After the war, he returned to Czechoslovakia and resumed his
career as a weaving manager. Because the Soviet Control Com-
mission required his skills as a translator, he moved to East Berlin
with his family in December 1949. After becoming a citizen of the
German Democratic Republic (GDR) and joining the Sozialistische
Einheitspartei Deutschlands in 1951, he numbered among the first
designated officers in the paramilitary Barracked People’s Police, the
forerunner of the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA). Linke was appointed
head of the Administration for General Questions, which had the task
of monitoring the three occupation armies in the Federal Republic of
Germany and guarding against enemy military preparations in the
GDR. When the NVA obtained its official status in 1956, Linke’s
intelligence organization was renamed Verwaltung 19 and placed
under the jurisdiction of the new Ministry of National Defense.
Criticism of Linke began to be voiced. According to Soviet oc-
cupation officials, the high expectations of his office were not being
fulfilled, while some GDR military commanders resented his lack of
traditional combat experience. Yet the fatal blow to Linke’s career
was caused by his housekeeper, Anna Kubiak, whom the CIA had
recruited with the promise of resettlement in the West. She had previ-
ously been employed by the KGB resident in East Berlin, Yevgeny
Pitovranov. After much valuable information had been gathered
by Kubiak, especially regarding the East German relationship with
the GRU (Soviet military intelligence), her final instructions in late
June 1957 were to leave a letter to Linke suggesting his defection or
recruitment. Linke notified the relevant MfS division, which initi-
ated—under the code name partisan—a thorough investigation of
more than 250 persons employed as domestic help and tradespeople
in the restricted Karlshorst compound. An electrician involved in
the CIA operation was identified but managed to escape to West
Berlin. Kubiak likewise resettled in West Berlin. and, despite an
intensive search, was not discovered until 1972. Four years later, the
MfS deemed the case not worthy of further pursuit.
Because of his past service and unblemished political record,
Linke received a relatively mild reprimand for negligent behavior. In
addition to his loss of office, the only other penalty was a demotion
to colonel—an outcome that many of his colleagues in Verwaltung
19 found far too lenient. Unable to obtain permission to return to
LINKE, KARL • 267