The Conrad Case. Folder 72. The Chekist Anthology

[Translation unavailable. See original. Detailed summary below.]

In this folder Mitrokhin describes the work experience of German KGB agent Conrad (codename "Gregor"), his experience as a spy, involvement with communist parties in different countries, and activities as the head of military sabotage groups in Western Europe.

Mitrokhin states that Conrad's career path begins in February 1936 when he moved to Norway, Oslo and met with KGB officer Ernst (codename "Anton"), who at that time was the NVKD resident in the Scandinavian countries. Ernst recruited Conrad to organize sabotage missions in Europe. These missions failed, since Conrad was unprepared to accomplish them (including an attempt to destroy the steamboat "Stephen Bathory" in 1938). He was forced to leave to France to avoid being imprisoned. Conrad and Ernst lost contact at the beginning of WWII in Europe. Conrad stayed German occupied Paris.

Mitrokhin's note recounts that from 1941 to 1944 Conrad was a member of the French Resistance. In April 1945 the Socialist Unity Party of Germany decided to return Conrad to Germany, where he started organizing committees of the German Communist Party. Mitrokhin provides evidence that in 1949 Conrad delivered Curt Muller, the Second Secretary of the Communist Party of Germany (the KPD, West Germany), to East Berlin. But because Muller's wife escaped and informed the West German intelligence agency, Conrad had to leave West Berlin to avoid the risk of being captured.

According to Mitrokhin, in 1952 [Semyon] Ignatyev, the minister of State Security, issued a decree to look for responsible people to organize military sabotage in the West. That year KBG agents in Berlin learned about Conrad and his involvement with Ernst in the past, and he was made an agent of Ministry for State Security of the USSR in East Germany after he was trained to use different types of mines, to look for weapon caches, and to read secret writing. Mitrokhin states that beginning with 1953 Conrad absolutely relied on KGB funding and was the head of all resistance movement groups in West Germany. In 1977 Conrad was awarded the order of the Red Star for his long-term work for the Soviet Union's interests.