Erna Eifler
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Erna Frida Eifler (born 31 August 1908, Berlin - died 8 April or 7 June 1944,
Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...
) was a German steno typist secretary who became a communist, resistance fighter, Soviet
GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...
agent (known as a ''Scout'' in Soviet parlance) and courier. In 1942, Eifler, along with GRU agent (and husband) Wilhelm Fellendorf, was trained by Soviet intelligence in sabotage,
wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...
and
parachuting Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...
. In May 1942, they were both parachuted into
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
by a Russian bomber, with separate missions to contact members of a Berlin-based resistance organisation that was later known as the Red Orchestra ("Rote Kapelle") and conduct spying operations. Eifler's task in Berlin was to re-establish contact with
Ilse Stöbe Ilse Frieda Gertrud Stöbe (17 May 1911 – 22 December 1942) was a German left-wing journalist, Soviet GRU (Soviet Union), GRU agent and German resistance to Nazism, anti-Nazi resistance fighter. As a young woman, Stöbe was exposed to communism, ...
and through her, contact Rudolf von Scheliha, Unable to complete their separate missions, they travelled to Hamburg where they were hidden by Fellendorf's mother. There they made contact with
Bernhard Bästlein Bernhard Bästlein (; 3 December 1894 – 18 September 1944) was a German Communist and German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against the Nazism, Nazi régime. He was imprisoned very shortly after the Nazis seized power in 1933 and was i ...
and hid at the safehouse of Viktor Priess. The couple were eventually arrested by the Gestapo. After completing a Funkspiel operation, Eifler was sent to
Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...
where she was murdered in 1944, aged 35.


Life

Eifler grew up an orphan, the third child, after her father, Hermann Eifler, a
lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...
died in 1919 and mother died in 1922, leaving her and her four siblings orphaned. After attending school, Eifler completed a commercial apprenticeship to train to work as a stenographer. In her youth, Eifler joined the
Young Communist League of Germany The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany. History The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prior youth wing had been formed ...
. By 1926, Eifler was a member of
Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...
(Comintern). From 1928 to January 1930 she worked for the Soviet Trade Delegation in Hamburg. In 1930, she moved to Moscow to work as a stenographer for Metallo-Import, seconded from the Delegation.


Career

When Eifler returned to Germany, she became a member of the
Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...
(KPD) in 1931 and worked in collaboration with the chemist in the , a department of the KPD that collected intelligence on factories and other works. During this period, she also worked as a stenographer in Wilhelm Bahnick's group in the BB apparatus (Betriebs-Beobachtung, operational observation department) of the KPD, while using the name "Gerda Sommer". Bahnick was a German Comintern member. In February 1935, Eifler returned to the Soviet Union where she worked for the 5th Department of
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
intelligence. From the start of 1936 to August 1938, she worked undercover in a deployment in China along with Caro. In China, Eifler used the alias "Kaethe Glanz". When she returned in 1938, she trained to become an intelligence agent. She completed a
wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...
and cryptography training course at a
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
intelligence school in Skhodnya. In August 1939, Eifler was deployed to work in the Netherlands. At the start of the war, she returned to the Soviet Union. She undertook further training in radio and parachuting in Petrovsk and Kuibyshev.


Germany mission

On the night of 16–17 May 1942, Eifler parachuted into a location close to the city of
Allenstein Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsztyn is the largest city ...
in
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
with her husband, Wilhelm Fellendorf, and two other agents, Erwin Panndorf and Willi Börner, in a veritable suicide mission. Eifler and Fellendorf formed one operational group, Panndorf and Börner formed the other operational group. Each group arrived with identity documents, food stamps, money and a
wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using electrical cable, cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimenta ...
radio set. After about 10 days, the couple reached Berlin. While there, Fellendorf and the other two agents were to scout military objects as well as determine troop strengths and movements. Eifler's task in Berlin was to re-establish contact with
Ilse Stöbe Ilse Frieda Gertrud Stöbe (17 May 1911 – 22 December 1942) was a German left-wing journalist, Soviet GRU (Soviet Union), GRU agent and German resistance to Nazism, anti-Nazi resistance fighter. As a young woman, Stöbe was exposed to communism, ...
and through her, contact Rudolf von Scheliha, She had been given Stöbe's address, as well as those of
Emil Hübner Ernst Willibald Emil Hübner (7 July 183421 February 1901) was a German classical scholar. He was born at Düsseldorf, the son of the historical painter Julius Hübner (1806–1882). After studying at Berlin and Bonn, he traveled extensively wi ...
and his daughter, Frida Wesolek. However, Eifler found Stöbe was working in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
at the time and was unable to make contact with either Hübner or Wesolek. Unable to get permanent accommodation, Eifler and Fellendorf decided to go to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
where Fellendorf's mother lived, in the hope of finding some communist connections. When they were established in Hamburg, they tried to retrieve their buried WT sets and found they had disappeared. After speaking to another parachutist
Walter Gersmann Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...
, who had been dropped on 18–19 May, they found he had been captured by the Gestapo and was now working as a
double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...
for the Gestapo. He had given away the position of the radio sets and they'd been confiscated by the Gestapo. Through contacts, they managed to meet
Bernhard Bästlein Bernhard Bästlein (; 3 December 1894 – 18 September 1944) was a German Communist and German resistance to Nazism, resistance fighter against the Nazism, Nazi régime. He was imprisoned very shortly after the Nazis seized power in 1933 and was i ...
who was part of the communist
Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen Group The Bästlein-Jacob-Abshagen Group was a German resistance group that developed around the core members Bernhard Bästlein, Franz Jacob and Robert Abshagen. It fought the National Socialist (Nazi) regime from 1940 till the end of the war in 194 ...
. Bästlein thought they were initially provocateurs and made no secret of the fact. Bästlein referred them to
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
intelligence officer Viktor Priess who worked in the Bästlein organisation. Together with his mother,
Marie Priess Marie Priess (née Marie Drew or Drews) (1885, Bünsdorf, Germany – 9 January 1983, Reinbek, West Germany), was an anti-fascist member of the Resistance movement during World War II and a member of the Red Orchestra (espionage), Red Orchestra org ...
and his brother Heinz, they hid Eifler and Fellendorf at Marie's apartment which was used as a safehouse. While there, Eifler and Fellendorf prepared a 5-page report titled: "General Staff of the Red Army, Dept. V, for the attention of Gen. Bolshakov" dated 10 September 1942 that contained a meticulous description of the activities of the parachutists up to that point. In the report, Eifler tried to address the source of treachery that led to the arrests of the other parachutists. They asked several questions in the report, which could only have been caused by betrayal from the "Moscow headquarters", namely, how did the Gestapo gain knowledge of their landing site, the real names of the parachutists and the incorrect information on the group that Eifler was supposed to contact and the non-functioning contact points in Berlin that Eifler was supposed to use. In asking these questions, Eifler and Fellendorf hoped for clarification. Bästlein made the arrangements to forward the report via a courier, but it was intercepted by the Gestapo.


Arrest, imprisonment and death

Eifler was arrested along with Marie and Heinz Priess in Hamburg on 15 October 1942. On 20 October, she was taken by train and jailed in the
Alexanderplatz (, ''Alexander Square'') is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the north-ea ...
prison in Berlin, escorted by the Gestapo, where she was subject to enhanced interrogation by Gestapo officer Walter Habecker. Fellendorf was arrested on the 28 October and shot by the Gestapo on the same day. Eifler took part in a German ''
Funkspiel ''Funkspiel'' () was a German term most used referring to counter-intelligence operations in France against the Special Operations Executive during World War II. SOE was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and recon ...
'' operation. ''Funkspiel'', defined by the German name ''Funk'' meaning radio and ''spiel'' meaning play or performance, was a common
counterintelligence Counterintelligence (counter-intelligence) or counterespionage (counter-espionage) is any activity aimed at protecting an agency's Intelligence agency, intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering informati ...
technique where controlled information was transmitted over a captured agent's radio, where the agent's parent service had no knowledge that the agent had turned. It was undertaken for a number of reasons that included poisoning the source by conveying deceptive material, discovering important intelligence and identifying networks. The operation continued until March 1945. On either 8 April or 7 June 1944, aged 35, Eifler was shot dead in
Ravensbrück concentration camp Ravensbrück () was a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women from 1939 to 1945, located in northern Germany, north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück (part of Fürstenberg/Havel). The camp memorial's estimated figure of 1 ...
.


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Bibliography

* * * * * {{Authority control 1908 births 1944 deaths Executed Red Orchestra members People from Berlin executed in Nazi concentration camps Executed communists in the German Resistance People who died in Ravensbrück concentration camp Executed German women Communist Party of Germany members Spies who died in Nazi concentration camps