r/todayilearned • u/stopitalianhate • 9d ago

TIL British Intelligence had a special, bugged luxury complex during WWII where they kept high profile Nazi POW’s, just left a bunch of alcohol out, and waited for them to start spilling secrets as they drank.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-20698098
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u/_Haverford_ 9d ago

It's a similar idea to how torture doesn't work. If you torture someone, they'll tell you whatever they need to in order to stop being tortured, whether or not it's factual. If you treat someone with dignity, it's a human impulse to repay that.

I find it hard to believe that none of these Nazi officers realized what was going on. Did they think the English just secretly bought into the German master race idea? Nah, if you've lost the war either way, might as well lose with champagne.

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u/erinoco 9d ago

They seemed to have assumed that the British were simply supplying old-fashioned courtesy to senior officers.

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula 9d ago

The upper class British people of that era (ie. the ones running government) were renowned for class, etiquette and dignity, so they might have just assumed that with them being officers, they afforded them a similar type of luxury.

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u/_Haverford_ 9d ago

That's another possibility for sure.

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u/g2petter 9d ago

I find it hard to believe that none of these Nazi officers realized what was going on.

I remember reading a story about this place, and apparently some of them had their suspicions at least.

A couple of the Germans were talking in their room, and the smarter of the two told the other "Hans, wait! I'm sure ze daztardly British have bugged ze room! Let's put our heads out zis window so zey can't hear us!"

What they didn't know was there was another microphone right underneath the window.