Alfred Frenzel (1899-1968) was a Czechoslovakian spy who was given the code name Anna by the StB. He was the most important StB spy during the entire Cold War. 1899 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: ÄŒeskoslovensko, Slovak: ÄŒesko-Slovensko/before 1990 ÄŒeskoslovensko, German: Tschechoslowakei) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). ... Espionage is the practice of obtaining secrets (spying) from rivals or enemies for military, political, or economic advantage. ... A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. ... STB is an acronym that can stand for: set-top box, a television device that converts signals to viewable images The United States Surface Transportation Board, the successor to the Interstate Commerce Commission The StB, the secret police in Communist Czechoslovakia a graphics card manufacturer, see STB Systems spin the... For the generic term for a high-tension struggle between countries, see cold war (war). ...

During World War II, after the invasion of his homeland by Nazi Germany, Frenzel worked as an agent for the government in exile in the United Kingdom. After the end of the war, Czechoslovakia became a communist state, and Frenzel emigrated to West Germany. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a countrys legitimate government, but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power, and instead resides in a foreign country. ... A Communist state is a term for a state governed by a single political party which declares its allegiance to the principles of Marxism-Leninism. ... Emigration is the act and the phenomenon of leaving ones native country to settle abroad. ...

The new state intelligence service in Czechoslovakia, the StB, examined the files of pre-war intelligence officers, and found information on Frenzel's pre-war activities. When they discovered that Frenzel had been appointed to the parliamentary defence committee responsible for remilitarising West Germany and establishing her place in NATO, the StB leapt on this opportunity to recruit such a highly placed spy. An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ... The NATO flag NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, D.C., on April 4...

Recruitment

In April 1956, an old friend of Frenzel's visited him in West Germany. He told Frenzel that he was now working for the Czechoslovakian government, and offered Frenzel a job. The old friend added that he would expose Frenzel's political past and criminal record unless he took up the offer. He also said that Frenzel's wife, who was on a trip to Prague, would be in grave danger if he refused. Intimidated, Frenzel agreed to take the job. April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A criminal record or rap sheet is a generic term used to describe a compiled record of crimes that a person has committed or has allegedly committed. ... Prague (Czech: Praha, see also other names) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ... Intimidation is the act of making others do what one wants through fear. ...

He travelled to Vienna, Austria, which was at the time crawling with StB officers due to its proximity to Czechoslovakia, where he was given 1,500 Deutsche Marks and given the code name Anna. In July, he signed a document indicating his links to the StB. Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine states (Land Wien). ... The Deutsche Mark (DM, DEM) was the official currency of West and, from 1990, unified Germany. ... July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...

Frenzel was now trapped, and the StB had enough information to blackmail him unless he did exactly as they said. Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a monetary demand is met. ...

Espionage activities

Under the close watch of his StB controller, Major Bohumil Molnár, Frenzel returned to West Germany. He began to pass information to Molnár, including a copy of the entire West German defence budget and details of prototype American aircraft. Major is the name most commonly given to the military rank equivalent to NATO rank code OF-3. ... Budget generally refers to a list of all planned expenses and revenues. ... Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ...

To reward him for this, the StB gave him a car and a villa back in Czechoslovakia, and also paid Frenzel an enormous salary, placed into a Czechoslovakian bank so as not to arouse West German suspicion. A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Roman villa. ... // A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which is specified in an employment contract. ... The essential function of a bank is to provide services related to the storing of deposits and the extending of credit. ...

During his time as a spy, the StB's Technical Directorate gave Frenzel many new and experimental devices, including a small, film carrying statue, which, by way of a small explosive charge, would destroy its film unless a special mercury switch was deactivated. Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. ... This article is concerned solely with chemical explosives. ... General Name, Symbol, Number mercury, Hg, 80 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 200. ...

Much of the information the StB gathered from Frenzel was passed on to the KGB. The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language acronym for the Committee for State Security, (Russian: Комите́т Госуда́рственной Безопа́сности ▶(?); transliteration: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti), and was the umbrella organisation name for (i) the principal Soviet internal Security Agency, (ii) the principal intelligence agency, and (iii...

Downfall

In September 1959, Frenzel was passed on from Molnar (who was promoted to deputy director of the StB for his work with Frenzel) to a new controller, a man operating under the pseudonym Franz Altman. Altman's favourite method of transporting information and film was by way of the containers that would destroy their contents, such as the small statue mentioned before. September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to their legal name (whereas an allonym is the name of another actual person assumed by one person, usually historical, in authorship of a work of art; e. ...

These containers would be passed on to Czechoslovakian diplomats, who would return the information to Prague. However, in October 1960, the West German counterintelligence organisation, the BfV, became suspicious of Altman, after the tax department reported spending disproportionate to his income. This page is about negotiations; for the board game, see Diplomacy (game). ... October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Counterintelligence or counter-espionage is the act of seeking and indentifying espionage activities. ... A tax is a compulsory charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (e. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ...

Altman was arrested just before he boarded a flight to Prague. The arresting BfV agents went through his luggage, and found a talcolm powder tin. It was determined to be carrying film, and BfV agents very carefully disassembled it.

Inside was a roll of film, and when the film was developed, photos were found of key West German installations. In the corner of one photo was the number plate of a car. The BfV investigated this, and found that the car belonged to Alfred Frenzel. Along with further evidence, he was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. A number plate may be: A road vehicle license plate. ...

He was exchanged for four West German agents five years later.

Frenzel died of natural causes in 1968.

Reference

The Ultimate Spy Book by H. Keith Melton, ISBN 0-86438-875-6