captivity in Wales and Germany until 1948. His history of World War
II, published in 1951 and relying on other eyewitness information as
well, was the first full account to appear in the postwar Federal Republic
of Germany. He died in Lüneburg (Lower Saxony) on 10 May 1957.TITINEN’S LIST. The names of 18 Finnish citizens suspected of
having had ties to the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung, Titinen’s
List refers to Seppo Titinen, a former director of Finland’s security
police, Suojelupoliisi (SUPO). In 1990, after receiving the informa-
tion from authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany, he and
President Mauno Koivisto decided that the list, containing no addi-
tional details, did not merit further investigation and should remain
sealed. Yet as the controversy grew, the two men, no longer in of-
fice, joined with several leading politicians in calling for publication
of the list in order to end widespread speculation. SUPO officials,
however, firmly resisted reversing the original decision and cited the
importance of confidentiality in the exchange of information between
intelligence services.
TOTER BRIEFKASTEN. An espionage tactic known in English as
a dead drop, a toter Briefkasten uses a prearranged hiding place
where an agent leaves information or objects—usually in specially
designed containers—for a handler to retrieve at a later time. A set
of prearranged signals ensures that the adversary is not aware of the
drop. The locations for drops—typically parks, cemeteries, bridges,
railway station lockers, and cracks in walls—should be inconspicu-
ous but readily accessible. The Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung
(HVA) often relied on a hollow wooden toilet-paper holder on trains
that passed through the German Democratic Republic from Western
countries. The HVA also equipped agents with large stainless-steel
spikes with a cavity for documents, money, and false papers that
could easily be inserted into the ground.
TRADITIONSPFLEGE. A term meaning the preservation of tradi-
tion, Traditionspflege became an important institutional aspect of the
Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS). Through Traditionspflege,
the MfS sought to foster a greater esprit de corps by honoring com-
munist spies who had worked against the Nazis as well as former
464 • TITINEN’S LIST