Historical Dictionary of German Intelligence

(Kiana) #1
regarding their plan for a negotiated peace between Great Britain and
Nazi Germany.
Describing her as “extremely intelligent, dangerous and cunning,”
and as a spy “worse than 10,000 men,” the FBI blocked the renewal
of Hohenlohe’s temporary visa and urged her deportation. Estranged
from Wiedemann but determined to remain in the country, she se-
duced Major Lemuel B. Schofield, director of the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service. In a confidential memorandum to Attor-
ney General Francis Biddle, Schofield stressed her potential useful-
ness in enlightening the American public about the threat posed by
the Third Reich and how Hitler might be overthrown. Placed in an
internment camp in Seagoville, Texas, Hohenlohe cooperated with
the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, providing intimate knowledge
of Hitler. Released in 1945, she convinced authorities that the per-
sistent charge of being a Nazi spy had no basis in fact and received
permission to stay in the country. A new career as an international
journalist commenced following her return to Europe in 1959. She
died in Geneva on 13 June 1972.

HOHENLOHE-INGELFINGEN, PRINCE KRAFT ZU (1827–1892).


A Prussian army officer and military writer, Prince Kraft zu Hohenlohe-
Ingelfingen joined the Prussian Guard Artillery in 1845. Following the
outbreak of the Crimean War, he was sent to Vienna as the first military
attaché in 1854. Despite the defensive alliance between the two states,
Habsburg officials repeatedly ignored Hohenlohe’s request for informa-
tion concerning the state of the Austrian army. He nevertheless worked
out an accurate order of battle by scrutinizing the daily Viennese press,
supplemented by salon gossip and the reports of professional agents. He
was thus able to warn Berlin of military moves by Austria that threat-
ened the existing treaty. His skillful methods of analysis and appraisal
were held up as a model for his successors. Hohenlohe later served
with distinction in the Seven Weeks’ War with Austria and the Franco-
Prussian War. After his retirement in 1879, he wrote a four-volume
autobiography, Aus meinem Leben (From My Life), which appeared in
installments posthumously between 1897 and 1908.

HOHENLOHE-LANGENBERG, PRINCE MAXIMILIAN EGON


ZU (1897–?). A German and American informant during World War

HOHENLOHE-LANGENBERG, PRINCE MAXIMILIAN EGON ZU • 197
Free download pdf