University in 1919, it was his role as an agitator and propagandist for
the newly formed Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (KPD) that
absorbed his energies.
Sorge’s work as a bodyguard for a prominent Soviet delegation at
a Frankfurt convention in 1924 resulted in his transfer to Comintern
headquarters in Moscow, where he became a member of the Soviet
Communist Party and a Soviet citizen (while still keeping his German
passport). Writing under the pseudonyms R. Sonte and I. K. Sorge, he
compiled confidential reports for the international liaison department
about the domestic affairs of Germany and other European countries.
Frequent clandestine trips expanded the Comintern’s intelligence
network. In 1929, his desire to be relieved of organizational work
and devote his career to espionage came to realization with a new
position in Department IV (intelligence) of the Red Army headed by
Jan Karlovich Berzin. Rather than return to Europe, Sorge accepted
an assignment to China, much to his superiors’ satisfaction.
Given the code names ramsay and vix, he made arrangements in
Berlin for his legal cover as a writer for two specialized agricultural
and sociological journals. His first posting was in Shanghai during
an early stage of the conflict between the Chinese nationalists and
communists. Among his closest friends was the pro-communist
American writer Agnes Smedley, who introduced him to a number
of people who came to form his Tokyo spy ring, among them the
Japanese journalist Ozaki Hotsumi. His radio operator in Shanghai
was Max Clausen, who had been charged with improving secret
communications between China and the Soviet Union. One of his
most successful recruits was Ursula Kuczynski, a fellow German
communist who eagerly responded to his overtures and received
personal instruction in tradecraft. Recalled to Moscow in December
1932, Sorge was praised for his work in China and given new instruc-
tions to obtain information about Japan’s intentions toward the So-
viet Union. A brief return visit to Berlin gave him the opportunity to
renew his journalistic contacts and, through the geopolitical theorist
Karl Haushofer, obtain letters of introduction to the German ambas-
sadors to Japan and the United States.
Arriving in Yokohama on 6 September 1933, Sorge proceeded to
the German embassy in Tokyo to register as a German national and
apply for membership in the overseas organization of the Nazi Party.
SORGE, RICHARD • 427