Although similar eastern bureaus were maintained by the West
German trade union federation as well as two other political parties,
they were significantly smaller and never played as active a role. The
Ostbüro der SPD was officially dissolved in January 1971, largely
because the party wanted to normalize relations with the GDR and
regarded any subversive activity on its part as a relic of the early
Cold War.OSTEN, ULRICH VON DER (?–1941). A senior Abwehr officer
accidentally killed in the United States, Ulrich von der Osten saw
service in the Spanish Civil War under the pseudonym Julio Lopez
Lido. Afterward, still based in Spain, he directed the Abwehr divi-
sion responsible for Great Britain and, beginning in 1940, the United
States. In that capacity, he traveled via Japan to meet with one of
his chief agents, Kurt Frederick Ludwig, in New York City but
was fatally injured by an automobile while the two men were cross-
ing Times Square on 18 March. The confiscation of Lido’s luggage
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation then led to the discovery of
his true identity and that of other German operatives active in the
country.
OSTER, HANS (1888–1945). The deputy head of the Abwehr and
a staunch anti-Nazi, Hans Oster was born in Dresden on 9 August
1888, the son of a Protestant clergyman. Following service in World
War I, he had early intelligence experience as a Reichswehr staff
officer at Münster, spying on the demilitarized Rhineland. In 1932,
an affair with a married woman forced his resignation, although he
found a position with Hermann Göring’s newly established For-
schungsamt the following year. A few months later, Oster entered
the Abwehr in a civilian capacity, and in late 1935, upon the initiative
of the new Abwehr chief, Wilhelm Canaris, he was reactivated as a
serving officer. His advancement steadily continued, first as director
of Abwehr headquarters beginning in 1938 and then as chief of staff
during World War II.
An early opponent of Adolf Hitler, Oster used the resources of
his office to build a far-flung network of both military and civil-
ian resisters. He played a leading role in the military conspiracy of
September 1938, arguing that Hitler should be arrested and declared
OSTER, HANS • 337