He was head of the BND, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service from 1 May 1968 to 31 December 1978. According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, entitled Gerhard Wessel, 88; Did Espionage Work for Hitler, West Germany, the "former intelligence officer in Adolf Hitler’s anti-Soviet spy operations" ... "is credited with modernizing the BND by hiring academic analysts and electronics specialists".[1]
The obituary issued by the New York Times News Service summarized some of the BND's successes under Wessel: "It informed the government three months in advance of the Soviet Union's plans to invade Czechoslovakia in 1968. It also gathered early information about dissatisfaction among shipyard workers in Gdansk, which eventually led to upheaval in Poland in the 1980s". The coverage also discusses the adverse incidents under his leadership. For example, it mentions a "number of incidents of East Germans infiltrating the West German government, particularly intelligence agencies, on Gen. Wessel's watch".[2]
Wessel was born in the Holstein city of Neumuenster; his father was an Evangelical pastor. Gerhard Wessel joined the army in 1932. He died in Pullach.
Referencesedit
^Archives, L. A. Times (2002-08-03). "Gerhard Wessel, 88; Did Espionage Work for Hitler, West Germany". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
^"GERHARD WESSEL, 88". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
Literatureedit
(All books in German)
Albrecht Charisius, ((Julius Mader)): Nicht länger geheim. Entwicklung, System und Arbeitsweise des imperialistischen deutschen Geheimdienstes. Deutscher Militärverlag, Berlin 1969 (4., überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage. Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, Berlin 1980).
James H. Critchfield: Auftrag Pullach. Die Organisation Gehlen 1948–1956. Mittler, Berlin u. a. 2005, ISBN3-8132-0848-6.
Helmut Roewer, Stefan Schäfer, Matthias Uhl: Lexikon der Geheimdienste im 20. Jahrhundert. Herbig, München 2003, ISBN3-7766-2317-9.
gerhard, wessel, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gerhard Wessel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Gerhard Wessel December 24 1913 July 28 2002 was President of the Federal Intelligence Bureau from May 1968 to December 1978 He previously served in the Reichswehr 1932 35 and Army including the Foreign Armies East of Reinhard Gehlen during World War II After the war he was part of the Gehlen Organisation and then the Bundeswehr 1956 1952 He was head of the BND Germany s Federal Intelligence Service from 1 May 1968 to 31 December 1978 According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times entitled Gerhard Wessel 88 Did Espionage Work for Hitler West Germany the former intelligence officer in Adolf Hitler s anti Soviet spy operations is credited with modernizing the BND by hiring academic analysts and electronics specialists 1 The obituary issued by the New York Times News Service summarized some of the BND s successes under Wessel It informed the government three months in advance of the Soviet Union s plans to invade Czechoslovakia in 1968 It also gathered early information about dissatisfaction among shipyard workers in Gdansk which eventually led to upheaval in Poland in the 1980s The coverage also discusses the adverse incidents under his leadership For example it mentions a number of incidents of East Germans infiltrating the West German government particularly intelligence agencies on Gen Wessel s watch 2 Wessel was born in the Holstein city of Neumuenster his father was an Evangelical pastor Gerhard Wessel joined the army in 1932 He died in Pullach References edit Archives L A Times 2002 08 03 Gerhard Wessel 88 Did Espionage Work for Hitler West Germany Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2023 03 15 GERHARD WESSEL 88 Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2023 03 15 Literature edit All books in German Albrecht Charisius Julius Mader Nicht langer geheim Entwicklung System und Arbeitsweise des imperialistischen deutschen Geheimdienstes Deutscher Militarverlag Berlin 1969 4 uberarbeitete und erganzte Auflage Militarverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik Berlin 1980 James H Critchfield Auftrag Pullach Die Organisation Gehlen 1948 1956 Mittler Berlin u a 2005 ISBN 3 8132 0848 6 Helmut Roewer Stefan Schafer Matthias Uhl Lexikon der Geheimdienste im 20 Jahrhundert Herbig Munchen 2003 ISBN 3 7766 2317 9 Government offices Preceded byReinhard Gehlen President of the Federal Intelligence Bureau1968 1978 Succeeded byKlaus Kinkel nbsp nbsp This German biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerhard Wessel amp oldid 1144771194, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
