Adolf Wicht

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Adolf Wicht (born January 19, 1910 in Golmkau near Danzig ; † 1996 ) was a German brigadier general in the Bundeswehr and press officer for the Federal Intelligence Service in Hamburg .

Life

Worked in the Wehrmacht

Wicht was at the war school in Potsdam until it was closed on September 1, 1939. When it reopened on April 7, 1940, Wicht took part in a general staff course. At the end of January 1941 Wicht was a captain in Intelligence Section 71 of the 50th Infantry Division . In mid-September 1941 he was stationed with the 10th Panzer Group News Regiment in North Africa. In North Africa Wicht was given command of Panzer Intelligence Unit 78 of the 15th Panzer Division . On June 1, 1942, he was transferred to the Foreign Armies East Department as a major and to the Army General Staff . At the end of January 1944 Wicht joined the staff of the 212th Infantry Division under Karl Koske am Wolchow . On June 1, 1944, Wicht was transferred to the General Staff.

In the Second World War he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.

Worked for the Federal Intelligence Service

In 1946 there were unsuccessful attempts by the British secret service to recruit Wicht. He refused, but was later recruited by Reinhard Gehlen for the Gehlen organization . From 1952, Wicht worked for the Gehlen organization or its successor, the Federal Intelligence Service . He worked with a bogus identity as a businessman in Hamburg. In 1958 he became a general staff officer in the Bundeswehr.

From 1953 to 1962 Wicht was the head of Terrapress , the publisher of the Ost-Dienst and Ost-Korrespondenz , Hamburg. As a press officer, Wicht was the contact person for the editorial offices. a. Der Spiegel , Die Welt , Hamburger Morgenpost , Kölner Stadtanzeigers , Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , Düsseldorfer Nachrichten and Neue Ruhr Zeitung counted.

In 1962 Wicht was involved in the Spiegel affair . BND boss Reinhard Gehlen wanted to know in advance (for more private reasons) what Spiegel editor Conrad Ahlers intended to write about his friend Friedrich Foertsch and therefore sent Wicht to the Spiegel editorial team. Instead of the Foertsch manuscript, Wicht received from Ahlers a catalog of 13 questions on a completely different topic: They concerned the question of whether the planned revelations about the Bundeswehr's operational readiness were subject to confidentiality. Wicht forwarded the catalog to the headquarters in Pullach; BND military experts reported concerns in two places, which the Spiegel took into account. The Spiegel cover story “Conditionally ready for defense” appeared on October 8th . When the publishing director of the Spiegel , Hans Detlev Becker , told Wicht on October 16, 1962 that Ahlers had heard of an investigation, Wicht reported this to Pullach, where this was confirmed after his own research. On October 18, 1962, Wicht came to the Spiegel editorial office and confirmed the investigation, as Becker noted under “Prelude Wicht”.

After the public prosecutor Siegfried Buback had Becker's notebook confiscated, Wicht was arrested on November 2, 1962 on charges of treason and was imprisoned for 49 days. In a speech in the Bundestag on November 7, 1962, Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer even publicly prejudged Wicht, in which he - referring to Wicht without naming his name - spoke of it: “We have an abyss of treason in the country. Isn't it frightening when a Bundeswehr colonel, after hearing that proceedings have been initiated against Augstein and the editors of SPIEGEL, goes over and gives them notice so that evidence can be removed? ”- which leads to a conflict with his coalition partner FDP led. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office investigated Wicht until March 10, 1965 and then dropped the case. Although no misconduct was proven, Wicht could not return to his old post and remained branded for the rest of his career. His appointment as brigadier general , which was planned for 1962, did not take place until his retirement . It was not until 1967 that Adenauer - especially at the urging of Karl Wienand  - made a declaration of honor in favor of Wichts. In 1968 Wicht retired after reaching the age limit applicable to senior officers in the Bundeswehr. After participating in reserve exercises , he was appointed Brigadier General of the Reserve in 1970.

After his retirement, Wicht worked as a lecturer and in the sales management of Spiegel. He received after his retirement monthly 950  DM as " Connection Guide " of the BND under the code name "Winkler".

Publications

  • Ten years of Soviet policy in Germany . In: Die Ost-Reihe , issue 11. Terrapress, Hamburg 1955.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Abyss . In: Der Spiegel . No. 21 , 1965, p. 23-25 ( online ).
  2. ↑ a b CV of the 50th Infantry Division
  3. ↑ estate.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Federal Archives@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.bundesarchiv.de  
  4. ^ Stupidities of the state . In: Der Spiegel . No. 43 , 2002, p. 62-86 ( online ).
  5. ↑ a b rehabilitation . In: Der Spiegel . No. 16 , 1967, p. 24 ( online ).
  6. ↑ BND in the Twilight . In: Die Zeit , No. 43/1982
  7. ↑ The almost forgotten Colonel Wicht . In: Der Spiegel . No. 46 , 1964, pp. 28 ( online ).
  8. ↑ a b Professional . In: Der Spiegel . No. 22 , 1970, pp. 214 ( online ).
personal data
SURNAME Wicht, Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Brigadier General of the Bundeswehr and press officer for the Federal Intelligence Service in Hamburg
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Golmkau near Danzig
DATE OF DEATH 1996