Červená kapela na Slovensku?
The Red Orchestra in Slovakia?

Summary/Abstract: The presented study looks into the fate of two residents of the Soviet military intelligence, Heinrich Fomferra (1895–1979) and Hans Schwarz (1909–1944). Both were German Communists, veterans of the Spanish Civil War and graduates of various special courses in Moscow. The Intelligence Agency of the Red Army General Staff sent them to Hungary with a task to create a network of collaborators in Central and Southern Europe, primarily focused on the arms industry in Germany and its allied countries. After their failure in Hungary, the two men decided to transfer their operations to Slovakia, where they managed to create networks composed of members of the resistance and particularly railmen. From this source, they then received information about German transports to the East and about preparations in the Third Reich to invade the USSR, which they consequently passed on to their superiors. The group was uncovered at the beginning of 1942 and the information recovered from the detainees allowed the German and Bulgarian security forces to carry out arrests also in Bulgaria. The study concludes with outlining the further fates of the people who played a more prominent role in the story.

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