Markus Wolf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Markus Wolf |
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| Mischa | |
Wolf in 1989
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| Allegiance | East Germany |
| Service | General Intelligence Administration (Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung) |
| Active | 1951–1986 |
| Rank | Colonel general |
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| Birth name | Markus Johannes Wolf |
| Born | 19 January 1923 Hechingen, Province of Hohenzollern, German Reich |
| Died | 9 November 2006 (aged 83) Berlin, Germany |
| Buried | Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Moscow Aviation Institute |
| Signature |  |
Markus Johannes Wolf (born January 19, 1923 – died November 9, 2006) was a very important person in East Germany. People also knew him as Mischa. He led the foreign intelligence part of East Germany's Ministry for State Security. This ministry was often called the Stasi.
Wolf was the second most powerful person in the Stasi for 34 years. This time covered most of the Cold War. Many people think he was one of the most famous spymasters during that period. In Western countries, he was known as "the man without a face" because he was so good at staying hidden.
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Early Life and School
Markus Wolf was born on January 19, 1923, in Hechingen, Germany. His father, Friedrich Wolf, was a writer and a communist. His mother was Else Wolf. Markus also had a brother named Konrad Wolf, who became a film director.
In 1933, the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. They were against communists and Jewish people. Because his father was Jewish and a communist, Markus and his family moved away. They went to Moscow, Russia, in 1934.
While in Moscow, Markus went to a German school and then a Russian school. When he was 13, he also became a citizen of the Soviet Union. This meant he was a citizen of three countries: Germany, the Soviet Union, and later, East Germany.
Career as a Spy Chief
After school, Wolf studied at the Moscow Institute of Airplane Engineering. In 1942, he joined the Communist International, a group that prepared people for secret work. He also worked as a newsreader on the radio.
After World War II, Wolf went to Berlin. He worked as a journalist for a radio station in the area controlled by the Soviet Union. He even reported from the Nuremberg trials, where important Nazi leaders were judged. From 1949 to 1951, he worked at the East German embassy in the Soviet Union. In 1951, he joined the Stasi.
Leading the Stasi's Foreign Spies
In December 1952, when he was only 29, Markus Wolf helped start the foreign intelligence service within the Stasi. This group was called the Main Directorate for Reconnaissance. As the head of this intelligence group, he was very successful. His spies managed to get into the government and businesses of West Germany.
One of his most famous spies was Günter Guillaume. Guillaume worked as a close helper to the West German leader, Willy Brandt. When Guillaume was found out to be an East German spy, it caused Brandt to resign in 1974.
For many years, Western spy agencies did not know what Markus Wolf looked like. This is why he was called "the man without a face." In 1978, a Swedish security service finally took a picture of him during a visit to Stockholm, Sweden. Later, an East German who had left the country, Werner Stiller, confirmed that the man in the picture was indeed Markus Wolf.
Retirement and Later Life
Markus Wolf retired in 1986. He was replaced by Werner Grossmann. After retiring, Wolf continued writing a book called Troika. It was about his childhood in Moscow.
In 1989, East Germany was going through big changes. Wolf spoke at a large protest in Berlin called the Alexanderplatz demonstration. The crowd had mixed feelings about him. Some people cheered, while others booed.
In September 1990, just before East and West Germany became one country again, Wolf left Germany. He tried to find safety in Russia and Austria. But when he was not allowed to stay, he returned to Germany. German police then arrested him. Wolf said that the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had offered him a lot of money and a new identity if he would move to the United States, but he refused.
Wolf faced some legal troubles in Germany. In 1993, a court found him guilty of a serious charge. However, a higher court later said that the ruling was not valid because East and West Germany were separate countries at the time of his actions. In 1997, he was found guilty of other less serious charges and received a suspended sentence.
Markus Wolf passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Berlin on November 9, 2006. He was buried next to his brother in Berlin's Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery.
Markus Wolf in Books
Some people thought that Markus Wolf was the inspiration for a spy character named Karla in books by a famous writer named John le Carré. These books include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. However, John le Carré has always said that this is not true. He even said he didn't know who Markus Wolf was when he wrote his earlier books.
Interestingly, Wolf himself said that one of le Carré's books, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, was very accurate about how East German spy services worked. He wondered if le Carré had special information.
Markus Wolf also appears as a character in the novel The Deceiver by Frederick Forsyth. Forsyth also mentions Wolf in another book, The Fourth Protocol.
Family Life
Markus Wolf was married three times. His first wife was Emmy Stenzer. His second wife was Christa Heinrich. His third wife was Andrea Stingl.
He had two daughters, Tanja Trögel and Claudia Wall, and a son named Franz Wolf. His daughter Tanja Trögel continues to be involved in activities related to her family's history. She is the director of the Friedrich Wolf Memorial, which honors Markus's father.
His stepdaughter, Claudia Wall, was married to Hans Wall, who started a company that makes outdoor furniture. His son, Franz Wolf, works as a manager for a group of companies.
See also
In Spanish: Markus Wolf para niños
