his friend Pabst under investigation by a military tribunal looking into the deaths of Liebknecht and Luxemburg. Vogel, who had driven Luxemburg, had been arrested; while shortly afterwards, his accomplice Pflugk-Hartung was also placed under arrest. A full trial now appeared inevitable.
Canaris visited the prisoners and briefed them on their defence, rehearsing with them every detail so that no clue could be traced to his friend Pabst. Canaris also explored the possibility of helping the officers escape abroad with the help of money and false papers. Already at this stage, Canaris was a versatile exponent of the art of subterfuge and deception.
In the event the officers were acquitted, except for Vogel, who was sentenced to two years for âfailure of discipline and abuse of power.â But he did not remain in prison for long. On the afternoon of 17 May, a young lieutenant, announcing himself as Oberleutnant Lindemann, arrived at the guard room of the Moabit Prison with instructions, signed by the highest judicial authority, to transfer the convict to another prison. In a few minutes both men had disappeared. Both the documentation and the Oberleutnant Lindemann were fakes. In a few hours, Vogel was safely over the frontier in Holland. âLindemannâ meanwhile, if Pabst is to be believed, reverted to his real identity: Canaris.
The removal of a prisoner, by one German officer impersonatinganother, equipped with a forged release order signed by the chief military prosecutor, was even by the standards of the time a highly unconventional event. Unsurprisingly, the authorities demanded an explanation and a new inquiry was established to work out how Vogel could have escaped. Arrests were made of suspects within his immediate circle and one of those was Canaris. But after eight days in custody, he was brought before a military tribunal consisting of several officers, most of whom had, in some way, been themselves involved in instigating the entire affair. Canaris was released, his reputation among the military higher than at any time hitherto. Here was the man whom right-wing politicians and soldiers could trust for missions involving subtlety and subterfuge. Now thirty-three years of age and shortly to be married, he was the man whose name would be discreetly mentioned when officers gathered to discuss how they could restore Germany to her former glory by âbreaking the rulesâ. 7
Unsurprisingly, it was perhaps only a question of time before another political intrigue enveloped him. This time the intrigue came firmly from the ranks of the right and would set him against his old patron, Noske. The punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles were rejected by the officer corps and the desire of the government to sign inevitably led to friction. Into this explosive atmosphere the Allies threw a grenade, in the form of a list of 800 âwar criminalsâ whom they demanded to be handed over. As the list included members of the German royal family, Admiral Tirpitz, Ludendorff and Hindenburg and practically every important leader in German public life during the war, the note provoked outrage.
Supported by Ludendorff (in the shadows), Wolfgang Kapp, a pale bureaucrat from East Prussia, surrounded by a motley group of officers, staged a putsch aimed at restoring Germany to her former feudal glory and repudiating the Versailles treaty.
Faced with the choice of supporting his fellow officers or Noske, Canaris chose the former, but a general strike called by Noske paralysed therebels and much of the Reichswehr remained aloof. Expecting a heroesâ welcome, but greeted with hostility, the Kappists quickly crumbled. Kapp himself crept out of the Chancellery he had arrived at three days earlier in top hat and tails, wearing a trenchcoat and trilby. Most of the leaders went into exile in a wave of similar low-key and furtive departures.
Within two days the dream was over and Canaris found himself once again
Canaris visited the prisoners and briefed them on their defence, rehearsing with them every detail so that no clue could be traced to his friend Pabst. Canaris also explored the possibility of helping the officers escape abroad with the help of money and false papers. Already at this stage, Canaris was a versatile exponent of the art of subterfuge and deception.
In the event the officers were acquitted, except for Vogel, who was sentenced to two years for âfailure of discipline and abuse of power.â But he did not remain in prison for long. On the afternoon of 17 May, a young lieutenant, announcing himself as Oberleutnant Lindemann, arrived at the guard room of the Moabit Prison with instructions, signed by the highest judicial authority, to transfer the convict to another prison. In a few minutes both men had disappeared. Both the documentation and the Oberleutnant Lindemann were fakes. In a few hours, Vogel was safely over the frontier in Holland. âLindemannâ meanwhile, if Pabst is to be believed, reverted to his real identity: Canaris.
The removal of a prisoner, by one German officer impersonatinganother, equipped with a forged release order signed by the chief military prosecutor, was even by the standards of the time a highly unconventional event. Unsurprisingly, the authorities demanded an explanation and a new inquiry was established to work out how Vogel could have escaped. Arrests were made of suspects within his immediate circle and one of those was Canaris. But after eight days in custody, he was brought before a military tribunal consisting of several officers, most of whom had, in some way, been themselves involved in instigating the entire affair. Canaris was released, his reputation among the military higher than at any time hitherto. Here was the man whom right-wing politicians and soldiers could trust for missions involving subtlety and subterfuge. Now thirty-three years of age and shortly to be married, he was the man whose name would be discreetly mentioned when officers gathered to discuss how they could restore Germany to her former glory by âbreaking the rulesâ. 7
Unsurprisingly, it was perhaps only a question of time before another political intrigue enveloped him. This time the intrigue came firmly from the ranks of the right and would set him against his old patron, Noske. The punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles were rejected by the officer corps and the desire of the government to sign inevitably led to friction. Into this explosive atmosphere the Allies threw a grenade, in the form of a list of 800 âwar criminalsâ whom they demanded to be handed over. As the list included members of the German royal family, Admiral Tirpitz, Ludendorff and Hindenburg and practically every important leader in German public life during the war, the note provoked outrage.
Supported by Ludendorff (in the shadows), Wolfgang Kapp, a pale bureaucrat from East Prussia, surrounded by a motley group of officers, staged a putsch aimed at restoring Germany to her former feudal glory and repudiating the Versailles treaty.
Faced with the choice of supporting his fellow officers or Noske, Canaris chose the former, but a general strike called by Noske paralysed therebels and much of the Reichswehr remained aloof. Expecting a heroesâ welcome, but greeted with hostility, the Kappists quickly crumbled. Kapp himself crept out of the Chancellery he had arrived at three days earlier in top hat and tails, wearing a trenchcoat and trilby. Most of the leaders went into exile in a wave of similar low-key and furtive departures.
Within two days the dream was over and Canaris found himself once again
Similar Books
