training under the supervision of GRU chief Jan Karlovich Berzin.
Returning to Germany, Kippenberger reorganized the secret military
apparatus of the KPD, extending its reach into the army, police, and
major political parties. Kippenberger was elected to the Reichstag
in 1928, thereby obtaining diplomatic immunity as well as a seat on
the military commission. Much of the large-scale industrial espio-
nage conducted in Germany by the Soviet Union can be traced to
Kippenberger’s efforts.
The Nazi seizure of power caused him to seek refuge in Prague and
then Paris. Ordered back to Moscow, Kippenberger was arrested on
4 November 1936 and accused of being an agent of the Reichswehr.
Denounced by Herbert Wehner and tried in secret, he was shot to
death on 3 October 1937. As a result of the de-Stalinization initi-
ated by Nikita Khrushchev, his name was rehabilitated in the Soviet
Union 20 years later.KIRCHER, ATHANASIUS (1601–1680). A gifted scholar and math-
ematician who made significant contributions to the art of cryptogra-
phy, Athanasius Kircher was born in Geisa (Hesse) on 2 May 1601.
After attending a local Jesuit college, he moved from university
to university amid the strife of the Thirty Years’ War. A member
of the Jesuit order, Kircher finally left Germany in 1631, settling
first in Lyon and Avignon and then ultimately Rome, where most
of his 44 wide-ranging works were published. Oedipus aegyptiacus
(1652–1655) called attention to Egyptian hieroglyphics and became
a guide for later generations of aspiring cryptanalysts, while Poly-
graphia nova et universalis (1663) contained three different systems
for cryptographic writing. Kircher’s reputation was further enhanced
by his invention of the magic lantern (a precursor of the motion pic-
ture projector) and his exploratory descent into the crater of Mount
Vesuvius. He died on 28 November 1680.
KIRN, DIETRICH (1917– ). An Abwehr officer active in Afghani-
stan and the Caucasus during World War II, Dietrich Kirn headed
Frontaufklärungskommando (FAK) 200 (code name pathan)
beginning in September 1941 with the purpose of fomenting unrest
against the British. In the final stage of the war, he led FAK 202,
which was chiefly concerned with organizing Ukrainian partisans
232 • KIRCHER, ATHANASIUS