The Secret Life of Communist Richard Sorge, Hitler’s Nemesis and the World’s Greatest Spy
One man put a stop to Hitler’s march across Europe: not Stalin, Churchill, or Roosevelt, but a German Communist called Richard Sorge. Sorge was a real-life spy whose exploits surpassed any fictional creation, and one of the twentieth century’s great heroes.
German Communist Richard Sorge, who spent nearly a decade in Tokyo posing as a Nazi to infiltrate Japan’s ruling circles, in Japan around 1938. (Photo by ullstein bild via Getty Images)
For two years between 1939 and 1941, the Wehrmacht swept triumphantly across the capitals of Europe, from Warsaw to Brussels, Copenhagen to Belgrade. The English Channel and the fighters of the Royal Air Force kept German soldiers out of London, but Hitler could pose triumphantly for a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower and ponder razing Paris to the ground. Soon afterward, his troops hoisted the swastika over the Acropolis.
The Nazi conquest of the Balkans cleared the way for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. In its early stages, the campaign was devastatingly successful, engulfing the western districts of the Soviet Union and reducing the people who lived there to slavery. German armies marched through Kiev and Minsk and placed Leningrad under siege. In the autumn, their commanders launched an offensive that was supposed to capture Moscow, the greatest prize of all.
For Hitler, Moscow was the world capital of his “Judeo-Bolshevik” enemy. The idea of a victory parade through Red Square was intoxicating for the Nazi leadership. With German troops now within striking distance, there was a panicky mood in the Soviet government. Stalin seriously considered evacuating the city, before deciding to hold the line. He appointed a new commander, Georgi Zhukov, to coordinate Moscow’s defense.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.