How the CIA built a post-war spy network using former Nazi intelligence officers

Countries & Cities · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Established in 1946, the Gehlen Organization was a clandestine intelligence agency formed by U.S. authorities in occupied Germany. Led by a former Wehrmacht general, the group recruited hundreds of former Nazis to spy on the Soviet Bloc, sparking decades of controversy over moral compromise and intelligence effectiveness.

The Gehlen Organization, often called The Org, was founded in June 1946 by U.S. occupation forces. Its leader, Reinhard Gehlen, had served as a major general and head of military intelligence on the Eastern Front during World War II. By 1947, the agency shifted its focus toward political and technical espionage against the Eastern Bloc, operating under the guidance of U.S. Army intelligence and later the CIA. The CIA provided essential support, including funding, vehicles, and aircraft, while the Org supplied the manpower for operations.

The agency’s recruitment practices remain a subject of intense scrutiny. Documents indicate that the Org employed numerous former members of the Nazi Party, including Gestapo and SS officers. Notable figures such as Alois Brunner, linked to the deaths of 140,000 people during the Holocaust, and Karl Silberbauer, who captured Anne Frank, were among those who worked for the organization. While some CIA officials later defended the recruitment as a necessary response to the threat of Soviet subversion, critics argue that the organization was bilked by the war criminals it hired and ultimately failed in its intelligence objectives.

Internal security was a persistent weakness. The Org suffered from what the CIA described as catastrophic Soviet penetration, with moles like Heinz Felfe and Hans Clemens transmitting thousands of classified documents to the Soviets for years. By the time the organization was formally superseded by the Bundesnachrichtendienst in 1956, it had become a lightning rod for public criticism. Despite its claims of providing unique insights into the Soviet Union, modern assessments often characterize its intelligence output as poor, highlighting the profound moral and strategic failures inherent in its creation.

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