as head of the Evidenzbüro in 1917 came as the result of his diverse
experience in various intelligence branches, from counterespionage
to cryptography. In addition, Ronge was known for his selection of
highly talented subordinates—Andreas Figl and Hermann Pokorny
in particular—and for his skill in bureaucratic infighting.
With the dissolution of the Evidenzbüro in 1918 came a position
in the new Austrian republic dealing with the return of prisoners of
war and civilian internees. Ronge also wrote several detailed per-
sonal accounts of wartime espionage, among them the 1935 Meister
der Spionage (Master of Espionage). Despite his retirement in 1932,
Ronge was recalled the following year to form the Staatspolizeiliches
Sonderbüro (Secret Police Special Bureau), although it proved un-
able to prevent the assassination of Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss by
Nazi agents. Ronge’s refusal to join the SS following the Anschluss
of 1938 resulted in his internment in the Dachau concentration camp;
only a letter addressed to Abwehr head Wilhelm Canaris and con-
taining a “declaration of loyalty” secured his release. After World
War II, Ronge assisted with the construction of a new Austrian intel-
ligence organization but died on 9 November 1953, two years prior to
its official inauguration following the removal of occupation forces
from the country.ROSBAUD, PAUL (1896–1963). A major Allied source of informa-
tion about Nazi scientific efforts, Paul Rosbaud was born in Graz,
Austria, on 18 November 1896, the illegitimate son of Anna Rosbaud
and Josef Hennisser. During World War I, he saw combat in Italy as
a member of the Austrian army and was a British prisoner of war for
two months (his Anglophilia, he later maintained, could be traced to
the “polite and correct” treatment accorded him at that time). While
his older brother Hans became a renowned classical music conduc-
tor, Rosbaud earned advanced degrees in X-ray cinematography
and metallurgy—including a doctorate from the Technical College
in Berlin—before becoming a scientific advisor to the periodical
Metallwirtschaft in 1928 and then joining the Springer Verlag as sci-
ence editor in 1933. Also that year, Frank Foley of the British Secret
Intelligence Service enlisted Rosbaud’s services in Berlin.
Rosbaud’s extensive travels coupled with his close contacts—
notably with physicists Walther Gerlach and Otto Hahn—made him
376 • ROSBAUD, PAUL