The knochen file: a hidden story of the occupation

A history book that reveals the most secret inner workings of the Occupation.

Drawing on previously unpublished archives and files that have long remained in the shadows, Frédéric Charpier delves into the heart of the “Knochen file”, an exceptional body of documentation drawn from interrogations, SD archives, and Allied intelligence. These documents offer a striking X-ray of the Occupation, far beyond conventional historical accounts.

The book reveals how Helmut Knochen, head of the SD in France between 1940 and 1944, directed a vast system of espionage, infiltration, and influence at the heart of French society from his headquarters on Avenue Foch. Gravitating around him was a constellation of informants, industrialists, police officers, journalists, socialite adventurers, and