One of the most knowledgeable people in the collaboration system.A history book that reveals the most secret inner workings of the Occupation.Drawing on previously unpublished archives and files that have long remained in the shadows, Frédéric Charpier delves into the heart of the “Knochen file”, an exceptional body of documentation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 double agents. His services infiltrated the upper echelons of the administration, monitored political circles, recruited from the collaborationist press, and manipulated the networks of power. Knochen’s SD operated in the shadows, sometimes in collaboration with the Milice or French extremist groups, to carry out clandestine operations, kidnappings, and propaganda campaigns.But the story does not end in 1945. For despite the scale of the crimes committed, Knochen, like other Nazi officials in France, would benefit from surprising political leniency.Part historical investigation, part account of power, The Knochen File reveals one of the most disturbing and least known chapters in the history of the Occupation. Frédéric Charpier, an investigative journalist specializing in intelligence matters, has published numerous historical and contemporary investigations, including IGPN, une institution dessus de tout soupçon (2021), Les hommes de main du Président : De Foccart à Benalla (2019), L’économie c’est la guerre !, Les agents secrets au service du big business (2012) et Officines : Trente ans de barbouzeries chiraquiennes (2013).
