Nevertheless, the NfO encountered numerous obstacles—petty
rivalries among the loosely organized staff, its wide geographical
orbit, and differences with wartime ally Turkey—and the overrid-
ing goal of sparking crippling colonial revolts against the British,
French, and Russians never came to fruition. After the war, having
been transformed into the Orient-Institut (Oriental Institute) by the
Foreign Office, it gave financial assistance to numerous Egyptians,
Turks, Arabs, Afghans, and Indians who, in light of their wartime
support for Germany, were not welcome in their home countries and
forced to live abroad.NADOLNY, RUDOLF (1873–1953). A diplomat who directed covert
support to government opposition groups in Russia during World
War I, Rudolf Nadolny was born near Lötzen (now Giżycko, Poland)
on 12 July 1873, the son of a landowner. After earning a law degree
from the University of Königsberg and joining the Foreign Office in
April 1902, he held positions in Russia, Persia, Bosnia, and Albania
prior to the outbreak of war. The War Ministry activated his reserve
status and assigned him to a Berlin facility for Russian prisoners of
war before giving him an intelligence post in Abteilung IIIb. Nad-
olny created a relatively independent operation known as “P” (or
Politik), located in an office on the Königsplatz, that was designed to
bolster revolutionary forces in Russia through subversive activities.
His former connections in the Foreign Office were enlisted to aid his
efforts. He also directed the legation in Persia in 1916 before its dis-
solution the following year.
After the war, Nadolny worked closely with President Friedrich
Ebert and then returned to diplomatic service with postings in Stock-
holm, Ankara, and Moscow, although political differences with the
Nazi government caused him to resign in 1934 after only six months
in the Soviet Union. He returned briefly to public life following the
end of World War II and died in Düsseldorf on 18 May 1953. See
also HELPHAND, ALEXANDER; KESKÜLA, ALEXANDER.
NATIONALKOMITEE FREIES DEUTSCHLAND (NKFD). A
Soviet-created resistance movement against Nazi rule in Germany,
the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland (National Committee for
Free Germany) took shape in July 1943 following the surrender ofNATIONALKOMITEE FREIES DEUTSCHLAND • 315