exile circles, Lessing was found stabbed to death outside Zurich on 4
November 1835. Among the prime suspects were Zacharias Aldinger
and members of Junges Deutschland, but no conclusive evidence
emerged from the official investigation.LEUTERITZ, FRANZ (1940– ). The architect of the radioactive-trac-
ing program of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), Franz
Leuteritz was recruited in 1967 while working on his dissertation in
Leipzig. Highly knowledgeable about nuclear measurement technol-
ogy and X-ray fluorescent analysis, he completed his doctorate at
Humboldt University and rose quickly in the Technical Operations
Sector. Leuteritz’s most important function was as head of Operation
wolke (Cloud), whose objective was to monitor dissident activity by
attaching radioactive devices to people and objects. The first methods
were devised by 1972 and found extensive use thereafter, sometimes
as often as 100 times a year. Although the tracking devices were
designed to avoid direct skin contact, MfS records indicate minimal
concern for the health hazards involved. Among the awards received
by Leuteritz was the prestigious Friedrich Engels Prize First Class
in 1983.
LEVERKUEHN, PAUL (1893–1960). A member of a secret mission to
the Turkish-Persian frontier during World War I and the senior Abwehr
officer in Istanbul during World War II, Paul Leverkuehn was born in
Lübeck on 31 July 1893, the son of a justice of the peace. His legal stud-
ies were interrupted by military service during World War I. Assigned
to intelligence work in May 1915, he took part in the expedition led by
Max von Scheubner-Richter to provoke an anti-Russian uprising in
the north Caucasus and stop the supply of oil from the vast reserves at
Baku. Leverkuehn’s task involved organizing supply and support from
his base in Mosul, and keeping Scheubner-Richter informed about de-
velopments in eastern Turkey via coded telegrams. Both men, however,
were forced to return to Germany in August 1916 because of severe
cases of dysentery and malaria.
In the postwar period, after completing his law degree at Göttingen,
Leverkuehn held various banking and diplomatic positions, which in-
cluded advisory work for the U.S.-German Mixed Claims Commis-
sion. While working in the United States, he became acquainted with
LEVERKUEHN, PAUL • 263