Jerzy Sosnowski - Intelligence Activities

Intelligence Activities

In 1926 Sosnowski, following advice of his friend, captain Marian Chodacki, became member of the Second Department of the General Headquarters, which was responsible for military intelligence as well as espionage activities (see: History of Polish intelligence services). After completing a course, he was sent to Berlin, becoming director of the In-3 office of Polish intelligence.

Upon arriving in German capital, Sosnowski presented himself as a Polish Baron Ritter von Nalecz, who deeply disliked Jozef Pilsudski and wanted to closely cooperate with Germany. Furthermore, he was presenting himself as a rabid anticommunist, member of a secret antibolshevik military organization.

The young and handsome "Baron" quickly became popular among Berlin’s social circles and started an affair with Baroness Benita von Falkenhayn, a relative of Erich von Falkenhayn, former Chief of the General Staff of the German Imperial Army. In December 1926, he talked her into cooperating with Polish intelligence, as she, owing to her connections, had a detailed knowledge of the German General Staff.

Soon afterwards, Sosnowski managed to gain services of Günther Rudloff, officer of the Abwehr’s Berlin’s branch. Rudloff agreed to cooperate, because he had owed a significant amount of money to the Pole.

Sosnowski’s quick successes raised temporary suspicion among officers of the Second Department of the General Headquarters in Warsaw. However, his next movements were even more impressive and convinced Polish headquarters of his professionalism. Agents working for the Polish spy included Irene von Jena of the Reichswehr’s headquarters (Reichswehrministerium) as well as Renate von Natzmer from the same office. As von Jena hated Poles, Sosnowski at first presented himself as a British journalist named Graves. Later, he revealed his real identity to her. Additional agents were Lotta von Lemmel and Isabelle von Tauscher, both of whom worked in the headquarters of the Reichswehr. Some of these women, including von Falkenhayn and von Natzmer, were also his lovers.

All agents supplied the Poles with very useful documentation. In 1929 Sosnowski, with help from Renate von Natzmer, acquired a copy of a war game against Poland, called Organisation Kriegsspiel. He demanded 40 000 German marks for the document, but his superiors from Warsaw refused to pay so much, thinking that information provided by Sosnowski was in fact German disinformation, and Sosnowski himself had made a secret deal with von Natzmer. Ritter von Nalecz cut the price by half and finally, he sent all documents to Warsaw for free. Nevertheless, the Poles did not take advantage of these documents.

It is estimated that until 1934, the In-3 office, headed by Sosnowski and with a support base located at Polish embassy in Berlin, was the best of all foreign branches of Polish intelligence. At the same time, its activities were regarded as very expensive, costing around 2 million zlotys.