Admiral Canaris Quotes in The Eagle Has Landed (1976)

Admiral Canaris: That meeting, you should have seen it, Radl. There was Hitler, first ranting, then cajoling, then perfectly rational... then raging and stamping like a - like the ringmaster of some freak circus! Goebbels, hopping from one foot to another like a - like a schoolboy. Bormann... hmph... a vulture, perched in the corner, watching, listening, never speaking. And Mussolini - Mussolini! - an automaton, Radl! And I looked round that room, and I wondered: am I the only one who can see it? And if so, what must I look like to them?

Col. Max Radl: Your meeting went well? The Führer had something specific in mind?

Admiral Canaris: A simple exercise in logistics, nothing very complicated: he merely wants Winston Churchill brought from London to Berlin. And we are ordered to make a feasibility study. Today's Wednesday. By Friday he will forget it, but Himmler will not.

Admiral Canaris: This operation could make the Charge of the Light Brigade look like a sensible military exercise!

Admiral Canaris: Well?

German Officer: There's nothing new from Madrid, Admiral. The Führer has told his conference that the documents are undoubtedly genuine.

Admiral Canaris: You mean HE doesn't doubt them.

German Officer: He's quite sure.

Admiral Canaris: The Führer, of course, has certain advantages over mere intelligence officers like you and me, Frederick. He has his intuition, whereas we have to rely on our brains. And he's sure God is on his side.

German Officer: But you are not?

Admiral Canaris: I do not believe that God is on my side to the extent of sending me the enemy's plans.