Rote Drei

Rote Drei (Red Three), Soviet GRU intelligence network established in Switzerland. It was so named by German counter-espionage because of its three radio stations linked to Moscow, one in Lausanne and two in Geneva, though in fact there were sometimes four or five. It was led by a Hungarian-born communist, Sándor Radó (DORA), whose information was gathered from various sources, but primarily from the LUCY Ring. In October– November 1943 the Swiss, prompted by the Germans, seized the transmitters and broke up the network. Radó escaped to France after ten months living in a cupboard; then in September 1944 went to newly-liberated Paris and made contact with the Soviet military mission there. In January 1945 he boarded an aircraft for Moscow, but at Cairo he sought the protection of the British authorities and the fact that neither they nor the relevant authorities in London knew anything about him belies the story that his network had been used by the British to pass ULTRA intelligence to the USSR. He did not attempt to defect and his request for protection was denied. He was handed over to the Egyptian authorities who deported him to the USSR in July 1945 where he was imprisoned for ten years on a trumped-up charge. See also Rote Kapelle and spies.

Bibliography

Radó, S. , Codename Dora (London, 1977).