Seventeen Moments of Gurevich
Once I saw on TV in a program Newsas an elderly man, a general handed a document on rehabilitation. Out of journalistic habit, she wrote: “Anatoly Markovich Gurevich, the last of the surviving participants of the Red Chapel. He lives in St. Petersburg. ” Soon I went there to track down Anatoly Gurevich.It turned out, it is not easy. At the information booth, I was told that according to the new rules, I must first ask if Gurevich agrees to give his address to a stranger. My business trip seemed to fail.
And then I called the organization “Children of besieged Leningrad”: I always came to them when I came to the Northern capital. Talked about her search. And suddenly in this organization they told me: “And we know him well. He spoke with us. Write down the phone number and address. ”
The next day I went to him. The door was opened to me by an elderly person, in the smile and gestures of which one could feel the ability to attract people to him. He invited me to his office. Every day I came to him, and our conversation continued until the evening. His story was surprisingly frank and trusting. And his wife, caring Lidia Vasilyevna, when she saw that he was tired, interrupted us, inviting us to the table.
... Anatoly Gurevich studied in Leningrad at the Institute "Intourist". Preparing to become a guide, I studied German, French, Spanish. He was a prominent student at the institute. He played in the amateur theater, learned to shoot in the dash and led the team MUPO. From a young age, the breadth of interests, the willingness to endure large overloads appeared in him. In 1937, Gurevich volunteered to leave for Spain, where there was a civil war. Becomes a translator at the headquarters of international teams. When he returned to the USSR, he was offered to join the military intelligence service. He was trained as a radio operator and cryptographer. In the Lenin Library, he studied Uruguayan newspapers, the street plan of the capital of Uruguay, its attractions. Before he hit the road, the Main Intelligence Directorate had a lot of brains about confusing his tracks. First, as a Mexican artist, he will travel to Helsinki. Then to Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Paris.
On the outskirts of Paris, he meets with a Soviet intelligence officer. He gives him a Mexican passport and in return receives a Uruguayan in the name of Vincente Sierra. So in the coming years, Gurevich will become a Uruguayan ...
Many paradoxical stories are connected with intelligence. One of them: the Soviet intelligence center never created an organization called "The Red Chapel".
Even before the war, scattered reconnaissance groups appeared in different countries of Europe - in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, each of which worked independently. At a powerful German radio interception station found the work of several radio stations. Not knowing how to penetrate the secret of the cipher, the German experts neatly recorded each radiogram, put them in a special folder, on which was written: "The Red Chapel". So this name was born in the depths of the Abwehr and remained in stories World War II.
Gurevich arrives in Brussels. Here he meets with Soviet intelligence officer Leopold Trepper. They meet each other, holding magazines with bright covers. Trepper transmits "Uruguayan" Kent information about the Brussels reconnaissance group, which he had previously created. Kent becomes the head of a reconnaissance group in Belgium.
Gurevich has such a “legend”: he is the son of wealthy Uruguayan businessmen who have recently died, leaving him a substantial legacy. Now he can travel the world. Gurevich settled in a quiet guesthouse, surrounded by flower beds. Here he liked the good-natured hostess and exquisite cuisine. But once you have to urgently leave the usual place. The hostess informed him that one of the rooms was booked by a businessman from Uruguay. Gurevich realized that failure awaited him. In the morning, under the specious pretext, he leaves the guesthouse.
As befits a wealthy person, he rents a spacious apartment in the center of Brussels. These days Gurevich, he recalls a man who was thrown into a river, barely taught to swim. However, we must pay tribute to his natural mind. Living into someone else's image, he tries to remain himself. What was Gurevich busy in Leningrad? He constantly studied. He decided to become a student in Brussels, goes to school, which was called "For the elect." Here children of government officials of senior officers, big businessmen are trained. In this school, Gurevich is busy learning languages. Communicating with students, he learns a lot of valuable things that interest Soviet intelligence. According to the "legend", Gurevich came to Brussels to do business, so he goes to study at a commercial institute.
In March, 1940, Gurevich receives an encryption from Moscow. He needs to go to Geneva and meet with Soviet intelligence officer Shandor Rado. It was necessary to find out why the connection with him had ceased. Nobody knew, maybe Rado was arrested, and Gurevich would fall into the trap.
“I was given only an address, a name and a password,” said Anatoly Markovich. - Arriving in Geneva, I allegedly accidentally came to the street, which was indicated in the encryption. Began to watch the house. I noticed that people often left the door with rolls of geographical maps. Here was a shop. I called Shandora Rado, and soon we met. Sandor Rado was a geographer scientist. He was a staunch anti-fascist. He began to help Soviet intelligence voluntarily. In Geneva, under his leadership, worked radio stations that broadcast messages to Moscow.
Gurevich taught Shandor Radu a new cipher, handed him a radio communication program. Subsequently, Sandor Rado wrote about this meeting: “Kent gave instructions in detailed and sensible ways. He really knew his stuff. ”
Even if Gurevich could not have done anything significant anymore, this successful trip to Geneva and his meeting with Sandor Rado would have been worthy of going down in military intelligence history.
The cipher that he gave to the Geneva Resistance Group was used for four years. Shandor Rado delivered hundreds of radiograms to Moscow. Many of them were so valuable that they allegedly fell to the intelligence officers from the very headquarters of Hitler. Geneva in those days took many immigrants from Germany, including those who understood that Hitler was leading the country to death. Among them were people from high circles of Germany, who possessed extensive information, they also had friends in Berlin who shared their views. Valuable information flowed to Geneva.
Gurevich rents a villa in the suburb of Brussels on the street Atrebat. The radio operator Mikhail Makarov, who arrived from Moscow, lives here. On the passport, he is also a Uruguayan. In this group, another experienced radio operator - Kaminsky. Here is Sophie Poznanska, who is prepared as a cryptographer. Neighbors are unhappy that the villa often has music in the evenings. So the underground workers were trying to drown out the sounds of Morsech.
Gurevich shows a rare skill - he finds a way out in the most difficult situations. He needs money to maintain a villa with underground workers, and he himself has a luxurious apartment.
Gurevich decides to become a real businessman to earn money for exploration.
In the same house with him live millionaires Zingers. He often visited them in the evenings - playing cards, listening to music. Margaret Zinger's daughter is especially pleased with his arrival. Young people are clearly sympathetic to each other. Singers are going to leave for the USA, since the war is already on the threshold of Belgium. Gurevich repeatedly told Zingers about his dream - to open his company. Singers come to help him. They will give him the premises, as well as their business contacts. They ask him to patronize Margaret because she refuses to go with her parents. Soon in the press there is a message about the opening of the company Simeksko. Gurevich becomes its president. He opens branches in other cities. Margaret as a hostess invites guests. Gurevich and Margaret live in a civil marriage.
This solid company receives orders from the Quartermaster Service of the Wehrmacht. Gurevich folded an incredible combination. The German military transferred money to the account Simeksko, which go to the maintenance of the Soviet reconnaissance group.
If you would create a series dedicated to Gurevich, it could be called “Seventeen Moments of Victory”. Of course, he was lucky, but he himself showed rare resourcefulness.
Gurevich gets a new challenging and dangerous task. He needs to get to Berlin and meet with the German members of the Resistance. A radiogram to Kent was sent in August 1941 of the year. Anxious time in Moscow. In drawing up the radiogram that Kent received, an oversight was made that would lead to a terrible tragedy, at the end of which the executioner, rope loop and guillotine in a dark dungeon appear ... Composing the radiogram to Kent, in the Intelligence Center at Lubyanka they indicated the real addresses of Berlin underground fighters, passwords, surnames and phone numbers.
Gurevich recalled: “I arrived in Berlin by train and went to look for one of the addresses. He knew only the name and surname - Harro Schulze-Boysen. Who is this person, I certainly did not know. Going upstairs, I read the inscriptions on the copper door plates. I was extremely surprised - the generals and admirals lived in the house. I thought there was some kind of mistake. An underground worker cannot live in such a house. Decided to call from the phone booth. A woman’s voice answered me: “Now I’ll come to you.” A beautiful woman came out of the house. It was Schulze-Boysen's wife. Her name was Libertas. In a lively conversation, I gave her the password. Libertas said her husband went on a business trip. But in the evening I must return. She asked me not to call again. I felt my accent. I realized that Libertas was in the know about her husband. She made me a meeting: "Tomorrow my husband, Harro, will approach the subway near your hotel."
The next day at the appointed time I was standing near the subway. Suddenly I saw a German officer heading towards me. Frankly, I was creepy. I thought that now I would go to the Gestapo. But coming to me, the officer called the password. It was Harro Schulze-Boysen. To my surprise, he invited me to visit. In his office I saw books in various languages, including Russian.
“That evening, my surprise knew no bounds. Harro Schulze-Boysen put a bottle of Russian vodka on the table. He raised a toast to the victory of the Red Army. And this is in Berlin, in those days when the Wehrmacht’s troops were on the outskirts of Moscow. ”
Gurevich took out a notebook and, with sympathetic (invisible) ink, began to write down strategically important information that Schulze-Boysen had informed him. Here for the first time the name of the city was sounded - Stalingrad, where the grandiose battle would unfold, which would be called the sunset of Hitler’s military power. Schulze-Boyzen announced the plans of the Hitlerite command for 1942 year. The main blow will be applied in the south. The purpose of the operation is to cut the Volga and capture the oil-bearing areas of the Caucasus. German armed forces are experiencing an acute shortage of gasoline. In his notebook, Gurevich also records information about how many and at which factories in Germany combat aircraft are produced. On the German aircraft have not yet installed devices for the conduct of chemical warfare. However, in warehouses there is a large amount of toxic substances. And another important message: in the city of Petsamo, German intelligence during the offensive seized the safe with the diplomatic code of the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. Radiograms that are sent through diplomatic channels are not a secret to the German leadership. Schulze-Boyzen also said where Hitler’s headquarters is in East Prussia.
Who was he, Harro Schulze-Boysen, and how did he come to help the Soviet intelligence? At the beginning of 30, he studied at the University of Berlin. In those days, political debates about the future of the country raged here. Harro Schulze-Boyzen together with his friends began to publish a magazine called Opponent. The magazine provided a platform for students of various views. There was no place on its pages for the fascists.
Schulze-Boysen grew up in a family that was proud of its pedigree. Harro was the grand-nephew of Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, who was the founder of the German military fleet. He was named after the heavy-duty battleship, which was not equal during the war years. Harro grew up an independent and courageous person. After Hitler came to power, the Gestapo drew attention to the student journal "Opponent", officers in black uniform appeared in the editorial office. They arrested Harro Schulze-Boysen and his friend Henry Erlander. The Gestapo decided to severely torture them. In the courtyard of the prison, executioners with rubber truncheons lined up in two rows. Henry Erlander was dragged out of the chamber. He was thrown through the ranks. Two dozen young men beat him from two sides with a mocking laugh: “Give him more boots! It seems to him not enough! ” In front of Harro, his friend was beaten to death.
Harro's mother bothered about the fate of her son. Unlike Harro, she was a staunch fascist. Among her friends was Hermann Goering, who was called "the second after Hitler."
Harro's mother turned to him. Goering promised to help her. Harro was released from prison. However, while still in the cell, he vowed to avenge the death of a friend. He realized that his country fell into the hands of cruel and treacherous punishers. When the war began, his sympathies turned to the USSR. He believed that the Red Army would free his homeland from the brown plague. Goering, at the request of his mother, took Harro to work in the Ministry of Military aviationled by. Harro read many documents that constituted state secrets. He established contact with Soviet intelligence through his friend Arvid Harnak, who worked in the Ministry of Economics. In the 30s, Arvid Harnak came to the USSR as part of a delegation that studied the planned economy. Harnack has visited many cities and construction sites of the Soviet Union. He did not hide his anti-fascist views and sympathies for the Soviet country. During the trip, Soviet intelligence drew attention to him. So there were passwords, secret meetings, and then a radio transmitter.
Subsequently, Harnak and Schulze-Boysen met and became friends. Risking their lives, these two gathered information for Soviet intelligence, they became the center of the Berlin group of anti-fascists, who considered it their duty to fight the Hitler regime.
Gurevich returns to Brussels and goes to work. The allegedly blank pages of a notebook come to life under the influence of reagents, and Kent sends the encryption to the intelligence center one by one. He transmits part of the texts to the radio operator Makarov. Transmitters in Brussels operate on 5-6 hours, which was unacceptable from a security point of view. The scouts understood this, but courageously fulfilled their military duty. They did not know that these days a car with a powerful direction finder is driving around the streets of Brussels - “a miracle of technology,” as German officers called it. Once in the suburb of Brussels on the street Atrebat, German radio operators caught the signals of a radio transmitter. They were able to determine the house where the sounds of radio communications came from. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, Makarov managed to throw the encryption into the fireplace. He was arrested and shoved into a car. Radio operator David Kaminsky jumped out of the window, but fell, wounded, on the street. The Gestapo men arrested him, as well as the cipherwoman Sophie Poznanskaya and the owner of the villa Rita Arnu. It happened on the night of December 13 1941.
In the morning, Leopold Trepper, who had come from Paris, knocked on the door of the villa. He saw furniture turned upside down, mistress mistress Arnu. Leopold Trepper stated that he confused the address. His documents were in order, and he was released. On the phone, he informed Kent about the pogrom in the villa. “I shouted at him,” Gurevich said. - He violated all the rules of conspiracy. Leopold went to Paris. I also had to urgently hide. But what about Margaret? She knew nothing about my secret life. I told her that my countrymen were caught in speculation. The police will, perhaps, check the affairs of all Hispanics. Therefore, I had better leave. She tearfully asked to take her with her. We got to Paris, and then to Marseille, which was located in the unoccupied part of France. In this city I prudently opened a branch of my company, Simexco. The firm brought in the income, and we conducted a habitual way of life. They lived here for almost a year. ”
Further secrets and different versions begin. Who issued the addresses of the underground workers and the cipher they used? Anatoly Gurevich believed that the cipher was issued by one of the radio operators, unable to withstand the torture.
French writer Gilles Perrot found a German officer who made arrests in a villa in Brussels. He said that the owner of the villa remembered the name of the book, which was always lying on the table of its guests. Gestapo men found a book with booksellers in Paris. This book served as the basis for discovering the secret of the cipher. German experts began to read the radiograms accumulated in the Red Chapel folder. It was the turn of the encryption, in which the names and addresses of the Berlin underground workers were indicated. Harro Schulze-Boyzen was arrested at work. His wife Libertas was detained at the station, she tried to leave. Arvid Harnak and his wife were arrested.
“Harro Schulze-Boyzen and his friends were real heroes. People like them helped save many lives of our soldiers, ”said Anatoly Gurevich about the underground workers.
In November 1942, Gurevich and his wife Margaret were arrested. Only during interrogations did Margaret learn that she fell in love with a Soviet intelligence officer.
Gurevich was able to prove that she was not involved in his affairs. In the chamber he learns that he has fallen into a trap. Encryption sent to Moscow Intelligence Center on his behalf. At the same time, he allegedly reports that he is at large and continues to conduct reconnaissance. In desperation, Gurevich decides to join the radio game that the Abwehr has started. He hopes - in some clever way he can convey that he has been arrested and is working under control. And he over time succeeded.
Gurevich was able to establish a special relationship with the officer of the Abwehr Pannwitz, who conducted the affairs of the Red Chapel. He knew that Pannvits was involved in a punitive operation against the Czech village of Lidice, which was swept off the face of the earth. English paratroopers also died there. With all the audacity of the discouraged, Gurevich told Pannwitz that he was concerned about his fate. He can not be captured by the allies. The British will not forgive him for the death of their parachutists. What was left for him? Surrender to the Soviet troops. The story may seem incredible, but Pannwitz will indeed be in Moscow. Without previous control, Pannwitz looked at Kent's work. And he managed to convey a hidden message that he was under arrest.
Gurevich found out about the death of Harro Schulze-Boysen. Once he was the first to announce that the Wehrmacht would advance in the south. He will not have time to learn about our victory in Stalingrad.
He will be led to execution in December 1942 of the year, on those very days when the divisions of the Red Army were squeezing the ring around the surrounded Nazi troops. Arvid Harnak was executed with him. A terrible execution was expected Libertas. On the guillotine, they cut off her head. Hilnak's wife, Mildred, and all the women members of the Red Chapel perished on the guillotine. In total, more than 100 people were executed. Some are hanged, others are shot.
... Kent, along with Pannwitz, his secretary Kempka and the German radio operator Stoluka, travels to Austria. Pannwitz informs Gurevich that in a concentration camp his wife Margaret gave birth to a son. Pannwitz was tasked with setting up bases in Austria for those who would fight after the defeat of Germany. But now everyone is concerned about their salvation. In essence, Kent commands the actions of the group. Around the house where they took refuge, shots and commands are heard in French. Kent and in this situation does not lose self-control. He goes out on the porch and shouts in French: “I am a Soviet officer! We are performing a Soviet intelligence mission! ”
At his request, they are taken to Paris. Gurevich comes to the Soviet consulate. Explains that he would like to deliver his jailer Pannwitz to Moscow. In June, 1945, Gurevich and the German group are sent by plane to Moscow. “I wanted to drive through Red Square. Dreamed about it, - said Anatoly Markovich. “I had a backpack full of documents from the Red Chapel.” They will help you figure it out. ” But the car turned to the building of the NKVD.
A quick court issued a resolution to Gurevich: 20 years of forced labor camps under the clause - treason against the Motherland. He worked in Vorkuta on the construction of mines.
In the 1955, under an amnesty, he was released. But he was not granted amnesty. He began to write to high authorities, seeking amnesty. And someone, having read his letter, was indignant: “He still writes!”
On the train, Gurevich met a pretty girl, Lida Kruglova. In those days when they are preparing for their honeymoon, an order is issued for his new arrest. He was sent to the Mordovian camp. His bride instead of a wedding dress will put on a padded jacket and go to see the prisoner Gurevich. Wait for his release. For the rest of his life, he will call her his guardian angel. She was a man of rare kindness.
Still, Gurevich will achieve his full rehabilitation. The stamp of the traitor will be removed from his name. The archive will find a document that confirmed that Gurevich said to Moscow that he was working under control. The intelligence center approved his radio game. He lived a long life. Anatoly Markovich Gurevich died in the 2009 year, he was 95 years old.
... When I was in St. Petersburg, I always went to Gurevich. I was struck by his benevolence. Having survived so many dangers and injustices, Anatoly Markovich did not become angry, he retained an enlightened smile and humor. His positivity is also one of the victories he has gained in his life.
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