Gehlen Organization organization
also: Galen network, Gehlen, Gehlen, Reinhard Gehlen Network, Galen organization, the firm, Galen's spy team, Galen's group, the German spy organization, CIA Galen Organization Alliance, the Galen organization, the organization, Galen's agents
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Related entities (most co-mentioned)
Reinhard Gehlenperson · 26CIAintelligence service · 22West Germanycountry · 10James Critchfieldperson · 10United Statescountry · 7Germanyplace · 5Allen Dullesperson · 5Soviet Unioncountry · 4Frank Wisnerperson · 3Eastern Soviet Unionplace · 3Munichplace · 3United Kingdomcountry · 3Pulachplace · 3Washington, D.C.place · 3U.S. Armyorganization · 3Eric Waldmanperson · 2Franz Alfred Sixperson · 2West Berlinplace · 2U.S. Intelligence Boardorganization · 2Cold Warevent · 2World War IIevent · 2Richard Helmsperson · 2Operation Rustyoperation · 2Ted Shackleyperson · 1
Claims (16)
Reinhard Gehlen headed
Gehlen Organization documented
“decided that the US government should bring the former Nazi intelligence operation under its control. Galen and his top deputies were put on a troop ship back to Germany. Galen's spy team was installed by US military authorities in a compou…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner The Devil's Chessboard Part 13 @ 6:58
CIA funded
Gehlen Organization documented
“intelligence structure was realized. With the generous support of the American government, the Galen organization, as it became known, thrived outside of Munich, becoming West Germany's principal intelligence agency, which as we know became…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner The Devil's Chessboard Part 13 @ 7:29
CIA supervised
Gehlen Organization documented
“intelligence structure was realized. With the generous support of the American government, the Galen organization, as it became known, thrived outside of Munich, becoming West Germany's principal intelligence agency, which as we know became…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner The Devil's Chessboard Part 13 @ 7:29
James Critchfield headed
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“Codenamed Marshal from his Vienna days, Jim Critchfield became the chief of the Galen organization on the American side. His deputy, Pierre De Silva, had helped manage security for the atomic bomb project during World War II. Another, Henry…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 48:38
CIA funded
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“The two once suggested to Critchfield that Galen be dumped. The base chief refused to do that. Through Critchfield, the CIA provided money, equipment, and advice for the Germans and passed on orders from Washington. We now know that Washing…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 49:09
Gehlen Organization provided_intelligence_to
CIA book_quoted
“The two once suggested to Critchfield that Galen be dumped. The base chief refused to do that. Through Critchfield, the CIA provided money, equipment, and advice for the Germans and passed on orders from Washington. We now know that Washing…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 49:09
Gehlen Organization trained
CIA book_quoted
“had been salvaged from the debris of war. The organization, as it began being called, the Galen organization, actually. And this would be crucial for the CIA secret war, provided training bases, which would accommodate a variety of Eastern …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 49:38
Frank Wisner funded
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“OSS, let me be here to set up the Marshall Plan, then I'm going to go implement it and ensure that Dulles' stay-behind units are fully funded. Not shocked. Oh, and by the way, he works on the Congressional Foreign Aid Committee to make sure…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 @ 17:08
Gehlen Organization supplied_arms_to
Estonia book_quoted
“When all of the necessary people that you would want to reach were already dead, its appealing visions of democracy were at odds with the facts evident to the remaining partisans that British and American agents were intent on intelligence …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 @ 25:32
Reinhard Gehlen created
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“of the Galen Organization, i.e. Operation Gladio, a federation of German intelligence veterans from the Nazi regime, and at the direction of Reinhard Galen, created the Galen Organization, which morphed into the West German BND, which is th…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner - Strange Tales of the Parapolitical Part 2 @ 19:06
George F. Kennan involved_in
Gehlen Organization guest_asserted
“100%, right? So that was full-on Operation Gladiator type stuff, right? Behind the lines type stuff. Very James Bond-ish. And so after that, then you had the development of the Gehlen, Reinhard Gehlen Network. Yes, we've talked all about th…”
▶ Operation Gladio - Vietnam Phoenix Program and beyond @ 2:15:20
Reinhard Gehlen founded
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“Or in Eastern Europe. It makes it so much more understandable when you understand all of these connections. Galen began an alliance with the U.S. that ultimately took him back to Germany to create the Galen Organization and eventually the B…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 41:55
Samuel Buzard liaison_for
Gehlen Organization book_quoted
“Russell Phillip, to supervise Operation Rusty. The Central Intelligence Group had its own liaison, Samuel Buzard. Buzard surveyed Galen's group, interviewing its deputy director, Eric Waldman, to make recommendations as to whether the Army …”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner Safe for Democracy Part 5 (4) @ 46:00
Gehlen Organization morphed_into
BND book_quoted
“of the Galen Organization, i.e. Operation Gladio, a federation of German intelligence veterans from the Nazi regime, and at the direction of Reinhard Galen, created the Galen Organization, which morphed into the West German BND, which is th…”
▶ The Colonel’s Corner - Strange Tales of the Parapolitical Part 2 @ 19:06
Katharina Gehlen member_of
Gehlen Organization host_asserted
“did win admission to Hunter College in New York City. She later followed family tradition and went to work for her father, acting as a junior spy on several occasions, including carrying confidential packages across the border. Katharina ha…”
▶ The Colonel's Corner The Devil's Chessboard Part 13 @ 24:43
Ted Shackley member_of
Gehlen Organization host_asserted
“While not directly located in Berlin, it was like the hotbed of the operation. So Shackley's presence there with the stay-behind units is very interesting. During this time, Harvey had witnessed the East Berlin riots, supervised the Berlin …”
▶ The Colonel's Corner Safe for Democracy Part 26 (27) @ 32:03
Mentions (43)
▶ 2:15:20
100%, right? So that was full-on Operation Gladiator type stuff, right? Behind the lines type stuff. Very James Bond-ish. And so after that, then you had the development of the Gehlen, Reinhard Gehlen Network. Yes, we've talked all about th…
▶ 2:31:45
In Indonesia, by the way, with help from the same Galen network, ex-Nazi, with support from America and NATO. And that was when Sukarno was in charge. But all of this is connected and we need access to information. And even someone like mys…
▶ 2:41:56
There's someone who has collected them all for us who is a Swedish guy. And he puts them all in a Dropbox for people to go back and look at. And there's a link that Bridget put on my homepage so people can go back. Because we spent, I actua…
▶ 4:45
later served as the chief of stations in Taiwan, where Chiang Kai-shek set up operation, and in Germany, which is where the Galen organization was running the stay-behind units, and worked his way up to deputy director of intelligence befor…
▶ 55:39
Hitler's hanging out and the Galen organization. This expansion coincided with the return of the Korean War veterans, a major source of special forces recruits. Subsequent growth slowed to a small pace as anxious army generals preserved con…
▶ 8:34
for a potential resistance force of almost 80,000 within six months. This is 1962, and they're acknowledging that the A-teams associated with special forces are there to lead the stay-behind units that the Galen organization and the CIA has…
▶ 21:19
to the 1961 summer study. His successor, Richard Helms, had his doubts. Helms had been poised for this job for over a decade. He had been the go-to guy for spies, heading the division that covered Germany during the creation of the CIA Gale…
▶ 31:30
as a Soviet mole, even though he had bamboozled Jim Angleton. He had then run the agency's Berlin base for seven years. Shackley had been his protege doing Polish operations out of Berlin. And in case you guys don't get the correlation, the…
▶ 17:08
OSS, let me be here to set up the Marshall Plan, then I'm going to go implement it and ensure that Dulles' stay-behind units are fully funded. Not shocked. Oh, and by the way, he works on the Congressional Foreign Aid Committee to make sure…
▶ 17:42
Nazi Reinhard Galen. James Critchfield insists that the organization never conducted operations, which is a bold-faced lie. But in fact, Galen's role was vital. The CIA and the SIS and the German effort continued at least until the 1950s. I…
▶ 18:09
Operations were mounted from the western zone of Germany, as was preliminary agent training, though certain specialties such as parachute jumping were taught in England and the United States. And in the camps among the Baltic immigrants in …
▶ 25:32
When all of the necessary people that you would want to reach were already dead, its appealing visions of democracy were at odds with the facts evident to the remaining partisans that British and American agents were intent on intelligence …
▶ 26:31
planted a spy within the boat service too. While towards the end of 55, the Royal Navy withdrew permission for German ships to use British naval ensigns, removing Hans Klose's cover. Then the new government of West Germany absorbed the Gale…
▶ 27:30
but the Soviet disputes that number. American intelligence followed these developments from operational bases in Germany and a monitoring station in Stockholm ran by the Galen organization. Reinhard Galen himself met Frank Wisner only once …
▶ 41:55
Or in Eastern Europe. It makes it so much more understandable when you understand all of these connections. Galen began an alliance with the U.S. that ultimately took him back to Germany to create the Galen Organization and eventually the B…
▶ 44:27
Known Nazis on U.S. security projects. Operation Paperclip, which brought former Nazi scientists into the United States. And Operation Rusty, the Galen organization. In each case, Nazi connections of individuals were minimized or lied about…
▶ 45:28
The Galen organization was installed at Pollock near Munich in December of 1947. At the time, still working for the U.S. Army, Galen hired his specialist on the Soviet Union without any regard to their Nazi past. Others were from Nazi secur…
▶ 46:00
Russell Phillip, to supervise Operation Rusty. The Central Intelligence Group had its own liaison, Samuel Buzard. Buzard surveyed Galen's group, interviewing its deputy director, Eric Waldman, to make recommendations as to whether the Army …
▶ 46:31
Central intelligence initially rejected the course of the army doing it. And Admiral Hill and Cotter even recommended that the Galen unit be abolished. We know that didn't happen. Yet in 1948, the Galen organization was fully functional and…
▶ 47:34
Critchfield continued into Austria, where he returned later as a young colonel with the counterintelligence group. He joined the CIA in the summer of 1948. Richard Helms approved personnel assignments for Germany at the time, and Critchfiel…
▶ 48:03
Critchfield began that September with no CIA or Army input, no files, no nothing. His Army colleagues soon dropped out. Galen and his assistant, Eric Waldman, and Heinz Herr were Critchfield's main points of contact. In the end, Critchfield…
▶ 49:09
The two once suggested to Critchfield that Galen be dumped. The base chief refused to do that. Through Critchfield, the CIA provided money, equipment, and advice for the Germans and passed on orders from Washington. We now know that Washing…
▶ 49:38
had been salvaged from the debris of war. The organization, as it began being called, the Galen organization, actually. And this would be crucial for the CIA secret war, provided training bases, which would accommodate a variety of Eastern …
▶ 19:06
of the Galen Organization, i.e. Operation Gladio, a federation of German intelligence veterans from the Nazi regime, and at the direction of Reinhard Galen, created the Galen Organization, which morphed into the West German BND, which is th…
▶ 7:29
intelligence structure was realized. With the generous support of the American government, the Galen organization, as it became known, thrived outside of Munich, becoming West Germany's principal intelligence agency, which as we know became…
▶ 7:58
which had growing concerns about the type of agents Galen was recruiting and the quality of their intelligence work. Galen had promised army officials that he would not hire former SS or Gestapo officials. But as his organization grew, it a…
▶ 8:28
of the final solution, as well as training some of its most enthusiastic enforcers, personally leading a SS death squad on the Eastern Front. After the war, Six was hired by the Galen Organization, but was later arrested by U.S. Army counte…
▶ 8:58
Many of the CIAs vehemently opposed any association with this organization, including Admiral Roscoe Hillenkotter, the agency's first director, who in 1947 strongly urged President Truman to liquidate the Galen organization. The following y…
▶ 9:27
calling it an old boys network of ex-Nazi officers who are in a position to provide safe haven for a good many undesirable elements from the standpoint of a future democratic Germany. But Galen had his own connections and survived. Galen's …
▶ 9:56
James Critchfield, the news chief of CIA Munich Station, was given the task of evaluating Galen's operation and recommending for or against it. The 31-year-old Critchfield was a Dulles man. He had identified as a talented prospect by Eleano…
▶ 10:56
He was later recruited into the CIA by her brothers. In his final report, Critchfield firmly concluded that the CIA should fold the Galen's group under its wing. It was the beginning of the relationship. The CIA officially assumed responsib…
▶ 11:26
P-U-L-L-A-C-K, which was the official site of the Galen organization, still on the outskirts of Munich. He set up his office in Bormann's former bedroom. Galen had turned Pollock into its own separate world with over 200 of his top staff an…
▶ 12:24
As Critchfield CIA deputies and their families moved into the Galen compound, an intimate social fusion began to develop. The Germans and the Americans worked and partied together. Their children attended the same one-room school, and their…
▶ 14:37
In personal characteristics, apparent values and thoughts about the future of Germany and Europe, these Nazi officers did not seem to me significantly different than the U.S. Army, unquote. Galen was a difficult personality, according to Cr…
▶ 16:43
Later in his life, Critchfield admitted to the Washington Post reporter, quote, there's no doubt that the CIA got carried away with recruiting some pretty bad people, unquote. In a secret 1954 memo later declassified, the agency acknowledge…
▶ 20:48
In 1954, an unsigned CIA memo to the chief of the agency's Eastern European division acknowledged that a number of individuals employed by Galen appeared, from a qualitative standpoint, particularly heinous. The author of the memo, attached…
▶ 21:18
who was later charged with murdering 11,000 Jews in Belarus during the war. Nonetheless, the memo concluded, we feel that it's a bit late in the game to do anything more than remind utility, Galen, that he might be smart politically to drop…
▶ 23:45
and once sent him a gold medallion of St. George slaying a dragon. That was the Galen organization's emblem. Dulles knew that Galen was a devoted family man. The German intelligence chief closely managed the affairs of his extended family, …
▶ 25:14
As the CIA prepared to transfer the Galen organization to the West German government, the agency generously continued to back Galen, giving him enough money to buy a lakeside estate near their compound, where he enjoyed sailing his boat on …
▶ 26:12
He pleased me by his air of wisdom, born of years of experience. He was both fatherly and boisterous, and he became a close personal friend of mine. That was in his memoirs. Galen felt free to air his complaints about the U.S. government po…
▶ 28:45
Some critics in Western security circles attacked the bias of the Galen organization's intelligence reports, which exaggerated Soviet's military strength and nuclear capability. Because we have to make sure we have a boogeyman. They accused…
▶ 29:15
extent, a joint operation between the Dulles regime and the Galen organization. The German spy master's pathological fear and hatred of Russia drove everything, and it meshed nicely with the Dulles brothers' agenda. In fact, the Dulles poli…
▶ 30:13
with the total annihilation of the enemy as his primary aim. No better depiction of fascism. In the months leading up to the CIA's transfer of the Galen organization into the West Germany's government, there was a flurry of debate about Gal…