Klatt and Ostro related queries

Their real names were:

Richard Kauder  and  Paul Georg Fidrmuc

Acting legally as private persons not being conscripted or military professionals.

It has to be said, that Richard Kauder became engaged as to escape Nazi, anti Jewish, legislation; for his Austrian mother and himself; albeit, that he was baptised Catholic in 1905.

KLATT ran an espionage network from the Balkan, mainly focussed upon Russia, these messages were handled under 'Max' and some other, less significant were known as 'Moritz', 'IBIS' en some more names.

This webpage has been initiated on 27 July 2016

Status: 2 August 2016

New additional considerations

The Ostro query-word-list has become quite extensive, would it therefore be wise to add (implementing) onto it also the many keywords looked for in the KLATT network; hence, mixing them up? These were complete separate intelligence networks which hardly may have known of their mutual existence.

I therefore have, after due considerations, decided to attach a separate page accessible from a new to be created hyperlink. However, for practical reason, this should have to wait until somewhere towards the end of this month.

Albeit, that mutual concerns will still be dealt with on this current webpage

Klatt Keyword-Query page hyperlink

 Status: not yet settled

As to understand wherefore  this new webpage is about - let us start with:

Repeating my recent contribution to my periodical agenda first, in which I often reflect my thoughts and sometimes even concerns

Phil Judkins and I are both heavily engaged in a future project on very curious espionage matters (title not yet been settled), hardly known yet to the general public and even beyond. Why 'not yet'? Because these facts have never been fully unravelled by British I.S. Services (among it M.I.5 and M.I.6).  Although, British I.S. could read almost all German W/T messages from say late 1941 and early 1942 onwards. Bletchley Park did an enormous successful and most significant job! Rightly designated "Most Secret Source". And - most secret it indeed was! The downside, was, that it was very delicate with whom the knowledge could be shared.     However, they could read German W/T traffic on daily bases (but apparently it took some days before the translated decrypts reached the applicants), the German sources were not always clear to determine. Two persons were so much intriguing - that British I.S have been bothering with their many implications for decades after the war. I suppose - that mentioning their "nom-de-guerre" Klatt and Ostro will still even the dead wake-up in real panic; albeit, that, in post-war days, for their own sake they have 'constructed' some hypothetical solutions. Sadly, these being copied without critical notes and/or objections, since! But, saying it frankly - they never could bring the 100 % proof!     Very fortunate - the British National Archives provides now most of these genuine documents; many being kept in the HW .. and KV ... series. During wartime days these were classified "Top Secret" or "Tsec U" or that like!    Phil came over for a couple of days in last May discussing the route of our mutual endeavour. We are aiming for a very comprehensive presentation in Autumn 2017.     It all started with a few pages copied from a comparable file, this time about German wartime intelligence communications with outside Europe (eDEN April 2015.); I was instantly so tantalised that I copied the according pages and did send them to my old friend Rudolf Staritz (then 93 years old and luckily in the possession of a very smart brain still). A few weeks later I visited him in Bamberg and asked him whether he liked it (of course, he did). He asked me: do you know what MAX was? I had to admit that I had not the slightest idea. He then briefly explained that it concerned a German intelligence network, headed by a private person called KLATT*, an Austrian-Jew; his real name was Richard Kauder. His network dealt with both Russian strategic intelligence, known as "Max" and "Moritz" (neglecting some minor networks); the latter dealing with information around the eastern Mediterranean theatre, just the area controlled by British S.I.M.E.     The British R.S.S. services monitored German W/T communications extensively around the clock. We should consider, that not all could have been intercepted from Britain, but that for practical reasons they must at least have maintained intercept facilities in Egypt.     However, from late 1941 onwards, they could read KLATT's communications from the "I Luft Meldekopf KLATT" Sofia (Bulgaria), also known as: "Dienststelle Klatt". They recognised that information was being dealt with of a most high (delicate) value. Their first opinion was oh: this surely must concerns a Russian Double Cross game; but it continued to flow. In the course of 1942, some unrest was arising, because the messages flowed vividly further. Verifications with what was resulting of the forecasted German Max messages - its high degree of validity could be proved. A dilemma arose, how to inform the Russians, without exposing (revealing) Britain's utmost valuable "Most Secret Sources"? This dragged on for quite a while.    However, about autumn (2015) Phil provided some quite extensive files containing series of W/T messages concerning the KLATT network ending abruptly on 12 February 1945. One cannot imagine what happens with you jumping into a pool of say 4 years of lively communications, between KLATT and the daily concerns of the people (agents) engaged v.v. Among the materials were also interrogations of a Double Cross spy:  Andre Gross alias Gyorgy, the latter's name was used on the British S.I.M.E. side.     However, last May Phil approached the NA via the web from my study room. He entered the keyword: Abwehr - resulting in a series of just over 1,400 hits.         I must admit, that, because interested in these kind of subjects since 1963, roughly 10% was more or less familiar to me, not in great detail but the personalities and/or codenames involved! We downloaded a bunch of about 5300 pages! Some of which I am re-reading (currently) in great detail and making all sorts of notes and yellow markings; previously having stored some keywords in our huge dbase! Among it were also files concerning Paul Georg Fidrmuc alias Ostro. All my attention was raised by reading "Top Secret" considerations of the British "XX Committee"; dealing with plans to 'assassinate' Ostro in Portugal, because he rightly predicted a few days before the actual execution over 'Operation Overlord', the area and the about time schedule in late May 1944! In London all alarm bells rang, most understandingly! It will take me still several weeks before all the content of KV 2/196 up to KV 2/201 comprehensively can be re-digested (absorbed). For someone not being acquainted with German systems, the stuff can hardly be fruitful!     We should also remember:- that British I.S. wrongly believed that they had been unbeaten during WW II. But, we all know well now the embarrassing 'Cambridge five guys'. Consequently, among it Philby's and Blunt's names will be quite often encountered in the many files concerned. What M.I 5 and M.I. 6 found difficult to deal with was after all in vain, because Kim Philby and Blunt kept Russian Secret Services well informed on what was going on at the British S.I.S. side; a real disaster (blamage)!     What to think of KLATT's file, he sadly died in 1953 (after suffering several strokes, also being very poor indeed), but his file was being accessed still in 2003, after he was already 50 years dead! (he is no exception!) Do not wonder, that quite some pages still being kept blank with very briefly informing that all is according a Public law act of 1958 (dated 2004 or this like); not a few number of pages, but quite some will be encountered.     By the way, both Richard Kauder and Fidrmuc were private persons; albeit, that Klatt was running a real  (military) Abwehr branch.     What is our main aim? To deal this time with an entirely new environment, where there was no real glamour afterwards but severe struggle. We do not pretend to unravel the final truth, but revealing some unknown implications (aspects) only, always accompanying the context of history.     Bearing always in mind, that the wartime days were most bleak and full of sufferings.     We today are viewing the courses of history through peep-holes; the broad understanding about these bleak times, can therefore hardly be reproduced.     Maybe, some of you may raise the question: what has all this to do with:- German Communication and related Technology? Simply - the whole is about 'wireless communications'; without it - Bletchley Park would only constitute today a place on a map, nothing else!      However, quoting from a previous notation:    In many respect, we are coming so near to this intriguing subject - that we virtually have become part of it; albeit, far away from those gloomy bleak times, sitting on a comfortable couch or desk chair.    * Staritz told me, that just a few weeks ago a most comprehensive study has been published on KLATT (March 2015), by Dr Winfried Meyer (1225 text pages omitting the references; in German language) accompanied by countless scientific 'real' foot notes. Consequently, I instantly ordered two book copies, one for Phil and one for me. For historians and those interested in a very comprehensive survey, please start your approach with: ISBN:  978-3-86331-201-5

Digesting the many British genuine documents one is being confronted with a huge series of names. Sometime real names and quite often constituting so-called 'non-de-guerre' (cover names)

I am fully aware, that most of you cannot contribute with reliable information, but why not approaching the world-wide-web by our means?

I would like to focus first into the direction of my current commitment, which is dealing with 'Paul Georg Fidrmuc' whose 'non-de-guerre' was Ostro; albeit, that he did carry several other cover-names as well.

This list is not reflecting primarily at what we know already, but what we do not yet know. 

For practical reasons, the list will become quite long, because when information comes in, we can add this on the same line; what with using tables-like-arrangements might become rather clumsy and/or confusing.

We should in our final publication collect all data we know, but we would like to keep this yet for the time being 'ours'!

The alphabetic order has to be created in this document, it may therefore happen that later names will be implemented not at the end of this file, but just where it in an alphabetic order should be positioned.

The reason for approaching it this way, is, that I have to go through a rather long list, where for practical reasons, names and facts have been entered in the succession of crossing my attention; caused by the current documents at hand.

Red text section have been added after the first session of this web page (28 July 2016) came out.

Status: 2 August 2016

later other colours may be used as well.

Aeneas

Andreas Portugal or Berlin?

Almeida (informant Ostro)

Arabal

Babette for Mate

Babette-Selva 8.2.45 ?

Babette Vasco    Must have been somewhere on the Berlin side Sometimes Vasco was referred onto singly as well

Bechtle (likely Berlin)

Becker Embassy Lisbon?

Bingo

Borchardt

Borges Fereira

Breisky von

Burico

Cambell

Conselho Technco

Cato

Caxias likely in the vicinity of Berlin organisation

Ciro

Coibra or Coimbra?

Comno source

Dias (KOP)

Don I

Eckert Dr.

Edelweiß or Edelweiss

Elcano

Elcano Gutierrez may be two different persons, but somewhere interconnected on the Iberian Peninsula

Eldhagen von

Erbprinz we know some correlations, but what was his real name, maybe his background?

Esmeralda affair

Eurico

Felipe

Forros Hyon Was he Oberst Frederici KOP? (KOP=K.O. Portugal)

Fransico

Frantisek Nejedly

George

Gino

Gogo Regards Gogo to Teddy 

Grube Brussels

Gutierrez Colon

Haenle

Hahland

Harry (= K.O. Portugal =KOP) he must have succeeded Ludovico or Kammler, was he Dr. Alois Schreiber?

Hens representing Polmann

Hercules

Hercules Martin?

Hoefflinger   Likely in Berlin

Hornke

Jakob for Babette Sibelius Jakob = Merano Babette = Berlin who is unknown Sibelius also unknown

Irin Lancerda Lisbon?

Karl Madrid-Berlin 9.1.45

Kaulbach Madrid

KDMSP KD? M=Metro? SP = Spain?

Klebanowski (Klebanowsky?)

KMP Switzerland

Knigge von Baron

Köster Dr.

Lago Lisbon-Berlin 12.3.45 To Lago for Vasco

Leichsenring

Lobkowicz

Lord Lord Berlin-Madrid For Elcano for Lord for Robles for Felipe

Ludwig   (Martin and Ludwig?)

Lukas

Margru Seebald

Martine Att or Att Martine?

Mercier

Mercur likely ment Merkus

Merkel

Merkur = Madrid?

Mittag Werner

Mosberg

Nonika

Olaf

Osprey

Palais (such word pointed regularly to a place or particular building)  Palais = Berlin [14a, part?, p. 30]

Paquito

Picador

Pinguin (Tinguin ?)

Plisch  HIOB Plisch  msg Berlin-Lisbon

Pochner

Poener

Poker = Goor  4.3.45

Parodi   his name appears more towards the end of the war

Polmann Leiter?? instructed by Turm

Posadowski

Praevsky

Prim HIOB Prim

Querry

Rankins

Rasp

Karl Madrid-Berlin 9.1.45

Rodriguez Berlin – Madrid 1 473 Secret Rodriguez Ostro and Javeline 30.1.45

Rodriques for Ostro (he is Fidrmuc)

Ridgor & Paul (two different persons, but mention in some wireless messages together)

Robles (likely K.O. Madrid)

Roblis

Sabine for Triana for Ostro (is Sabine Madrid?)

Samland

Scholz Oblt.

Schub

Senior: was he Canaris, Kuebart, later Himmler?

Sibelius (Babette for Sibelius ... ) Must have been engaged somewhere in Berlin

Sommer for Pago

Somoza

Sorore

Theobald Paris (was he connected to Paris?)

Thor Babette Thor Madrid 1 – Berlin 12.4.45

Toni  (but not meant Turkul!)

Torel

Torre  For Elcano for Torre

Triana

Turm has instructed Polmann

Vasco (likely somewhere in the Berlin I H Ost organisation) or in 'Amt Mil' RSHA?

Velhagen Dr. (Veldhagen or Felhagen?)

Wagner (not meant Ast Wien /Vienna)

Wenger Alice

Westerwald = Nastaetten 4.3.45

Zacharias

To be continued in due course

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By Arthur O. Bauer