Summer 1941, Hitler and his allies rule Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. But inside Germany, there is a notable voice of dissent, Der Chef, whose radio broadcasts skilfully question Nazi doctrine. What listeners don’t know is that Der Chef is a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer.

As Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer’s fascinating lost story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the summer of 1941, Hitler and his allies ruled Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. Britain was struggling to combat the powerful Nazi propaganda machine, which crowed victory and smeared its enemies.

However, inside Germany, there was one notable voice of dissent from the very heart of the military machine – Der Chef, a German whose radio broadcasts skilfully questioned Nazi doctrine. He had access to high-ranking military secrets and spoke of internal rebellion. His listeners included German soldiers and citizens. But what these audiences didn’t know was that Der Chef was a fiction, a character created by the British propagandist Sefton Delmer, just one player in his vast counter-propaganda cabaret, a unique weapon in the war.

As author Peter Pomerantsev uncovers Delmer’s story, he is called into a wartime propaganda effort of his own: the global response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This book is the story of Delmer and his modern-day investigator, as they each embark on their own quest to seduce and inspire the passions of supporters and enemies, and to turn the tide of information wars.