Hans Kahle (22 April 1899 – 1 September 1947) was a German journalist, communist, and head of the Volkspolizei in Mecklenburg.Militaer Wochenblatt

Education and career

Kahle was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, the son of a senior official. He attended high school, followed by the main military academy, the Preußische Hauptkadettenanstalt, in Lichterfelde. He fought as a cadet and later as an Oberleutnant in the 82nd Infantry Regiment of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and became a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

in 1918, held by the Third French Republic, from which he was repatriated in 1920. After the war, he began a commercial apprenticeship and attended the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. From 1921 to 1926, he was a clerk in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and returned to the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

in 1927. He became a member of the German Communist Party (KPD) in 1928. During 1930–1933, he served as editor, publishing director and later chairman of the independent radio-federal employees and the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

wing of the Communist Party. In 1933, he was forced to emigrate to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and later he was sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. There he worked as a journalist, as an editor of ''Tribunal'', and organized for the International Red Aid in Spain relief efforts for the Victims of the Asturian miners' uprising. In 1936 he worked in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the organizing committee of the International Brigades in Spain, until he went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in October. According to information later received by British Intelligence, Kahle was alleged to have been one of the leading spymasters for the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

, the Soviet political police, in the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

. Kahle fought until 1938 in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, in the International Brigade of the Spanish Republican Army. Initially, he was commander of the "Edgar André Batallion", from November 1936 Commander of the XI International Brigade ( Thälmann) In 1937, he became commander of the 17th Division, and during the Battle of the Ebro in 1938 he commanded the 45th Division of the Spanish Republican Army. During 1938 and 1939, he was interned as an enemy alien by the Third French Republic. Between 1940 and 1941, Kahle was also interned by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. After his release in 1941, Kahle returned to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he worked as a war correspondent. He was a founding member of the Free Germany Movement, which was believed by MI5, the British domestic counterintelligence service, to be a front for recruiting anti-Nazi refugees into a Soviet NKGB spy ring. MI5 also believed Kahle to be a very high level Soviet intelligence operative and spymaster and, in addition to opening his mail, MI5 secretly had Kahle under constant surveillance. For this very reason, in fact, intercepting a wartime letter to Kahle from

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...

led MI5 to start a file on the latter. In February 1946, Kahle returned to the Soviet Zone of Occupied Germany, which he helped to build into a future Soviet Bloc state that would later be named the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Kahle became chief of the '' Volkspolizei'' in Mecklenburg and state chairman of the ruling

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

(SED) in Mecklenburg. On August 22, 1947 he had to undergo a serious stomach operation, which he did not survive. He died in Ludwigslust in 1947 at the age of 48.

In popular culture

* Hans Kahle was the model for the character of General Hans in the war novel '' For Whom the Bell Tolls'' by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

References

1899 births 1947 deaths 20th-century German journalists German male journalists German male writers German people of the Spanish Civil War German police chiefs German prisoners of war in World War I German spies for the Soviet Union International Brigades personnel Interwar-period spies People from Charlottenburg People from the Province of Brandenburg People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II Prussian Army personnel Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Soviet spies against Western Europe World War I prisoners of war held by France World War II spies for the Soviet Union German Army personnel of World War I {{Germany-journalist-stub