Markus Wolf quotes

Markus Wolf was a prominent German public servant and intelligence officer, most famous as the head of East Germany’s foreign intelligence service. His leadership of the Stasi’s foreign espionage operations earned him the nickname “The Man Without a Face.” He played a key role in shaping Cold War espionage and remained influential in intelligence circles for decades. Here are 8 of his quotes:

You can't do anything if a person says no. In such a case, there's nothing you can do - unlike the popular cliche that pressure is exerted, or that maybe an unwilling source is done away with.

Markus Wolf

At our college we were taught a universal approach to find out about a person: what problems the person has, what difficulties, what personal tendencies and likings.

Markus Wolf

There were some tragic cases of women whose love was abused, who for a certain time procured important documents or information, not knowing who for, what service they worked for, and for a variety reasons got jailed, were tried and sentenced.

Markus Wolf

I tried to instill a different motivation, to give them the security and the conviction that they were doing something good, something necessary, something useful - if you want to use a grandiose expression, that they were doing something for peace.

Markus Wolf

I feel that I, and the people under my command, tried to use all the traditional methods of recruiting agents which were also used by other intelligence services; adopting also means like pressure, money, sex - but that did not characterize my service.

Markus Wolf

One person can take papers, photograph them without getting excited, return them, and give them away without any scruples; while someone else has to overcome an enormous obstacle.

Markus Wolf

The particular feature of Berlin - well, all you need to do is look at the map: the geographical position of the city right in the heart of Europe, and the separation of the most powerful two blocs we've ever had in history, which went all the way through Germany.

Markus Wolf