Cooperation between IRA and Third Reich

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The collaboration between the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and the Third Reich is a chapter in the history of World War II that lasted from 1937 to 1944 and describes the communication between the IRA , a paramilitary group that seeks the liberation of Northern Ireland from the British government , and the intelligence service of the Third Reich .

First contacts

After initial contacts in 1937, the German Abwehr sent the journalist Oscar C. Phaus to Ireland in December 1938 to make contact with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The knowledge of the German authorities and the intelligence service about the work and the internal structures of the IRA has so far been limited. However, it was known that the underground fighters repeatedly carried out bomb attacks against the British Empire .

This was reason enough to regard the Irish guerrillas as natural allies in the war against Great Britain and to want to win them over to their own cause. However, Phaus had not received any authorization from the German government and the only success of the mission was to establish contact with Seamus O 'Donovan , who later became the most important contact for the German defense.

Hermann Görtz

The aim of the admiral and head of the German defense, Wilhelm Canaris , was to obtain information about the English airspace and thus to be able to coordinate the attacks of the German air force as best as possible. However, almost all German spies failed in their attempts to obtain information on the Emerald Isle. The most important of these spies was Hermann Görtz . He jumped over Ireland on May 5, 1940. His mission was to get the IRA to work together, including the prospect of jointly liberating Northern Ireland from the British government.

However, Görtz missed his destination by several kilometers when he jumped and only arrived at the agreed meeting point a few days later, emaciated. In addition, Görtz's impression of the Irish underground army was disastrous. In his opinion, the structures of the organization were completely confusing and the communication system so outdated that cooperation in this constellation hardly seemed possible. Görtz worked as an agent for 19 months until he was arrested. After the end of the war and the announcement of his release and handover to British authorities, Goertz committed suicide .

"Operation Dove"

Based on the findings of Hermann Görtz, Admiral Canaris decided to establish new leadership figures in the ranks of the IRA who had the appropriate authority and who were well-disposed towards the Third Reich. For this it was initially considered necessary to bring the IRA Chief of Staff Seán Russell to Berlin . After his failed " S-Plan " in the United States of America , he reached Germany via Genoa . Here he was supposed to inform Hermann Görtz about the conditions in Ireland before his mission, but just missed it.

The second participant in Operation Dove was Frank Ryan , an IRA veteran who fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War . Although he was captured by General Franco's forces, the Italian units that had captured him viewed him as a suitable lever for an exchange of prisoners, thereby avoiding execution. Under pressure from German authorities it was possible to get Ryan to Germany and thus to promote the sympathy of the Irish for the National Socialists , because due to his captivity , Ryan was almost revered as a hero in his home country.

In the summer of 1940, Ryan and Russell met with Section Head Kurt Haller to discuss the operation. No concrete plans are known. Russell and Ryan set out for Ireland in a German submarine from Wilhelmshaven , but Seán Russell suffered from severe pain and stomach cramps along the way. Two days after leaving, he succumbed to his ailments. There was speculation that Ryan had killed his colleague in order to gain sole power over the IRA. Ryan was dropped off again in Wilhelmshaven and did not return to his homeland. In 1944 he died of pneumonia .

Web links

literature

  • Tim Pat Coogan: The IRA. A history. Roberts Rinehart, Niwot CO 1994, ISBN 1-879373-99-8 .
  • Mark M. Hull: Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Ireland, 1939–1945. Irish Academic Press, Dublin et al. 2003, ISBN 0-7165-2756-1 .
  • Igor-Philip Matic: Edmund Veesenmayer. Agent and diplomat of the National Socialist expansion policy (= Southeast European work. 114). Oldenbourg, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-486-56677-6 (At the same time: Munich, University, dissertation, 2000: Front General of German Diplomacy. ).
  • Enno Stephan: Secret Mission Ireland. German agents in the Irish underground struggle 1939–1945. Stalling, Oldenburg et al. 1961.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Tim Pat Coogan: The IRA. A history. Roberts Rinehart, Niwot CO 1994, p. 158.
  2. ↑ a b c Opera with medals . In: Der Spiegel , December 6, 1961.
  3. ↑ a b Tim Pat Coogan: The IRA. A history. Roberts Rinehart, Niwot CO 1994, p. 156.
  4. ↑ Tim Pat Coogan: The IRA. A history. Roberts Rinehart, Niwot CO 1994, p. 157.