Spy Trader:: Germany's Devil's Advocate and the Darkest Secrets of the Cold War - Hardcover

Whitney, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812922212 ISBN 13: 9780812922219

Publisher: Crown, 1993

Synopsis

A true-life spy saga THE NEW YORK TIMES hails as "a fascinating tale, the material of John Le Carre and Len Deighton" and John Le Carre, himself, calls, "a revelation" is now in papareback.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

spy saga THE NEW YORK TIMES hails as "a fascinating tale, the material of John Le Carre and Len Deighton" and John Le Carre, himself, calls, "a revelation" is now in papareback.<br><br><br><i>From the Trade Paperback edition.</i>

Reviews

Throughout the Cold War, East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, now 68, made a career out of brokering spies, political prisoners and dissidents, a unique practice that purportedly led to the release of some 200,000 people. Among his more famous cases were the swapping of Soviet spy Rudolph Abel for downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers in 1962; the 1981 release of East German spy Guenter Guillame, the spy whose presence on Chancellor Willy Brandt's staff led to Brandt's resignation; and mediating the release of Soviet dissident Anatoly Shcharansky in 1986. With the collapse of communism in East Germany, though, Vogel became a target for reformers seeking to punish him for his close association with Communist Party leader Erich Honecker and with the East German secret police, as well as for his wealth (Vogel is one of the communist world's rare millionaires). In this balanced study, Whitney, diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times , thoughtfully conveys the moral ambiguities and complexities of Vogel's brilliant career, a career not unlike that of the Cold War itself. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In a Len Deighton novel come to life, Whitney (senior European correspondent for The New York Times) tells the engrossing story of the trade in human lives conducted by cold war adversaries in a divided Berlin. After the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, many tried to escape; of these, many were killed but most were captured--often calling upon the services of East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel, who quickly became known for winning prisoners their freedom from East German jails, as well as from the country. Beginning with the Rudolf Abel/Francis Gary Powers exchange and peaking with the release of Anatoly Shcharansky, Vogel, working closely with his ``employer,'' the dreaded Stasi, negotiated the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners--but at a price. The Federal Republic of Germany paid out billions of marks over almost three decades, trading spies at border crossings in the dead of night. For his services, Vogel earned hundreds of thousands of marks and gained the respect of Western governments. But, Whitney shows, the lawyer had made a Faustian deal. While saving many East Germans from prison, he also helped bring about the downfall of his government masters, undermining his own future--for each release symbolically chipped away a bit of the Wall, and, in time, the pressure of would-be emigrants overwhelmed the East German government, bringing down Communist Party leader Erich Honecker and then the Wall itself. Some of the credit seems due to Vogel, who negotiated as hard with the Stasi for more releases as he did with the West for more money. Drawing on a great number of interviews, some with Vogel himself, Whitney offers a fascinating new perspective from which to view the rubble of East Germany and the secretive world of cold war spies. (Eight pages of b&w photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

During the Cold War, East German lawyer Wolfgang Heinrich Vogel acted as the go-between for spy swaps and other confidential exchanges between East and West. While deals involving Francis Gary Powers, Rudolf Abel, and Anatoly Shcharansky made the headlines, more importantly Vogel arranged for the transfer to the West of thousands of East Germans in return for large payments to the East German government. While these activities have been noted before in the news media, New York Times correspondent Whitney offers a much fuller account of Vogel's role. The collapse of the Communist regime led to investigations of Vogel's obvious contacts with the secret police (Stasi and KGB). What is most interesting here are the intricate little details of the negotiations, actual operations, and personalities of officials on both sides, particularly the corrupt East Germans. Recommended as a fast and interesting read, but this is certainly not filled with any "darkest secrets of the Cold War." Index and photos not seen.
- Daniel K. Blewett, Loyola Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Crown
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0812922212
• ISBN 13: 9780812922219
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 375