- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMarkus Johannes Wolf
- Nickname
- The Man Without a Face
- Markus Wolf was born on January 19, 1923 in Hechingen, Hohenzollern [now Baden-Württemberg], Germany. He was married to Andrea Stingl, Christa Heinrich and Emmi Stenzer. He died on November 9, 2006 in Berlin, Germany.
- SpousesAndrea Stingl(August 1987 - November 9, 2006) (his death)Christa Heinrich(May 1976 - October 1986) (divorced)Emmi Stenzer(1944 - March 1976) (divorced)
- Parents
- Son of dramatican Friedrich Wolf, brother of director Konrad Wolf
- Head of East Germany's General Reconnaissance Administration, which made him chief executive of 4000 spies in foreign countries, from 1953 to 1986 and number two of the Ministry for State Security from 1956 to 1986.
- Author John le Carré repeatedly denied that the character of spy-master "Karla" in some of his novels is based on Wolf.
- As his father was a member of the Communist Party, the family fled Germany after the Nazi takeover and finally emigrated to Russia. He lived there from 1934 to 1945 and was called "Mischa".
- He claimed that, shortly before the reunification of Germany, the CIA asked him to defect to the USA, offering him a large salary and a house in California. He said he refused because he would never betray his own agents.
- I hoped that, after the Nuremberg Trials, there would be a time without war, aggression, or crimes against humanity. (from a 2005 interview by the BBC, regarding his role as a journalist at the trials)
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