Russian affairs even after moving to Leipzig. In 1939, he joined the
Abwehr, attracting the attention of Wilhelm Canaris, who described
him as possessing “a special gift for intelligence work.” Beginning
in June 1941, all clandestine frontline operations against the Soviet
Union came under Baun’s initial command, including the systematic
interrogation of many prisoners of war. Since the Fremde Heere Ost
had no intelligence service of its own, Reinhard Gehlen, despite a
certain wariness, came to depend on Baun for much of his informa-
tion and included him on his personnel chart of spring 1943. Impend-
ing defeat, however, caused Baun, like Gehlen, to begin negotiating
in 1945 with the U.S. military regarding a new organization directed
primarily at the Soviet Union.
As the postwar OG took shape, Baun was given responsibility for
intelligence collection, yet the lack of prior consultation by Gehlen
left a permanent residue of bitterness. Preferring the traditional coun-
terespionage method of enemy penetration, Baun further objected to
Gehlen’s desire to conduct domestic surveillance on behalf of the
Americans. For their part, U.S. authorities found Baun a disorga-
nized and somewhat unsavory personality, thus permitting Gehlen to
remove him from his initial position in April 1947 and give him new
responsibilities. Baun’s final fall from grace involved the charge of
minor embezzlement, which led to his dismissal in 1950. Baun died
on 17 December 1951.BAUTZEN. The site of two notorious political prisons, Bautzen is a
city located in eastern Saxony that traces its origins to the medieval
era. The Bautzen I prison, a yellow-clinker building (hence its nick-
name “gelbes Elend” or “yellow misery”), was completed in 1904.
Reversing its reputation as a relatively progressive penal institution,
the Nazi leadership used it to incarcerate opponents of the regime
such as communists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. After 1945, it came
under Soviet administration, housing not only former Nazis but also
suspected enemies of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
(at least 2,800 people died in captivity). The German Democratic
Republic assumed control of the prison in February 1950.
The Bautzen II prison is a large auxiliary construction located
south of the city that was used by the Nazis and Soviets for inter-
rogation and became best known through its grim association with
24 • BAUTZEN