases, the POWs being interrogated never realized that their words, small talk or otherwise, were important pieces of the mosaic Scharff was constructing. He was so effective that the USAF invited him to speak about his methods to military audiences in the United States after World War II.
In the words of one former POW, “What did Scharff get from me? Nothing, yet there is no doubt he got something. If you talked about the weather or anything else, he no doubt got some information or confirmation from it. His technique was psychic, not physical.” Another POW commented, “Hanns Scharff could probably get a confession of infidelity from a Nun!”
To this day, ex-POWs fret over what they said or even might have implied during their interrogations, and over what use Scharff may have made of their slip-ups. This book delves into the question: What magic formula did Scharff use to draw information out of servicemen trained to remain silent?
