Wulf Schmidt
| Wulf Schmidt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Active | 1940–1945 |
| Award(s) | Iron Cross (First & Second Class) |
| Codename(s) | TATE (British) |
| LEONHARDT (German) | |
| Williamson, Harry | |
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|
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| Born |
December 7, 1911 Apenrade, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | October 19, 1992 (aged 80) Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Cause of death |
stroke |
| Buried | cremated and ashes scattered |
| Nationality | Danish |
| Parents | William Schmidt and Helene Bruhn |
| Occupation | Agriculturalist (Plantation Foreman) |
Wulf Dietrich Christian Schmidt, later known as Harry Williamson (7 December 1911 – 19 October 1992) was a Danish citizen who during the Second World War became a double agent working for Britain against Nazi Germany under the codename Tate. He was part of the Double Cross System, under which all German agents in Britain were controlled by MI5 (British counter-intelligence) and used to deceive Germany. Nigel West singled him out as "one of the seven spies who changed the world."
Schmidt was sent to Britain by the Abwehr in September 1940, landing by parachute. He was captured immediately, as a previous captured agent had given away his coming, in return for a promise that Schmidt, a friend, would not be executed.
Schimdt broke down under interrogation and became a double agent, making contact with Germany by radio in October 1940. He was one of the longest running agents in the Double Cross System: his last contact with Germany was on 2 May 1945. He operated his radio himself until he became ill and had to be imitated by a British operator. Though he recovered, he was not allowed to operate thereafter. He did continue to assist in composing the messages sent to Germany.
Tate participated in many deception and counter-intelligence operations. As a working agent, he needed money. In the spring of 1941, the Germans sent over Karel Richter to deliver money to Tate but Richter was quickly captured by the British. In desperation, the Germans used a Japanese diplomat to deliver some money to Tate, which revealed the extent of German-Japanese cooperation.
In July 1941, the Abwehr sent £20,000 to Britain, which was received by Tate. With this huge sum (about $2,000,000 in 2011 terms), Tate notionally established himself as a rich "man about town" in London, with easy access to black-market liquor and other luxuries. As such, he could plausibly make friends with military officers and civilian officials, and get intelligence from their loose talk, or even recruit them as agents.
At the same time, Tate reported to the Germans that to avoid military service, he was employed on a farm owned by a friend, and could only visit London on weekends. This provided an excuse for his not recruiting more agents or reporting as much as the Germans wanted.
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Wikipedia