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 toContinueContinue reading “Two German Spies Alert the Soviets to Germany’s War Preparations: Alta, Ariyets, and Barbarossa”
Tag Archives: Berlin
Russian FSB Declassifies and Publishes Materials from Potsdam Conference Preparations
To mark the 80th anniversary of the 16 July 1945 kick-off of the Potsdam Conference between the leaders of the Soviet Union, United States, and Great Britain, the Russian Federation Federal Security Service (FSB) has published a handful of materials, freshly declassified for the occasion. The following was translated from information cobbled together from aContinueContinue reading “Russian FSB Declassifies and Publishes Materials from Potsdam Conference Preparations”
30 May 1945: Soviet Intel Report on Life in the American and British Zones of Occupation
Until we can get our hands on more material, this ends our collection of post-war Berlin reporting from a well-placed Soviet intelligence officer. In this, his final report (which was written almost concurrently with our previous post), he and his unnamed (redacted) colleagues wandered across the German countryside to see how life for the GermansContinueContinue reading “30 May 1945: Soviet Intel Report on Life in the American and British Zones of Occupation”
16 May 1945: Positive ID of of Hitler and Goebbels Corpses Amidst Early Days of Berlin Post-War Recovery
Yet another in the series of Top Secret reports submitted from Berlin by an unidentified deep-cover “illegal,” one of many keeping Moscow informed of how things are working out in Germany in the early days after the war. In this excerpt, the author indicates that Berlin appears to be somewhat on the rebound, following theContinueContinue reading “16 May 1945: Positive ID of of Hitler and Goebbels Corpses Amidst Early Days of Berlin Post-War Recovery”
Lunch With the Nazis: Soviet Report on Events After Germany’s Unconditional Surrender: 11 May 1945
Germany’s capitulation document – or as Bob Hope put it, “The paper so nice, they signed it twice…” – was signed in Reims on 7 May 1945, and again the next day in Berlin, at the insistence of the USSR that Germany bring the war to an end in the same city from which itContinueContinue reading “Lunch With the Nazis: Soviet Report on Events After Germany’s Unconditional Surrender: 11 May 1945”
“Communists” Come Out of the Woodwork as the Red Army Advances on Berlin, April 1945
As the Red Army approached the outskirts of Berlin, local Soviet spies on the ground reported on the surprising number of individuals springing forward to proclaim their membership in the Communist Party. The author of a 30 April 1945 Top Secret report, recently declassified by the Russian SVR, clearly had no wool pulled over hisContinueContinue reading ““Communists” Come Out of the Woodwork as the Red Army Advances on Berlin, April 1945″
Hitler’s 1933 Aspiration to Join Ranks With England to Colonize the Soviet Union
After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in January 1933, the security situation for the USSR changed significantly. The National Socialist regime was able to put into practice its political and ideological slogans that were openly hostile to the Soviet Union. Information obtained by foreign intelligence regarding the long-term intentions of the Hitler governmentContinueContinue reading “Hitler’s 1933 Aspiration to Join Ranks With England to Colonize the Soviet Union”
Weidling Announces Hitler’s Suicide, Orders German Army to Lay Down Arms
On 1 May 1945, amidst fierce fighting in Berlin and with both Hitler and Goebbels having committed suicide in the span of 36 hours, the Commander of the Berlin Defense Area Helmut Weidling clearly saw the writing on the wall. Soviet troops were certainly just days away from taking the city, and Weidling recognized thatContinueContinue reading “Weidling Announces Hitler’s Suicide, Orders German Army to Lay Down Arms”
Translating History 