Die "Rote Kapelle" im Spannungsfeld von Widerstand und nachrichtendienstlicher Tätigkeit

In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Band 44, Heft 3, S. 431-458

Abstract

In 1938, while residing in Belgium, Leopold Trepper, a Polish jew and communist, developed structural guidelines for an intelligence service operation in Western Europe for the Soviet general staff. However, end of November 1942, Trepper was arrested in Paris. While in jail, he succeeded in filing a report on the arrests taking place and on the secret radio transmission going on between the Gestapo and Moscow. This report was passed on to an intermediary agent, who was a member of a communist resistance group. Eventually the information was received by a relay station in 1943 and given to Georgi Dimitroff. The document is published here for the first time. The introduction delineates the fanlike construct of intelligence and counterintelligence known as the "Rote Kapelle". Based on the latest research, it offers new possibilities for interpretative analysis of this highly controversial grouping of European opposition to national socialism with its intelligence service affiliations. The article makes clear the conflicting sitution Trepper was in while filing his report under arest. (Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte / FUB)