Labels:text | screenshot | font OCR: PERSPECTIVE A Spy Story: My next memory of Japan is also VITAL INTELLIGENCE ENABLED connected to war-and to my father, Nikita S. Khrushchev, when he was Soviet premier, and STALIN TO MOVE HIS BEST ARMY Richard Sorge, one of the Asia-Pacific region's DIVISIONS TO MOSCOW, most famous spies. In May 1941, Sorge, a Russian-born German GUARANTEEING VICTORY OVER working for Soviet intelligence in Japan, warned THE GERMANS AT THE Josef Stalin about Adolf Hitler's imminent invasion of the Soviet Union. In September, the spy informed CITY'S GATES Moscow: "The Soviet Far East can be considered kyo's Sugamo prison in 1944, Sorge was forgotten safe from Japanese attack" Japan would not move in Russia. against Russia but would push into the Pacific. My father first found out about the man while This information made it possible for Stalin to watching a German movie called Whose Side Are move the best army divisions to Moscow, guaran- You On, Mr Sorge? As soon as the movie ended, teeing victory over the Germans at the city's gates. he telephoned General Ivan Serov, then KGB chair- The Japanese arrested Sorge in October 1941. man, put to him the question in the movie's title Despite Sorge's and asked: "Is this all true?" extraordinary So ignorant of Sorge were we all that Russia's services, Stalin top spy himself could not reply right away, but he betrayed him, de- promised to inquire. clining to reply to A search of archives revealed the truth. Within a Japanese sugges- week, Sorge was awarded posthumously the title tions of an ex- "Hero of the Soviet Union". An image of the medal change of spies. is engraved on the headstone of his grave at Tama Executed in To- Cemetery in Tokyo.