Fritz Kolbe

Fritz Kolbe (25 September 1900 – 16 February 1971) was a German diplomat who became a spy against the Nazis in World War II.

Early life Kolbe was born on 25 September 1900 in Berlin to middle-class parents. His father was a saddle maker. Throughout his childhood he was influenced by his father's guidance to be courageous and "always do what he thought right" and the Wandervogel movement, which beginning in 1914 also helped to develop his principled conduct and integrity. Activities with the group of fellow middle-class people allowed him to get away from his family, enjoy nature, and engage in sports. In 1941, Kolbe was assigned, partly due to his brusque manner and intellect, to Karl Ritter who served in the Foreign Office as a liaison with the military. Ritter himself was normally physically located near Hitler's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair. Reports from foreign diplomats and up to 120 cables daily from German consulates and embassies were directed to Berlin for Ritter; Kolbe's duty was to read them all and relay important ones on to Ritter. He also reviewed and summarized news articles from the foreign press. Kolbe realized that his activities were likely under surveillance, given the importance of the work and the fact that Kolbe still would not join the Nazi party. Even so, he was one of the "best-informed civil servants in the Foreign Office". The longer he was in Berlin, the more Kolbe disliked the Hitler regime and their actions. He sought diplomatic assignments outside of Germany, one of which was consul general at Stavanger, Norway, but was unsuccessful because he would not join the Nazi party. With blank passports that he had brought with him from Cape Town, he was able to help some Jewish people escape Nazi Germany. (It was reported in the Independent that Kolbe conveyed 2,600 documents.)

He was described by the Central Intelligence Agency as the most important spy of the war. Allen Dulles wrote: "George Wood (our code name for him) was not only our best source on Germany but undoubtedly one of the best secret agents any intelligence service has ever had." When the war began in 1939, Kolbe's wife, son and housekeeper remained in South Africa, where he believed they would be safer and free from Nazi ideology. He also sought to divorce his wife at that time.

Kolbe died in Bern due to gallbladder cancer. He is buried in Berlin at the Luisenkirchhof III cemetery. His third wife, Maria Fritsch (1901-2000) is buried with him.

Assessment In 2003 a biography, Fritz Kolbe: un espion au coeur du IIIe Reich, written by journalist Lucas Delattre was published in France. A year later, a German translation was published, and in 2005 an English translation entitled A spy at the heart of the Third Reich: the extraordinary story of Fritz Kolbe, America's most important spy in World War II was released.

In 2006 British author Nigel West reviewed the biography in the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. West states that the value of Kolbe's information had been exaggerated, as it merely confirmed intelligence already gathered by MI5, or even unwittingly jeopardized operations such as ULTRA and TRIPLEX, of which Dulles would have been largely ignorant. West concludes that Kolbe was "an exceptional character in every way, but also a menace bearing unwanted gifts to an eager suitor", adding that "it is doubtful that Kolbe could ever be considered 'the most important spy of the Second World War'."

Kolbe's work was officially recognized by the Foreign Office of the German Federal Republic when a hall bearing his name was inaugurated in the ministry in 2004. in 2005/2006.