Isidore Springer (23 July 1912 in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, 27 December 1942 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France) was Belgian diamond dealer and

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

who became an important member of the Red Orchestra organisation in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and later

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Springer worked as a recruiter and courier between

Leopold Trepper Leopold Zakharovich Trepper (23 February 1904 – 10 January 1982) was a Polish Communist and career Soviet agent of the Red Army Intelligence. With the code name Otto'','' Trepper had worked with the Red Army since 1930. He was also a resistance ...

, a Soviet agent who was the technical director of Soviet espionage in Western Europe, and

Anatoly Gurevich Anatoly Markovich Gurevich (russian: Анатолий Маркович Гуревич; 7 November 1913 – 2 January 2009) was a Soviet intelligence officer. He was an officer in the GRU operating as "разведчик-нелегал" (''razve ...

, also a Soviet agent, in Belgium. He would later run the 6th network of Trepper's seven espionage networks in France, providing intelligence from US and Belgian diplomats. His aliases were Romeo, Verlaine, Walter van Vliet, Fred and Sabor.

Life

Springer's father was Simon Springer and his mother was Lona Kunstlinger Springer. His mistress was

Rita Arnould Rita Arnould ( – 20 August 1943) was a housekeeper and courier of the Red Orchestra resistance group in Belgium during World War II. She was captured when the Funkabwehr raided an apartment at 101 Rue des Atrébates in Brussels on 12 December 1 ...

Career

Between 1930 and 1931, Springer lived in Paris. According to Willy Berg, the member of the

Sonderkommando Rote Kapelle Sonderkommando Rote Kapelle was a German special commission that was created by German High Command in November 1942, in response to the capture of two leading members of a Soviet espionage group that operated in Europe, that was called the Red ...

who interrogated Springer after he was arrested, worked for Trepper before the outbreak of World War II, liaising with the Soviet Embassy when Trepper was away. In 1938, Springer moved to Belgium and became an active member of the espionage network run by

. Springer fought against fascist forces in Spain from 1937-1938. Springer ran the 6th network of Trepper's 7 networks in Europe, supplying intelligence garnered from US and Belgian diplomats. He was also as a recruiter and a courier between Gurevich in Brussels and Trepper in Paris. After the raid at 101 Rue des Atrébates by the

Funkabwehr Funkabwehr, or ''Radio Defense Corps'' was a radio counterintelligence organization created in 1940 by Hans Kopp of the German Nazi Party High Command during World War II. It acted as the principal organization for radio Counterintelligence, i.e. ...

on 12 December 1941, Mikhail Makarov was arrested, Springer fled to Paris with Gurevich on 15 December 1941. Springer was sent to

by Trepper where he attempted to establish a new espionage network. However, Springer failed to establish a

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

link with Moscow.

Arrest and death

Springer was arrested on 19 December 1942 and sent to

Fresnes Prison Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...

. He committed suicide on 24 December 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Isidore 1912 births 1942 deaths Red Orchestra (espionage) Belgian resistance members French Resistance members People who died by suicide in prison custody Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany