Hans Tiedge

Hans-Joachim Tiedge was a head of West Germany's counter-intelligence in the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in Cologne. He was revealed to be an East German spy when he defected to the East on August 19, 1985. He had been recruited by Markus Wolf. In the four years prior to his defection, he was responsible tor tracking down East German spies, but with little success. In the same period, the East Germans captured 168 West German spies. He was thought to have defected for personal reasons, as he had not, apparently, been discovered. His treachery was called the most damaging of the Cold War for the Federal Republic of Germany, resulting in the recall of numerous West German agents still in the field and plunging the West German counterespionage service into ruins.