The Killers 3: Night and Fog by Klaus Netzen

The Killers 3
Night and Fog (aka Mission into Auschwitz)
by Klaus Netzen (aka Klaus Nettson) (Laurence James)

1974 Mayflower

There seems to be a line of British World War II fiction written from the perspective of the Germans, which have the conceit that these are just taken from history or that the professional soldier class was apolitical and actually despised Hitler and the Nazis, but for the most part are just pro-Nazi warporn.

Based on the pseudonym and cove imagery, I assumed the Killers was of this ilk, but happily it is not.  It's still exploitive trash, but explicitly anti-Nazi exploitive trash.

The Killers are a Dirty Dozen style collective of criminals and con artists who have turned their skills against the third reich. In this volume, leader John Standish infiltrates Auschwitz to rescue a Polish scientist who has invented a new method of aiming bomb drops.

Some massive tonal shifts likely to give you whiplash and wanting a long shower. The Killers are brutally pragmatic, willing to snap the neck of an elderly woman or murder Jewish captives if they threatens their plans. Scenes of the worst atrocities known to man interspersed with goofy puns and the occasional Ilsa-esque sex scenes.

Not especially action packed, nor does it have the depth of spycraft in classier fare, but makes up for it in sheer sleaziness.

The British originals used the name Netzen while the American reprints used Nettson - strange that the Americans would be more squeamish about how German this was branded, but here we are.

Paperback from AbeBooks