Great Spies of the 20th Century

by Patrick Pesnot

  These ‘gifts' from Germany were clearly intended to atone for the crimes committed against the Jews during the Third Reich. However, there had actually already been an agreement regarding compensation to the Jews and the Jewish state that had been signed by Gourion and Adenauer. This agreement stated that West Germany would pledge one billion marks to Israel, but the German Chancellor obviously wanted to do more, although it had to be done secretly, so as not to alienate the Arab countries. Ben-Gourion was also keen to keep it secret; he did not want to scare his fellow citizens (who were still extremely anti-German) and he also did not wish to alert his Arab neighbours.

  Another equally secret and surprising coming together of these two countries happened in the field of intelligence. This was despite the fact that Gehlen's network was riddled with former Nazis, who much preferred to work with the Egyptian intelligence agency, Moukhabarat, or with the Syrians. Alois Brunner was the head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency in Damascus, but a new generation of agents were arriving in Pullach, the headquarters of Gehlen's network. Strongly encouraged by the Americans, these new agents were keen to establish relationships with Mossad. Gehlen had to play both sides, as one of his deputies sided with Israel and he with the Arabs. Gehlen put up with this, however, and if he tolerated cooperation with Mossad, it was only because he thought that Israel was an important pawn in the fight against Communism.

  Meanwhile, Isser Harel had no reason to doubt the validity of Dr Otto Yoklik's revelations, especially as he was violently anti-German and was deeply convinced that all the German scientists were anti-Semitic.

  Nevertheless, the case was still discussed at the highest levels of the Israeli government and very soon, two distinct camps began to emerge. For some, including Harel and Foreign Minister Golda Meir, fast and powerful action was needed to physically eliminate Nasser's scientists. Others, including Defence Minister Shimon Peres and the head of military intelligence, Meir Amit, caution was advised. They argued that there was no immediate danger as the missiles had no guidance systems. Plus, a policy of systematically assassinating or neutralising the German scientists could anger the German public and thus jeopardise the new secret deal signed by Ben-Gourion and Adenauer. As another Israeli-Arab war was no doubt inevitable, Israel was in desperate need of the military equipment provided by Germany.

  Ben-Gourion himself was undecided and so decided to follow the example of Solomon: he allowed Mossad to take action, but only moderately - they were to scare the scientists, nothing more. At the same time he asked Chancellor Adenauer to speak with the German scientists and appeal to their consciences. The decision was finally taken to launch a vast campaign informing the international public of the danger currently hanging over Israel, due to the scientific cooperation between the Germans and the Egyptians. This was made all the easier, as at the time of the Suez Crisis, newspapers and western politicians had already dubbed Nasser as the new Hitler.

  Isser Harel was only partly satisfied with this outcome. As far as he was concerned, however, it was not enough, and he decided to implement his original proposal: the physical elimination of the scientists. So in September 1962, the Mossad chief knowingly disobeyed the Israeli prime minister.

  As well as Brander, there was another man, Heinz Krug, who acted as a recruiting sergeant among the German scientists. Krug was the administrative director of the Stuttgart Institute and was thus well placed to poach manpower from within scientific circles. In addition, Krug had set up a company that bought the equipment needed by Egypt to build its missiles. He was therefore an essential cog in the machine and so became one of Mossad's primary targets.

  One evening, Krug was dining with a man called Kleinwachter, a specialist in propulsion rockets, and an Egyptian, probably Mordekhai Louk.42 Krug disappeared after the meal and was never seen again. His empty car was found not far from his home in Munich, but what had happened to him? There are two possibilities: he was either killed by Israeli agents who afterwards disposed of his body somewhere else, or he was kidnapped by these same men and sent to the other side of the Mediterranean. In all probability, Krug was purely and simply liquidated.

  Mossad did not stop there. Shortly afterwards, the rocket specialist, Kleinwachter, was also a victim of the Israeli agents. After the death of his friend, Kleinwachter made sure he was permanently on his guard. However, one day at the beginning of 1963, as soon as he left his laboratory, a big Mercedes blocked the road. He dived down onto the floor of his car as a man emptied an entire round of bullets through his windscreen. Miraculously, Kleinwachter managed to escape. Shortly afterwards, the police identified his attacker's car, which of course, had been stolen, but inside were business cards in the name of Ali Samir, the head of the famous Moukhabarat Egyptian intelligence agency. Clearly, the Israeli spies had a sense of humour!

  The important thing learned from this whole escapade, which was led from start to finish by Mossad, was that the German scientists working for Nasser now knew that they were being targeted. Isser Harel had successfully bypassed Ben-Gourion's initial wishes, as he was increasingly convinced by the authenticity of the information provided by the Austrian scientist, Otto Yoklik.

  Uri Dan43

  Joklik had supporting evidence: he was responsible for providing radioactive waste, including cobalt 60, for the manufacture of nuclear warheads intended for the missiles that had already been built and had began delivering the materials in the summer of 1962. The Egyptians had also tasked him with procuring plans to produce two nuclear bombs.

  While Harel regarded Joklik’s statements as further evidence of the seriousness of the situation, Amit wanted to see it as a story from one of the ‘Arabian Nights’; a mishmash of fantasy and reality.

  The tension that already existed between these two escalated further after the evaluation of Joklik’s testimony. Harel believed that Egypt could move forward in the nuclear field, while Amit believed that despite the potential threat, ‘the situation was not yet life-threatening’. The decision thus rested with the deputy defence minister, Shimon Peres, Harel’s intimate enemy. There had never been any sympathy between these two men, who were constantly vying for the ear of their admired leader, Ben-Gourion, no doubt to strengthen their own positions.

  According to Peres and the experts at the defence ministry, there was no need to take Joklik seriously. ‘It’s no bad thing if Nasser continues to waste resources on projects that have no chance of success' Isser Harel was furious with Amit and more so with Peres.

  Harel was determined to continue with hunting down the German scientists. A letter arrived for Wolfgang Pilz, who remember had formally worked for the French authorities.

  His secretary opened the envelope, which turned out to be a bomb. The woman was seriously injured in the explosion and lost her sight as a result.The next day, a large parcel arrived at the 333 Factory in Egypt It was supposed to contain scientific papers and so the German scientists opened it, unsuspectingly.The explosion was immediate: five people were killed and several injured. This was a new bloody warning and the international press did not hesitate to indict the Israeli authorities. As usual, however, Tel Aviv denied all knowledge. Ben-Gourion refused to believe that his friend Isser Harel had gone against his recommendations or that Mossad would be responsible for such a huge blunder.

  Putting his violent actions aside for a time, Isser Harel continued to intimidate the German scientists. He sent one of his agents to accompany the famous Yoklik to Europe, so that the latter could demonstrate what he had been doing and explain his reasons for no longer wishing to work for the Egyptians.

  The two men were charged with contacting the daughter of one of the scientists now working in Egypt, an electronics expert called Professor Goerke. They made an appointment to meet her in Basel, Switzerland, but the woman, Heidi, was wary. After a serious of attacks on German scientists, she had a good reason to be cautious. Before meeting the two men, she contacted the Swiss police, who decided to observe the meeting and even
installed a microphone in the room where it was to take place.

  During the meeting, Yoklik and the man from Mossad warned Heidi that there would be trouble if her father continued to work for Nasser. This was still a threat, even though their words were very measured. After the meeting, the two men were tailed and eventually arrested by the Swiss police. The recording of their conversation with Heidi leaves no doubt as to the character of their mission. They were charged with working for a foreign power; a very serious accusation in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the Swiss authorities, who remained extremely discrete, were unable to prevent the story from leaking and the local press announced with great fanfare that the Israeli spy network had been dismantled.

  This was very embarrassing for Mossad, especially since you could not fail to link it to the murderous actions that had already taken place against the German scientists. The German government quickly demanded the extradition of the two men, but the Swiss refused: they were to be tried where they were.

  Mossad immediately organised a counteroffensive by revealing to the press the truth about the work carried out by the German scientists in Egypt, and its programme for weapons of mass destruction. Their plan was clever as they now no longer appeared to be aggressors, but were only acting in self-defence. Remember that at this point in time, the little Jewish state had a great deal of global sympathy. Another consequence of this defensive tactic was that the Swiss and Germans were particularly stigmatised and accused of complicity with the evil Egyptians.

  This stigmatisation of Germany did cause some concern for Israel, who were worried that the arms deal signed between the two countries might be cancelled. A furious Ben-Gourion ordered Isser Harel to end his smear campaign against Germany immediately. No doubt encouraged by Meir Amit, the head of military intelligence, Ben-Gourion also told Harel to cease all violent action against the German scientists and to provide a detailed report on the threats that their work supposedly represented. Ben-Gourion clearly had his doubts and by questioning his long-time friend, Harel, he called into question the reliability and even the integrity of Mossad. As a result, Harel resigned and was replaced by his ‘enemy', Amit.

  Goerke's daughter, Heidi, was therefore directly responsible for the resignation of the head of Mossad. However, Yoklik and the Mossad agent might still have been able to escape trial, thanks to the existence of the tape recording made during their meeting with the scientist's daughter. The press campaign orchestrated by Mossad would prove to bear fruit, as the Swiss magistrate considered the fact that the Mossad agent who had accompanied Yoklik might have been acting out of patriotism. It was also considered morally right for the Austrian scientist to denounce the Egyptian efforts to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. Both defendants were given minimal sentences and quickly released. However, the prosecutor emphasised that the Swiss authorities would not allow its territory to be used as a base for secret activities, whatever the motives behind the men who perpetrated them.

  One question does remain, however: were Otto Yoklik's revelations genuine?

  The fact that Isser Harel resigned so suddenly suggests that his case against Egypt was not as strong as he claimed. Mossad agents had confirmed that the cobalt purchases did take place, but that the quantities were very small, only amounting to samples, and in no way would have constituted a serious threat to Israel. However, the Mossad chief had seen an opportunity to put an end to the scientific cooperation between Germany and Egypt. He therefore probably inflated the threat in order to try and convince Ben-Gourion. He also exaggerated the skills of Dr Yoklik, who was really only a radiology specialist and not a physicist, so as to make the threat of Egyptian missiles more credible.

  The trial in Switzerland and the resignation of Isser Harel did not prevent the Israelis from continuing their actions against Nasser's German scientists. But now Mossad and its new leader would pursue a different tactic. They first contacted their new friend, General Gehlen, and offered him the chance to organise the repatriation of the scientists. As the scientists had former links with the Nazi party and Gehlen himself knew some of them, Mossad suggested that if they left Egypt, they could be given good positions back in their own country. Gehlen agreed, seeing it as an honourable way for Germany to break with its old demons.

  The Israelis then began a hate mail campaign and sent anonymous letters to the scientists. This was very threatening and disturbing for them, as it proved that Mossad had clearly identified them and knew that they were now earning a very good living.

  Until then their presence in Egypt had been shrouded in secrecy, but it seemed that the Israelis had an agent who had managed to infiltrate these top-secret circles: Wolfgang Lotz, who will be discussed in the next chapter, and was probably one of the greatest spies of the twentieth century.

  There is one final point: the operation initiated by Harel to eliminate the German scientists was codenamed Damocles and had been supervised by Yitzhak Shamir, the future prime minister and leader of the Likud party.44 He received unexpected support from Otto Skorzeny, one of Hitler's SS leaders and the man who helped liberate Mussolini. The Israelis had somehow managed to get him to work for them. But how? This still remains a mystery and of course, Skorzeny himself has never told. However, contact with the Israelis had to be strengthened at the end of the 1950s during which time Mossad was engaged in the hunt for Adolf Eichmann. Had Skorzeny been paid, or was he blackmailed? Was he physically threatened? Whatever the case, he definitely collaborated with Israeli intelligence and provided them with very valuable information about the German scientists who had been working in Egypt for so long.

  Chapter 9

  Lotz: saved by a little piece of skin...

  Wolfgang Lotz was one of the greatest spies of the twentieth century. He was the man who allowed the Israelis to identify, locate and punish the Nazi scientists who were working on Egypt's missile construction programme.45

  Immediately after the Second World War, many Third Reich zealots found refuge in Arab countries where Nazi propaganda had been particularly effective both before and during the war. This was not an entirely innocent decision, insofar as the leaders of the Arab countries would soon rise against the fledgling Jewish state.

  Among the many German exiles, who had mainly gathered in Egypt, were a group of scientists: men who had taken part in the work ofVon Braun, the man behind the V1 and V2 rockets that had caused such terrible damage in England. As the Allies had forbidden Germany from building any more missiles after the war, these men were now without employment and so agreed to go to Egypt, where Colonel Nasser intended to equip his country with more modern weapons of warfare. By 1962 the Egyptian leader was able to launch four rockets. These weapons had enough range to reach Israeli territory, even if their guidance system was not yet properly developed. Tel Aviv was in panic. Even more so when one of the scientists defected and informed Israeli intelligence that the Egyptians planned to equip the warheads with radioactive waste.

  The Israeli leaders were anxious and embarrassed: their current relationship with Germany was very good and any anti-German sentiment would be unwelcome. Yet Israel's security was at stake and the head of Mossad took it upon himself to launch Operation Damocles. This involved a series of top-secret targeted attacks, killings, letter-bombings and threats against the German scientists working for Nasser. It is here that Wolfgang Lotz comes into play...

  What must first be acknowledged is that in Nasser's Egypt, anything relating to the existence of the German scientists was taboo. These men, many of whom had been zealous supporters of the Hitler regime, were never spoken of and both lived and worked north of Cairo in a top-secret complex, known only by its codename: 333. It was virtually impossible to gain access without undertaking something extraordinarily daring, which is just what Lotz had to do.

  This Israeli, who rendered great service to his country, was born in Germany in 1920. His mother was a Jewish actress and his father, a pure ‘Aryan', was a theatre director. One very important fact
was that Lotz was not circumcised - something that would later save his life.

  Lotz's parents divorced a few years after the birth of their son. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Wolfgang's mother was conscious of the danger posed to Jews and so emigrated to Palestine with her son. Young Wolfgang attended a Zionist school and changed his name to Ze'ev (meaning ‘wolf' in Hebrew) Gur-Aire. As a young man he enrolled in the Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary movement. Apart from his underground activities with Haganah, Lot's other great passion was horse riding, not to mention being a bon vivant and womaniser: he was twice married before the age of twenty!

  After high school he joined the Army and fought alongside the British in Egypt, where he was responsible for interviewing German prisoners of war from the Afrika Korps. At the time, Egypt was a British protectorate, and Lotz's knowledge of German (his mother tongue) meant that he was able to be of great service. He was a great linguist and also spoke English, Hebrew and Arabic: a talent that would prove very useful in years to come.

  Physically, Lotz was a big, burly blonde with blue eyes. Naturally reckless, he was not afraid to take risks and after the war he worked as a lieutenant trafficking arms for Haganah, during the first Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948. It was then that he decided to make the army his career. During the Suez Crisis in 1956, he commanded an elite infantry brigade and soon after was approached by Aman, the Israeli military intelligence service. No doubt his physicality and language skills had attracted the recruiters.