Gordon Brook-Shepherd
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Fred Gordon Brook-Shepherd,
CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(born Fred Gordon Shepherd on 24 March 1918 in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
; died 24 January 2004 in London) was a British
intelligence agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
, journalist, and historian. Stationed in Europe during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
during Austria's occupation by the allies, he became a noted expert on the recent history of the country, especially on the lives of the last ruling Habsburgs, the psychological and political turbulence of the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
, and the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
''. He also wrote on the subject of British and Soviet intelligence.


Early life

Gordon Brook-Shepherd, née Shepherd, was born 24 March 1918 in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
. His father, an architect, died in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Educated at
Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...
, Brook-Shepherd showed an early gift for linguistics. He was reading history at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...
when
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
approached. He graduated with distinction in 1939 and passed the entrance exam for the Indian Civil Service shortly before war was declared.


Career

On vacation in Europe shortly before the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Brook-Shepherd noticed that many of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's new
autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
en led directly to France. An article he wrote about his observation back in the United Kingdom attracted the attention of British intelligence, which promptly decided to recruit him and send him back on a second trip. Trying to concentrate on his degree, Brook-Shepherd originally refused but eventually gave in. He spent the war on the Continent, acting as a liaison to various resistance groups in
German-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the governmen ...
. He ended the war as a lieutenant colonel. In 1945, Germany having collapsed and Austria having been occupied by the Four Powers, Brook-Shepherd was sent to work for the
British High Commission A British High Commission is a British diplomatic mission, equivalent to an embassy, found in countries that are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Their general purpose is to provide diplomatic relationships as well as travel information, ...
in Vienna. He worked as a secretary for the Joint Intelligence Committee; his office was the former sitting room of Empress Zita in
Schönbrunn Palace Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...
, a place that had long fascinated him. He formed friendships in aristocratic circles in Vienna and eventually married one of their members, Lorle von Brück-Sochor. Brook-Shepherd was demobilized in 1948, returned to England, and secured employment with the
Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...
. When the Communists seized power in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
mere days later, the Telegraph swiftly sent him back to Europe. He spent time in blockaded Berlin, then returned to Vienna, a center of espionage activity at the time. He was sent on numerous missions into neighboring
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
countries; most notably, he was reporting from
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
during the October 1956 Hungarian Uprising. Brook-Shepherd also reported from the Middle East and India; he was in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
during the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
. When the Allied occupation of Austria ended in 1955, Vienna's importance as a hub of intelligence gathering declined. Brook-Shepherd returned to London again, continuing to work for the Telegraph. In 1961, he became a diplomatic correspondent for the newly launched
Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegr ...
; he later became its deputy
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
. He also began writing books. In addition to his work as a journalist and historian, Brook-Shepherd served on a number of committees furthering Anglo-Austrian relations. From 1991 to 1999, he was the chairman of
SOS Children's Villages UK SOS Children's Villages UK is an the UK chapter of SOS Children's Villages – the largest international charity dedicated to aiding children who have lost parental care. The charity is non-denominational and works in the spirit of the United Na ...
.


Historiographical work

Brook-Shepherd focused on the recent history of Central Europe and that of Austria in particular; as one of the few British experts on Austria at the time, he found a ready market. He would come to be acknowledged as an expert on the Habsburgs in particular. His 1997 survey ''The Austrians'', a history of the fall of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
and the demoralized Austrian rump state's consequent struggles to find a new identity for itself, inspired a television series. He was a friend, and the authorized biographer, of Empress Zita and
Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (, ; 20 November 1912 4 July 2011) was the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until the dissolution of the empire in November 1918. In 1922, he became the pretender to the former thrones, head of the House of Habs ...
. Brook-Shepherd's two most influential books on Austrian history are ''Dollfuss'', his eponymous 1961 biography of the interwar Austrofascist dictator, and ''Anschluss'', his 1963 account of the incorporation of Austria into the German Reich. ''Dollfuss'' was hailed as "overdue". ''Anschluss'' was compared favorably with earlier studies on the subject by Ulrich Eichstädt and Jürgen Gehl; Brook-Shepherd received praise for his "intimate, personal knowledge of places and people" and for his "psychological insight linked with critical detachment". While Gehl described the ''Anschluss'' mainly as the result of
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
's forceful personality and Hitler's vacillating indecision, Brook-Shepherd took a more systemic view. Starting his account in 1931, earlier than other historians at the time, he emphasized the roles of impersonal social forces as well as happenstance; he also ascribed comparatively complex sets of mutually contradictory personal and ideological goals to many of the actors. On the other hand, Brook-Shepherd was accused of downplaying, "as an Englishman", the role played by British
Appeasement Appeasement, in an International relations, international context, is a diplomacy, diplomatic negotiation policy of making political, material, or territorial concessions to an aggressive power (international relations), power with intention t ...
policy. Brook-Shepherd's second area of interest was the recent history of British and Soviet intelligence; his work on those subjects was characterized by his unique network of contacts and access to archives. Two of his books on British intelligence operations, the 1988 ''Storm Birds'' and the 2000 ''Iron Maze'', became objects of controversy.


Death

Brook-Shepherd died on 24 January 2004, aged 85.


Awards

* 1979: Officer's Cross of the Grand Decoration of Honour * 1987:
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...


Selected publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * ** published in the USA as: * * * * * *


Translations

*


References


External links


Gordon Brook-Shepherd
IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
page {{DEFAULTSORT:Brookshepherd, Gordon 1918 births 2004 deaths Historians of Europe Historians of World War I British historians of World War II 20th-century English historians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire