1980 Verrept and Gludowacz took a circuitous route to the GDR.
As was the case with Lorenzen, a full-scale propaganda campaign
immediately ensued depicting Verrept as having left for “reasons
of conscience,” which sparked much speculation in the West Ger-
man press. Verrept then worked as a translator, and the couple, after
settling in the East Berlin area, frequently recounted their activities
at the VA training school in Klietz. Yet concern for her daughter
caused Verrept to decline interviews for a serious biography, and the
couple’s married name was withheld at their request.VERWALTUNG 19. See VERWALTUNG AUFKLÄRUNG.
VERWALTUNG AUFKLÄRUNG (VA). The intelligence branch of
the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA; National People’s Army) of the
German Democratic Republic, the Verwaltung Aufklärung (Admin-
istration for Reconnaissance) went through a number of different
designations before receiving its final name in 1966. Based on the
model of the Soviet GRU (military intelligence), the first unit—the
Verwaltung für Allgemeine Fragen (Administration for General
Questions)—was formed in September 1952 and attached to the
Barracked People’s Police. It was located in Berlin-Pankow and had
an initial staff of 50 working under the direction of Karl Linke.
A reorganization in 1956—concurrent with the creation of the
NVA—changed its name to the Verwaltung 19 (Administration 19)
and placed it under the auspices of the Ministry of National Defense.
Military attachés were also transferred to the VA beginning in 1974.
By the time of its dissolution in 1990, it counted 1,146 full-time mili-
tary and civilian employees.
Relying on human intelligence, open sources, and its own signals
facilities, the VA focused primarily on the Allied military units
stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) as well as that
country’s own emerging armed forces. Yet as sharp competition with
the Hauptverwaltung Aufklärung developed, little effort was made
to coordinate their espionage efforts. Moreover, a unit within the
Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS)—Main Division I—had
responsibility not only for guarding against enemy penetration of the
armed forces but also for maintaining the correct political posture
among the soldiers. To that end, the MfS relied on its Inoffizielle
VERWALTUNG AUFKLÄRUNG • 475