Spying is an ancient and special profession. It is precisely because of its specialness that it is mysterious. It is precisely because of its mystery that people are more interested in understanding. This is also an important reason why spy dramas continue to become popular.
In recent years, there have been many domestic spy dramas, which have aroused people's fanatical pursuit. Whether it is "Latent", "The Pretender", or "Before the Dawn" and "Kite", its male protagonist is bold, witty, calm, cautious and introverted, and a person's free transition between multiple identities impresses the audience. In particular, the story of Ming Lou in "The Pretender", who is also a fake agent, a "viper" and a "cobra", lurking in the enemy forces and serving the anti-Japanese forces, makes people shoot the case.
There are also many well-known spies in the world, such as Doctor Spy - Sorge, Oriental Witch - Yoshiko Kawashima, Smiley Tiger - Wulf, Spy Prince - Philby, and so on. Today, we're going to talk about Dr. Spy Sorge, a man who has been hailed as the "most daring spy."
Before telling the story, let's take a look at Sorge's resume.
Born in October 1895, German, the father is a German engineer, the mother is Russian; during high school, he voluntarily signed up for the First World War, and was assigned to the student brigade of the German Third Field Artillery Regiment, fighting the French and Russians successively. During the war, both of Sorge's legs were discounted by shrapnel, leaving him with a permanent disability. For his bravery in battle, he was promoted to non-commissioned officer and awarded the Iron Cross of the Second Class.
Zorg on the stamp
This is what Sorge experienced as a teenager. From this, we can see that Sorge was born into a transnational family with good family conditions, his father was an engineer, and he received a good education from an early age. What is even more remarkable is that the young Sorge volunteered to join the army and was very brave in the war. This is not something that the average student can do. Why would he be the "most daring spy"? Here we can see why.
Sorge was wounded and sent to the University Hospital of Königsberg to recuperate, and soon Germany surrendered and World War I ended. It was during this time that Sorge's thinking underwent a revolutionary shift and became an important starting point for him to embark on the path of espionage.
German soldiers in World War I
Although Honorably was wounded, he was honored. Sorge said: "Although we are desperate on the battlefield, none of my soldiers and friends understand the real purpose of war, let alone its far-reaching significance." His mind was in utter confusion. He meditated, constantly looking back, tracing every detail of his life experience, and exploring his career in a daze, but often falling into a contradictory situation.
It was then that he came into contact with communist ideas and began to read extensively classics about communism and the works of Hegel. His mind suddenly opened up, and he felt that his path was getting wider and wider. From then on, he gradually became a self-conscious communist fighter.
Map of the Soviet Union
Let's look at his next resume: in 1916 he studied economics at the University of Berlin; in 1918, he studied at the University of Kiel, where he studied for a doctorate in state law and society. He joined the German Communist Party in 1919. In 1924, he came to the Soviet Union and worked in Soviet institutions and wrote many books on international relations. In 1925 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Soviet citizenship. In 1929, he joined the 4th Bureau of the General Headquarters of the Red Army, and his main job was to collect information on the workers' movement and political and economic issues in various countries, and to deal with and contact the party affairs of the Communist Parties of various countries.
Thus, Sorge completed the great transformation from a German soldier to a Soviet agent, and began his more legendary life.
Logo of the KGB, a Soviet spy agency
After joining the 4th Bureau of the General Command of the Red Army, Sorge began to emerge as a good agent by relying on his courage and wisdom. He had two very arrogant credoes: not to pry the safe, but the documents were delivered voluntarily; not to break into the chamber with a gun, but the door was automatically opened for him.
In 1932, Sorge was sent to Japan. He appeared as a special correspondent for the French newspaper Frankfurter Eberde in Tokyo, and soon got into a fight with Ott, a diplomat at the German Embassy in Japan. Since Germany and Japan were allies, and Sorge had joined the German Nazi Party, the Japanese regarded Sorge as a trustworthy person and were very kind to him.
Soon, Sorge formed a spy group called "Ramza" and successfully developed into an international spy organization of 39 people. Even Hidemito Ozaki, an adviser and personal secretary to Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, was developed into a member of the organization. With his unique intelligence and excellent abilities, Sorge obtained a lot of important intelligence from Japan and predicted two major events to the Soviet Union.
Germany attacked the Soviet Union
The first was that Sorge had predicted on intelligence that Germany would attack the Soviet Union on a large scale, and would later thoroughly ascertain the situation, informing Moscow by radio that Germany would attack the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, with a strength of 170-190 divisions. However, this important piece of information did not attract Stalin's attention, which eventually led to the soviet union's crushing defeat in the early stages of the war.
Soviet tanks
The second was in mid-October 1941, when Sorge reported to Moscow that Relations between Japan and the United States were so tense that it was impossible for Japan to go to war with the Soviet Union within a few weeks. Stalin attached great importance to it, and quickly transferred about 250,000 men from 11 infantry divisions to be used to deal with the Japanese offensive from the Eastern Front to fight on the Western Front, containing the German army under the city of Moscow.
It is precisely because of his excellent talent and accurate prediction and analysis ability that Sorge is known as the "Spy King of World War II". If it weren't for the arrest of Hidemi Ozaki, a member of the "Ramza" spy team, Sorge could have done another miracle.
Sorge in the film and television drama
In October 1941, Hidemichi Ozaki was arrested. Sorge is warned that the secret police are approaching him, and he decides to leave with the Japanese lover he met at a local bar. However, a small mistake cost him dearly. Instead of burning the note warning him, he threw it on the side of the road. The police officer who followed him quickly picked up the note that served as evidence of his crime and quickly arrested him.
Three years later, on the eve of Japan's defeat, Sorge was secretly hanged in Tokyo at the age of 49.