This is an incomplete list of Western Bloc intelligence agents, military personnel, scientists, politicians, diplomats, and other prominent people who defected to Eastern Bloc or non-aligned countries during the Cold War and after.
Defector | Profession/Prominence | Country of origin | Year of Defection | Country of defection |
---|---|---|---|---|
Erwin Borchers | French Foreign Legion | Germany / France | 1945 | Viet Minh [1] |
Ernst Frey | French Foreign Legion | Austria / France | 1945 | Viet Minh [2] |
Siegfried Wenzel | French Foreign Legion | Germany / France | 1945 | Viet Minh [3] |
Kostas Sarantidis | French Foreign Legion | Greece / France | 1946 | Viet Minh [4] |
Stefan Kubiak | French Foreign Legion | Poland / France | 1946 | Viet Minh [5] |
Park Si-hyeong | Historian | South Korea (U.S. Occupation Zone) | 1946 | North Korea (Soviet Occupation Zone) [6] |
Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler | BBC journalist | West Germany (British Occupation Zone) | 1947 | East Germany (Soviet Occupation Zone) [7] |
Emil Selhofer | French Foreign Legion | Switzerland / France | 1947 | Viet Minh [8] |
George Shaw Wheeler | Foreign Economic Administration economist | United States | 1947 | Czechoslovakia |
Annabelle Bucar | State Department | United States | 1948 | Soviet Union [9] |
Hong Myong-hui | Writer | South Korea | 1948 | North Korea [10] |
Kang Tae-mu | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1948 | North Korea [11] |
Kim Sun-nam | Composer | South Korea | 1948 | North Korea [12] |
George Koval | Atomic spy | United States | 1948 | Soviet Union |
James McMillin | United States Army cryptographer | United States | 1948 | Soviet Union |
Pyo Mu-won | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1948 | North Korea [11] |
Albert Clavier | French Army | France | 1949 | Viet Minh |
Robert Dagleish | Foreign Office | United Kingdom | 1949 | Soviet Union [13] |
Gerhart Eisler | Journalist | United States | 1949 | East Germany |
Noel Field | State Department | United States | 1949 | Czechoslovakia |
Archibald Johnstone | Journalist | United Kingdom | 1949 | Soviet Union [13] |
James Stuart | British Army | United Kingdom | 1949 | East Germany [14] |
Miroslav Surý | French Foreign Legion | Czechoslovakia / France | 1949 | Viet Minh [15] |
František Vaňhara | French Foreign Legion | Czechoslovakia / France | 1949 | Viet Minh [15] |
David Young | Royal Navy | United Kingdom | 1949 | People's Republic of China [16] |
Leopold Infeld | University of Toronto physicist | Canada | 1950 | Poland |
Ian Milner | United Nations diplomat | Australia | 1950 | Czechoslovakia [17] |
Ján Poláček | French Foreign Legion | Czechoslovakia / France | 1950 | Viet Minh [15] |
Bruno Pontecorvo | Atomic physicist | Italy / United Kingdom | 1950 | Soviet Union (via Finland) |
John Peet | Reuters correspondent | United Kingdom | 1950 | East Germany |
Nâzım Hikmet Ran | Poet | Turkey | 1950 | Soviet Union |
Ri Sung-gi | Seoul National University chemistry professor | South Korea | 1950 | North Korea |
Arna Rides | British Council medical adviser | United Kingdom | 1950 | Czechoslovakia [18] |
Josef Zvoník | French Foreign Legion | Czechoslovakia / France | 1950 | Viet Minh [15] |
Guy Burgess | Foreign Office /MI5 | United Kingdom | 1951 | Soviet Union |
Donald Maclean | Foreign Office | United Kingdom | 1951 | Soviet Union |
Alfred Sarant | Military engineer / Atomic spy | United States | 1951 | Poland, then Soviet Union |
Joel Barr | Military engineer / Atomic spy | United States | 1951 | Czechoslovakia, then Soviet Union |
Margaret Schlauch | New York University English professor | United States | 1951 | Poland [19] |
Weng Wenhao | Geologist and Kuomintang politician | Taiwan | 1951 | People's Republic of China [20] |
Heiner Braun | Track athlete (5000 meters) | West Germany | 1952 | East Germany [21] |
Stefan Heym | United States Army / Writer | United States | 1952 | Czechoslovakia, then East Germany |
Günther Gereke | Christian Democratic Union politician | West Germany | 1952 | East Germany [22] |
Victor Grossman | United States Army | United States | 1952 | East Germany [23] |
Kug Yong-am | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1952 | North Korea [24] |
Charles Lucas | United States Army | United States | 1952 | East Germany [25] [26] |
Aubrey E. Miles | United States Army | United States | 1952 | East Germany [27] |
Wolfgang Gans zu Putlitz | MI5 | United Kingdom | 1952 | East Germany [28] |
Miloud Salhi | French Army | France | 1952 | Viet Minh [29] |
Clarence Adams | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Howard Gayle Adams | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Albert Constant Belhomme | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Otto Grayson Bell | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Arthur Boyd | United States Army | United States | 1953 | East Germany [31] |
Andrew Condron | Royal Marines | United Kingdom | 1953 | People's Republic of China [32] |
Richard G. Corden | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
William Cowart | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
W. Glancy | British Army | United Kingdom | 1953 | East Germany [33] |
Rufus Douglas | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
John Roedel Dunn | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Andrew Fortuna | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Hans Joachim Geyer | Gehlen Organization | West Germany | 1953 | East Germany [34] |
Lewis Griggs | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Samuel David Hawkins | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China |
Wolfgang Höher | Gehlen Organization | West Germany | 1953 | East Germany [35] |
R. Irvine | British Army | United Kingdom | 1953 | East Germany [33] |
Kim Sung-bai | Republic of Korea Air Force | South Korea | 1953 | North Korea [36] |
S. Lewes | British Army | United Kingdom | 1953 | East Germany [33] |
Norman M. Lowell | United States Army | United States | 1953 | East Germany [37] |
R. W. Luwman | Royal Netherlands Army | Netherlands | 1953 | East Germany [38] |
Clifford F. Murphy | United States Army | United States | 1953 | East Germany [39] |
Arlie Pate | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Scott Rush | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Lowell Skinner | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Larance Sullivan | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Richard Tenneson | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
James Veneris | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Harold Webb | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
R. Wanroy | Royal Netherlands Army | Netherlands | 1953 | East Germany [38] |
William White | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Morris Wills | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Aaron Wilson | United States Army | United States | 1953 | People's Republic of China [30] |
Stanislaw Zdanowski | United States Army | United States | 1953 | Poland [40] |
William Donal Adkins | United States Army | United States | 1954 | Soviet Union [41] |
Choi Man-chong | Republic of Korea Air Force | South Korea | 1954 | North Korea [42] |
Joseph Cort | Doctor of Medicine and University of Birmingham physiology lecturer | United States | 1954 | Czechoslovakia [43] |
James Davis | United States Army | United States | 1954 | Czechoslovakia [44] |
Bruno Folta | Radio announcer | West Germany | 1954 | Czechoslovakia [45] |
Raymond H. Hutto | United States Army | United States | 1954 | East Germany [46] |
Otto John | Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz | West Germany | 1954 | East Germany |
Karl Franz Schmidt-Wittmack | Bundestag deputy and Christian Democratic Union politician | West Germany | 1954 | East Germany [47] |
Richard Squires | British Army | United Kingdom | 1954 | Soviet Union [48] |
William Turner | United States Army | United States | 1954 | Soviet Union [49] |
Ralph Bernard Frederick Cross | Canadian Army | Canada | 1955 | East Germany [50] |
James W. Pulley | United States Army | United States | 1955 | East Germany [46] |
Manfred von Brauchitsch | Racing driver | West Germany | 1955 | East Germany |
Ho Wei-Chin | Republic of China Air Force | Taiwan | 1955 | People's Republic of China [51] |
B. F. Holland | United States Army | United States | 1955 | East Germany [52] |
Horst Spanier | United States Army | United States | 1955 | East Germany [53] |
Wei Li-Huang | Republic of China Army | Taiwan | 1955 | People's Republic of China [54] |
Hung Chin-Shan | Republic of China Police | Taiwan | 1955 | People's Republic of China [55] |
Henri Maillot | French Army | France | 1956 | Algerian National Liberation Front |
Wolf-Dieter Loebl | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1956 | East Germany [56] |
Orest Stephen Makar | Photogrammetrist and St. Louis University engineering associate professor | United States | 1956 | Soviet Union [57] |
Anthony Wraight | Royal Air Force | United Kingdom | 1956 | Soviet Union [58] |
Augustin Cabrera Oroza | Spanish Navy | Spain | 1957 | Mexico [59] |
Manuel Fernandez Rodriguez | Spanish Navy | Spain | 1957 | Mexico [59] |
Ginas Jiminez Nortes | Spanish Navy | Spain | 1957 | Mexico [59] |
Enrique Medina Fernandez | Spanish Navy | Spain | 1957 | Mexico [59] |
Jürgen Mickeleit | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1957 | East Germany [60] |
Victor Rodriguez | Spanish Navy | Spain | 1957 | Mexico [59] |
Alfred Kaufman Stern | Philanthropist | United States | 1957 | Czechoslovakia |
Martha Dodd Stern | Philanthropist | United States | 1957 | Czechoslovakia |
Ernie Fletcher | United States Army | United States | 1959 | East Germany [61] |
Klaus Fuchs | Atomic spy | United Kingdom | 1959 | Exchanged to East Germany |
Ho Ye-Chen | Republic of China Army | Taiwan | 1959 | People's Republic of China [62] |
Arnold Kephart | United States Army | United States | 1959 | East Germany [63] |
Billy Mullis | United States Army | United States | 1959 | East Germany [64] |
Lee Harvey Oswald | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1959 | Soviet Union via Finland, rejected from Cuba |
Libero Ricciardelli | United States Air Force | United States | 1959 | Soviet Union [65] |
Franz Julius Schröder | Christian Democratic Union aide | West Germany | 1959 | East Germany [66] |
Arthur Wegner | University of Münster law professor | West Germany | 1959 | East Germany [67] |
John B. Witt | United States Army | United States | 1959 | Czechoslovakia [68] |
Franz Böttger | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [69] |
Guy Bouchard | Canadian Army | Canada | 1960 | East Germany [70] |
Horst Braun | Bundesluftwaffe | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [69] |
Bruce Davis | United States Army | United States | 1960 | Soviet Union [49] |
Joseph Dutkanicz | United States Army Military Intelligence | United States | 1960 | Soviet Union |
Richard Gromek | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [71] |
Gilbert Paul Jenkerson | British Army | United Kingdom | 1960 | East Germany [72] |
Bernon F. Mitchell | National Security Agency | United States | 1960 | Soviet Union [73] |
William H. Martin | National Security Agency | United States | 1960 | Soviet Union [73] |
Peter Petrich | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [71] |
Serafin Sanchez | United States Air Force | United States | 1960 | Cuba [74] |
Paul Schlüter | Social Democratic Party of Germany politician | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [75] |
Vladimir Sloboda | United States Army Military Intelligence | United States | 1960 | Soviet Union [76] |
John Strobl | Canadian Army | Canada | 1960 | East Germany [77] |
Horst Tuschla | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [69] |
Otto Weissenberger | Cartographer | West Germany | 1960 | East Germany [78] |
Walter Barth | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1961 | East Germany [79] |
Walter Hagemann | Christian Democratic Union politician and University of Münster journalism professor | West Germany | 1961 | East Germany [80] |
K. H. Falk | Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz | West Germany | 1961 | East Germany [81] |
Fernando Ganhao | Portuguese Army | Portugal | 1961 | Mozambican Liberation Front [82] |
Ollie Harrington | Cartoonist | United States | 1961 | East Germany |
Junge family | University of Washington scientists | United States | 1961 | Czechoslovakia [83] |
Winfried Krychowski | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1961 | East Germany [79] |
Mohamed Lamari | French Army | France | 1961 | Algerian National Liberation Front |
Wolfgang Objeglo | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1961 | East Germany [79] |
Mário Moutinho de Pádua | Portuguese Army | Portugal | 1961 | Congo-Léopoldville [84] |
Larry Allen Abshier | United States Army | United States | 1962 | North Korea |
Wilfried Alsguth | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Herbert Böhmer | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Heinz-Dieter Brehning | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
James Joseph Dresnok | United States Army | United States | 1962 | North Korea |
Günther Fischer | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Heinrich Frank | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
R. S. Hareld | United States Army | United States | 1962 | Czechoslovakia [86] |
Guntram Hoffmann | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Rudolf Abel | Atomic spy | United States | 1962 | Exchanged to Soviet Union |
Bobby Joe Keesee | United States Army | United States | 1962 | Cuba [87] |
Henry Kiernan | United States Army | United States | 1962 | East Germany [88] |
Albert Kostede | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Richard Lang | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
David Michael | Engineer | United States | 1962 | Cuba [89] |
Erwin Miran | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Nguyen Van Cu | Republic of Vietnam Air Force | South Vietnam | 1962 | Cambodia [90] |
Klaus Reichardt | Bundesluftwaffe | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Willi Salzmann | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Peter-Joseph Schödder | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Manfred Schüssler | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Horst Pilger | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Peter Pitzen | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Bodo Ratzinger | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Dieter Schmutzler | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Otto Schwarz | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Ronald Stanley | British Army | United Kingdom | 1962 | East Germany [91] |
Jürgen Steinigtweg | Bundesmarine Marineflieger | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Robert Stuckhaus | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Wolfgang Vogt | Bundesluftwaffe | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Berthold Wizien | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1962 | East Germany [85] |
Thomas Badey | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [92] |
Frank Barton | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [93] |
Richard Bourret | Physicist | United States | 1963 | Cuba [94] |
Benjamin Cain | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [95] |
Klaus Chepelier | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1963 | East Germany [96] |
Victor Norris Hamilton | National Security Agency | United States | 1963 | Soviet Union |
Reymond Herzet | Belgian Army | Belgium | 1963 | East Germany [97] |
Gary Martzke | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [98] |
Roberto "Robert" Ramos Michelena | United States Air Force | United States | 1963 | Cuba [99] |
James Carl Moore | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [100] |
Heinrich James Newton | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [101] |
Jerry Wayne Parrish | United States Army | United States | 1963 | North Korea |
Brian Patchett | British Army | United Kingdom | 1963 | East Germany [102] |
Christopher John Pengate | British Army | United Kingdom | 1963 | East Germany [103] |
Kim Philby | Secret Intelligence Service | United Kingdom | 1963 | Soviet Union |
Alfred Svenson | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [104] |
Willard E. Valentini | United States Army | United States | 1963 | East Germany [105] |
Jacinto Veloso | Portuguese Air Force | Portugal | 1963 | Mozambican Liberation Front [106] |
Chan Chueh | Olympic Games official | Taiwan | 1964 | People's Republic of China [107] |
Cheng Yi-Ming | Intelligence Bureau | Taiwan | 1964 | People's Republic of China [108] |
Li Fung-ryong | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1964 | North Korea [109] |
Theo van Eijck | Marine-Luchtvaartdienst | Netherlands | 1964 | Libya [110] |
Anatoly P. Kotloby | Rocket scientist | United States | 1964 | Soviet Union [111] |
Ma Ching-Shan | Olympic sharpshooter | Taiwan | 1964 | People's Republic of China [112] |
Claude Swain | United States Army | United States | 1964 | East Germany [113] |
Zhao Zongli | Republic of China Navy | Taiwan | 1964 | People's Republic of China [114] |
Bui Van Trach | Republic of Vietnam Air Force | South Vietnam | 1965 | Cambodia [115] |
Chan Chen-Chin | Republic of China Army | Taiwan | 1965 | People's Republic of China [116] |
Chen Li | Intelligence Bureau | Taiwan | 1965 | People's Republic of China [117] |
Alfred Frenzel | Social Democratic Party of Germany politician | West Germany | 1965 | Exchanged to Czechoslovakia |
Hua Tsu-Hsin | Diplomat | Taiwan | 1965 | People's Republic of China [118] |
Charles Robert Jenkins | United States Army | United States | 1965 | North Korea |
Glen Roy Rohrer | United States Army Military Intelligence | United States | 1965 | Czechoslovakia |
Ana Maria Silva Pais | Daughter of PIDE Director Fernando Silva | Portugal | 1965 | Cuba [119] |
Li Zongren | Former Kuomintang politician, vice president and acting president of China | United States | 1965 | People's Republic of China [120] |
Nguyen Chi Canh | Huế police chief | South Vietnam | 1965 | North Vietnam [121] |
Stephen Biggs | British Army | United Kingdom | 1965 | East Germany [122] |
Harold M. Koch | Roman Catholic priest | United States | 1966 | Soviet Union [123] |
John Discoe Smith | State Department | United States | 1966 | Soviet Union [124] [125] |
Nguyen Duch Hien | Republic of Vietnam Air Force | South Vietnam | 1966 | Cambodia [126] |
Craig Anderson | United States Navy | United States | 1967 | Sweden [127] |
Richard Bailey | United States Navy | United States | 1967 | Sweden [127] via Japan [128] |
John Barilla | United States Navy | United States | 1967 | Sweden [127] |
George Blake | Secret Intelligence Service | United Kingdom | 1967 | Soviet Union |
Lorenzo Brown | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Costa Calfelis | Journalist | Greece | 1967 | Switzerland [129] |
Des Carragher | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Jerry Condon | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Jerry Dass | Green Beret SFOD B, S-5 | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden [130] [131] |
Jimmy Dotson | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
John Forler | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Kenneth C. Griggs | United States Army | United States | 1967 | Cuba [132] |
Bob Janson | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Roy Ray Jones | United States Army | United States | 1967 | Sweden [133] |
Walter Harshall | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Tom Hayes | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden, later managed Clergy & Layman Concerned |
Roger Hinchliffe | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Dick Kilmer | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Steve Kinneman | United States Army | United States | 1967 | Sweden [134] via Thailand, and Laos [128] |
Michael Lindner | United States Navy | United States | 1967 | Sweden [127] |
William Males | United States Army | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden [128] |
McKinley Nolan | United States Army | United States | 1967 | North Vietnam [135] |
Henry Nordby | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Rich Pauley | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Richard Harwood Pearce | United States Army | United States | 1967 | Cuba [136] |
Irving Rubin | United States Army | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden [128] |
Arnold Schölzel | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1967 | East Germany |
David Smith | United States Army | United States | 1967 | Sweden [128] |
Joe Stewart | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Tseng Chao-Ping | Republic of China Air Force | Taiwan | 1967 | People's Republic of China [137] |
Herbert Washington | USAREUR | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden [128] |
Ted Weisberg | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Terry Whitmore | United States military | United States | c. 1967 | Sweden |
Robert Argento | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Edwin Arnett | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [139] |
John Ashley | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Samuel Brown | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Gerald Burger | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Robert Burroughs | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Robert Carroll | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Kenneth Cooper | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Erwin Foster | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
David Haire | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [141] |
Rodney Huth | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Edward Johnson | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [141] |
William Jones | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Bruce Mayor | Draft evader | United States | 1968 | Sweden, served in the Swedish Army and has run for a seat in Parliament [128] |
Richard Lee McKinney | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1968 | Sweden [142] |
Peter Moebius | Physicist | West Germany | 1968 | East Germany [143] |
Justin Olson | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Herbert Patzelt | European Atomic Energy Community aide | West Germany | 1968 | East Germany [143] |
William Percell | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [141] |
Ehrenfried Petras | Microbiologist | West Germany | 1968 | East Germany [144] |
Bruce Proctor | Former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst | United States | 1968 | Sweden [145] |
Richard Lee Propp | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
David Roman | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Raymond Sansiviero | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1968 | Sweden [146] |
Parker Smith | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [138] |
Vincent Strollo | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Richard Tannimura | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Gregory Vitarelle | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Mark Warrell | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
Eugene Westbrooks | United States Army | United States | 1968 | Sweden [140] |
J. W. Wright | United States Air Force | United States | 1968 | Soviet Union [147] |
William Lee Brent | Black Panther Party activist | United States | 1969 | Cuba |
Irvin Leon Butler | United States Navy | United States | 1969 | Sweden [148] |
Lona Cohen | Atomic spies | United States | 1969 | Exchanged to the Soviet Union |
Morris Cohen | Atomic spies | United States | 1969 | Exchanged to the Soviet Union |
Jerry Bhagwan Dass | United States Army | United States | 1969 | Sweden [149] |
Robert Edward Dostlik | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1969 | Cuba [150] |
Heinz Felfe | Bundesnachrichtendienst | West Germany | 1969 | Exchanged to East Germany |
Olaf Foertsch | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1969 | East Germany [151] |
Ludwig Gummert | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1969 | East Germany [152] |
Thomas Kavanaugh | United States Army | United States | 1969 | East Germany [153] |
Hans-Joachim Kruse | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1969 | East Germany [154] |
Robert Kündiger | Bundesmarine | West Germany | 1969 | East Germany [155] |
John Lowney | United States Marine Corps | United States | 1969 | North Vietnam [156] |
Vassilios Tsironis | Doctor of Medicine | Greece | 1969 | Albania [157] |
Jim Walch | United States Army | United States | 1969 | Sweden [128] |
Zhou Zhende | Republic of China Army | Taiwan | 1969 | People's Republic of China [158] |
Kimihuro Uomoto | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Kimiko Fukudome | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Kintaro Yoshida | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Moriaki Wakabayashi | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Shirō Akagi | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Takahiro Konishi | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Takamaro Tamiya | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Takeshi Okamoto | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Yasuhiro Shibata | Red Army Faction (Japan) | Japan | 1970 | North Korea |
Alvin Glatkowski | United States Merchant Marine | United States | 1970 | Attempted defection to Cambodia |
Clyde McKay | United States Merchant Marine | United States | 1970 | Attempted defection to Cambodia |
Marc Carbonneau | Front de libération du Québec Liberation Cell | Canada | 1970 | Voluntarily defected to Cuba |
Jacques Cossette-Trudel | Front de libération du Québec Liberation Cell | Canada | 1970 | Voluntarily defected to Cuba |
Yves Langlois | Front de libération du Québec Liberation Cell | Canada | 1970 | Voluntarily defected to Cuba |
Larry Humphrey | United States Army | United States | 1970 | Cambodia [159] |
Mihalis Maniadakis | Royal Hellenic Air Force | Greece | 1970 | Soviet Union [160] |
Chang Shuang-Chao | Ministry of Finance aide | Taiwan | 1971 | People's Republic of China [161] |
Sun Chi-Chou | Diplomat | Taiwan | 1971 | People's Republic of China [162] |
Michael Deberry | USAREUR | United States | 1971 | Sweden [128] |
Tom Horne | Green Beret | United States | c. 1971 | Sweden [163] |
Ernest Hunter | United States Air Force | United States | c. 1971 | Sweden [164] |
Hans-Dieter Reinkensmeier | German Army Aviation Corps | West Germany | 1971 | East Germany [165] |
Harold Hill | Rolls-Royce Limited engineer | United Kingdom | 1971 | Soviet Union [166] |
Esteban Llana | United States Air Force | United States | 1971 | Panama [167] |
Jaime Morais | Portuguese Army | Portugal | 1971 | Sweden [168] |
Bernard Pryer | United States Army | United States | 1971 | Panama [167] |
John R. Vequist | United States Army | United States | 1971 | Sweden [169] |
Tobey Wagner | United States Army | United States | 1971 | Panama [167] |
Kevin Cadwallader | British Army | United Kingdom | 1972 | Sweden [170] |
Ngo Cong Duc | Journalist | South Vietnam | 1972 | Sweden [171] |
Pham Van Dinh | Army of the Republic of Vietnam | South Vietnam | 1972 | North Vietnam [166] |
Sung Wei-Pi | Former diplomat | Taiwan | 1973 | People's Republic of China [172] |
Gerard Burns | British Army | United Kingdom | 1974 | Ireland [173] |
Nguyen Thanh Trung | Republic of Vietnam Air Force | South Vietnam | 1975 | North Vietnam [174] |
Jürgen Schneider | Bundeswehr | West Germany | 1976 | East Germany [175] |
Bong Ju | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1977 | North Korea [176] |
William Joseph Black | United States Army | United States | 1977 | Czechoslovakia [177] |
Yu Un-hak | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1977 | North Korea [176] |
Robert Thompson | United States Air Force | United States | 1978 | Exchanged to the Soviet Union |
Erhard Mueller | Bundesmarine Aviation Wing | West Germany | 1978 | East Germany [178] |
Li Jun-gwang | Republic of Korea Army military intelligence | South Korea | 1978 | North Korea [179] |
Roy Chung | United States Army | United States | 1979 | East Germany, then to North Korea |
Ursel Lorenzen | NATO aide | West Germany | 1979 | East Germany [180] |
Christel Broszey | Christian Democratic Union aide | West Germany | 1979 | East Germany [181] |
Inge Goliath | Christian Democratic Union aide | West Germany | 1979 | East Germany [181] |
Helga Roediger | Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany) | West Germany | 1979 | East Germany [182] |
Alexander Lambert | South African Bureau of State Security | Republic of South Africa | 1979 | Sweden [183] |
Justin Lin | Republic of China Army | Taiwan | 1979 | People's Republic of China |
Friedrich Tomberg | Pädagogische Hochschule philosophy professor | West Germany | 1979 | East Germany [184] |
Kim Ryong-jin | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1979 | North Korea [185] |
Imelda Verrept | NATO aide | Belgium | 1980 | East Germany [186] |
Günter Guillaume | Aide to West German Chancellor | West Germany | 1981 | Exchanged to East Germany |
Frank Terpil | Central Intelligence Agency | United States | 1981 | Libya, then to Cuba [187] |
Huang Zhicheng | Republic of China Air Force | Taiwan | 1981 | People's Republic of China [188] |
Ma Bi | Kuomintang adviser | Taiwan | 1981 | People's Republic of China [189] |
Robert Vesco | Financier | United States | 1982 | Cuba |
Joseph T. White | United States Army | United States | 1982 | North Korea |
Gerhard G. | Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz | West Germany | 1982 | East Germany [190] |
Gerald Andreas Eckert | South African Army | Republic of South Africa | 1983 | Mozambique [191] |
Li Dawei | Republic of China Air Force | Taiwan | 1983 | People's Republic of China [192] |
Mun Sang-chol | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1983 | North Korea [193] |
Assata Shakur | Black Panther Party activist | United States | 1984 | Cuba |
Xie Yuchen | Film director | Taiwan | 1984 | People's Republic of China [194] |
Zhang Jinfeng | Film producer | Taiwan | 1984 | People's Republic of China [194] |
Hans Tiedge | Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz | West Germany | 1985 | East Germany |
Jeffrey Carney | United States Air Force | United States | 1985 | East Germany |
Ra Il-ryong | Republic of Korea Army | South Korea | 1985 | North Korea [195] |
Edward Lee Howard | Central Intelligence Agency | United States | 1985 | Soviet Union |
Sonja Luenberg | Aide to Minister of the Economy Martin Bangemann | West Germany | 1985 | East Germany [196] |
Herta-Astrid Willner | Aide to West German Chancellor | West Germany | 1985 | East Germany [197] |
Herbert Willner | Defense analyst | West Germany | 1985 | East Germany [197] |
Rudolf Alken | University of Mainz researcher | West Germany | 1985 | East Germany [198] |
Karl Koecher | Central Intelligence Agency | United States | 1986 | Exchanged to Czechoslovakia |
Hugo Almeida | United States Army | United States | 1986 | Cuba |
Glenn Michael Souther | United States Navy | United States | 1986 | Soviet Union |
Arnold Lokshin | Biochemist | United States | 1986 | Soviet Union |
Wang Xijue | Airline pilot | Taiwan | 1986 | People's Republic of China [199] |
Wade E. Roberts | United States Army | United States | 1987 | Soviet Union [200] [201] |
Stig Bergling | Swedish Security Service officer | Sweden | 1987 | Soviet Union via Finland [202] |
Theodore Branch | Radio announcer | United States | 1987 | Soviet Union [203] |
Choe Deok-sin | Former South Korean diplomat and foreign minister | United States | 1987 | North Korea |
Song Chang-gu | United States Army aide | South Korea | 1988 | North Korea [204] |
Lin Xianshun | Republic of China Air Force | Taiwan | 1989 | People's Republic of China [205] |
Michael Peri | United States Army | United States | 1989 | East Germany |
Defector | Profession/Prominence | Country of origin | Year of Defection | Country of defection |
---|---|---|---|---|
Edward Snowden | National Security Agency | United States | 2013 | Russia |
Emil Czeczko | Polish Land Forces | Poland | 2021 | Belarus [206] |
Travis King | United States Army | United States | 2023 | North Korea [207] [208] |
Wilmer Puello-Mota | Former Holyoke, Massachusetts city councilor and former Massachusetts Air National Guard | United States | 2024 | Russia [209] |
Tomasz Szmydt | Judge | Poland | 2024 | Belarus [210] |
The Bundeswehr is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part, the military part consisting of the German Army, the German Navy, the German Air Force, the Joint Support Service, the Joint Medical Service, and the Cyber and Information Domain Service.
Charles Robert Jenkins was a United States Army deserter, North Korean prisoner, and voice for Japanese abductees in North Korea.
Hitomi Soga-Jenkins is a Japanese woman who was abducted to North Korea together with her mother, Miyoshi Soga, from Sado Island, Japan, in 1978. In 1980, she married Charles Robert Jenkins, an American defector to North Korea, with whom she had two daughters. In 2002, she was allowed to return to Japan, followed two years later by her husband and children.
The Panzerhaubitze 2000, meaning "armoured howitzer 2000" and abbreviated PzH 2000, is a German 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall in the 1980s and 1990s for the German Army. The PzH 2000 has automatic support for up to five rounds of multiple round simultaneous impact. Replenishment of shells is automated. Two operators can load 60 shells and propelling charges in less than 12 minutes. The PzH 2000 equips the armies of Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Netherlands, Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Qatar, and Croatia, mostly replacing older systems such as the M109 howitzer.
The German Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Germany. After the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990, it integrated parts of the air force of the former German Democratic Republic, which itself had been founded in 1956 as part of the National People's Army. There is no organizational continuity between the current German Air Force and the former Luftwaffe of the Wehrmacht founded in 1935, which was completely disbanded in 1945/46 after World War II. The term Luftwaffe that is used for both the historic and the current German air force is the German-language generic designation of any air force.
People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers".
With a contingent of 4,350 soldiers and policemen, Germany was one of the main contributors of troops to coalition operations in Afghanistan. Although German troops mainly operated in the comparatively quiet north of the country, the Bundeswehr suffered a number of casualties during participation in the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan.
James Joseph Dresnok was an American defector to North Korea, one of seven U.S. soldiers to defect after the Korean War.
André Shepherd is a U.S. Army Specialist and deserter who applied for asylum in Germany on November 26, 2008. He is the first Iraq War veteran to pursue refugee status in Europe and only the second U.S. soldier to ever apply for refugee status in Germany.
Karl-Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, known professionally as Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, is a German businessman and politician of the Christian Social Union (CSU). He served as a member of the Bundestag from 2002 to 2011, as Secretary-General of the CSU from 2008 to 2009, as Federal Minister for Economics and Technology in 2009 and as Federal Minister of Defence from 2009 to 2011.
The following addresses the events in Northern Afghanistan between April 2009 and 2014. While this part of the country had long been relatively peaceful compared to the all-out war zones of the south and east, tensions would flare up again in 2008 when the German soldiers deployed to the area came under attack more often, leading to the deaths of the several soldiers. Previously hindered by national caveats, the deteroriating security situation prompted the German-led Regional Command North to launch a series of operations to take on the rising insurgency. Concerted operations began after an insurgent attack on PRT Kunduz within minutes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's departure from a visit. Within two years, the German presence would be doubled and additional reinforcements from the American ISAF contingent were called in, including heavy German armoured vehicles and US aviation assets, allowing for a more aggressive approach towards the insurgency.
After the Korean War, 333 South Korean people detained in North Korea as prisoners of war chose to stay in North Korea. During subsequent decades of the Cold War, some people of South Korean origin defected to North Korea as well. They include Roy Chung, a former U.S. Army soldier who defected to North Korea through East Germany in 1979. Aside from defection, North Korea has been accused of abduction in the disappearances of some South Koreans.
The right of asylum for victims of political persecution is a basic right stipulated in the Constitution of Germany. In a wider sense, the right of asylum recognises the definition of 'refugee' as established in the 1951 Refugee Convention and is understood to protect asylum seekers from deportation and grant them certain protections under the law. Generally, these protections are a part of the asylum procedure itself and are verified by the Federal Office For Migration and Refugees without any further application.
Abdul Rauf Mohammad is an Afghan former acting Taliban government minister. He lived in Norway from 2000 until being deported in 2014. Der Spiegel reported, in December 2016, that Abdul Rauf applied for political asylum in Germany.
Streitraum is a series of public panel discussions held at the Schaubühne in Berlin since January 2000. Each season focuses on a different theme from the areas of politics and society. In moderated discussions held every four to six weeks before an audience of international guests, invited experts discuss topics from the areas of politics, culture, technology, media, and the human and natural sciences. The series has been organised and moderated by Carolin Emcke since 2004. Emcke states at the opening of each event that Streitraum is not a forum for arguments and conflict but rather an opportunity to watch people think. Each session ends with questions from the audience.
"Soldiers are murderers" is a quote from an opinion piece written in 1931 by Kurt Tucholsky and published under his pseudonym Ignaz Wrobel in the weekly German magazine Die Weltbühne. Starting with a lawsuit against the magazine's editor Carl von Ossietzky for "defamation of the Reichswehr" in 1932, Tucholsky's widely quoted assertion led to numerous judicial proceedings in Germany, also after World War II and until the late 20th century. In several cases in the 1990s, last in 1995, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that using the quote as a means to express pacifist views is protected by the constitution of Germany.