first major contact—the freight manager of a Swedish firm based at
Bromma Airport—was the nucleus of a network known under the
code names siegried and siegried b. By November 1942, Krämer
was attached to the German mission and sending a steady stream of
maritime and aviation intelligence allegedly obtained in Britain by
agents code-named hektor and josephine.
Doubts about the authenticity of Krämer’s reports arose in dif-
ferent quarters. Upon investigation, MI5 determined that he had no
highly placed source in the British Air Ministry and that his cleverly
crafted reports merely reflected information obtained from the daily
press and conversations with Swedish officers and foreign envoys,
notably the Japanese military attaché Makato Onodera. Within the
Abwehr, Friedrich Busch, his most adamant critic, acknowledged
that his initial Swedish contacts had been genuine but concluded that
more than 100 hektor and josephine reports constituted an “intel-
ligence swindle.” Another alleged source—obtained during a visit to
Switzerland in fall 1943 and code-named eisberg—also came under
review. That Krämer steadfastly refused to provide the actual identity
of these agents contributed to growing doubts about his handsomely
remunerated submissions.
Yet there were also supporters, most significantly SD head Wal-
ter Schellenberg, who had a high estimation of his work and whose
personal relationship with Krämer reflected a considerable degree of
mutual trust. In December 1944, he had to recall Krämer to Berlin
to prevent his arrest by Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller. Schellen-
berg vouched for his reliability to Müller, presenting 200 positive
General Staff evaluations of the intelligence from the josephine
reports. Krämer was redeployed to Stockholm, where certain Finnish
sources were further cultivated. Ultimately the Swedish government,
citing his involvement with the initial Bromma agent, declared him
a persona non grata on 30 April 1945 and forced his departure two
days later.KRASE, JOACHIM (1919–1988). A top inside source of military in-
formation for the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), Joachim
Krase served in the Wehrmacht during World War II and entered the
Bundeswehr in 1956. Two years later, he attended the Militärischer
Abschirmdienst (MAD; Military Counterintelligence Service) training
KRASE, JOACHIM • 245