Wilhelm Stieber
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Johann Carl Eduard Stieber (3 May 1818 – January 29, 1882) was Otto von Bismarck
's master spy
and director of the Prussian
Feldgendarmerie
. Stieber was both an agent of domestic surveillance
and an external agent. Along with Joseph Fouché
, he invented modern information gathering.
According to his questionable memoirs (see discussion page regarding "The Chancellor's Spy"), Stieber was born in Merseburg
, Prussian Saxony
. His parents were Hypolith Stieber, a minor government official who later entered the Lutheran ministry, and Daisy Cromwell, an English noblewoman. He began studying German law at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin
against the wishes of his father, who desired a career for him in the Prussian Church.
He was then employed in 1841 in a criminal court. When his father learned that he was studying law, he ended all funding towards his education.
In order to earn his tuition, young Stieber began working for the Berlin police. Finding this much more exciting than law, he obtained a promotion to Inspector of Division IV, the Criminal Division. After the Revolution of 1848, he was promoted by King Frederick William IV of Prussia
as chief of police. During the winter of 1850, he was ordered to investigate an exiled political extremist named Karl Marx
.
His dubious memoirs state that, posing as a doctor, he bluffed his way into Marx's London
household and stole the membership listings of Marx's Communist League
. The information in the files was sent to France and also to several German States. Many of Marx's associates were then sentenced to long prison terms. Stieber's memoirs also describe his involvement with matters embarrassing to the House of Hohenzollern
. He refers to an occasion when a Greek
swindler named Constantine Simonides
tricked the Berlin Academy of Science out of 5,000 talers with a forged Ancient Greek
manuscript. As the money had come from the king's private purse, Stieber was ordered to get it back as discreetly as possible. Using an elderly circus performer as an interpreter, Stieber forced Simonides to return the money by threatening to hand him over to the notoriously brutal Greek police. With the money secured, Simonides was escorted to the border and ordered never to return to Prussia.
Stieber also investigated a counterfeiting gang in the Rhineland
and insider trading
on the Berlin stock exchange. He also became something of an expert on the prostitution trade in Berlin and recruited many of its denizens as informants.
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
's master spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
and director of the Prussian
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
Feldgendarmerie
Feldgendarmerie
The Feldgendarmerie were the uniformed military police units of the armies of the German Empire from the mid 19th Century until the conclusion of World War II.- Early history :...
. Stieber was both an agent of domestic surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
and an external agent. Along with Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
, he invented modern information gathering.
According to his questionable memoirs (see discussion page regarding "The Chancellor's Spy"), Stieber was born in Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
, Prussian Saxony
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
. His parents were Hypolith Stieber, a minor government official who later entered the Lutheran ministry, and Daisy Cromwell, an English noblewoman. He began studying German law at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
against the wishes of his father, who desired a career for him in the Prussian Church.
He was then employed in 1841 in a criminal court. When his father learned that he was studying law, he ended all funding towards his education.
In order to earn his tuition, young Stieber began working for the Berlin police. Finding this much more exciting than law, he obtained a promotion to Inspector of Division IV, the Criminal Division. After the Revolution of 1848, he was promoted by King Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
as chief of police. During the winter of 1850, he was ordered to investigate an exiled political extremist named Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
.
His dubious memoirs state that, posing as a doctor, he bluffed his way into Marx's London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
household and stole the membership listings of Marx's Communist League
Communist League
The Communist League was the first Marxist international organization. It was founded originally as the League of the Just by German workers in Paris in 1834. This was initially a utopian socialist and Christian communist group devoted to the ideas of Gracchus Babeuf...
. The information in the files was sent to France and also to several German States. Many of Marx's associates were then sentenced to long prison terms. Stieber's memoirs also describe his involvement with matters embarrassing to the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
. He refers to an occasion when a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
swindler named Constantine Simonides
Constantine Simonides
Constantine Simonides , palaeographer, dealer of icons, man with extensive learning, knowledge of manuscripts, miraculous calligraphy...
tricked the Berlin Academy of Science out of 5,000 talers with a forged Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
manuscript. As the money had come from the king's private purse, Stieber was ordered to get it back as discreetly as possible. Using an elderly circus performer as an interpreter, Stieber forced Simonides to return the money by threatening to hand him over to the notoriously brutal Greek police. With the money secured, Simonides was escorted to the border and ordered never to return to Prussia.
Stieber also investigated a counterfeiting gang in the Rhineland
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
and insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
on the Berlin stock exchange. He also became something of an expert on the prostitution trade in Berlin and recruited many of its denizens as informants.
Works
- Die Prostitution in Berlin und ihre Opfer in historischer, sittlicher, medizinischer und polizeilicher Beziehung beleuchtet. Hofmann, Berlin 1846 (English: Prostitution in Berlin and Its Victims)
- Der erste politische Prozeß vor den Geschwornen Berlins, betreffend die Anklage des Ober-Staatsanwalts Sethe wider den Literaten Robert Springer wegen Majestätsbeleidigung : nach stenographischen Berichten dargest. vom Vertheidiger des Angeklagten. Robert Springer, Berlin 1849
- Carl Georg Ludwig Wermuth / Stieber: Die Communistischen -Verschwörungen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Im amtlichen Auftrag zur Benutzung der Polizei-behörden der sämmtlichen deutschen bundesstaaten. Erster Theil. Enthaltend: Die historische Darstellung der betreffenden Untersuchungen. Druck von A. W. Hayn, Berlin 1853 (Reprint: Olms, Hildesheim 1969 und Verlag Klaus Guhl, Berlin 1976)
- Carl Georg Ludwig Wermuth / Stieber: Die Communistischen -Verschwörungen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Im amtlichen Auftrag zur Benutzung der Polizei-behörden der sämmtlichen deutschen bundesstaaten. Zweiter Theil. Enthaltend: Die Personalien der in den Communisten-untersuchungen vorkommenden Personen. Druck von A. W. Hayn, Berlin 1854 (Reprint: Olms, Hildesheim 1969 und Verlag Klaus Guhl, Berlin 1976)
- With Carl Georg Ludwig Wermuth: Die Communisten-Verschwörungen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, ASIN: B0000BU4N6 (English: Communist Conspiracies of the Nineteenth Century)
- Denkwürdigkeiten des Geheimen Regierungsrathes Dr. Stieber.Aus seinen hinterlassenen Papieren bearbeitet von Dr. Leopold Auerbach . Engelmann, Berlin 1884
- Practisches Lehrbuch der Criminal-Polizei. Auf Grund eigener langjähriger Erfahrungen zur amtlichen Benutzung für Justiz- und Polizeibeamte und zur Warnung und Belehrung für das Publikum bearb. von Wilhelm Stieber. Hayn, Berlin 1860 (Reprint: Kriminalistik-Verlag, Heidelberg 1983)
- Wilhelm J. C. E. Stieber: Spion des Kanzlers. Die Enthüllungen von Bismarcks Geheimdienstchef. Seewald, Stuttgart 1978, ISBN 3-512-00518-7 (dtv, München 1978 ISBN 3-512-00518-7) (English: The chancellor's spy. Memoirs of the founder of modern espionage. Translated from the German by Jan Van Heurch, Grove Press, New York 1979)
About Stieber
- Karl Marx: Enthüllungen über den Kommunisten-Prozeß zu Köln. Boston 1853
- Karl Bittel: Der Kommunistenprozeß zu Köln 1852 im Spiegel der zeitgenössischen Presse. Hrsg. und eingeleitet. Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1955
- Rudolf Herrnstadt: Die erste Verschwörung gegen das internationale Proletariat. Zur Geschichte des Kölner Kommunistenprozesses 1852. Rütten & Loening 1958
- Thomas Diembach: Das kann doch nicht wahr sein! Zur Authentizität der Memoiren von Bismarcks Geheimdienstchef Wilhelm Stieber. In: Themen juristischer Zeitgeschichte 2. Recht und Juristen in der deutschen Revolution 1848/49. Nomos, Baden-Baden 1998, s. 236-243 ISBN 3-7890-5676-6