United States. Central Intelligence Agency - The Rote Kapelle : the CIAs history of Soviet intelligence and espionage networks in Western Europe, 1936-1945

This book made available by the Internet Archive.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION xi

Diagram of the Rote Kapelle xiv

PART ONE

Narrative History of the Rote Kapelle

BELGIUM

Chronology 1

Diagrams

The Trepper Group 1938-1940 8

The Sukolov Group 1940-1941 9

The Jeffremov Group September 1939- May 1942 10

The Jeffremov Group May 1942-August 1942 11

Narrative 13

Early Development 13

Leopold Trepper 15

The Foreign Excellent Raincoat Company 16

Trepper's Documentation 18

Mikhail Makarov 20

Victor Sukolov 21

Konstantin Jeffremov 22

Communications 23

The German Invasion 24

Simexco 25

The First Arrests 27

Reorganization 28

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The Second Arrests 28

The German Version 30

The Playbacks 37

Translation of Statement by Abraham Rajchmann

Introductory Note 38

Contacts with Grossvogel 1934-1939 38

Services for the Trepper Network 1939-1940 39

Flight to France 1940 42

Services for the Sukolov Network 1940-1942 43

Services for the Jeffremov Network 1942 47

Arrest and Collaboration 1942-1944 50

HOLLAND

Chronology 57

Diagram

The Winterink Group in Holland 63

Narrative 65

Background 65

Anton Winterink 66

Daniel Gouwlooze and the Dutch Information

Service 69

The Emigre Group of Alfred Knochel 71

The Liquidation of the Gouwlooze Group 72

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FRANCE

Chronology 73

Diagrams

The Rote Kapelle in France in 1940-1944 78

Group "Andre" 79

The Cover Firm (Simex) 80

The "Professor" and "Arztin" Groups 81

The "Harry" Group 82

Lyons Group 83

Marseilles Group 84

The Ozols Network 1940-1944 85

Narrative 87

Leopold Trepper 87

Simex 88

The Seven Networks 89

Finances 90

Henri Robinson 92

The Robinson Papers 96

Communications 101

Victor Sukolov 104

Trepper's Arrest 105

The Playback 106

Trepper's Escape 109

An Evaluation of the Playback Ill

The Ozols and Mithridate Networks 117

Jean Claude Spaak 122

The Return to Moscow 128

GERMANY

Chronology 131

Diagrams

The Schulze-Boysen Group 136

The Harnack Group 137

The Von Scheliha Group 138

Narrative 139

Background 139

The Schulze-Boysen Group 140

The Harnack Group 146

The Von Scheliha Group 150

The Role of Victor Sukolov 153

The Communist Underground Group of

Anton Saefkow 155

The Arrests and Trial 159

Postscript 163

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SWITZERLAND

Chronology 165

Diagrams

The Rote Drei 169

The "Sissy" Group 170

The "Long" Group 171

The "Pakbo" Group 172

Narrative 173

The Radio Messages Examined 173

Vera and the Beginnings of the Red Three 174

Sonia 175

Sissy and Paul 175

Sissy's Fight with Moscow 180

Dora 182

Lucy and Taylor 184

Lucy's Sources in World War II 185

General Hans Oster 185

Hans Bernd Gisevius 189

Ex-Chancellor Josef Wirth 189

Carl Goerdeler 192

The Unknown Boelitz 193

Sissy's Other Sources , 193

Long 199

Agnes 199

Kurz 201

Grau 203

Rot 203

Feld 205

The Background of Josef Wirth 205

Pakbo 209

Jim 211

The Structure of the Rote Drei 212

The Role of Karel Sedlacek 212

Vladimir Sokolin 217

Phase II: Lucy's Post-War Operation 218

The Return of Agnes 220

Dr. Werner Thormann 220

Professor Max Horkheimer 220

Lucy the Mercenary 222

The Peddlers 222

The Stage and the Actors 224

THE ROTE KAPELLE ELSEWHERE

Austria 227

Bulgaria 228

Canada 229

Czechoslovakia 230

Italy 231

Poland 232

Portugal 232

Rumania 233

Scandinavia 233

Yugoslavia 234

PART TWO

Modus Operandi of the Rote Kapelle

General 237

Cover and Security 239

Finances 242

Motivation 243

Documentation 245

Contacts and Personal Meetings 245

Communications 248

Conclusion 252

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PART THREE

Personalities

Personality Sketches 255-390

INTRODUCTION

The term "Rote Kapelle" ("Red Orchestra," "Red Band," "Red Choir," or "Red Chapel") was a cryptonym coined by the German central security office, the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), to designate the Soviet networks of espionage and subversion discovered in Western Europe after the outbreak of the Russo-German war in 1941. The espionage reports were transmitted primarily by radio. The "music" on the air had its pianists (radio operators), a maestro in the field (the Grand Chef), and its conductor in Moscow (the Director). This analogy was not new to German counterintelligence. "Kapelle" was, in fact, an accepted Abwehr term for secret wireless transmitters and the counterespionage operations against them. The term "Rote Kapelle" was originally applied only to the secret operation started by Ast 1 Belgien (Abwehr III F.) 2 in August 1941 and conducted against a station of the Soviet intelligence service which had been detected in Brussels by the Funkabwehr (W/T intercept and cryptanalytic component of German military counterintelligence). The investigation, however, soon extended into Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy; and the designation "Rote Kapelle" was adopted for these expanded operations also.

In July 1942 the investigation of the Rote Kapelle was taken over from Ast Belgien by Section IV. A.2. of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD, the security service of the RSHA). After the arrest of the two leading Russian agents, Leopold Trepper and Victor Sukolov, a small independent Gestapo 3 unit, "Sonderkommando 4 Rote Kapelle," was

1 Ast: abbreviation of Abwehrstelle, a major field office of the Abwehr, the German military counterintelligence service.

2 Abwehr III F.: Section III (counterintelligence) working against the intelligence services of the enemy.

3 Gestapo: Geheime Staatspolizei, or Secret Federal Police.

xii Introduction

formed in Paris in November 1942. There has been some misunderstanding about the term "Rote Kapelle" because it was also used to denote this special counterespionage group of the Gestapo, which was responsible for penetrating the Soviet apparatus and doubling its agents. As commonly used, therefore, the term "Rote Kapelle" could mean both the Soviet networks and the branch of the GIS responsible for combatting these agents. In the course of this study the term "Rote Kapelle" will be used exclusively to designate the Soviet networks. The term "Sonderkommando" will be used to designate a German counterespionage group.