«Interrogation Nation presents a compelling analysis of the Western screening of refugees and asylum seekers in the Federal Republic of Germany during the Cold War and beyond. It will remain a standard reference work for the plethora of programs and places associated with such screening, not only for historians, but also for genealogists retracing the path of family members making their way from East to West through a divided Germany during the Cold War. It also represents an important contribution to the history of refugee screening, the activities of Western intelligence agencies, and the Bonn Republic’s relationship to the Western powers during the Cold War.»

Berlin Center for Cold War Studies

«This is a brilliantly researched and fascinating study of Cold War espionage and interrogation. It could not be more timely: many of the Cold War issues Keith Allen exposes are being resurrected all around us today.»

Keith Lowe, author of Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II

«This book, which links relevant institutions, practices, and biographies in one presentation, offers a reading that is as exciting as it is enlightening.»

H-Soz-u-Kult

«The revelations provided by Edward Snowden regarding electronic surveillance, the growth of lone wolf terrorist attacks, and the recent influx of migrants into Europe from the Middle East have all prompted a reconsideration of how intelligence agencies gather information vital to national security. Allen reminds readers that these debates, especially in Central Europe, have a long history. In an impressively researched work based on archival materials from several countries, Allen argues that the vetting procedures for screening refugees in Germany after WW II ‘laid the foundation’ for those used for interrogation to this day. His book aptly demonstrates the competition that existed among various nations (most notably the US, the UK, and France) to collect sensitive information after 1945, as well as the ways that these actions routinely infringed on the sovereignty of West Germany. Divided into sections that focus on the places of interrogation, the personalities responsible for these encounters, and the practices used to acquire information, this study shines a penetrating light into a very dark and mysterious chapter of postwar history. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.»

CHOICE

«A fascinating read.»

Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift

«Keith Allen opens a vital window to the history of interrogations and intelligence through his careful, nuanced, and fascinating exploration of refugee screening in western Germany. Particularly gripping and informative are the many individual personalities of shadowy ‘sources’ culled from American, British, Czech, and German archives. Interrogation and refugees are not a brand-new concern of our present day. Allen illuminates the roots of our current system, reaching back into the rubble-strewn soil of the postwar moment.»

Michael Gordin, Princeton University

«Keith Allen’s meticulously crafted book is a research masterpiece on the topic of post–World War II interrogation procedures. Drawing together a stupendous trove of documents, many recently declassified, from American, East and West German, British and French agencies, Allen resurrects a complex network of sites, technologies, and personnel—including the galvanizing stories of spies, refugees, and scientists, among others. Together they constituted a significant part of the mass migrations of the second half of the twentieth century. While focusing on those who crossed from East to West Germany, especially in the 1940s and 1950s, Allen’s research does not simply resurrect a Cold War bygone. Rather, Interrogation Nation directly sheds light on two of the key unresolved issues of our time: procedures of vetting Syrian and other fleeing refugees within Europe, as well as ongoing debates over increasingly penetrating, increasingly networked, electronic surveillance.»

Rebecca Lemov, Harvard University