Otto John
Encyclopedia
Otto John was the first head of the West German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution from 1950 to 1954. He is best known for his controversial move to East Germany in 1954, which has been interpreted as treason or an abduction.
and married Lucie Manén in 1949.
John was involved in the plot of 20 July, 1944
to assassinate Adolf Hitler
, for which his brother, Hans
, was executed.
At the time, he worked as a lawyer at the Deutsche Lufthansa
legal office in Madrid
and used contacts he had made with British intelligence to escape to England and avoid certain execution. In England he worked for the BBC
German Language Service.
After the war, he helped British authorities to categorise the degree of Nazi ideology of German wartime leaders and appeared as a witness during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. During the trial of Erich von Manstein he worked as an interpreter.
On 4 December 1950 he was appointed president of the West German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). His appointment went against the will of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
but was supported by British officials.
On 20 July 1954, after a ceremony remembering the conspirators of 1944, he disappeared. He reappeared three days later in East Berlin, stating that he had decided to move to East Germany and criticizing Adenauer's policies of remilitarisation and integration into the Western world, which in his view hampered German reunification
. He also criticized the appointment of former Nazis to high offices, such as Theodor Oberländer
and Reinhard Gehlen
.
From August to December he was interrogated by the KGB
in Moscow before he returned to East Berlin
, where he resumed his criticism of West Germany
as a speaker. During that time he was surveilled by the Staatssicherheit
.
On 12 December 1955, John again defected to West Germany where he was instantly arrested. He now claimed that his move to East Berlin was not voluntary but that he was abducted by the KGB
. As his explanations were not believed, he was charged with treason and sentenced to four years' imprisonment but was released on 28 July 1958.
He died in 1997, at an Innsbruck
sanatorium
, after years of trying to get rehabilitation for his treason conviction.
Life
Otto John was born in MarburgMarburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
and married Lucie Manén in 1949.
John was involved in the plot of 20 July, 1944
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
to assassinate Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, for which his brother, Hans
Hans John
Hans John was a German lawyer and World War II resistance figure.Hans John was born in Ziegenhain, Hesse, and studied law at the University of Berlin. In 1939, he was hired as a legal assistant at the Aviation Law Institute in Berlin...
, was executed.
At the time, he worked as a lawyer at the Deutsche Lufthansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
legal office in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and used contacts he had made with British intelligence to escape to England and avoid certain execution. In England he worked for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
German Language Service.
After the war, he helped British authorities to categorise the degree of Nazi ideology of German wartime leaders and appeared as a witness during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. During the trial of Erich von Manstein he worked as an interpreter.
On 4 December 1950 he was appointed president of the West German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz). His appointment went against the will of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
but was supported by British officials.
On 20 July 1954, after a ceremony remembering the conspirators of 1944, he disappeared. He reappeared three days later in East Berlin, stating that he had decided to move to East Germany and criticizing Adenauer's policies of remilitarisation and integration into the Western world, which in his view hampered German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. He also criticized the appointment of former Nazis to high offices, such as Theodor Oberländer
Theodor Oberländer
Theodor Oberländer was an Ostforschung scientist, Nazi officer and German politician. Before Second World War he devised plans aimed against Jewish and Polish population in territories that were to be conquered by Nazi Germany...
and Reinhard Gehlen
Reinhard Gehlen
Reinhard Gehlen was a General in the German Army during World War II, who served as chief of intelligence-gathering on the Eastern Front. After the war, he was recruited by the United States military to set up a spy ring directed against the Soviet Union , and eventually became head of the West...
.
From August to December he was interrogated by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
in Moscow before he returned to East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
, where he resumed his criticism of West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
as a speaker. During that time he was surveilled by the Staatssicherheit
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
.
On 12 December 1955, John again defected to West Germany where he was instantly arrested. He now claimed that his move to East Berlin was not voluntary but that he was abducted by the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. As his explanations were not believed, he was charged with treason and sentenced to four years' imprisonment but was released on 28 July 1958.
He died in 1997, at an Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
, after years of trying to get rehabilitation for his treason conviction.
External links
- The Man with 1,000 Secrets Time Magazine, August 2, 1954.