Unknown Enemy: The Hidden Nazi Force That Built the Third Reich

A deep historical investigation into Organisation Todt, the Nazi construction force integral to the Third Reich’s war machine.

Praised for uncovering a “hidden” aspect of Nazi history often overlooked by mainstream WWII scholarship.

Unknown Enemy: The Hidden Nazi Force That Built the Third Reich reveals the harrowing story of Organisation Todt, described by Adolf Hitler as “the greatest construction organisation of all time.” Founded to build roads like the Autobahn and later tasked with massive infrastructure projects across Nazi-occupied Europe, Organisation Todt evolved into a brutal labour engine — exploiting millions of forced labourers, prisoners of war, and concentration camp inmates under inhumane conditions.

Author Charles Dick traces the organisation’s development from pre-war construction efforts through wartime expansion, illustrating how engineers and technicians — once considered “ordinary men” — became complicit in some of the Third Reich’s worst atrocities. With extensive documentation and testimonies, this book reveals how Organisation Todt operated largely under the radar of postwar prosecutions despite overseeing vast projects and contributing directly to the Nazi war effort and genocide machinery.

“An impressively researched indictment of Hitler’s monumentally cruel construction organization.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Riveting, timely and truly revelatory… an indispensable look at a Nazi secret that still needs to emerge from the shadows.” — Damien Lewis, author