GERMAN DESERTER

[Jacky Kingsley]

In 'Unexplained Mysteries of World War II' by William J Breuer he writes that Stalin was warned from four different sources that Germany was about to attack Russia. The sources:

1) the British had warned Stalin on 3 April in a top-secret message
2) Stalin's own spy, Richard Sorge 0n May 19
3) Rudolf Roessler, a spy in Lucerne sent a message to Stalin
4) finally, a German deserter on June 18 informed the Russians of German intentions.

Can anyone tell me the name of the German deserter, his regiment and what happened to him?

Thank you

Jacky

[[email protected]]

there is a mention of this in Harrison Salisbury's book The 900 Days The Seige of Leningrad. The person was used by Russia as a propaganda aid. He was treated well by Russia.
I cannot remember any details.

[Mait]

I can't remember the source but I read some time ago from somewhere (perhaps it was A. Beevor's Stalingrad) that this soldier was shot by Russians.

Best Regards,

Mait.

[Beppo Schmidt]

I can't remember the source but I read some time ago from somewhere (perhaps it was A. Beevor's Stalingrad) that this soldier was shot by Russians.

You might have him confused with an unfortunate Germanm deserter who warned the Russians of General Heinrici's counterattack at the end of the war and was shot after telling them all he knew.

[g.l.s.h]

I can't remember the source but I read some time ago from somewhere (perhaps it was A. Beevor's Stalingrad) that this soldier was shot by Russians.

Best Regards,

Mait.

I read this in Richard Obrys "War of Russia" (thats the way it is called in the Hebrew translation). He says that the soldier was "to be trusted" and was shot by the Russians on Stalins order. The author gives 2 referances for this story, one in an autobiography of Berya and a book named KGB (or some sort of a document from KGB records published in English).

[Jacky Kingsley]

Mait, Beppo and g.i.s.h.

Thank you for your information.

G.i.s.h. if the unfortunate deserter was shot and is mentioned in Berya's autobiography does he mention his name at all. I presume we are talking about the man who deserted before Operation Barbarossa.

Thank you

Jacky

[Mait]

Mait, Beppo and g.i.s.h.

Thank you for your information.

G.i.s.h. if the unfortunate deserter was shot and is mentioned in Berya's autobiography does he mention his name at all. I presume we are talking about the man who deserted before Operation Barbarossa.

Thank you

Jacky

I mean the guy Georgi Zhukov describes in his memoirs - the guy who deserted in the evening of 21.06.1941 and ran over to Ukrainian border guards and informed them about German attack to start next day.

Best Regards,

Mait.

[Jacky Kingsley]

Hi Mait

Thank you very much.

Jacky

[Juha Hujanen]

There's a small account of June 18th deserter in Time-Life series Russia Besieged.

According to it deserter was interrogated by Colonel Ivan I.Fedyuninsky in Western Ukraine.The deserter was young man who said that he had got drunk and struck an officer.Before he was court-martialed,he went to Russians.
He said that he had always liked Russians and his father was a communist.He also said "Will my life be spared?".When Russians asked why did he asked that,German replied "Because war is going to start soon."

Then he told about forthcoming attack.Fedyuninsky reported that to his superiors but Major General M.I.Potapov,who was CO of 5th Army,said "You should not believe provocations like that,A German in fear of his life would bable anything".

There's no info about name or unit of deserter nor his fate.

/Juha

[Jacky Kingsley]

Hi Juha

Thank you very much. It's a coincidence that I have purchased Russia Beseiged on ebay, so thank you.

Jacky

[Aetius]

Hi,

where deserteurs or POW often used for propaganda by the soviets?

In an interview with a flemish soldier of the langemarck division he stated that they where often spoken to by speaker from the soviet positions telling them to surrender or be anahilated.
He said that they where spoken to in dutch, which would suggest that the soviets had used dutch or flemish POW for propaganda purposes.

[panzertruppe2001]

There's a small account of June 18th deserter in Time-Life series Russia Besieged.

According to it deserter was interrogated by Colonel Ivan I.Fedyuninsky in Western Ukraine.The deserter was young man who said that he had got drunk and struck an officer.Before he was court-martialed,he went to Russians.
He said that he had always liked Russians and his father was a communist.He also said "Will my life be spared?".When Russians asked why did he asked that,German replied "Because war is going to start soon."

Then he told about forthcoming attack.Fedyuninsky reported that to his superiors but Major General M.I.Potapov,who was CO of 5th Army,said "You should not believe provocations like that,A German in fear of his life would bable anything".

There's no info about name or unit of deserter nor his fate.

/Juha

Irving mention the story in his Hitler War. He says that the German was a Sergeant that was afraid to be shot by the Germans because he had struck an officer

[Simon Gunson]

On the History channel quite recently it was mentioned that Stalin was told all these warnings but refused to believe that Hitler would attack.

[Kiesel]

Alfred Liskow was the deserter, and probably died in gulag circa 1943.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=117578&p=1814687&hi ... w#p1814687


https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-ar ... l?chrome=1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Liskow

I know, a little late to answer but better late than never.

[Art]

Liskow was interrogated in early hours of 22 June 1941. His testimony simply couldn't reach Moscow before actual start of hostilities or have any practical effect there.
It appears that Liskow himself was an odd person with rather exotic political beliefs. Unsurprisingly, he didn't say in Komintern for long.