ZGRAM - 8/5/2002 - "'Hitler diaries' man was a spy"
irimland@zundelsite.org
irimland@zundelsite.org
Mon, 5 Aug 2002 08:39:42 -0700
ZGram - Where Truth is Destiny
August 5, 2002
Good Morning from the Zundelsite:
Ever more deception is being revealed! I found the following posted
on David Irving's website:
[START]
'Hitler diaries' man was a spy
John Hooper
in Berlin
THE journalist jailed for his part in one of the 20th century's great
hoaxes - the publication of the 'Hitler diaries' - was an agent of
East Germany's intelligence service, the Stasi, according to new
evidence published yesterday.
Gerd Heidemann, who acted as the intermediary between the forger of
the diaries and his employers at Stern magazine, was quoted as saying
he had, in fact, been a double agent.
The news weekly Der Spiegel, which published an extract from Mr
Heidemann's Stasi file, said he claimed to have handed over his
payments from the East Germans to West Germany's counter-intelligence
service.
The revelation of his links to the Stasi will breathe new life into
the theory that the 1983 Hitler diaries affair was not just a vintage
bungle but a communist plot.
Its unmasking did lasting damage not only to Stern but also to Rupert
Murdoch's media empire and the reputation of a leading conservative
historian.
The Sunday Times was about to begin serialising the diaries and the
Times had already carried an article by Lord Dacre (formerly
Professor Hugh Trevor-Roper) endorsing their authenticity.
Supposedly covering the entire history of the Third Reich, from 1933
to 1945, they were in fact the invention of a Stuttgart forger,
Konrad Kujau.
Heidemann claimed to have been duped by him. But the forger insisted
that he had told Heidemann they were fakes.
The document says that Heidemann was recruited by the East German
intelligence service in 1953 when he was a young photo-journalist. He
was given the code-name Gerhard.
His mission was to provide information mainly on "military targets
and secret service premises, in particular those of the English [sic]
secret service".
Der Spiegel said other documents in his file showed that he
photographed secret sites in several parts of Germany.
He was well paid but constantly demanded more. On one occasion his
case officer noted dryly that "the money issue for him always plays
the leading role".
Der Spiegel said Heidemann wrote to the Stasi in 1955, withdrawing
his services.
But the files also revealed that in 1978, agent Gerhad was handed
over by the department that had recruited him to the Stasi's foreign
espionage department under Markus Wolf.
His file was archived - a sign that he was no longer considered
useful - in 1986.
[END]
( Source: http://www.fpp.co.uk/Hitler/Kujau/Guardian030802.html )