Eugen Nesper (agent)

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Eugen Nesper (* 2. August 1913 in Aufhausen , district Aalen , † after 1949) was a German double agent of the Gestapo . He was best known for his role in the betrayal of the group around Friedrich Schlotterbeck .

Life

Eugen Nesper joined the Communist Youth Association (KJVD) as a sixteen-year-old mechanic's apprentice and had been a member of the Red Front Fighters Association (RFB) since 1931 . He was jailed for the first time in 1932 because of a leaflet. In January 1933 he was sentenced to six months in prison for violating the peace after a shootout with members of the SS.

When he was released, he learned that the political police had been well informed about the work of the communist underground through repeated betrayals. He moved to Stuttgart and took up a job there. In Stuttgart he lived with Friedrich Schlotterbeck's parents .

In mid-1935 the former communist Berkhemer wanted to meet the KPD functionary Alfred Haag through him . Gotthilf Schlotterbeck knew that Berkhemer was now a police spy, so that Nesper Haag's wife could warn. A few days later he was summoned by Friedrich Mußgay , the head of the intelligence department of the Political Police in Stuttgart, and given the choice of either working with the Gestapo or being sent to a concentration camp. Nesper chose to work as an informant and probably hoped to be able to support his comrades anyway.

After 1945, Nesper stated that he had been a successful double agent during this time. The Gestapo gave him information about arrests and convictions that he passed on to his comrades. Because he was able to move around freely, he was able to distribute illegal material much more effectively, maintain connections and distribute Red Aid funds to relatives of concentration camp inmates. He had only given some of the illegal documents to the Gestapo and distributed the rest to his comrades.

In 1940, Nesper came to the Western Front as a member of the Wehrmacht , then to the Eastern Front . In the summer of 1942 he overran to the Soviet side. In the prisoner-of-war camp and at the NKVD in Moscow , he reported on his intelligence services. Nesper agreed to return to Stuttgart in order to broadcast information on the economic and military situation to Moscow. In a joint action by the Allies , Nesper and Hermann Kramer were trained in Moscow from January to October 1943 and provided with false papers. The British MI6 then took over her further training.

On the morning of January 8, 1944, Nesper and Kramer jumped off near Hechingen . They were discovered while recovering the luggage parachute, which contained the radio equipment. Kramer was wounded in the exchange of fire. Despite a large manhunt that had been initiated, Nesper got to Stuttgart and visited the Schlotterbeck family, Kramer was taken prisoner. The Gestapo thus became aware of Nesper's identity. She had Nesper's wife, who lives in Stuttgart, under surveillance and was therefore able to arrest Nesper there a short time later.

Friedrich Mußgay forced Nesper to broadcast targeted false information and to provide information about the KPD's illegal work. To do this, he should "maintain" contacts with the Schlotterbecks and their environment. Schlotterbeck's group had a lot of information about the armaments industry and numerous service secrets of the Wehrmacht, such as secret codes.

When Nesper learned of the planned arrest of a member of the group in June 1944, he revealed himself to the Schlotterbeck family. The brothers decided to flee to Switzerland , but only Friedrich Schlotterbeck succeeded. The Gestapo arrested parents, siblings, Friedrich's fiancée Else Himmelträger and other members of the group. They were murdered in the weeks and months that followed, mostly without trial.

Eugen Nesper also fled Germany and escaped to Switzerland. While on the run, he shot a German border official . On April 3, 1945, he was imprisoned in Basel on suspicion of "illegal intelligence"; the investigation had to be stopped. On June 22, 1945, Switzerland transferred him to Germany. On February 5, 1947, Nesper was arrested in Basel while illegally crossing the border. He had ball bearings with him that he wanted to smuggle into Switzerland. On February 10, 1947, he was expelled from Switzerland for an indefinite period, and his deportation was carried out on February 17, 1947.

On July 14, 1948, the Stuttgart Chamber of Judges sentenced I Nesper to ten years of internment for his involvement in National Socialism as the main culprit.

On July 19, 1950, the Konstanz jury sentenced Nesper to three years in prison for the manslaughter committed against the border officer .

literature

  • Ingrid Bauz, Sigrid Brüggemann, Roland Maier (editors): The Secret State Police in Württemberg and Hohenzollern , Schmetterling-Verlag Stuttgart, ISBN 3-89657-138-9 .
  • Friedrich Schlotterbeck: The darker the night, the brighter the stars . Europe, Zurich 1945; Walter, Stuttgart 1986, ISBN 3-925440-10-0

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sigrid Brüggemann: Execution in Dachau , KONTEXT: Wochenzeitung, December 5, 2012
  2. ↑ Meinrad Schaab , Hansmartin Schwarzmaier (ed.) U. a .: Handbook of Baden-Württemberg History . Volume 4: Die Länder since 1918. Edited on behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-608-91468-4 , p. 311.
  3. ↑ State Archive Basel-Stadt Signature: PD-REG 3a 72809 ( [1] )
personal data
SURNAME Nesper, Eugene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German double agent of the Gestapo
DATE OF BIRTH August 2, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Aufhausen , Aalen district
DATE OF DEATH 20th century or 21st century