Horst von Pflugk-Harttung

Horst Gustav Friedrich von Pflugk-Harttung (17 June 1889 – 9 March 1967) (alternate spelling Pflug-Hartnung) was a German intelligence officer and spy.

Weimar Germany After serving in the army during World War I, Pflugk-Harttung had become a member of the Freikorps, the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned home from the war. Freikorps were the primary paramilitary groups active during the Weimar Republic. Many German veterans felt disconnected from civilian life and joined a Freikorps for the stability of a military structure. Kapitänleutnant Pflugk-Harttung and his brother, Heinz, both volunteered to join a Freikorps. The German volunteer movement was opposed to the communist Spartacus League. During this period, he became friends with the future head of the Abwehr, Wilhelm Canaris. In 1919, Pflugk-Harttung and his brother were accused of direct involvement in the murder of the Spartacist Karl Liebknecht. Both men were acquitted, but many thought them guilty. Pflugk-Harttung would secretly admit his guilt to Ernst von Weizsäcker. Later in 1919, Pflugh-Harttung fled Weimar Germany for Denmark following his trial.

Sweden In 1931, Pflugk-Harttung was recorded as helping coordinate fascist groups and organisations in Sweden. The Swedish authorities expelled Pflugk-Harttung after they discovered that he had been illegally importing armaments into Sweden for the Munckska kåren. Pflugk-Harttung later went to Norway on a similar mission, but he was soon asked to leave.

Denmark By 1933, Pflugk-Harttung was working for German intelligence in Denmark. As a cover, he worked as a correspondent for Berliner Böersen-Zeitung, a Reich War Ministry newspaper. His duties included keeping a close eye on German exiles in Denmark; the Danish police cooperated with him via intermediaries. Investigations proved that the spy ring had been involved in the sabotage and sinking of Spanish trawlers on behalf of General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist Navy, which was operating from German ports. Their acts included the use of the spying apparatus to shell and sink the SS Cantabria off the Norfolk coast by the Spanish Nationalist auxiliary cruiser Nadir.

Pflugk-Harttung was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but he was released after a few months due to pressure from the German government. He was arrested by US forces and taken to Arizona as a prisoner of war.