Günter Guillaume

Willy Brandt with Guillaume, 1974
Willy Brandt with Guillaume, 1972–1974

Günter Guillaume (1 February 1927 – 10 April 1995), was an intelligence agent for East Germany's secret service, the Stasi in West Germany. Guillaume became West German chancellor Willy Brandt's secretary and caused his fall.

Early life

Guillaume was born in Berlin. During the Hitler era, he was a member of the Nazi party NSDAP.

Career

In 1956, he and his wife Christel emigrated to West Germany on Stasi orders to penetrate and spy on West Germany's political system. Rising through the hierarchy of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, he became a close aide to West German chancellor Willy Brandt.

In 1974, West German authorities discovered Guillaume's spying for the East German government. The resulting scandal, the Guillaume Affair, led to Brandt's resigning the chancellorship. Guillaume was sentenced to 13 years in prison for espionage; his wife, to eight years. In 1981, Guillaume was returned to East Germany in exchange for Western spies caught by the Eastern Bloc.

In East Germany, Guillaume was received and celebrated as a hero, worked as a spy trainer, and published his autobiography Die Aussage ("The Statement")[1] in 1988. Guillaume and East German spymaster Markus Wolf have said that Willy Brandt's downfall was not intended, and that the affair is among the Stasi's biggest mistakes. After Die Wende and German reunification, the reunified Germany granted Guillaume immunity from any further prosecutions. He was a supportive witness in Wolf's trial for treason in 1993.[2]

Death

Guillaume died of kidney cancer on 10 April 1995, in Petershagen/Eggersdorf, near Berlin. Guillaume's wife died in 2004.

In culture

The Brandt-Guillaume story is told in the play Democracy by Michael Frayn. It follows Brandt's political career as West Germany's first left-of-centre chancellor in 40 years, and his fall because of his assistant.

References

  1. ↑ Die Aussage means The Statement, or My Stated View: Oxford Duden German Dictionary ISBN 0-19-864171-0)
  2. ↑ Craig R. Whitney (1995-04-12). "Gunter Guillaume, 68, Is Dead; Spy Caused Willy Brandt's Fall". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-05-20.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.