Manfred Stern
Encyclopedia
Manfred Stern (1896–1954) was a member of the GRU
, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy
in the United States
, as a military advisor
in China
, and gained fame under his nom de guerre as General Kléber, leader of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War
.
(now Hlyboka Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast
, Ukraine
), a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the border between Romania
and Ukraine
. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna
.
at the beginning of World War I
, he was captured by the Tsarist
army and taken to a POW camp in Siberia
. Freed by the October Revolution
, he became a Bolshevik
and joined the Red Army
. He led a partisan
unit in Siberia against the White Army of Admiral Kolchak and fought in Mongolia
against the warlord "bloody" Baron Ungern von Sternberg
and his ally, the religious leader Bogd Khan
. In 1921 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the short-lived Far Eastern Republic
.
After the Civil War, he returned to Moscow and enrolled in the Frunze Military Academy. Upon graduation, in 1924, he joined Walter Krivitsky
in the Red Army's Fourth Department (the GRU
, or military intelligence). He was assigned to the Comintern
and acted as an instructor in its military schools.
's chief spy in the United States
. Based in New York City
and operating under the cover name of Mark Zilbert, he managed a network of sources and agents involved in the theft of military secrets. In one operation they stole the plans for a new American tank. Another operation was foiled by a source who went to U.S. Naval Intelligence and continued to deliver faked documents to the Soviets. The apparatus kept a safe apartment on West 57th Street, owned by Paula Levine, later part of a Soviet spy ring in Paris, and kept a photographic studio on Gay Street
in Greenwich Village
, where "Charlie," in actuality Leon Minster the brother-in-law of Vyacheslav Molotov
, microfilmed the stolen documents. German sailors acted as couriers to the GRU in Europe.
where he served as the Comintern
's military advisor to the newly created Jiangxi Soviet
. Stern's activities in China remain veiled in mystery. In a report to the Moscow Comintern, he claimed that he tried to forge an alliance between the Chinese Red Army and a rebel Nationalist army whose officers had seized control of nearby Fukien
province. However, this alliance failed and the National Revolutionary Army
, under the command of Chiang Kai-shek
, encircled the Chinese Red Army, forcing them to abandon their base in Jiangxi and to begin the Long March
.
Stern returned to Moscow in 1935 and worked briefly for Otto Kuusinen in the secretariat of the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI).
on a hot day in September 1936, disguised inappropriately as a "furrier." He adopted the name of one of Napoleon's generals, Jean-Baptiste Kléber, and posed as an Austrian born Canadian citizen. He served as a military advisor to the International Brigades
.
During the Battle of Madrid, November 1936, he led the 3,000 member International Brigade against Franco's Nationalist army. At a time when it appeared all was lost—the Republican government of Largo Caballero had already abandoned the capital—the arrival of Kléber and the International Brigade boosted the morale of Madrid's Republican defenders. The Brigades fought from street to street and held the line at Casa de Campo
, repulsing the Nationalists. The foreign press broadcast the victory over Fascism
throughout the world and heralded General Kléber as the "Savior of Madrid."
The New York Times
correspondent Herbert Matthews
, interviewed Stern shortly after the battle. "Listening to General Kléber," he wrote, "one gets the impression of great dynamic force. He is a character possibly destined to play a great part in the troubled years which face the world...In thinking about him it is hard not to ponder on the ironical fact that Hitler is not the only native of Austria who is playing a great part in the Spanish civil war." Ironically, this renown was Stern's undoing. He was quietly removed to the rear, briefly returned to command the 45th Division for several battles, then recalled to Moscow.
chief in Spain, Alexander Orlov, knew that Stern's recall meant certain imprisonment and death because in Moscow Stalin and Yezhov were busy purging
the Red Army. He offered to employ Stern as a member of the NKVD. While awaiting orders, Stern spent his final months in Spain relaxing at a small orange plantation and entertaining his young Spanish mistress. Voroshilov
denied his transfer and ordered his return to Moscow.
In May 1939 a Military Collegium
condemned Stern to fifteen years of hard labor. He became a non-person. His name was deliberately withheld from official Soviet histories of the Spanish Civil War. The remaining years of his life were spent in the Gulag
and he died of exhaustion at a labor camp in Sosnovka on February 18, 1954.
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
, Soviet military intelligence. He served as a spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as a military advisor
Military advisor
Military advisors, or combat advisors, are soldiers sent to foreign nations to aid that nation with its military training, organization, and other various military tasks. These soldiers are often sent to aid a nation without the potential casualties and political ramifications of actually...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and gained fame under his nom de guerre as General Kléber, leader of the International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Early life
He was born into a Jewish family in BukovinaBukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
(now Hlyboka Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast
Chernivtsi Oblast is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
), a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the border between Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
.
World War I & The Russian Revolution
Drafted into the Austro-Hungarian armyAustro-Hungarian Army
The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint army , the Austrian Landwehr , and the Hungarian Honvédség .In the wake of fighting between the...
at the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was captured by the Tsarist
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
army and taken to a POW camp in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Freed by the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
, he became a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
and joined the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. He led a partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
unit in Siberia against the White Army of Admiral Kolchak and fought in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
against the warlord "bloody" Baron Ungern von Sternberg
Roman Ungern von Sternberg
Baron Roman Nikolai Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg was a Russian Yesaul , Lieutenant-general, and a hero of World War I...
and his ally, the religious leader Bogd Khan
Bogd Khan
The Bogd Khan was enthroned as the Great Khaan of Mongolia on 29 December 1911, when Outer Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Dynasty after the Xinhai Revolution. He was born in the Kham region of eastern Tibet, today's Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China...
. In 1921 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the short-lived Far Eastern Republic
Far Eastern Republic
The Far Eastern Republic , sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally independent state that existed from April 1920 to November 1922 in the easternmost part of the Russian Far East...
.
After the Civil War, he returned to Moscow and enrolled in the Frunze Military Academy. Upon graduation, in 1924, he joined Walter Krivitsky
Walter Krivitsky
Walter Germanovich Krivitsky was a Soviet intelligence officer who revealed plans of signing Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact before defecting weeks before the outbreak of World War II....
in the Red Army's Fourth Department (the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
, or military intelligence). He was assigned to the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and acted as an instructor in its military schools.
Espionage career
In 1929, Stern became the GRUGRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
's chief spy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and operating under the cover name of Mark Zilbert, he managed a network of sources and agents involved in the theft of military secrets. In one operation they stole the plans for a new American tank. Another operation was foiled by a source who went to U.S. Naval Intelligence and continued to deliver faked documents to the Soviets. The apparatus kept a safe apartment on West 57th Street, owned by Paula Levine, later part of a Soviet spy ring in Paris, and kept a photographic studio on Gay Street
Gay Street (Manhattan)
Gay Street, a short street that marks off one block of Greenwich Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. This street, originally a stable alley, was probably named for an early landowner, not for the sexuality of any denizens. Nor is it likely, as is , that its namesake was Sidney...
in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, where "Charlie," in actuality Leon Minster the brother-in-law of Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
, microfilmed the stolen documents. German sailors acted as couriers to the GRU in Europe.
Military advisor in China
From New York, Stern traveled in 1932 to ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
where he served as the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
's military advisor to the newly created Jiangxi Soviet
Jiangxi Soviet
The Chinese Soviet Republic , also translated as the Soviet Republic of China or the China Soviet Republic, and often referred to in historical literature as the Jiangxi Soviet , was a state established in November 1931 by the future Communist Party of China leader Mao...
. Stern's activities in China remain veiled in mystery. In a report to the Moscow Comintern, he claimed that he tried to forge an alliance between the Chinese Red Army and a rebel Nationalist army whose officers had seized control of nearby Fukien
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province. However, this alliance failed and the National Revolutionary Army
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...
, under the command of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
, encircled the Chinese Red Army, forcing them to abandon their base in Jiangxi and to begin the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
.
Stern returned to Moscow in 1935 and worked briefly for Otto Kuusinen in the secretariat of the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI).
"General Kléber" & the Spanish Civil War
Stern arrived in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on a hot day in September 1936, disguised inappropriately as a "furrier." He adopted the name of one of Napoleon's generals, Jean-Baptiste Kléber, and posed as an Austrian born Canadian citizen. He served as a military advisor to the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
.
During the Battle of Madrid, November 1936, he led the 3,000 member International Brigade against Franco's Nationalist army. At a time when it appeared all was lost—the Republican government of Largo Caballero had already abandoned the capital—the arrival of Kléber and the International Brigade boosted the morale of Madrid's Republican defenders. The Brigades fought from street to street and held the line at Casa de Campo
Casa de Campo
The Casa de Campo is the largest urban park situated west of central Madrid, . It was formerly a royal hunting estate. Its area is more than ....
, repulsing the Nationalists. The foreign press broadcast the victory over Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
throughout the world and heralded General Kléber as the "Savior of Madrid."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
correspondent Herbert Matthews
Herbert Matthews
Herbert Lionel Matthews was a reporter and editorialist for the New York Times who grew to notoriety after revealing that Fidel Castro was still alive and living in the Sierra Maestra mountains, though Batista had claimed publicly that he was killed during the 26th of July Movement's...
, interviewed Stern shortly after the battle. "Listening to General Kléber," he wrote, "one gets the impression of great dynamic force. He is a character possibly destined to play a great part in the troubled years which face the world...In thinking about him it is hard not to ponder on the ironical fact that Hitler is not the only native of Austria who is playing a great part in the Spanish civil war." Ironically, this renown was Stern's undoing. He was quietly removed to the rear, briefly returned to command the 45th Division for several battles, then recalled to Moscow.
Recall to Moscow, imprisonment, & death
The NKVDNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
chief in Spain, Alexander Orlov, knew that Stern's recall meant certain imprisonment and death because in Moscow Stalin and Yezhov were busy purging
Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
The Case of Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization was a 1937 secret trial of the high command of the Red Army, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin as part of the Great Purge.-Defendants:...
the Red Army. He offered to employ Stern as a member of the NKVD. While awaiting orders, Stern spent his final months in Spain relaxing at a small orange plantation and entertaining his young Spanish mistress. Voroshilov
Kliment Voroshilov
Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov , popularly known as Klim Voroshilov was a Soviet military officer, politician, and statesman...
denied his transfer and ordered his return to Moscow.
In May 1939 a Military Collegium
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR
Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR was created in 1924 to the Supreme Court of the USSR as a court for the higher military and political personnel of Red Army and Fleet...
condemned Stern to fifteen years of hard labor. He became a non-person. His name was deliberately withheld from official Soviet histories of the Spanish Civil War. The remaining years of his life were spent in the Gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
and he died of exhaustion at a labor camp in Sosnovka on February 18, 1954.
Sources
- Walerij Brun-Zechowoj, Manfred Stern - General Kleber. Die tragische Biographie eines Berufsrevolutionärs (1896-1954). Wolfgang Weist, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89626-175-4.
- David Dallin, Soviet Espionage, Yale University Press, 1955.
- Lloyd Eastman, The Abortive Revolution: China under Nationalist Rule, 1927-1937, Harvard University Press, 1990.
- Herbert L. Matthews, "Canadian Leader Praises Spaniards," in New York Times, December 12, 1936.
- Alexander Orlov, March of Time, St. Ermin's Press, 2004.