31 Facts About Fritz Kolbe

Fritz Kolbe was a German diplomat who became a spy against the Nazis in World War II.

Fritz Kolbe was conscripted into the German army as a civilian worker in October 1917.

Fritz Kolbe was assigned to a telegraph unit and then an engineer battalion between August 1918 and the end of the year.

Fritz Kolbe became the youngest stationmaster for the railway after he passed a civil service exam in 1922.

Interested in traveling outside of Germany, Fritz Kolbe passed the foreign service examinations in 1925.

Fritz Kolbe was employed by the German foreign ministry in March 1925 as a clerk.

Fritz Kolbe then worked for Rudolph Leitner and, with him, was posted in the Cape Town German consulate in 1937.

Fritz Kolbe nearly quadrupled the size of the foreign ministry to over 10,000 workers.

Meanwhile, by diligence and skill, Fritz Kolbe had earned the trust of the people to whom he reported.

Fritz Kolbe was given positions of increasing responsibility in the Foreign Office.

In 1941, Fritz Kolbe was assigned, partly due to his brusque manner and intellect, to Karl Ritter who served in the Foreign Office as a liaison with the military.

Reports from foreign diplomats and up to 120 cables daily from German consulates and embassies were directed to Berlin for Ritter; Fritz Kolbe's duty was to read them all and relay important ones on to Ritter.

Fritz Kolbe reviewed and summarized news articles from the foreign press.

Fritz Kolbe realized that his activities were likely under surveillance, given the importance of the work and the fact that Fritz Kolbe still would not join the Nazi party.

Fritz Kolbe was influenced by surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch and around November 1941, became determined to actively help defeat the Nazis.

Fritz Kolbe sought diplomatic assignments outside of Germany, one of which was consul general at Stavanger, Norway, but was unsuccessful because he would not join the Nazi party.

Fritz Kolbe passed information gleaned from cables to the French Resistance, particularly when it could save someone's life or prevent an arrest, as in the case of Cardinal Gerlier.

Fritz Kolbe collaborated with Dr Adolphe Jung for Free France, using Jung's office to process Foreign Office documents and providing information to Jung who relayed it to the French Resistance.

Fritz Kolbe informed the British about a spy who was providing intelligence via the German embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.

Fritz Kolbe's reporting on the mood in Berlin and character analysis was particularly prized by the Americans, according to James Srodes, author of Allen Dulles: Master of Spies.

Fritz Kolbe was described by the Central Intelligence Agency as the most important spy of the war.

Fritz Kolbe married a woman named Anita in 1925 and in March 1932 the couple had a son.

Fritz Kolbe's wife died in Berlin in late 1936 or June 1937.

Fritz Kolbe married Lita Schoop from Zurich in her homeland in late 1937.

Fritz Kolbe sought to divorce his wife at that time.

In 1949, Fritz Kolbe tried to settle in the US, but could not find suitable work.

Fritz Kolbe finally found a living as a representative of an American power-saw manufacturer.

Fritz Kolbe is buried in Berlin at the Luisenkirchhof III cemetery.

West states that the value of Fritz Kolbe's information had been exaggerated, as it merely confirmed intelligence already gathered by MI5, or even unwittingly jeopardized operations such as ULTRA and TRIPLEX, of which Dulles would have been largely ignorant.

Since the British turned down Fritz Kolbe's offer and the Americans did not, it is unlikely the two sides will agree on his importance.

Fritz Kolbe's work was officially recognized by the Foreign Office of the German Federal Republic when a hall bearing his name was inaugurated in the ministry in 2004.