420 • PETTER, ROBERT
turaduring World War II and had been swamped with documents
supplied by the two missing diplomats.
The Petrov defections were a sensation, but while Petrov’s papers
were interesting and even embarrassing, they were by themselves in-
conclusive—and in comparison to thevenonaintercepts, almost ir-
relevant. However, the secret ofvenonahad to be maintained, so the
commission was briefed in private session about some of thevenona
material in order to establish a link between some of the principal
suspects, such as Jim Hill, Ian Milner, and Wally Clayton, where
there was a gap in the evidence. The problem was that the commis-
sion could hardly condemn the spies without disclosing the evidence
nor admit that Petrov had failed to deliver the proof required to bring
criminal charges. Accordingly, unlike its Canadian equivalent, which
resulted in no less than 21 prosecutions based onIgor Gouzenko’s
evidence, not a single charge was brought in Australia.
The Petrovs adopted the identity of a Greek couple named Cro-
nides and subsequently wroteEmpire of Fear. Vladimir suffered
from poor health, aggravated by alcoholism, and died in June 1991,
aged 84. Evdokia, who survived him, still lives in Australia.PETTER, ROBERT.A 25-year-old German, Robert Petter arrived in
Scotland via an amphibious aircraft in September 1940 withKarl
Dru ̈ckeand Vera Erickson. Petter traveled independently to Edin-
burgh and was arrested at Waverley Station on the day of his arrival
as he attempted to retrieve his suitcase from the left-luggage office.
Although he was equipped with a Swiss passport under his alias,
Walter Wa ̈lti, his identify card bore a number supplied to theAbwehr
bysnow.
Petter was interrogated atCamp 020and confronted with Dru ̈cke,
who had confessed to a stool pigeon, but he denied ever having seen
Dru ̈cke before. Petter was also confronted with a Norwegian, Gunnar
Edvardsen, with whom he had trained, and told that his mission had
been described in detail by Erickson and Dru ̈cke. According to Ed-
vardsen, Wa ̈lti’s true name was Robert Petter, and he was an experi-
enced Abwehr agent who had operated in Paris before the fall of
France. In January 1941 Petter was transferred briefly to Brixton be-
cause of a threat of suicide, but was returned soon afterward, keeping
to his story. He was tried in June at the Old Bailey and hanged with
Dru ̈cke at Wandsworth in August 1941.