Canaris's career depended on an institutional setting in which the German military operated as a state within a state, including under Nazi rule. The point is larger than one biography. That autonomy helps explain how officers could move through overlapping military, political, and intelligence networks. It also supplies the governing idea behind the parliamentary dispute and later power struggles discussed in the review.
Notable Point · 2:42-3:41
The German military as a state within a state
Canaris's many intrigues lead into a warning that the German military retained the character of a state within a state across political regimes, including Nazi rule.