SECRET ARMIES
14
A
secondary headquarters, in the Dcutscher Hilfsverein at 7
St., was directed by Emil Wallner, who was ostensibly
representing the Leipzig Fair but was actually the chief of the
St.
Nekazanka
Gestapo machine in Prague. His assistant, Hermann Dorn, liv
ing in Hanspaulka-Dejvice, masqueraded as the representative
Muenchner
Some aspects of
of the
Illustrierte Zeitung.
the Nazi espionage
and propaganda machine
in Czechoslovakia hold especial interest for American immigra
tion authorities since into the United States, too, comes a steady
flow of the shadowy members of the Nazis Fifth Column. It is
well to know that the letters and numbers at the top of pass
ports inform German diplomatic representatives the world over
that the bearer usually is a Gestapo agent. Whenever American
immigration authorities find German passports with letters and
numbers at the top, they may be reasonably sure that the bearer
is an agent. These numbers are
placed on passports by Gestapo
in Berlin or Dresden. The agent s photograph and
headquarters
a sample of his (or her) handwriting is sent via the diplomatic
pouch to the Nazi Embassy, Legation, Consulate or German
Bund in the country or city to which the agent is assigned. When
the agent reports in a foreign city, the resident Gestapo chief,
in order to identify him, checks the passport s top number with
the picture and the handwriting received by diplomatic pouch.
Rudolf Walter Voigt, alias Walter Clas, alias Heinz Leonhard,
Herbert Frank names which he used throughout Europe
in his espionage work will serve as an illustration. Voigt was
sent to Prague on a delicate mission. His job was to discover
alias
how
Czechs got to Spain to fight in the International Brigade,
a mystery in Berlin since such Czechs had to cross Italy, Germany
fascist countries which cooperate with the Gestapo.
Voigt was given passport No. 1,128,236 made out in the name
or other
of Walter Clas,
and bearing
at the top of the passport the letters