two residences in the Taunus between Falkenstein and Kronberg, the
initial staff of 50 was largely drawn from the remnants of Fremde
Heere Ost and divided into two sections—one dealing with collec-
tion under Friedrich Baun, the other concerned with evaluation and
analysis and directed by Gerhard Wessel. In December 1947, the
OG moved to the small town of Pullach outside Munich, where
extensive facilities within the compound made the staff and their
families generally independent of the outside world.
Gehlen (alias Dr. Schneider) embarked on a major recruiting cam-
paign, seeking not only those with prior intelligence experience but
also many ex-Wehrmacht officers, such as Adolf Heusinger, who
would use the OG as a transitional home prior to the official founding
of the Bundeswehr. Although the U.S. Army had banned all former
members of the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service), there was keen
competition among the occupying powers for anyone with connec-
tions to the feared Nazi underground. Former diplomats and civil
servants were also engaged, as Gehlen’s objective was to create an
all-embracing civilian intelligence service “capable of carrying out
every kind of espionage work against the enemy.”
Following the productive interrogations of returning German pris-
oners of war (Operation hermes), the OG concentrated on building
an extensive agent network in the Soviet occupation zone and often
using a toter Briefkasten (prearranged hiding place for transferring
information). Throughout the Federal Republic of Germany and West
Berlin, a labyrinthine system of stations and substations camouflaged
as business firms soon appeared. When friction began to develop
with the CIA concerning the OG’s independence, an agreement was
reached in 1949 whereby the Americans had access to the names of
the Germans’ top 150 field agents. In addition, besides receiving all
written reports and evaluations, CIA officers would act as liaisons
to each of the OG’s main departments. James Critchfield headed the
American team.
As the OG expanded into Poland, Hungary, and the Soviet Union,
serious conflicts with the Eastern bloc services became inevitable.
Confronted by the seeming omnipresence of OG agents, the Minis-
terium für Staatssicherheit under Wilhelm Zaisser responded by
deploying a number of successful double agents. Even more damag-
ing was the major counteroffensive launched by Zaisser’s successor,334 • ORGANISATION GEHLEN