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Subscribe http://bit.ly/inahistoire The Alain Decaux file Antenne 2 02/19/1986 In February 1944, Wilhelm CANARIS, head of the Abwehr, was arrested by the SS and imprisoned in Lauenstein Castle. Alain DECAUX retraces the life of Admiral Canaris, a fervent nationalist who betrayed HITLER in the name of Germany. A naval officer, he established a network of contacts in South America, then a supply base for submarines in SPAIN during the First World War. A man of the extreme right, he believed that HITLER was the only one who could establish order in Germany and gave him his support during the Munich putsch. When HITLER was appointed chancellor, Canaris returned to Germany and was appointed head of the Abwehr in 1933, while HEIDRICH took over the Sicher Dienst, the SD secret service of the SS. Canaris reorganized the Abwehr, which dismantled many networks and was very effective in spying on the Allies. The admiral did not believe in Germany's victory and denounced the crimes of the SS. He began to make contact with the Allied governments. Then he covered up General BECK's putsch and indirectly participated in Von Stauffenberg's assassination attempt on HITLER. HIMMLER, who had until then protected Canaris in order to negotiate in the event of a German defeat, could no longer cover for him. Canaris was dismissed, exiled to Lauenstein Castle, then imprisoned in the Flossenbaum concentration camp. During a mock trial, accused of treason, he was sentenced to death and hanged with 5 other conspirators. Archive images INA National Audiovisual Institute http://www.ina.fr #INA #History