Johann Wenzel Soviet intelligence officer, radio operator of the Red Chapel station. Date of Birth: 09.03.1902 Country: Germany

Biography of Johann Wenzel

Johann Wenzel was a Soviet intelligence officer and radio operator in the residency known as the "Red Orchestra". Born in a peasant family in the village of Nidau (now Nidowo, in the Marienburg/Malbork district) in the German Empire (now Poland), Wenzel showed an early interest in Marxist ideas and participated in workers' and communist movements.

After completing school, Wenzel trained as a blacksmith and worked as a locksmith in the mining industry in the Ruhr region and at the Krupp factory in Essen. In 1922, he joined the Communist Party of Germany and took on various party assignments, primarily in the organization "Rotfront" in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. He also worked at different factories and enterprises in Berlin.

In 1931 and 1932, Wenzel was involved in party work in Hamburg, Bremen, Essen, Düsseldorf, and Cologne. After a month-long imprisonment in early 1932, he went into an underground position. In 1934, he became a Soviet military intelligence officer in Germany, undergoing special training and becoming proficient in radio technology. He was fluent in Russian, French, English, and Dutch.

From 1937 to 1940, Wenzel led a reconnaissance group in Belgium, frequently traveling to Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia to carry out assignments. He was a member of the Belgian group led by Leopold Trepper and trained several radio operators for the expanding organization.

Wenzel was arrested by the Gestapo on June 30, 1942, in Brussels. After agreeing to participate in a radio game, he transmitted a distress signal to the Center and escaped on November 18. He actively participated in the resistance movement in Belgium.

In October 1945, he was repatriated to Paris through a Soviet representative, and from there, under the guise of a repatriate, he was sent to Moscow. However, in 1946, he was repressed and imprisoned until 1955. From 1955 onwards, Wenzel resided in East Germany (GDR).