The Gehlen Organization

 

The Gehlen Organization, also known as the Gehlen Org, was a West German intelligence organization that was active during the Cold War. It was established in 1946 by Reinhard Gehlen, a former German general who had been in charge of intelligence on the Eastern Front during World War II.

The organization's main focus was on gathering intelligence on the Soviet Union and its satellite states in Eastern Europe. It also had a mandate to gather information on other countries that were considered potential adversaries of West Germany, such as China and North Korea.

The Gehlen Org was initially funded by the United States, and it worked closely with American intelligence agencies such as the CIA. However, as West Germany gained more autonomy and established its own intelligence agencies, the organization's relationship with the US became more strained.

The organization faced criticism for its alleged ties to former Nazis and for its role in carrying out operations that violated human rights. However, despite these controversies, the Gehlen Org played a key role in providing intelligence on the Soviet Union during the Cold War and in helping to establish West Germany's intelligence capabilities.

The Gehlen Organization was a highly secretive organization, and much of its activities and operations remain unknown to this day. However, it is known that the organization had a number of agents and informants in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, as well as a network of contacts in other countries. The organization also had a number of experts on Soviet military capabilities and politics, who provided analysis and assessments to West German and American policymakers.

One of the key contributions of the Gehlen Org was its role in providing early warning of Soviet military capabilities and intentions during the Cold War. The organization's intelligence on Soviet missile and nuclear programs, for example, was considered to be particularly valuable by Western policymakers.

In 1956, The Gehlen Org was officially disbanded and its assets and responsibilities were integrated into the newly formed Federal Intelligence Service (BND), which continues to exist today as the primary foreign intelligence agency of the Federal Republic of Germany