Key Counterspy in W. Germany Defects to East

Hans Tiedge, a high-ranking West German counterintelligence official missing since Monday, has defected to the East, the official East German news agency announced Friday.

Tiedge’s flight, an official of the West German Interior Ministry said, could cause “immense damage” to the Bonn government’s security and its intelligence operations.

For 19 years, Tiedge worked for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, West Germany’s national counterintelligence agency headquartered in Cologne, and was head of the department that tracks down East German spies.

Other Possible Risks

He had access to the most sensitive intelligence material in the West German government--and presumably to that of friendly Western governments, as well, because of the close cooperation between intelligence services.

Intelligence sources here said that information Tiedge could pass on to the Communists would be invaluable and could cripple Western counterintelligence operations for years to come.

Tiedge, 48, called in sick Monday morning and disappeared. On Friday morning, ADN, the East German news agency, said he had asked for asylum and that his request is “being examined by the responsible authorities.”

West German officials are trying to determine whether Tiedge was a “mole”--an agent who long worked undercover--or a recent recruit of the East Germans. In either case, his loss to the East is one of the most serious that West Germany has ever experienced.

Likened to Philby Case

Some specialists compared the Tiedge case to that of Kim Philby, who rose to a high level in the British Secret Intelligence Service, or MI-6, and was a Soviet double agent throughout his career. Philby fled to Moscow in 1963.

Tiedge’s apparent defection further aggravates a budding spy scandal, which has been developing here throughout the week. Three other West Germans in potentially sensitive jobs have disappeared: Sonia Lueneburg, secretary to Economics Minister Martin Bangemann, who is also the leader of the Free Democratic Party; Ursula Richter, a secretary in a federal agency that deals with refugees from the East Bloc, and Lorenz Betzing, who worked as a messenger for the Defense Ministry.

Tiedge’s loss is regarded as particularly grave because he has detailed knowledge of East German espionage operations in the West and the measures being taken to apprehend East German spies or “turn” them to Western advantage.

Furthermore, because of his high position, he presumably has knowledge of West German--and possibly CIA operations--aimed at East Germany and other Soviet Bloc countries.

The Tiedge case is considered certain to raise a political uproar here. Opposition politicians are already calling for a full-scale investigation.

Moreover, it is expected to jeopardize relations between West German intelligence and other Western spy services, which have long questioned the quality of internal security in Bonn.

Spies Undid Brandt

In 1974, Guenter Guillaume, personal assistant to Willy Brandt, then the West German chancellor, was arrested along with his wife, Christel, and charged with spying for East Germany. They were convicted, and Brandt felt compelled to resign his office.

Guillaume was sentenced to 13 years in prison but was released in 1981 as part of a swap for West German spies being held in East Germany.

Over the years, at least two dozen West German government employees, from secretaries to senior department heads, have been accused of working for the East German secret police (the MFS) or the Soviet KGB.

Western diplomats expressed concern about the Tiedge incident because, one of them said Friday, it is widely known that he has had a serious drinking problem since the death of his wife three years ago. Neighbors in Cologne told reporters that they had complained about his public drunkenness.

Tiedge’s housekeeper said that he had left what appeared to be secret papers, in English, lying around.

Hans Neusel, an undersecretary at the Interior Ministry, confirmed that Tiedge has a drinking problem. He told reporters that Tiedge had received counseling for the problem.

Tiedge was allowed to remain in charge of a sensitive department because his superiors feared that he might become more of a security risk if he were dismissed or transferred, he said.

Easier to Police

“If he is fired, you can’t imprison him or isolate him,” Neusel explained. “What happens is you put him in a psychological position in which he is a security risk. It’s better to look after a man like that than put him on the street.”

Neusel said that measures are being taken to protect the counterintelligence agents in West Germany who are known to Tiedge. It will be necessary, he said, to entirely reorganize the West Germany counterintelligence operation against East German agents operating in this country.

He added that a special committee has been set up to look into the possibility that there are spies in the government and conceded that further disappearances cannot be ruled out.

Intelligence authorities say that West Germany has a special problem in dealing with spies from East Germany. People of the two states speak a common language, and among the millions who have fled to the West from the East have been many moles, or “sleepers,” bent on spying.

And although East Germany tightly controls westbound border traffic, it pays little attention to eastbound travelers. There is little to impede any German from slipping into the East, particularly in Berlin, the intelligence experts warn.