Ursel Lorenzen (married name Sturm) was formerly a
West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
Secretary, who defected to
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
in 1979.
[Hamburger Abendblatt article]
"Was die NATO-Spionin Lorenzen wirklich wusste" (What the NATO Spy Lorenzen really knew), 18 April 1979[Hamburger Abendblatt article]
"Ursel sah alles, was der NATO teuer war" (Ursel saw everything that was of value to NATO), 10 April 1980
After working as a NATO aide for 12 years, where she last worked as a secretary to the British Director for NATO operations, Lorenzen, along with her lover at the time (Dieter Will, the manager of the Brussels Airport Hilton), disappeared. She appeared soon afterward on an East German propaganda broadcasting, and eventually compromised NATO war plans.
[Nigel West, "The A to Z of Sexpionage" (pg 161), September 16, 2009, Scarecrow Press, ] At the time, Lorenzen's defection was considered to be NATO's greatest espionage case.
She eventually married Dieter Will, and they took the name "Sturm". They lived in East Germany until September 1990, when
German reunification was imminent. Aware of West German warrants for their arrest, they fled the country. Charges against Lorenzen were dropped in 1999.
As of December 1999, Lorenzen was believed to be living in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
.
References
External links
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April 1979 photo of Ursel Lorenzen during GDR propaganda broadcasting (NVA Forum)1991 photo, and last known photo, of Dieter and Ursel Sturm (NVA Forum)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenzen, Ursel
West German defectors to East Germany
West German spies for East Germany