Johann Wenzel (communist)

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Johann Wenzel (born March 9, 1902 in Niedau , † February 2, 1969 in Berlin ) was a German communist, spy of the Soviet military secret service (GRU) and radio operator of the Red Orchestra in Belgium and the Netherlands .

Life

Wenceslaus was born in the family of a farmer. After school he learned the trade of a blacksmith and then worked as a blacksmith and locksmith in mining in the Ruhr area and in a company of the Krupp Group in Essen . Even as a teenager he was influenced by Marxist ideas and was active in the communist labor movement. In 1922 he joined the KPD . He later worked in various companies in Berlin. He was active in various party functions, mainly in the Red Front Fighters League in the Berlin-Brandenburg district. From 1931 to 1932 he did party work in Hamburg , Bremen , Essen, Düsseldorf and Cologne . After several months in prison in early 1932, he was working illegally.

From 1934 he worked for the GRU in Germany. He received special training and was a very good radio operator. He was fluent in Russian, French, English and Dutch. From 1937 to 1940 he led a scout group in Belgium. In order to fulfill his duties, he stayed in the German Empire , France , Austria , the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia .

He was a member of Leopold Trepper's Belgian group . He trained a number of radio operators for the organization's reconnaissance network. On June 30, 1942, he was arrested by the Gestapo in Brussels . He gave his consent for a radio game , gave an alarm signal to the headquarters and fled on November 18, 1942. He then took part in the resistance movement in Belgium . In October 1945 he was sent to Paris and from there to Moscow . There he was persecuted and was imprisoned from 1946 to 1950. From 1955 he lived in the GDR .

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personal data
SURNAME Wenzel, Johann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German radio operator of the Soviet military intelligence service GRU
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Niedau
DATE OF DEATH 2nd February 1969
Place of death Berlin