PETERSHAGEN, RUDOLF (1901–1969). A German military com-
mander and convicted Soviet spy, Rudolf Petershagen was born in
Hamburg on 4 June 1901, the son of a merchant family. His career
as a professional soldier began with his entry into the Reichswehr
in 1924. After taking part in the occupation of Czechoslovakia in
1938, Petershagen saw combat in France, the Balkans, and the Soviet
Union. Severely wounded at Stalingrad and transported to the field
hospital in Greifswald, he was appointed military commander of
the old university city following his recovery. His most notable
decision—contrary to his instructions—was to surrender Greifswald
to the advancing Red Army on 30 April 1945.
After being held in Soviet captivity until 1948, Petershagen re-
turned to Greifswald and became involved in local politics. His
activities as a Soviet spy, however, proved less than adroit. The U.S.
Counterintelligence Corps learned of Petershagen’s recruitment at-
tempts in the Federal Republic of Germany and arrested him on 9
November 1951 during a trip to Munich. Although given a 12-year
prison sentence for espionage by a U.S. military court, he was re-
leased on 21 September 1955 and returned to the German Democratic
Republic. His autobiography Gewissen in Aufruhr (Conscience in
Turmoil) appeared in 1957 and was subsequently filmed by East Ger-
man television. Petershagen died on 13 April 1969 in Greifswald.
PETTER, ROBERT (1915–1941). A Swiss-German Abwehr spy
captured and executed in Great Britain, Robert Petter served as a
chauffeur to the French consul in Hamburg prior to World War II. On
30 September 1940, Petter, Karl Drücke, and Vera Eriksen were
brought by an amphibious aircraft to the coast of Scotland between
Buckie and Port Gordon. After traveling alone by train to Edinburgh,
Petter was arrested at Waverley Station while attempting to retrieve
his luggage, which contained a wireless set and codebook supplied
by the Abwehr. Further incriminating evidence included his forged
passport in the name of Swiss national Werner Wälti. Following his
interrogation at Camp 020, he was tried at the Old Bailey and hanged
with Drücke on 6 August 1941.
PFAHLS, LUDWIG-HOLGER (1943– ). A former head of the
Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (BfV) convicted of bribery
346 • PETERSHAGEN, RUDOLF