Willy Brandt
| Willy Brandt link Powerbase Sourcewatch Wikiquote (Politician) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm 1913-12-18 Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck, Germany |
| Died | 1992-10-08 Unkel, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
| Children | 4 |
| Spouse | Carlotta Thorkildsen |
| Party | Social Democratic Party of Germany, Socialist Workers' Party |
West German Chancellor 1969-1974 | |
US asset
Brandt agreed to become a CIC informant in 1948 out of concern over Soviet efforts to suppress his party, the Social Democratic Party of Germany. In the years that followed, he provided his handlers with several hundred reports obtained from social democrats in the Soviet Zone about political, military, and economic conditions there. As Brandt's significance in Berlin rose, so did his value as an American intelligence source.[1]
The then US occupying power in Germany financially supported a group around Willy Brandt in the 1950s in the power struggle within the SPD. In 1950, Brandt, while a member of the Bundestag and the editor-in-chief of the Berliner Stadtblatt, was supported with a total of DM 200,000 from funds from the Marshall plan, which were disguised as payments for special supplements. Hans E. Hirschfeld, who was part of the group around Brandt and Ernst Reuter, had approached the US authorities himself and asked for support.[2][3]
References
- ↑ https://irp.fas.org/agency/army/covert-legions.pdf
- ↑ https://m.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/historiker-enthuellt-washington-unterstuetzte-willy-brandt-mit-geheimen-zahlungen-14280080.html
- ↑ https://www.mz.de/deutschland-und-welt/politik/ehemaliger-bundeskanzler-willy-brandt-spd-erhielt-finanzielle-unterstutzung-von-us-besatzungsmachten-1175200
