Japan. Richard Sorge (Russian: Рихард Густавович Зорге, Rikhard Gustavovich Zorge) was a German journalist and Soviet military intelligence officer active before and during World War II, working undercover as a German journalist in both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. His code name was “Ramsay” (Russian: РамзаЯй). Many famous people considered him one of the most skilled spies. Sorge is most famous for his service in Japan in 1940 and 1941, when he provided information on Adolf Hitler’s plan to attack the Soviet Union. Then, in mid-September 1941, he informed the Soviets that Japan would not attack the Soviet Union in the near future. A month later, Sorge was arrested in Japan for espionage. He was tortured, forced to confess, tried, and hanged in November 1944. Stalin refused to intervene on his behalf with the Japanese. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union in 1964. Sorge also provided Soviet intelligence with information on the Anti-Comintern Pact and the German-Japanese Pact. In 1941, his embassy contacts provided him with information about Operation Barbarossa, the impending Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, and its approximate date. On May 30, 1941, Sorge reported to Moscow: “Berlin has informed Ott that the German attack will begin in the latter part of June,” and “war between Germany and the USSR is inevitable.” Moscow received the reports, but Stalin and other top Soviet leaders ultimately ignored Sorge’s warnings, as well as those of other sources, including the early false alarms. Other Soviet agents who reported an impending German invasion were also viewed with suspicion by Stalin.
