Sorge

[oscar]

Was the Soviet spy Sorge in Tokyo arrested. When,
and what led to hes arresting?

[Juha Hujanen]

The Japanese secret service had intercepted many of his radio messages to Soviet Union and they arrested one member of Sorge's spy ring in 14th October 41.The arrested man was Ozaki Hozuni and Sorge was arrested 18th October.

/Juha

[David E M]

What Juha says is correct, however he was actually betrayed by his lover a girl called Kiyomi. He was hung in Sugamo prison. The Russians left him to his fate.
There are some unusual circumstances regarding his execution, these led to the 'Sorge is alive' rumours after the war.
His lover Kiyomi was shot dead in an alley in Shanghai in 1947 after apparently seeing Sorge in a night club , she ran out in panic and was shot down in the alleyway.
Cheers. D.

[Beppo Schmidt]

There are some unusual circumstances regarding his execution, these led to the 'Sorge is alive' rumours after the war.

what sorts of unusual circumstances?

[David E M]

Ok, just a few, Sorge claimed Soviet citizenship after he was sentenced, there was a long delay between sentence and execution, possibly the Japanese were negotiating with the Soviets.
The prison records list the official witnesses at his execution. They are all Japanese. Not one European was present. Yet it was an inviolable rule of Japanese law that a condemned foreigner should be represented at his hanging either by members of his family or the diplomatic representatives of his country.
Immediately after an execution in Japan, it was the rule that the next-of-kin should be informed that the body was ready for burial.
This did not happen in Sorges case.
He was reportedly seen by a French diplomat in a Shanghai bar after his supposed execution.

My source is a book written by a German diplomat who served in Tokyo during the war, Hans-Otto Meisner, and knew Sorge.

Cheers. D.

[gabriel pagliarani]

But Sorge is an Hero of the Soviet Union, buried in the walls in the Kremlin as Gagarin and very few others. He declared his own citizenship after judjement to avoid to be tortured. Soviet Union was not in war against Japan and certainity of death avoided long jailing and torments. In this way Sorge killed himself as quickly as possible in order to keep secret. What secret? Pearl Harbour surely: Molotov was ensured by Sorge that Japs would have declared war against USA just before 1942 and the whole Russian strategy in the North front changed: pls watch the thread "Finland" about the struggle for Murmansk and Archangelsk strategical harbours. The programmed massive withdrawal of Soviet war industries behind Urals and just prepared after Barbarossa day was suddenly stopped and the trap of Stalingrad began to be prepared. In my opinion Sorge was a real hero, one of the few men who changed the course of History.

[Lars EP]

What Juha says is correct, however he was actually betrayed by his lover a girl called Kiyomi. He was hung in Sugamo prison. The Russians left him to his fate.
There are some unusual circumstances regarding his execution, these led to the 'Sorge is alive' rumours after the war.
His lover Kiyomi was shot dead in an alley in Shanghai in 1947 after apparently seeing Sorge in a night club , she ran out in panic and was shot down in the alleyway.
Cheers. D.

Errr.... what excactly should the Soviet Union has done? "Don't shoot our spy! If you do so, we will attack.... in four years when we are finished with Germany and have some trops to spare!"

:roll:

Regards --- Lars