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Gordon Brook-Shepherd

April 12, 2024

Fred Gordon Brook-Shepherd, CBE (born Fred Gordon Shepherd on 24 March 1918 in Nottingham; died 24 January 2004 in London) was a British intelligence agent, journalist, and historian. Stationed in Europe during World War II and in Vienna 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, and the Anschluss. He also wrote on the subject of British and Soviet intelligence.

Early life edit

Gordon Brook-Shepherd, née Shepherd, was born 24 March 1918 in Nottingham. His father, an architect, died in World War I.[1][2] Educated at Latymer Upper School, Brook-Shepherd showed an early gift for linguistics. He was reading history at Peterhouse, Cambridge when World War II approached.[1] He graduated with distinction in 1939 and passed the entrance exam for the Indian Civil Service shortly before war was declared.[2]

Career edit

On vacation in Europe shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Brook-Shepherd noticed that many of Nazi Germany's new autobahnen 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. He ended the war as a lieutenant colonel.[1][3]

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 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, 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.[1][3]

Brook-Shepherd was demobilized in 1948, returned to England, and secured employment with the Daily Telegraph. When the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia 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 countries; most notably, he was reporting from Budapest during the October 1956 Hungarian Uprising.[1][2]

Brook-Shepherd also reported from the Middle East and India; he was in Cairo during the Suez Crisis.[1][2]

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; he later became its deputy editor.[4] 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.[1][2]

Historiographical work edit

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.[1] His 1997 survey The Austrians, a history of the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the demoralized Austrian rump state's consequent struggles to find a new identity for itself, inspired a television series.[2]

He was a friend, and the authorized biographer, of Empress Zita[5] and Otto von Habsburg.[6][7]

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".[3]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".[8][4][9] While Gehl described the Anschluss mainly as the result of Hermann Göring's forceful personality and Hitler's vacillating indecision,[10] 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.[11] On the other hand, Brook-Shepherd was accused of downplaying, "as an Englishman", the role played by British Appeasement policy.[8]

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.[2][12][13]

Death edit

Brook-Shepherd died on 24 January 2004, aged 85.[1]

Awards edit

Selected publications edit

  • Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (1954). Russia's Danubian Empire. William Heinemann.
  • — (1957). The Austrian Odyssey. Macmillan.
  • — (1961). Dollfuss. Macmillan.
  • — (1963). Anschluss. The Rape of Austria. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-81669-9.
  • — (1966). The Eferding Diaries: A Novel. Lippincott.
  • — (1966). Eagle and Unicorn. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • — (1968). The Last Habsburg. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • — (1972). Between Two Flags: The Life of Baron Sir Rudolf von Slatin Pasha, G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G., C.B. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • — (1975). Uncle of Europe: The Social and Diplomatic Life of Edward VII. Collins.
  • — (1977). The Storm Petrels: The Fight of the First Soviet Defectors, 1928–1938. Ballantine Books.
  • — (1981). November 1918: The Last Act of the Great War. Collins. ISBN 978-0-002-16558-7.
  • — (1984). Victims at Sarajevo: The Romance and Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie. London: Harvill Press. ISBN 0-002-72007-8.
    • published in the USA as: Archduke of Sarajevo: The Romance and Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Boston: Little, Brown. 1984. ISBN 0-316-10951-7.
  • — (1987). Royal Sunset: The European Dynasties and the Great War. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-19849-3.
  • — (1988). The Storm Birds: Soviet Post-war Defectors. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-79464-6.
  • — (1991). The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Zita of Austria-Hungary, 1892−1989. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-002-15861-9.
  • — (1997). The Austrians: A Thousand-Year Odyssey. New York: Carroll and Graf. ISBN 0-786-70400-4.
  • — (1999). The Iron Maze: Western Intelligence vs the Bolsheviks. Picador. ISBN 978-0-330-36877-3.
  • — (2003). Uncrowned Emperor: The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg. London: Hambledon and London. ISBN 1-852-85439-1.

Translations edit

  • Marboe, Ernst, ed. (1958). The Book of Austria. Translated by Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (English ed.). Vienna: Österreichische Staatsdruckerei.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Gordon Brook Shepherd". The Times. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Gordon Brook-Shepherd". The Daily Telegraph. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Hoffmann, P. (1961). "Book Review: Dollfuss, by Gordon Brook-Shepherd". Political Science. 15 (1): 69a–72.
  4. ^ a b Craig, Gordon A. (1964). "Western Europe". International Journal. 19 (2). Toronto: Canadian International Council: 264–266. doi:10.1177/002070206401900236. S2CID 148920468.
  5. ^ "Nov 18". Kirkus Reviews. 25 February 1982. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Otto von Habsburg". The Times. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ Scheidl, Hans Werner (15 July 2011). "Otto, von Adolf Hitler steckbrieflich gesucht". Die Presse. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b Stourz, Gerald (1966). "Gordon Brook-Shepherd, Anschluss: The Rape of Austria. London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., 1963. Pp. 223". Austrian History Yearbook. 2: 318–320. doi:10.1017/s0067237800003817.
  9. ^ Kent, George O (1964). "Austria, Germany, and the Anschluss, 1931–1938". American Historical Review. 69 (3): 762–763. doi:10.2307/1845823. hdl:2027/mdp.39015032024880. JSTOR 1845823.
  10. ^ Stadler, K.R. (1964). "Austria, Germany, and the Anschluss 1931–1938". International Affairs. 40 (3): 526–528. doi:10.2307/2610866. JSTOR 2610866.
  11. ^ Bent, George R. (1985). Austrian National Socialism and the Anschluss (BA). Oberlin College.
  12. ^ West, Nigel (2000). "Fiction, Faction and Intelligence". In Jackson, Peter; Scott, L.V. (eds.). Understanding Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-50442-0.
  13. ^ Cook, Andrew (2002). "The search for the real 007". History Today. 52 (11). London: 5–6.

External links edit

  • Gordon Brook-Shepherd −IMDb page

April 12, 2024
gordon, brook, shepherd, fred, born, fred, gordon, shepherd, march, 1918, nottingham, died, january, 2004, london, british, intelligence, agent, journalist, historian, stationed, europe, during, world, vienna, during, austria, occupation, allies, became, noted. Fred Gordon Brook Shepherd CBE born Fred Gordon Shepherd on 24 March 1918 in Nottingham died 24 January 2004 in London was a British intelligence agent journalist and historian Stationed in Europe during World War II and in Vienna 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 and the Anschluss He also wrote on the subject of British and Soviet intelligence Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Historiographical work 4 Death 5 Awards 6 Selected publications 6 1 Translations 7 References 8 External linksEarly life editGordon Brook Shepherd nee Shepherd was born 24 March 1918 in Nottingham His father an architect died in World War I 1 2 Educated at Latymer Upper School Brook Shepherd showed an early gift for linguistics He was reading history at Peterhouse Cambridge when World War II approached 1 He graduated with distinction in 1939 and passed the entrance exam for the Indian Civil Service shortly before war was declared 2 Career editOn vacation in Europe shortly before the outbreak of World War II Brook Shepherd noticed that many of Nazi Germany s new autobahnen 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 He ended the war as a lieutenant colonel 1 3 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 in Vienna He worked as a secretary for the Joint Intelligence Committee his office was the former sitting room of Empress Zita in Schonbrunn Palace a place that had long fascinated him He formed friendships in aristocratic circles in Vienna and eventually married one of their members Lorle von Bruck Sochor 1 3 Brook Shepherd was demobilized in 1948 returned to England and secured employment with the Daily Telegraph When the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia 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 countries most notably he was reporting from Budapest during the October 1956 Hungarian Uprising 1 2 Brook Shepherd also reported from the Middle East and India he was in Cairo during the Suez Crisis 1 2 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 he later became its deputy editor 4 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 1 2 Historiographical work editBrook 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 1 His 1997 survey The Austrians a history of the fall of the Austro Hungarian Empire and the demoralized Austrian rump state s consequent struggles to find a new identity for itself inspired a television series 2 He was a friend and the authorized biographer of Empress Zita 5 and Otto von Habsburg 6 7 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 3 Anschluss was compared favorably with earlier studies on the subject by Ulrich Eichstadt and Jurgen Gehl Brook Shepherd received praise for his intimate personal knowledge of places and people and for his psychological insight linked with critical detachment 8 4 9 While Gehl described the Anschluss mainly as the result of Hermann Goring s forceful personality and Hitler s vacillating indecision 10 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 11 On the other hand Brook Shepherd was accused of downplaying as an Englishman the role played by British Appeasement policy 8 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 2 12 13 Death editBrook Shepherd died on 24 January 2004 aged 85 1 Awards edit1979 Officer s Cross of the Grand Decoration of Honour 1 1987 Commander of the Order of the British Empire 2 Selected publications editBrook Shepherd Gordon 1954 Russia s Danubian Empire William Heinemann 1957 The Austrian Odyssey Macmillan 1961 Dollfuss Macmillan 1963 Anschluss The Rape of Austria London Macmillan ISBN 978 1 349 81669 9 1966 The Eferding Diaries A Novel Lippincott 1966 Eagle and Unicorn Weidenfeld amp Nicolson 1968 The Last Habsburg London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson 1972 Between Two Flags The Life of Baron Sir Rudolf von Slatin Pasha G C V O K C M G C B Weidenfeld amp Nicolson 1975 Uncle of Europe The Social and Diplomatic Life of Edward VII Collins 1977 The Storm Petrels The Fight of the First Soviet Defectors 1928 1938 Ballantine Books 1981 November 1918 The Last Act of the Great War Collins ISBN 978 0 002 16558 7 1984 Victims at Sarajevo The Romance and Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie London Harvill Press ISBN 0 002 72007 8 published in the USA as Archduke of Sarajevo The Romance and Tragedy of Franz Ferdinand of Austria Boston Little Brown 1984 ISBN 0 316 10951 7 1987 Royal Sunset The European Dynasties and the Great War Doubleday ISBN 978 0 385 19849 3 1988 The Storm Birds Soviet Post war Defectors London Weidenfeld amp Nicolson ISBN 978 0 297 79464 6 1991 The Last Empress The Life and Times of Zita of Austria Hungary 1892 1989 HarperCollins ISBN 978 0 002 15861 9 1997 The Austrians A Thousand Year Odyssey New York Carroll and Graf ISBN 0 786 70400 4 1999 The Iron Maze Western Intelligence vs the Bolsheviks Picador ISBN 978 0 330 36877 3 2003 Uncrowned Emperor The Life and Times of Otto von Habsburg London Hambledon and London ISBN 1 852 85439 1 Translations edit Marboe Ernst ed 1958 The Book of Austria Translated by Brook Shepherd Gordon English ed Vienna Osterreichische Staatsdruckerei References edit a b c d e f g h i j Gordon Brook Shepherd The Times 20 February 2004 Retrieved 26 May 2018 a b c d e f g h Gordon Brook Shepherd The Daily Telegraph 30 January 2004 Retrieved 26 May 2018 a b c Hoffmann P 1961 Book Review Dollfuss by Gordon Brook Shepherd Political Science 15 1 69a 72 a b Craig Gordon A 1964 Western Europe International Journal 19 2 Toronto Canadian International Council 264 266 doi 10 1177 002070206401900236 S2CID 148920468 Nov 18 Kirkus Reviews 25 February 1982 Retrieved 27 May 2018 Otto von Habsburg The Times 5 July 2011 Retrieved 27 May 2018 Scheidl Hans Werner 15 July 2011 Otto von Adolf Hitler steckbrieflich gesucht Die Presse Retrieved 27 May 2018 a b Stourz Gerald 1966 Gordon Brook Shepherd Anschluss The Rape of Austria London Macmillan amp Co Ltd 1963 Pp 223 Austrian History Yearbook 2 318 320 doi 10 1017 s0067237800003817 Kent George O 1964 Austria Germany and the Anschluss 1931 1938 American Historical Review 69 3 762 763 doi 10 2307 1845823 hdl 2027 mdp 39015032024880 JSTOR 1845823 Stadler K R 1964 Austria Germany and the Anschluss 1931 1938 International Affairs 40 3 526 528 doi 10 2307 2610866 JSTOR 2610866 Bent George R 1985 Austrian National Socialism and the Anschluss BA Oberlin College West Nigel 2000 Fiction Faction and Intelligence In Jackson Peter Scott L V eds Understanding Intelligence in the Twenty First Century London Routledge ISBN 978 0 203 50442 0 Cook Andrew 2002 The search for the real 007 History Today 52 11 London 5 6 External links editGordon Brook Shepherd IMDb page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gordon Brook Shepherd amp oldid 1187344563, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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