Handbook for Spies

by Foote Alexander

For proper understanding of the events which led to the breakup of Rado's organisation and the arrest of many of its members, it is necessary to bear the following facts and surmises in mind. As in most intelligence pictures there are some facts and many surmises; most of the facts were obtained only after I had been released from prison, and some I gathered when I was in Moscow. Without these facts in the back of the mind, many of the events of the mouvemente summer and autumn of 1943 appear inconsequential and illogical.

The two main antagonists to our organisation were naturally the Abwehr and the Swiss Bupo. The former because the actions of the network were aimed directly at the Third Reich and the latter because these actions were a violation of Swiss neutrality. The Abwehr were naturally the more concerned and were more active in attempting to penetrate and to liquidate the organisation. The Swiss were prepared to take action if evidence was brought to their notice but would not go out of their way to liquidate a spy network - especially if they thought it was working for the democracies. I use the word "democracies" advisedly- they became much more enthusiastic in their work when they realised it was a Soviet network, little love being lost between the bourgeois Swiss and the Soviet Union.

At some period of the war- presumably after the fall of France and before 1943- some portion of the Red Army network in Occupied Europe had been discovered by the Abwehr and the network rounded up, kept under observation, or "played back" in an endeavour to get more leads in. Either through their observations or their working of the double-cross the Germans had discovered that the network had an organisation in Switzerland. The ideal of any counterespionage organisation is to be in a position to eliminate or control an entire espionage organisation. If the former is done the enemy is rendered blind and if the latter is done he can be bemused. But in both cases it is useless to take half measures. Indeed if an attempt is being made to work a double-cross it is fatal. The portion of the network that is still working freely will at once show up that portion which is working under control, and a double-cross against the enemy which the enemy knows to be a double-cross is as dangerous as an active espionage ring. In fact more so, as you are certain that your intelligence or rather misleading intelligence is coming straight from the enemy headquarters.

In 1943 the Germans were perfectly aware that there was a Soviet spy ring operating in Swiss territory, but were unable to locate it and had no exact knowledge as to its members or its ramifications. At that time the Swiss were probably blissfully ignorant of any such thing going on in their territory, and in so far as they were interested were relying on such information as the Germans filtered through to them. The Germans would give enough information to make the Swiss take the usual police action - which would show the Abwehr exactly how far they had got- but not enough to enable the Swiss to round up the whole network- a thing the Germans preferred to do themselves.

The position of Rado's network was really similar to that of Mowgli after he had been cast out of the wolf pack. On the one hand he had the wolves- in the shape of the Bupo- who though not in active opposition were prepared if provoked to tear him to pieces, and on the other the tiger- in the shape of the Abwehr, who were really out for blood and would do anything to get the network in their power. We were assisted only by the few lone wolves, and we triumphed in the end.

I myself regard Lorenz and Laura as primary among the factors which led to the dissolution of the network. They do not, however, rank in the tiger category. Nothing better than jackals is worthy of them if my beliefs are correct.

My suspicions of Lorenz really began towards the end of 1942. By that time I had been in contact with him long enough and felt that he was quite out of the ordinary as regards Soviet spies. After one has dealt with secret agents in all walks of life one begins to have a feeling regarding them and their genuineness- and this I never had towards Lorenz and Laura. They were both far too mondaine, and she was far too chic to be part of a Red Army net. Also the information that they produced was not in any way high-grade- despite the golden opinions the director had about their capabilities. Their mode of life, their actions, their information, and the whole appearance of the setup filled me with a vague sense of uneasiness. Facts - or rather suspicions on my part-made the whole affair more sinister.

As is known to the veriest tyro in Soviet espionage it is strictly forbidden for any agent to know or to attempt to find out, the name of his contact. This is laid down for the mutual protection of both parties in case one or the other is caught. It is nothing but clear, practical common sense. Lorenz, however, did not subscribe to this. As I have said, shortness of time and pressure of work prevented me from obeying the rules in their strictest sense - and as a result I used to meet Lorenz in his villa. This procedure was accepted with alacrity by him as he alleged that it was difficult for him to get out and anyway the seclusion of the villa, tucked away in the foothills round the lake, made it an admirable conspiratorial rendezvous. That should have been enough; the rules had already been broken sufficiently without any further violation of elementary security. Despite this Lorenz showed a persistent desire to discover my name, or, if that were impossible, at least some sort of clue as to where I lived and my mode of life. Idle curiosity, it may be thought; I thought so at the time, but now I am inclined to think rather differently.

Lorenz tried to gratify his curiosity in a number of ingenious ways. Every time I went to visit him, though he knew that my time was precious, he insisted that I take off my overcoat and leave it in his extremely nicely furnished hall. While I was urged into the lounge, just off the hall on the left of the front door, by Lorenz, Laura would be, allegedly, getting the information that they had collected from their secret hiding place. This procedure appeared perfectly logical to me the first few times I visited them- even though the procedure was time - wasting and tedious for me. Unfortunately for all concerned, I was, and am, a martyr to the cigarette habit and an inveterate chain smoker. One day- it must have been in the late autumn of 1942- I went round to the villa to pick up their material and, having succumbed to the usual pressure, had gone into the lounge for the usual drink. On arrival there I found that my pockets were empty and that I had left my packet of cigarettes in my overcoat. I moved in a purposeful manner towards the door and was prevented almost by force by Lorenz from trying to get into the hall. Lorenz offered me one of his atrocious cigarettes with a rather feeble excuse. This I refused to smoke; with some justification as Lorenz smoked some vile brand. An embarrassed pause ensued with Lorenz firmly holding the door and after a moment he offered me a cigar which I accepted and he retired, allegedly to his cigar cabinet, to find it- it never appeared. After a short period Laura appeared, rather flushed, and the party went on as before.

Not being of a naturally suspicious nature, it took some time for the full significance of this incident to dawn on me- anyway, at least as long as it took to go by tram from their villa back to the corner near my flat. I then mulled the whole thing over in my mind and decided that I would see whether it was the result of an overheated mind or whether there was perhaps some undercurrent going on which the Centre might regard with some disfavour. I was not in the least bothered as to what anyone might find in any of my pockets. By that time I was a comparatively old bird in the espionage field and had had made for me a couple of detachable pockets which hung down inside the front of my trousers and attached to the front brace buttons. When full they gave me a rather middle-aged spread but I was prepared to sacrifice my vanity to security. The pockets would not have stood up to any sort of trained search but they did provide complete security against casual prying. Even Laura could hardly have got away with my trousers- though she did her best with my coat. In these pockets I kept all my personal papers such as my passport and permis de sejour - made out of course in my right name. There also I used to carry my gun, save in times of emergency when I used to extract it from its hiding place: a small "32 automatic, it gave me moral comfort at some of my more difficult rendezvous. Taking a tip from the films, I used, on such occasions as I thought I might have to use it and yet might be liable to search, to hide it in my hat, where it rested conveniently, if not comfortably, on the crown of my head.