HENRY ROBINSON.
Henri Robinson, alias Alfred Doyen, Albert Gottlieb Bucher, Otto Wehrli, Alfred Merian, alias HARRY, and maybe LEON.
As shown below in his 'History', Henri Robinson in the early part of his career was employed on intelligence work in western Europe by the Comintern. The date at which he was taken over by the Red Army intelligence, though not established, appears from available evidence to have been probably at the outset of the 1930's when he was posted to France, but it also appears that he continued to fulfil Comintern assignments and in consequences was able to exploit indigenous Communist Party for R.U. purposes.
In the early 1930's his target may have been Italy and probably France itself and it is probably that his connections with Poliakova, in Switzerland, were founded in this period. He may well have been subordinate to her. his channel for communications with Moscow until the German occupation of France was almost certainly through the Soviet Military Attache in Paris.
In 1937 Robinson replaced HARRY II and became responsible for the group in England which HARRY II had controlled and which included ERNST WEISS. In In this or the previous year Robinson recruited Franz and Germaine Schneider, in Brussels, as couriers to various European countries, including England. Their initial recruitment may have been performed by Jeffremov on Robinson's behalf.
By 1939 Robinson's interests in England appear to have been controlled chiefly through JEAN, with whom he was in correspondence, probably by courier.
The German invasion in 1940 interrupted Robinson's communications with England and his work was re-directed against Germany. He continued to report to Moscow through the Soviet M.A. in Paris and was concerned with the welfare of Dübendorfer in Switzerland and of her agents, some of whom were in financial and other difficulties. During the first part of 1941 re received intelligence from Dübendorfer which he transmitted, with news of her and her agents, to Moscow, until in the summer she established relations with Radó and used his WT service in Switzerland
In December 1942 Robinson was arrested as a result of betrayal by Trepper. Property was found by the Gestapo in three Paris houses, in Aenis-Heanslin's flat and in the house of Louis Murier. For a full account of the report to which this appendix is attached).
Addresses.
In 1940: Rue de Muriers 13, Paris (on the name of Alfred Doyen).
In 1941: Rue Bertrand 4, Paris VII (Hotel des Coloniaux?), on the name Robinson, possibly until his arrest in December
1942.
Personal particulars.
(On assumption that Henri Robinson is the agents's true identity)
Nationality: French.
Date of Birth: 08-05-1897 in St. Gilles, Brussels.
Documents.
Identity Card No. 1404 in the name of Alfred Doyen, issued in Herseaux, Belgium on 25-10-1921
Nationality: Belgian.
Date of birth: 27-06-1895.
Profession: Ratacheur.
Status: Single.
Address: Rue des Ballons 22, Herseaux.
Height: 5' 2".
Swiss passport No. 529920 in the name of Otto Wehrli, issued in Basle on 28-02-1935; renewed in Basle on 11-041938 valid to 10-04-1941.
Status: Married.
Address: Küttigen, Aargau, Switzerland.
Date of birth: 20-08-1902
Height: 5' 7".
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Black
Swiss passport No. 862901 on the name of Albert Gottlieb Bucher, issued in Basle on 16-05-1938, valid until 02-09-1940.
Status: Married.
Profession: Business agent.
Address: Stadel, Canton Zürich.
Date of birth: 24-06-1907.
Height: 5' 6".
Eyes: Light brown.
Hair: Light brown.
Swiss passport No. 760610, in the name of Alfred Merian, issued in Basle on 16-05-1938, valid until 15-05-1939, renewed on 11-07-1939, valid until 10-07-1942.
Status: Single.
Profession: Historian.
Address: Hoffsletten, Solothurn, Switzerland.
Date of birth: 08-05-1897.
height: 5' 8".
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Brown.
Description.
Height circa 5'8" - 9"; thin build; long wrinkled face; dark complexion; black greying hair; high forehead; Light grey, deep set eyes; big curved nose; full lips; were spectacles and pince-nez; well dressed; quite an appearance; frequently carried an umbrella and a briefcase under the arm. Speaks fluent French, German, English and Italian.
Relatives.
Lover of Klara Schabbel and father of Viktor Schabbel. Son of David Robinson, born in Vilna, Russia and Ann, nee Cerhannovsky, born in Warsaw.
History.
When to Switzerland before 1914 to study law in Zürich (according to Berg) where he adopted Communism and expounded by Lenin and other leaders then in Switzerland.
May in 1917 have been living in Evian-les-Bains, Haute Savoie, as a French student and have been called up for service in the French Army.
Returned from captivity in Germany in 1918 and sent to hospital suffering from tuberculosis.
Was discharged from the Army on 18-09-1919 at Annecy on medical grounds. Engaged in Communism amongst the youth of France.
Moved to Berlin in circa 1919 or 1920, where he may have completed his legal training, living with Klara Schabbel and taking part in the organisation of Young German Communists.
Attended the Moscow University from circa 1921 to 1923.
Was head of AM Apparat in Rhineland from 1923 until 1924 during the French occupation, living in Frankfurt am Main.
Technical head of AM Apparat from 1924-1929 for Central and Western Europe, probably stationed in Berlin. Visited the USSR twice.
Appointed resident chief of 4th Section of the Red Army Intelligence in France, or possibly head of BB Apparat of Comintern in France from 1929-1930. During part of this period, may have been periodically resident in Switzerland.
Entered France from Switzerland in 1935.
Visited France again from Switzerland in September 1935.
Travelled to France from Italy on the second of August 1936.
Entered France from Switzerland on 04-12-1936.
Visited England in 1937.
Returned to France on 14-02-1937.
Visited England again in April 1937.
Visited England from France on 05-08-1937.
Visited Jersey and Guernsey from 2-6 September 1937.
Visited England from France on 30-10-1937 and on 02-11-1937
Returned to France from Switzerland on 13-05-1938.
Paid two visits to Belgium and one to Switzerland in June 1938.
Visited England from France from 16-22 July 1938.
Visited Switzerland from France on 29-07-1938.
Paid two-day visits to Switzerland from France on 09-09-1938.
Visited Switzerland from France in February 1939.
One-day visit to Switzerland from France on 02-05-1939.
Visited England on 26-05-1939 and 04-06-1939,
Visited Switzerland on 13-06-1939.
Returned to France on 20-07-1939.
The above travels, between May 1935 and July 1939 are those recorded in the passports which were in Robinson's possession in the name of Wehrli, Bucher and Merian.. it is possible that Robinson made other journeys on other passports.
From September 1939 until December 1942 he probably remained in France.
In the Spring of 1943, Robinson was probably taken to Berlin for interrogation and after agreeing to collaborate, may have returned to France to assist in the penetration by the RSHA of resistance and Communist underground movements. If this is so, it is unlikely that he was liquidated. According to Habecker of Amt IV A-2 Robinson was in the south od France in the Spring of 1944.
Source: KV3/351.
Henry Robinson (8 May 1897 - 1944), sometimes known as Henri Robinson, was a Belgian Communist and later intelligence agent of the Communist International (Comintern). Robinson was a leading member of the Red Orchestra in Paris. Robinson used a number of soubriquets (Andre, Lucien, Leo, Giocomo) and aliases (Otto Wehrli, Albert Gottlieb Bucher, Alfred Merian, Harry Leon, Alfred Duyen, Harry Merian)
The espionage network of Henry Robinson that ran from 1937 to September 1941 before it was taken over by Leopold Trepper
Born in Brussels, Robinson grew up in Belgium and was the child of David Robinson (born in Vilna Governorate) and Anna Cerhannovsky (born in Warsaw).
During World War I, he studied in Geneva. After the war, Robinson was associated with German communist Willi Münzenberg and Swiss communist Jules Humbert-Droz in the Young Communist International,
In 1923, Robinson was in charge of the AM-Apparat for military and political work in the Rhineland and was Political Director of the Young Communist League of Germany's Ruhr district and attended conferences in Berlin, where he met his partner Klara Schabbel He took part in the fighting against the occupation of the Rhine and Ruhr area by French troops. Robinson became a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and made several visits to the Soviet Union with Schabbel. In 1924, Robinson was director of the AM-Apparat for Central and Eastern Europe. In 1924, Robinson published a leaflet, under a pseudonym,Harry, along with Grigoriy Zinoviev, director of Comintern, titled: L'I.C.J. en luttle contre l'occupation de la Ruhr et la guerre ( The I.C.J. fights against the occupation of the Ruhr and the war).[6] Between 1928-1930, Robinson assisted General Muraille, Chief of Soviet espionage in France.
From about 1930, both worked for the intelligence service of the Comintern, which later merged with the Red Army's GRU intelligence service, and the Young Communist International. Robinson became the section leader for Switzerland, France, and Great Britain. Schabbel maintained links to Berlin and, through the Soviet commercial agency there, provided communications to Moscow until June 1941.
In 1936, Robinson moved to Paris, where he worked with the Soviet Military attaché at the Soviet embassy. While he was there, he was in contact with Maria Josefovna Poliakova and Rachel Dübendorfer in Geneva, Switzerland where he liaised between groups in France, Switzerland and the Great Britain.
During the period he was in Paris, another agent, who was not identified was running his own espionage network in France and the United Kingdom. British intelligence gave the unknown agent the moniker HARRY II. HARRY II was responsible for an agent in Great Britain, known as Ernst David Weiss who had been recruited in 1932. In May 1936, HARRY II introduced Weiss to two other Soviet agents who worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Hampshire. In the same period, HARRY II introduced Weiss to Germaine Schneider a courier for the Soviet espionage network run by Leopold Trepper in France, Belgium and the Low Countries. In 1937, the unknown agent Harry II handed his espionage network in the Great Britain over to Robinson. Robinson arranged with Weiss to meet him in Jersey. During 1938 Robinson visited the Great Britain several times to meet other agents. He also visited Belgium and Switzerland for the same purpose during 1938.
From 1940, Robinson had been promoted to head of the AM Apparat for Western Europe. Robinson ran an espionage network, known as group Harry, whose remit was to collect intelligence from French military and political groups, from within the Deuxième Bureau and within Vichy intelligence, from the Central Committee of the French Communist Party, from Gaullist groups and from UK groups.
Trepper network
In September 1941, Robinson met with Soviet Red Army Intelligence agent, Leopold Trepper, who at the time was technical director of Soviet Red Army Intelligence in western Europe. Trepper had been ordered to take over command of Robinson's espionage network.
There was an intense dislike between the two men due to Robinson being forced to hand over his network to Trepper when he arrived in France, even though Robinson was senior to Trepper. The Comintern organisation had lost prestige with Stalin who suspected it of deviating from Communist norms and Robinson was suspected of being an agent of the Deuxième Bureau and who was subsequently in ideological conflict with the aims of Soviet intelligence. This changeover had been facilitated in a meeting organised by General Ivan Susloparov. The group provided Trepper with intelligence on General Henri Giraud, the Dieppe Raid, coverage of Allied bombings in France and planning for Operation Torch.
In December 1942 Robinson was arrested in Paris by the Sonderkommando Rote Kapelle. According to British records, the RSHA had become aware of Robinson from information obtained from Leopold Trepper, whom they had previously arrested. According to Horst Kopkow of Reich Security Main Office AMT IV A2, Robinson was held in custody in France, where he was repeatedly tortured, before being brought to the Moabit detention centre in Germany to stand trial by General Judge of the Luftwaffe Manfred Roeder at the same time as Harro Schulze-Boysen.
At the time of his arrest, four false passports were found in the possession of Robinson, as well as the famous "Robinson Papers".
The Robinson papers were over 800 papers contained in briefcases, that were found underneath the floorboards of a hotel room that Robinson had regularly used. The originals had been lost but photostats had survived and these were sent by Abwehr IIF in France to Abwehrstelle Belgium, where they were captured during the British advance. In 1966, British intelligence comment: "the Robinson papers, apart from Weiss, did not give any positive lead to spies in the UK. They do, indicate that Robinson played an important part in running Russian operations in the UK in the 1930s and it seems…".
Many of the code names in the documents have never been identified.
Source: Wikipedia.
As shown below in his 'History', Henri Robinson in the early part of his career was employed on intelligence work in western Europe by the Comintern. The date at which he was taken over by the Red Army intelligence, though not established, appears from available evidence to have been probably at the outset of the 1930's when he was posted to France, but it also appears that he continued to fulfil Comintern assignments and in consequences was able to exploit indigenous Communist Party for R.U. purposes.
In the early 1930's his target may have been Italy and probably France itself and it is probably that his connections with Poliakova, in Switzerland, were founded in this period. He may well have been subordinate to her. his channel for communications with Moscow until the German occupation of France was almost certainly through the Soviet Military Attache in Paris.
In 1937 Robinson replaced HARRY II and became responsible for the group in England which HARRY II had controlled and which included ERNST WEISS. In In this or the previous year Robinson recruited Franz and Germaine Schneider, in Brussels, as couriers to various European countries, including England. Their initial recruitment may have been performed by Jeffremov on Robinson's behalf.
By 1939 Robinson's interests in England appear to have been controlled chiefly through JEAN, with whom he was in correspondence, probably by courier.
The German invasion in 1940 interrupted Robinson's communications with England and his work was re-directed against Germany. He continued to report to Moscow through the Soviet M.A. in Paris and was concerned with the welfare of Dübendorfer in Switzerland and of her agents, some of whom were in financial and other difficulties. During the first part of 1941 re received intelligence from Dübendorfer which he transmitted, with news of her and her agents, to Moscow, until in the summer she established relations with Radó and used his WT service in Switzerland
In December 1942 Robinson was arrested as a result of betrayal by Trepper. Property was found by the Gestapo in three Paris houses, in Aenis-Heanslin's flat and in the house of Louis Murier. For a full account of the report to which this appendix is attached).
Addresses.
In 1940: Rue de Muriers 13, Paris (on the name of Alfred Doyen).
In 1941: Rue Bertrand 4, Paris VII (Hotel des Coloniaux?), on the name Robinson, possibly until his arrest in December
1942.
Personal particulars.
(On assumption that Henri Robinson is the agents's true identity)
Nationality: French.
Date of Birth: 08-05-1897 in St. Gilles, Brussels.
Documents.
Identity Card No. 1404 in the name of Alfred Doyen, issued in Herseaux, Belgium on 25-10-1921
Nationality: Belgian.
Date of birth: 27-06-1895.
Profession: Ratacheur.
Status: Single.
Address: Rue des Ballons 22, Herseaux.
Height: 5' 2".
Swiss passport No. 529920 in the name of Otto Wehrli, issued in Basle on 28-02-1935; renewed in Basle on 11-041938 valid to 10-04-1941.
Status: Married.
Address: Küttigen, Aargau, Switzerland.
Date of birth: 20-08-1902
Height: 5' 7".
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Black
Swiss passport No. 862901 on the name of Albert Gottlieb Bucher, issued in Basle on 16-05-1938, valid until 02-09-1940.
Status: Married.
Profession: Business agent.
Address: Stadel, Canton Zürich.
Date of birth: 24-06-1907.
Height: 5' 6".
Eyes: Light brown.
Hair: Light brown.
Swiss passport No. 760610, in the name of Alfred Merian, issued in Basle on 16-05-1938, valid until 15-05-1939, renewed on 11-07-1939, valid until 10-07-1942.
Status: Single.
Profession: Historian.
Address: Hoffsletten, Solothurn, Switzerland.
Date of birth: 08-05-1897.
height: 5' 8".
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Brown.
Description.
Height circa 5'8" - 9"; thin build; long wrinkled face; dark complexion; black greying hair; high forehead; Light grey, deep set eyes; big curved nose; full lips; were spectacles and pince-nez; well dressed; quite an appearance; frequently carried an umbrella and a briefcase under the arm. Speaks fluent French, German, English and Italian.
Relatives.
Lover of Klara Schabbel and father of Viktor Schabbel. Son of David Robinson, born in Vilna, Russia and Ann, nee Cerhannovsky, born in Warsaw.
History.
When to Switzerland before 1914 to study law in Zürich (according to Berg) where he adopted Communism and expounded by Lenin and other leaders then in Switzerland.
May in 1917 have been living in Evian-les-Bains, Haute Savoie, as a French student and have been called up for service in the French Army.
Returned from captivity in Germany in 1918 and sent to hospital suffering from tuberculosis.
Was discharged from the Army on 18-09-1919 at Annecy on medical grounds. Engaged in Communism amongst the youth of France.
Moved to Berlin in circa 1919 or 1920, where he may have completed his legal training, living with Klara Schabbel and taking part in the organisation of Young German Communists.
Attended the Moscow University from circa 1921 to 1923.
Was head of AM Apparat in Rhineland from 1923 until 1924 during the French occupation, living in Frankfurt am Main.
Technical head of AM Apparat from 1924-1929 for Central and Western Europe, probably stationed in Berlin. Visited the USSR twice.
Appointed resident chief of 4th Section of the Red Army Intelligence in France, or possibly head of BB Apparat of Comintern in France from 1929-1930. During part of this period, may have been periodically resident in Switzerland.
Entered France from Switzerland in 1935.
Visited France again from Switzerland in September 1935.
Travelled to France from Italy on the second of August 1936.
Entered France from Switzerland on 04-12-1936.
Visited England in 1937.
Returned to France on 14-02-1937.
Visited England again in April 1937.
Visited England from France on 05-08-1937.
Visited Jersey and Guernsey from 2-6 September 1937.
Visited England from France on 30-10-1937 and on 02-11-1937
Returned to France from Switzerland on 13-05-1938.
Paid two visits to Belgium and one to Switzerland in June 1938.
Visited England from France from 16-22 July 1938.
Visited Switzerland from France on 29-07-1938.
Paid two-day visits to Switzerland from France on 09-09-1938.
Visited Switzerland from France in February 1939.
One-day visit to Switzerland from France on 02-05-1939.
Visited England on 26-05-1939 and 04-06-1939,
Visited Switzerland on 13-06-1939.
Returned to France on 20-07-1939.
The above travels, between May 1935 and July 1939 are those recorded in the passports which were in Robinson's possession in the name of Wehrli, Bucher and Merian.. it is possible that Robinson made other journeys on other passports.
From September 1939 until December 1942 he probably remained in France.
In the Spring of 1943, Robinson was probably taken to Berlin for interrogation and after agreeing to collaborate, may have returned to France to assist in the penetration by the RSHA of resistance and Communist underground movements. If this is so, it is unlikely that he was liquidated. According to Habecker of Amt IV A-2 Robinson was in the south od France in the Spring of 1944.
Source: KV3/351.
Henry Robinson (8 May 1897 - 1944), sometimes known as Henri Robinson, was a Belgian Communist and later intelligence agent of the Communist International (Comintern). Robinson was a leading member of the Red Orchestra in Paris. Robinson used a number of soubriquets (Andre, Lucien, Leo, Giocomo) and aliases (Otto Wehrli, Albert Gottlieb Bucher, Alfred Merian, Harry Leon, Alfred Duyen, Harry Merian)
The espionage network of Henry Robinson that ran from 1937 to September 1941 before it was taken over by Leopold Trepper
Born in Brussels, Robinson grew up in Belgium and was the child of David Robinson (born in Vilna Governorate) and Anna Cerhannovsky (born in Warsaw).
During World War I, he studied in Geneva. After the war, Robinson was associated with German communist Willi Münzenberg and Swiss communist Jules Humbert-Droz in the Young Communist International,
In 1923, Robinson was in charge of the AM-Apparat for military and political work in the Rhineland and was Political Director of the Young Communist League of Germany's Ruhr district and attended conferences in Berlin, where he met his partner Klara Schabbel He took part in the fighting against the occupation of the Rhine and Ruhr area by French troops. Robinson became a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and made several visits to the Soviet Union with Schabbel. In 1924, Robinson was director of the AM-Apparat for Central and Eastern Europe. In 1924, Robinson published a leaflet, under a pseudonym,Harry, along with Grigoriy Zinoviev, director of Comintern, titled: L'I.C.J. en luttle contre l'occupation de la Ruhr et la guerre ( The I.C.J. fights against the occupation of the Ruhr and the war).[6] Between 1928-1930, Robinson assisted General Muraille, Chief of Soviet espionage in France.
From about 1930, both worked for the intelligence service of the Comintern, which later merged with the Red Army's GRU intelligence service, and the Young Communist International. Robinson became the section leader for Switzerland, France, and Great Britain. Schabbel maintained links to Berlin and, through the Soviet commercial agency there, provided communications to Moscow until June 1941.
In 1936, Robinson moved to Paris, where he worked with the Soviet Military attaché at the Soviet embassy. While he was there, he was in contact with Maria Josefovna Poliakova and Rachel Dübendorfer in Geneva, Switzerland where he liaised between groups in France, Switzerland and the Great Britain.
During the period he was in Paris, another agent, who was not identified was running his own espionage network in France and the United Kingdom. British intelligence gave the unknown agent the moniker HARRY II. HARRY II was responsible for an agent in Great Britain, known as Ernst David Weiss who had been recruited in 1932. In May 1936, HARRY II introduced Weiss to two other Soviet agents who worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough, Hampshire. In the same period, HARRY II introduced Weiss to Germaine Schneider a courier for the Soviet espionage network run by Leopold Trepper in France, Belgium and the Low Countries. In 1937, the unknown agent Harry II handed his espionage network in the Great Britain over to Robinson. Robinson arranged with Weiss to meet him in Jersey. During 1938 Robinson visited the Great Britain several times to meet other agents. He also visited Belgium and Switzerland for the same purpose during 1938.
From 1940, Robinson had been promoted to head of the AM Apparat for Western Europe. Robinson ran an espionage network, known as group Harry, whose remit was to collect intelligence from French military and political groups, from within the Deuxième Bureau and within Vichy intelligence, from the Central Committee of the French Communist Party, from Gaullist groups and from UK groups.
Trepper network
In September 1941, Robinson met with Soviet Red Army Intelligence agent, Leopold Trepper, who at the time was technical director of Soviet Red Army Intelligence in western Europe. Trepper had been ordered to take over command of Robinson's espionage network.
There was an intense dislike between the two men due to Robinson being forced to hand over his network to Trepper when he arrived in France, even though Robinson was senior to Trepper. The Comintern organisation had lost prestige with Stalin who suspected it of deviating from Communist norms and Robinson was suspected of being an agent of the Deuxième Bureau and who was subsequently in ideological conflict with the aims of Soviet intelligence. This changeover had been facilitated in a meeting organised by General Ivan Susloparov. The group provided Trepper with intelligence on General Henri Giraud, the Dieppe Raid, coverage of Allied bombings in France and planning for Operation Torch.
In December 1942 Robinson was arrested in Paris by the Sonderkommando Rote Kapelle. According to British records, the RSHA had become aware of Robinson from information obtained from Leopold Trepper, whom they had previously arrested. According to Horst Kopkow of Reich Security Main Office AMT IV A2, Robinson was held in custody in France, where he was repeatedly tortured, before being brought to the Moabit detention centre in Germany to stand trial by General Judge of the Luftwaffe Manfred Roeder at the same time as Harro Schulze-Boysen.
At the time of his arrest, four false passports were found in the possession of Robinson, as well as the famous "Robinson Papers".
The Robinson papers were over 800 papers contained in briefcases, that were found underneath the floorboards of a hotel room that Robinson had regularly used. The originals had been lost but photostats had survived and these were sent by Abwehr IIF in France to Abwehrstelle Belgium, where they were captured during the British advance. In 1966, British intelligence comment: "the Robinson papers, apart from Weiss, did not give any positive lead to spies in the UK. They do, indicate that Robinson played an important part in running Russian operations in the UK in the 1930s and it seems…".
Many of the code names in the documents have never been identified.
Source: Wikipedia.