What we're reading: September 2025
This month at the Defence Research Network, we’ve been exploring how fears of the enemy within shaped wartime culture and how escape and survival defined life under occupation.
British ‘Spy Fever’ in the First World War: Fearing the Enemy Within by Harry Richards explores how British society responded to fears of German espionage, challenging the notion of mass hysteria and instead revealing a spectrum of emotions that shaped politics and popular culture during wartime. Meanwhile, Bernard Wilkin and Bob Moore’s Escaping Nazi Europe: Understanding the Experiences of Belgian Soldiers and Civilians in World War II draws on archival testimonies to chart remarkable escape stories, from evasion and captivity to resistance, Allied service, and struggles for post-war recognition. Together, these books illuminate the diverse ways ordinary people confronted and interpreted the threats of total war.
British ‘Spy Fever’ in the First World War: Fearing the Enemy Within
By Harry Richards
This new book explores how British society experienced ‘spy fever’ during the First World War. It challenges the idea that the nation was swept up in hysteria, instead showing a complex mix of emotions such as alarm, excitement, anxiety, anger and even enjoyment in response to fears of German espionage. Harry Richards examines how images of German spies shaped politics and popular culture, arguing that while the threat never fully materialised, perceptions of secret warfare left a lasting imprint on Britain’s wartime experience.
Escaping Nazi Europe: Understanding the Experiences of Belgian Soldiers and Civilians in World War II
By Bernard Wilkin, Bob Moore
This new book examines the escapes attempted by Belgian soldiers and civilians from Nazi-occupied Europe during the Second World War. Drawing on testimonies preserved in Belgian and British archives, it traces stories of soldiers who evaded capture in 1940, prisoners who broke free from camps, and the challenges faced by those seeking refuge in neutral states. While most escapees returned home, some joined resistance groups or the Allies. Final chapters reflect on recapture penalties and the struggle for post-war recognition.
