On December 29, 1940, a decrypted report from Berlin landed on Stalin’s desk. “Meteor,” a resident of the intelligence directorate of the Red Army General Staff reported from Berlin: “‘Alta’ has reported that Hitler gave the order (learned from ‘Ariyets’ in highly informed circles) on preparations for war with the USSR, which is planned to begin in the spring of 1941.”
Today we know that Hitler signed Directive No. 21, “Fall (Operation) Barbarossa,” on December 18, 1940, in nine copies – four of which were sent to the Wehrmacht High Command. The Fuhrer locked the rest in his safe. But just ten days later, despite the extreme precautions, news of this directive had reached the Soviet leadership.
Naturally, GRU chief Filipp Golikov immediately sent a request to Berlin. To whom exactly was the order given? A more intelligible explanation of the issue is required, a new report should be sent in about five days.
Meteor responded right on time – January 4, 1941: Ariyets confirmed to Alta that he had received the information from a military official he knew, and that it was based not on rumors, but on a special order from Hitler, which was highly classified and known to only a very narrow circle of people.
As it turned out, preparations for the offensive against the USSR began much earlier. Hitler considered the level of the Red Army so low at the time that he expected a resounding success in the spring; the growth and strengthening of the German army continued.
Two months later, on February 28, 1941, a new detailed message from Alta was received from Meteor:
“Three army groups have been formed, namely: under the command of Marshals Bock, Rundstedt, and Ritter von Leeb. Army Group ‘Konigsberg’ should advance on Petersburg, Army Group ‘Warsaw’ – toward Moscow, and Army Group ‘Posen’ – toward Kiev. The expected date for the start of operations is allegedly May 20. Apparently, an enveloping attack in the Pinsk region by 120 German divisions is planned.
“Preparatory measures have led, for example, to the fact that Russian-speaking officers and non-commissioned officers have been reassigned across the headquarters. In addition, armored trains with the same track width as in Russia are already being built.”
So who were these sources of such explosive news?
The “courier” who got the information into Kremlin hands was Nikolay Dmitriyevich Skornyakov, a Russian working in Berlin from August 1939 to June 1941 as assistant for aviation to the military attaché at the USSR Plenipotentiary Mission in Germany, but more importantly, a military intelligence operational resident. He oversaw operations to manage liaison between military intelligence officer Captain Nikolai Zaitsev and “Alta”.
Alta was Ilse Stöbe, a German anti-Nazi resistance fighter and, since 1931, a spy for the Soviet GRU. Her career as a spy and journalist necessitated extensive travel across Europe, including Austria, France, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania. While in Warsaw, the GRU assigned her the pseudonym for which she would become famous – Alta.
Ariyets (“Aryan”) was Rudolf von Scheliha, a German-born diplomat and anti-Nazi resistance fighter. After fighting in World War I, he enlisted in the German Foreign Office, where he trained to become a diplomat. Upon completion of his training, he was sent to the embassy in Warsaw where, in 1937, he was recruited by the GRU, no doubt because of the “right people” being aware of his commitment to oppose the Nazi regime. In the run-up to World War II, he began passing documents to Soviet intelligence through Alta and Meteor. Because of his position in social and diplomatic circles, the information Scheliha passed was deemed invaluable.
We’ve translated the three main declassified reports sent through the Ariyets-Alta-Meteor channels and are pleased to provide them below.
Report from Meteor in Berlin to the Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army General Staff, 29 December 1940
Top Secret
Alta has reported that Ariyets has learned, from highly informed circles, that Hitler issued an order on preparations for war with the USSR. The war will be declared in March 1941.
The task has been given to verify and provide more clarification on this information.
Meteor
Report from Meteor in Berlin to the Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army General Staff, 4 January 1941
Alta has asked Ariyets to confirm the accuracy of the information on preparation for an offensive in the spring of 1941. Ariyets confirmed that he received this information from a military official he knows, and that it was based not on rumors, but on a special order from Hitler, which was highly classified and known to very few people.
To support this, he offers some more key points:
1. His conversations with the head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Ministry, Schlippe [sic], who told him that Molotov’s visit to Berlin could be compared to Beck’s visit. Unanimity was not reached on any of the most important issues – neither on the question of Finland, nor on the question of Bulgaria.
2. Preparations for an offensive against the USSR began much earlier, but were somewhat halted for a time, as the Germans miscalculated England’s resistance. The Germans are counting on bringing England to its knees in the spring and freeing their hands in the east.
3. Despite the fact that Germany sells military equipment to the USSR, committed the occupation of Bukovina to oblivion, and “does not notice” the USSR’s propaganda in Bulgaria, Hitler’s hostile attitude towards the USSR has not changed.
4. Hitler believes:
a) the state of the Red Army is now so low that in the spring he will have resounding success;
b) the growth and strengthening of the German army continues.
Alta’s detailed report on the second issue is for another occasion.
Meteor
Extract from a report from Alta in Berlin to the Chief of the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army General Staff, 28 February 1941
Dedicated military circles still hold the view that the war with Russia will most certainly begin this year. Preparatory measures for this must already be well advanced. Large anti-aircraft installations in the east point to the future course of events. (Ariyets knew nothing specific about this. He did, however, report that the air-raid shelters in the east (they are located throughout Germany) could, of course, be intended for protection against Russian, and not against English, aircraft.)
Three army groups have been formed, namely: under the command of Marshals Bock, Rundstedt and Ritter von Leeb. Army Group “Königsberg” should advance on PETERSBURG, Army Group “Warsaw” – toward MOSCOW, and Army Group “Posen” toward KIEV.
The proposed date of action is supposedly May 20. Apparently, a sweeping attack in the Pinsk area with 120 German divisions is planned. Preparatory measures have led, for example, to Russian-speaking officers and non-commissioned officers being reassigned across the headquarters. In addition, armored trains with the same track gauge as in Russia are already being built.
Hitler intends to bring out about three million slaves from Russia in order to fully utilize production capacities. While in the fall, Hitler [stated he] wanted to end the war as quickly as possible, in order to devote himself again to his favorite occupation, the construction of new structures, now he is allegedly more inclined to continue to maintain the current state of war in Europe. At the same time, he apparently proceeds from the opinion that general discontent will lead to the overthrow of the authoritarian regime. He allegedly intends to divide the Russian colossus into 20-30 different states, not caring about maintaining all of the economic ties within the country, in order to cause discontent there for a prolonged period.
The information about Russia comes from the person with whom Ariyets spoke.
Alta
Translation © 2025 by Michael Estes and TranslatingHistory.org
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