Wolfram von Hanstein

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Wolfram von Hanstein (born February 25, 1899 in Schöneberg , † June 12, 1965 in East Berlin , full name Wolfram Günther Alfred Maximilian Paul von Hanstein ) was a German publisher , writer and secret agent .

biography

Wolfram von Hanstein was the son of the poet , writer and lecturer Adalbert von Hanstein (1861–1904) and Wanda Hagen (1869–1945). As their third child, he grew up in a middle-class home. After attending the cadet institute , he passed the ensign examination and was promoted to lieutenant in 1918 . He took part in the Kapp Putsch in 1920 and was active in the Reinhard Freikorps . From 1921 to 1925 he studied law and at the same time learned the profession of publishing clerk . In 1925 he took over the Voco publishing house in Leipzig, which he moved to Berlin a few years later. Hanstein wrote books of fairy tales, thrillers and historical novels under his name and several pseudonyms (Berg Berger, Hellan, Hell, Jung).

From 1922 to 1931 he was convicted of tax evasion and other financial crimes.

In early 1933 Hanstein published a collection of texts by various authors, Against National Socialism , for which he had to spend a few weeks in prison. In 1935 he was temporarily excluded from the Reichsschrifttumskammer due to his previous convictions , but was able to continue publishing. His book " Der vom Gutenberg " was even published in 1940 as a book edition of the Brown Book Ring by the National Socialist Zeitgeschichte-Verlag . Because of "political unreliability" he was finally expelled from the Reichsschrifttumskammer in 1941. Nevertheless, he was able to work as a screenwriter and director for educational and industrial films.

In 1944 he moved to Tharandt near Dresden and got his fifth marriage there. When the Soviet troops approached, Hanstein escorted them through the minefields. In this way he contributed to the avoidance of bloody fighting and recommended himself to the new rulers.

Hanstein became a co-founder of the Saxon CDU and the Kulturbund . In 1947 he joined the SED . Voco-Verlag, which he had relocated to Dresden, was at that time the only private publisher in the Soviet occupation zone whose circulation figures could compete with those of the SED and SMA publishers. " Der vom Gutenberg " was the first pure entertainment novel that was allowed to appear in the Soviet occupation zone - despite the scarcity of raw materials and severe censorship. Hanstein had very good relations with the Soviet occupying power. Since he had given the Soviet security organs lists with the names of National Socialists, he was listed by the MGB (Soviet Ministry for State Security) as a "secret employee".

More and more frequent trips took him to the western zones of occupation, where he sought contact with SPD politicians. There is evidence that he was involved in the intelligence service. Gradually, however, the Soviet secret service suspected him of the "double game". It has not been established whether he was really a double agent or was only “active in building trust”. In any case, Hanstein was arrested by the Soviet secret service in 1951 and accused of spying for West German, French and American services. In 1952 he was sentenced to death . A pardon was refused. However, for political reasons, the sentence was commuted to a long prison term.

In connection with Adenauer's visit to Moscow, Hanstein was repatriated to the GDR in October 1955 as an amnestied “convicted war criminal” and immediately got back into the agent business, this time for the MfS . A year later, the family relocated to the Federal Republic of Germany on behalf of the HVA division head Max Heim . There he received compensation for his Gestapo detention, for his Soviet detention and a development loan.

The Voco-Verlag, which had resurrected in Cologne, became his mainstay and camouflage business . Despite the warnings from the BND , he managed to establish contacts with West German politicians from various parties and to “skim off” people from politics, business and society in the intelligence service . He provided extensive information about the German League for Human Rights , the Association of Victims of Stalinism , the Kuratorium Indivisible Germany , the Research Institute for Human Rights Issues and the Rescue Freedom Committee . He was an active member in all organizations, and even deputy general secretary in the League for Human Rights.

On May 16, 1959, the HVA department head Max Heim fled to the Federal Republic. Two days later, Hanstein was arrested and about a year later sentenced to six years imprisonment and loss of civil rights for five years "for treasonous relations in unity with treasonous conspiracy, state-endangering intelligence service and with political suspicion in a particularly serious case" .

In early 1964 the prison system was interrupted because of a serious illness. When Hanstein was summoned for an official medical examination three months later, he had long since left for the GDR. Up until the 1970s, he was wanted for the purpose of executing the remaining sentence of 534 days. However, he died on June 12, 1965.

Works (selection)

  • The god of the sun and the dawn. 1919
  • The secret of Pontiana. Roman from Borneo. 1930
  • The dead killer detective novel, 1933
  • Stolen the boy Bibo? Detective novel, 1934
  • It wants to get dark . Roman, Voco-Verlag 1934
  • Dreamed life . Roman, Berlin: Voco-Verlag, 1939
  • The one from Gutenberg . Great love in the 15th century. Roman, Berlin: Voco Verl., 1939.
  • The black Berthold . An inventor's fate, Berlin: Voco-Verl., 1941.
  • From Luther to Hitler . An important outline of German history, Dresden: Voco-Verl., 1947 (Republican Library, 2).
  • Germany or German countries? A historical Contemplation, above: Voco-Verlag, 1947 (Republican Library, 3).
  • Ole Bergmann Bull, the great violinist of the north. Roman, 1958

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Hanstein, Wolfram von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hanstein, Wolfram Günther Alfred Maximilian Paul von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German writer and secret agent
DATE OF BIRTH February 25, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Schöneberg
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 1965
Place of death East Berlin