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The Silent Past: Mysterious Cultures of the World
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
361 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
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About the author
Ivar Lissner
41 books5 followersWikipedia:
Early life and education
Born to a German-Jewish father, Robert Lissner, and mother Charlotte Lissner (née Gensz), Lissner was Baltic German of Jewish ancestry. His father was a Kommerzienrat (commerce councilor) and businessman who owned cork factories and other enterprises.[1] Before the First World War the family moved to Moscow. They were exiled in 1917 to the Volga region and returned to Moscow after the war. The political upheavals of the postwar period resulted in the family fleeing to Riga and then to Berlin, where Lissner attended high school. He studied languages, history, anthropology, and law at Greifswald, Berlin, Göttingen, Erlangen, Lyon (1931–1932), and at the Sorbonne in Paris. He obtained his PhD in Foreign Trade Law in April 1936 in Erlangen.[2]
Career
He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) on 1 April 1933.[3] In 1935 he published a book (Blick nach Draußen, "Looking Outside") in which he presented his impressions of the achievements of National Socialism set against an international background.[4] In 1936 he was sent as a travel writer to the United States and Canada on behalf of his publishing house, Hanseatischen Verlagsanstalt. The result was his book Völker und Kontinente ("Peoples and Continents"), which became a best seller.
Lissner wrote for the Hanseatic Service, the press service of his publisher, and his articles were printed in Nazi newspapers, including Völkischer Beobachter and Der Angriff. He went on a tour to Asia, from which his book, Menschen und Mächte am Pazifik ("People and Forces in the Pacific") was created. When he returned in January 1937 he learned that his father was in danger of being exposed as a Jew; he needed to provide evidence of being a Lutheran in order to obtain an Aryan certificate. With the help of the local pastor, Lissner forged records in St. Peter's Church in Riga. The Gestapo suspected him of concealing Jewish ancestry, but could not prove it, so his father was released. After this episode Lissner began to distance himself from National Socialism, but he maintained an anti-Soviet attitude as a result of his experiences in Russia.[5]
Lissner published articles on a regular basis for Der Angriff. In 1938 he returned to Asia on behalf of Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, where he reported on the Japanese fighting on the Korean-Soviet border. He was interviewed by Japanese newspapers and provided information to the German ambassador. He also initiated contacts between the Japanese and German military intelligence, and during his stay in Manchuria in 1938 he acted as interpreter at the defection of the KGB chief for the Far East, Genrich Samoilowitsch Ljuschkow. He was given exclusive rights to the story in the press.[6] In 1939 he was a correspondent for Völkischer Beobachter and Der Angriff while in Japan. He was approached by the Abwehr (German military intelligence) as a potential recruit for the first time.[7] He established contacts with the Propaganda Department and the German Embassy in Tokyo (historian Heinz Höhne describes him as an unofficial press attaché)[8] and was a respected member of the Nazi-aligned German community in Tokyo. In September 1939 the Gestapo once again investigated Lissner's father and this time they arrested him, as they believed they now had reliable evidence. Lissner consequently lost his post in Tokyo and a proceeding was opened to exclude him from the NSDAP. German Ambassador to Japan Eugen Ott asked him informally to continue to work in Manchuria. Lissner continued to occasionally have articles published in Japanese magazines.
Espionage
In the summer of 1940 Lissner was recruited by the Abwehr after they promised to release his father from prison and let him move with his wife to Shanghai, where his brother Percy was working for AEG. They also promised to restore his reputation in Tokyo. With the help of German merchants and Russian exiles in Harbin, he built a spy network that reached as far as Siberia. Admiral Wil
Early life and education
Born to a German-Jewish father, Robert Lissner, and mother Charlotte Lissner (née Gensz), Lissner was Baltic German of Jewish ancestry. His father was a Kommerzienrat (commerce councilor) and businessman who owned cork factories and other enterprises.[1] Before the First World War the family moved to Moscow. They were exiled in 1917 to the Volga region and returned to Moscow after the war. The political upheavals of the postwar period resulted in the family fleeing to Riga and then to Berlin, where Lissner attended high school. He studied languages, history, anthropology, and law at Greifswald, Berlin, Göttingen, Erlangen, Lyon (1931–1932), and at the Sorbonne in Paris. He obtained his PhD in Foreign Trade Law in April 1936 in Erlangen.[2]
Career
He joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) on 1 April 1933.[3] In 1935 he published a book (Blick nach Draußen, "Looking Outside") in which he presented his impressions of the achievements of National Socialism set against an international background.[4] In 1936 he was sent as a travel writer to the United States and Canada on behalf of his publishing house, Hanseatischen Verlagsanstalt. The result was his book Völker und Kontinente ("Peoples and Continents"), which became a best seller.
Lissner wrote for the Hanseatic Service, the press service of his publisher, and his articles were printed in Nazi newspapers, including Völkischer Beobachter and Der Angriff. He went on a tour to Asia, from which his book, Menschen und Mächte am Pazifik ("People and Forces in the Pacific") was created. When he returned in January 1937 he learned that his father was in danger of being exposed as a Jew; he needed to provide evidence of being a Lutheran in order to obtain an Aryan certificate. With the help of the local pastor, Lissner forged records in St. Peter's Church in Riga. The Gestapo suspected him of concealing Jewish ancestry, but could not prove it, so his father was released. After this episode Lissner began to distance himself from National Socialism, but he maintained an anti-Soviet attitude as a result of his experiences in Russia.[5]
Lissner published articles on a regular basis for Der Angriff. In 1938 he returned to Asia on behalf of Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt, where he reported on the Japanese fighting on the Korean-Soviet border. He was interviewed by Japanese newspapers and provided information to the German ambassador. He also initiated contacts between the Japanese and German military intelligence, and during his stay in Manchuria in 1938 he acted as interpreter at the defection of the KGB chief for the Far East, Genrich Samoilowitsch Ljuschkow. He was given exclusive rights to the story in the press.[6] In 1939 he was a correspondent for Völkischer Beobachter and Der Angriff while in Japan. He was approached by the Abwehr (German military intelligence) as a potential recruit for the first time.[7] He established contacts with the Propaganda Department and the German Embassy in Tokyo (historian Heinz Höhne describes him as an unofficial press attaché)[8] and was a respected member of the Nazi-aligned German community in Tokyo. In September 1939 the Gestapo once again investigated Lissner's father and this time they arrested him, as they believed they now had reliable evidence. Lissner consequently lost his post in Tokyo and a proceeding was opened to exclude him from the NSDAP. German Ambassador to Japan Eugen Ott asked him informally to continue to work in Manchuria. Lissner continued to occasionally have articles published in Japanese magazines.
Espionage
In the summer of 1940 Lissner was recruited by the Abwehr after they promised to release his father from prison and let him move with his wife to Shanghai, where his brother Percy was working for AEG. They also promised to restore his reputation in Tokyo. With the help of German merchants and Russian exiles in Harbin, he built a spy network that reached as far as Siberia. Admiral Wil
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