Читать книгу Secrets of German Espionage - Bernard Newman - Страница 8

Although their work is invaluable, the diplomatic agents seldom come into the limelight—that is, or should be, an essential condition of their job. No spy wants publicity, but if he fails he generally gets it. A diplomatic blunder can be hushed up, but the capture of an active spy means a trial.

The spy proper is usually a specialist—often a naval, military or air force officer with the gift of languages and an aptitude for intrigue. He is an expert in some such subject as ballistics, engineering, or aviation. His professional knowledge is essential; an expert can see at a glance what an ordinary man would have to take great risks to discover. He undertakes this risky job for patriotic reasons, not financial—he usually draws the normal pay of his rank, plus minor allowances. He is the pivot on which the whole espionage system of his country turns.

The Germans have never been short of able and courageous technical officers who have volunteered for espionage duty. Their success has, however, been more limited than their zeal. The Germans are among the most assiduous and painstaking language-learners in the world, but they always remain Germans. British and Americans are lazy in this respect, but you will occasionally find a British or American speaking German which is perfect. More than one German officer has been detected for the slightest irregularity of accent. One dangerous German spy was unmasked in a few second’s conversation with an astute Frenchman, who noticed his inability to pronounce the v in vingt. Nevertheless, the German spy is happier in France than in England, for in France there is a good deal of difference between the accent of (say) the Breton and the Catalan, and the German might pass himself off as a provincial from some far corner of France. The usual pose is as an Alsatian, for in Alsace a German dialect is freely spoken.

We shall see something of the work of these professional spies who serve their country with unswerving loyalty. Sometimes they work actively, sometimes as organizers. The first method is favoured by the British, who counter the German mass organization by individual brilliance.

The Germans, while occasionally using their technical experts for individual espionage, generally employ them as directors of groups of sub-spies, or agents—and it is more often the agent than the spy who gets into the newspaper, for the task is not infrequently precarious. Some of these agents are neutral hirelings, who are trusted just as far as they can be seen. A few are even traitors willing to sell their country for German gold. But the majority are German nationals.

The Nazis have always regarded every German as a potential spy. Patriotism is usually the urge, but political blackmail has been used. In many cases Germans have acted as spies without knowing it. German visitors to Britain and France were frequently interrogated on their return to Germany, and sometimes innocently provided items of information. I remember meeting a German canoeist in Finland, wandering by canoe about the great maze of lakes. Three months every summer he passed in this pleasant manner, he told me. I asked how he managed to get the necessary foreign currency for his maintenance.

“Oh, I never have any difficulty,” he said. “My journeys are looked upon as research. When I get back I write a monograph on my voyage, with sketch maps showing how lakes are joined by natural channels, and where I have been able to pass. Our people are very keen on geography, and my notes are very useful to our map-makers.”

I agreed with him! They would be more than useful to the German staff if they ever considered an invasion of Finland. My acquaintance was providing most valuable information, but I am convinced that he did not know that he was a spy.

The German War Office, Admiralty and Air Ministry each control a vast organized Intelligence Service, but the hub of German espionage is to be found in the Foreign Office. This department freely borrows technical officers from the service departments, and in addition employs a large number of political spies—who are ready to turn their hands to any form of intrigue. It is this type of spy who is generally selected to control a squad of agents operating in a foreign country, for it may be necessary to plan a veritable campaign—for, say, the dislocation of some branch of martial industry, an orgy of sabotage, a spate of propaganda, or the fomenting of unrest by agents provocateurs.