Originally published in 1962, this book is a good, if long, introduction to a dark period in modern world history. The author is French and suffered at the hands of the Gestapo.

I liked that the author spent some time explaining external military and political events so as to provide a frame of reference for how the Gestapo developed. He also suggests actions by external actors that could have deterred this development.

Most of the book is devoted to Gestapo history in Germany and France. As such, it is not a complete history of the Gestapo.