WAI 
 
 AR INFORMATION SERIES 
 
 No. 20- October, 1918 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK 
 CONSPIRACY 
 
 Hf 
 
 T 
 1 th 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIPORNI^ 
 
 L. i B 
 
 iS IS. ISSUED BY 
 
 THE COMMITTEE ON JPUBLIC INFORMATION 
 
 GEORGE CREEL, Chairman
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAOB 
 
 Introduction 3 
 
 PART I. THE GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY: A REPORT BY 
 EDGAR SISSON, SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE IN RUSSIA. 
 
 Chapter I. The Basic Conspiracy 5 
 
 Chapter II. Role of the Reichsbank 9 
 
 Chapter III. The Cerman-Bolshevik Plot Against the Allies. . 11 
 
 Chapter l\ . The Plot for a Shameful Peace — The Ukraini.\n 
 
 Double-Cross 15 
 
 Chapter V. Trotsky and Roumania — Espionage and Assassination 17 
 
 Chapter VI. The Complete Surrender — Varied Activities 24 
 
 Appendix I. Documents Circulated by Anti-Bolsheviki in Russia . . 26 
 
 Appendix II. A Conversation by Telegraph between Chicherin at 
 Petrograd (who is Speaking) and Trotsky at 
 Brest-Litovsk 2° 
 
 PART II 
 
 I. Letter of Mr. Creel to the National Board for Historical 
 
 Service (October 18, 1918) 29 
 
 II. Report of the Special Committee on the Genuineness of the 
 * Documents (October 26, 1918) 29
 
 The German-Bolshevik Conspiracy 
 
 SRLF 
 YRL 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Committee on Public Information 
 publishes herewith a series of communica- 
 tions between the German Imperial Gov- 
 ernment and the Russian Bolshevik Gov- 
 ernment, and between the Bolsheviks 
 themselves, and also the report thereon 
 made to George Creel by Edgar Sisson, the 
 committee's special representative in Rus- 
 sia during the winter of 1917-18. There is 
 also included, in Part II, a report by a 
 committee appointed by the National 
 Board for Historical Service to examine 
 into the genuineness of these docimients. 
 
 The documents show that the present 
 heads of the Bolshevik Government — 
 Lenin and Trotsky and their associates — 
 are German agents. 
 
 They show that the Bolshevik revolu- 
 tion was arranged for by the German 
 Great General Staff, and financed by the 
 German Imperial Bank and other Ger- 
 man financial institutions. 
 
 They show that the treaty of Brest- 
 Litovtk was a betrayal of the Rusiiian 
 people by the German agents, Lenin and 
 Trotsky; that a German-picked com- 
 mander was chosen to "defend" Petrograd 
 against the Germans; that German officers 
 have been secretly received by the Bol- 
 shevik Government as military advisers, 
 as spies upon the embassies of Russia's 
 allies, as officers in the Russian army, and 
 as directors of the Bolshevik military, for- 
 eign, and domestic policy. They show, in 
 short, that the present Bolshevik Govern- 
 ment is not a Russian government at all, 
 but a German government acting solely 
 in the interests of Germany and betraying 
 the Russian people, as it betrays Russia's 
 natural allies, for the benefit of the Im- 
 perial German Government alone. 
 Russian Workmen Betrayed 
 
 And they show also that the Bolshevik 
 leaders, for the same German Imperial 
 ends, have equally betrayed the working 
 classes of Russia whom they pretend to 
 represent. 
 
 The documents are some 70 in number. 
 Many are originals, annotated by Bolshe- 
 vik officials. The balance of the others 
 are photograplis of originals, showing an- 
 notations. And they corroborate a third 
 set of typewritten circulars (see Appendix 
 later) of which only two originals are 
 possessed in any form, but all of which fit 
 into the whole pattern of German in- 
 trigue and German guilt. 
 
 The first document is a photograph of a 
 report made to the Bolshevik leaders by 
 two of their assistants, informing them 
 that, in accordance with their instructions. 
 
 there had been removed from the archives 
 of the Russian Ministry of Justice, the 
 order of the German Imperial Bank "al- 
 lowing money to Comrades Lenin, 
 Trotsky, 'and others' for the propaganda 
 of peace in Russia"; and that, at the 
 same time, "all the books" of a bank in 
 Stockholm had been "audited" to conceal 
 the payment of money to Lenin, Trotsky, 
 and their associates, by order of the Ger- 
 man Imperial Bank. 
 
 This report is indorsed, in Lenin's 
 initials, "V. U." [Vladimir Ulianoff, his 
 real name], for deposit in "the secret 
 department" of the Bolshevik files. And 
 the authenticity of the report is supported 
 by Document No. 2, which is the original 
 of a report sent by a German General 
 Staff representative to the Bolshevik lead- 
 ers, warning them that he has just ar- 
 rested an agent who had in his possession 
 the original order of the German Imperial 
 Bank referred to in Document No. 1, and 
 pointing out that evidently ' at the proper 
 time steps were not taken to destroy the 
 above-mentioned documents." 
 
 Protocol Signed by Leaders 
 
 Document No. 3 is the original proto- 
 col signed by several Bolshevik leaders 
 and dated November 2, 1917 (Russian cal- 
 endar), showing that "on instructions of 
 the representatives of the German General 
 Staff in Petrograd" and "with the consent 
 of the Council of People's Commissars,'' 
 of which Trotsky and Lenin were the 
 heads, two incriminating German circulars 
 had also been "taken from the Department 
 of Counter Espionage of the Petrograd dis- 
 trict" and given to the Intelligence Bureau 
 of the German General Staff in Petrograd. 
 On the bottom of the protocol the German 
 adjutant acknowledges receipt of the two 
 incriminating circulars with his cipher sig- 
 nature. 
 
 These two circulars apparently had been 
 obtained earh- in the war by some Russian 
 agent in Germany and transmitted to 
 Russia. The German General Staff evi- 
 dently wished to get them back in order 
 to remove evidence. By the order of the 
 German General Staff and with the "con- 
 sent" of Lenin and Trotsky they are 
 turned over to the Germans. WTiy? Be- 
 cause they fit in with other information 
 of Germany's war plans and preparations 
 before August, 1914. Indeed, several 
 weeks before the assassination of the Aus- 
 trian Archduke, which was made the pre- 
 text for war. 
 
 And Lenin and Trotsky surrender them 
 in conformity with a working agreement 
 
 between the Bolshevik leaders and the 
 German General Staff, of which agreement 
 a photograph is included in the series as 
 Document No. 5. 
 
 This is dated October 25, 1917. It is 
 from a division of the German General 
 Staff. It is addressed to the Government 
 of the People's Commissars, of which 
 Lenin and Trotsky were the heads. It be- 
 gins: "In accordance with the agreement 
 which took place in Kronstadt, in Julj' of 
 the present year, between officials of our 
 General Staff and leaders of the Russian 
 revolutionary army and democracy, 
 Messrs. Lenin and Trotsky, Raskolnikov, 
 and Dybenko, the Russian Division of 
 our General Staff operating in Fin- 
 land is ordering to Petrograd officers 
 for the disposal of the Intelligence Bureau 
 of the staff." Among the officers namei': 
 are Maj. Luberts and Lieut. Hartwig. 
 whose cipher signature, Henrich, is given 
 as it appears on the receipt for the Iw 
 circulars accompanying Ducuiiient No. 3 
 And an indorsement on this letter (No. .-.' 
 from the German General Staff recoils 
 that the German officers assigned to Petro- 
 grad had appeared "before the military 
 revolutionary committee" and had "agreed 
 on conditions with regard to their mutual 
 activities." 
 
 Mutual Activities Shown 
 
 What their "mutual activities" were to 
 be is sufficiently indicated by Document 
 No. 7, which is a photograph of a letter 
 signed in cipher by this Maj. Luberts and 
 his adjutant, Lieut. Hartwig. They notify 
 the Bolshevik leaders, on Januarj- 12, 1918 
 (Russian calendar), that "by order of the 
 German General Staff" the German Intelli- 
 gence Bureau "has reported the names 
 and the characteristics of the main can- 
 didates for reelection" to the Russian Bol- 
 shevik "Central Executive Committee," 
 and "the General Staff orders us to insist 
 on the election of the following persons." 
 They add a list of Russian leaders satis- 
 factory to the German General Staff. The 
 list is headed by Trotsky and Lenin. 
 They were elected, and the rest of the 
 present Bolshevik executive committee 
 were chosen from the same German list. 
 
 Document No. 8 gives evidence of the 
 quid pro quo. It is a photograph of a 
 letter from the representative of the Ger- 
 man Imperial Bank to the Bolsherik 
 Commissar of Foreign Affairs. It is 
 marked "Verj- secret" and dated January 
 8, 1918. It says: "Notification has to- 
 day been received by me from Stockholm
 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 that'"50,O0O,OOO roubles of gold has been 
 transferred to be put at the disposal of the 
 People's Commissars," which is the title 
 of the Bolshevik leaders. "This credit," 
 the letter continues, "has been supplied 
 to the Russian Government in order to 
 cover the cost of the keep of the Red 
 Guards [the Bolshevik revolutionary' 
 troops] and agitators in the country. The 
 Imperial Government considers it appro- 
 priate to remind the Council of People's 
 Commissars of the necessity of increasing 
 their propaganda in the country, as the an- 
 tagonistic attitude of the south of Russia 
 and Siberia to the existing Government in 
 Russia is troubling the German Govern- 
 ment." 
 
 War Materials at Vladivostok 
 
 Four days later the same representative 
 of the German Imperial Bank sent another 
 5,000,000 roubles to the same address to 
 provide for the sending of a Russian revo- 
 lutionary leader to Vladivostok, to get 
 possession of the "Japanese and Ameri- 
 can war materials" at that port, and if 
 necessary to destroy them. A photograph 
 of his letter is given as Document No. 9. 
 
 There were earlier payments, but 
 probably none later than these. None 
 was necessary. By this time the loot 
 of an empire lay open to the Bolshe- 
 
 ks — and to the Germans. 
 
 Most significant of al! are two photo- 
 .■*\Taphs of further communications from 
 tl e German Imperial Bank, given as 
 Documents Nos. 10 and 11. One is a 
 letter addressed to the Chairman of the 
 Council of People's Commissars, and the 
 other is the "resolution of a conference of 
 representatives of the German commer- 
 cial banks" rcceivetl by the Chairman of 
 the Bolshevik Central Executive Commit- 
 tee and indorsed by his secretary. To- 
 gether they give a complete .synopsis of 
 the terms on which Germany intends to 
 have control of all Russian industries. 
 
 For five years from the signing of peace, 
 English, French, and American capital 
 in Russia is to be "banished" and "not 
 to be allowed in the following industries: 
 coal, metallurgical, machine building, oil, 
 chemical, and pharmaceutical." These in- 
 dustrie.s are to be developed under the 
 control of a "supreme advisory organ con- 
 sisting of 10 Russian specialists, 10 from 
 the German industrial organizations ami 
 the German and Austrian banks." Germany 
 and Au.stria are to "enjoy the unlimited 
 privilege of .sending into Russia mechanics 
 and qualified workmen." "Other foreign 
 mechanics and workmen . . . are not 
 to be allowed to enter at all" for five year.f 
 after the conclusion of peace between 
 Russia and Germany. "Private Vjanks in 
 Rus-sia arise only with the con.sent" of 
 the Union of German and Austrian banks. 
 And so forth. 
 
 Conspiracy is Indorsed 
 
 .\nd I Ins fonspiracy between German 
 
 Imperial capitalism and the pretended 
 
 Russian Reds is indorsf^d by a nnlshcvik 
 
 leader, with the recommendation that it 
 should be "taken under advisement" and 
 "the ground prepared in the Council of 
 the Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, in 
 case the Council of People's Commissars 
 will not accept these requests." 
 
 Various details of the conspiracy be- 
 tween the Bolshevik leaders and the Ger- 
 man General Staff are exposed in docu- 
 ments Nos. 16 to 29. These are photographs 
 of letters which passed between the Bol- 
 shevik leaders and the German General 
 Staff, or the German officers in Russia. 
 Document No. 21 shows that on Novem- 
 ber 1, 1917, when Russia was still re- 
 garded as an ally of Great Britain, France, 
 and America, the German General Staff 
 was having "the honor to request" the 
 Bolshevik leaders to inform it "at the 
 earliest possible moment" concerning "the 
 quantity and storage place of the supplies 
 which have been received from America, 
 England, and France, and also the units 
 which are keeping guard over the military 
 stores." 
 
 Document 18 shows the German Gen- 
 eral Staff requiring the Bolshevik lead- 
 ers to send "agitators to the camps of 
 the Russian prisoners of war in Germany." 
 in order that they might procure spies to 
 work among the English and French 
 troops and to further "peace propaganda." 
 .\nd this is proposed by the Gernian Gen- 
 eral Staff as being "according to the ne- 
 gotiations between the Russian and Ger- 
 man peace delegations at Brest-Litovsk." 
 
 In Document 22 the Bolshevik leaders 
 and the Germans are arranging to send 
 "agents-agitators, and agents-destructors" 
 out of Vladivostok "to ports of the United 
 States, Japan, and British colonies in East- 
 cm Asia." 
 
 Passports for Germans 
 
 In Document 16 Trotsky is providing 
 fraudulent passports for German officers 
 who are going to England, France, and 
 America, as spies and enemy agents. And 
 Document 17 shows Trotsky indorsing a 
 similar proposal : "To be urgently exe- 
 cuted. L. T." 
 
 Three German submarines are to bo 
 sent to the Pacific on the trans-Siberian 
 railway by orders of the German High 
 Command in Document No. 23. Lists of 
 German and Ru.ssian spies watching the 
 British, French, and American embassies 
 in Petrograd arc given in Docimient No. 
 25. And, finally, in Docvnnent No. 15 the 
 Bolshevik leaders are warned that infor- 
 mation concerning "the connection of the 
 German Government with the Bolshevik 
 workers" ha.s leaked out and that Rus- 
 sian troops are hearing of it. 
 
 Letters are given to show how the I!oi- 
 shcvik leaders and the German officers 
 arranged for the assassination of Rus- 
 sian Nationali.st leaders (Documents 35, 
 39. and 52), for the destruction of the 
 Polish legionaries in the Russian army 
 (Documents 10 to 42), for the disorgani- 
 zfition of till.' Roinnanian armv and the de- 
 
 posing of the Roumanian king (Docu- 
 ment No. 37), for the substitution of offi- 
 cers satisfactory to Germany in command 
 of Russian troops instead of patriotic Rus- 
 sian generals (Documents 31 and 32), for 
 the suppression of patriotic agitation 
 among the Russian soldiers (Documents 
 13 and 14), for an attack upon the Italian 
 ambassador in Petrograd and the theft 
 of his papers (Documents 26 and 27), and 
 for the employment of German soldiers 
 in Russian uniforms against the Russian 
 national armies in the South (Docu- 
 ment 35). 
 
 Several of the letters are indorsed by 
 Trotsky. Even standing alone, they are 
 complete proof that the Bolshevik lead- 
 ers were ruling as German agents in Rus- 
 sia, and obeying German orders to act 
 against all Germany's enemies and even 
 against Russia itself. 
 
 Acted as German Agents 
 
 Moreover, these Bolshevik leaders acted 
 as German agents by suppressing their 
 own socialist revolution in the Russian 
 provinces where their doctrines interfered 
 with German plans of annexation. Docu- 
 ment 46 is the original letter from the 
 Petrograd Intelligence Biu'eau of the Ger- 
 man General Staff addressed to the Bolshe- 
 vik Commissar of Foreign Affairs. It reads : 
 "According to instructions of the repre- 
 seu/tative of our General Staff, I ha'e the 
 honor once more to insist that you recall 
 from Esthonia, Lithuania, and Courland 
 all agitators of the Central Executive 
 Committee of the Council of Workmen's 
 and Soldiers' Deputies." And in Docu- 
 ment 47 the General Staff orders the Bol- 
 she\'iki to cease the agitation in Esthonia 
 which had "finally led to the local German 
 lanillords being declared outlawed," and 
 to "take immediate steps for tlie restor- 
 ing of the rights of the above-mentioned 
 German landlords." 
 
 Another group of letters (Nos. 33 to 
 36) shows how the Germans cheated the 
 Bolshevik leaders in their dealings with 
 the Ukraine and made a separate Ger- 
 man peace with the anti-Bolshevik lead- 
 ers in that Russian province. And an- 
 other group shows the Germans assisting 
 both sides of the civil war in Finland 
 (Documents 38, 43, and 53). 
 
 The documents, as thej' follow, are given 
 in the main in the report form in which 
 they were transmitted by Mr. Sisson to 
 Mr. Creel, chairman of the committee, 
 with some later data added and carefully 
 indicated. For instance, Mr. Sisson did 
 not learn until several weeks after he had 
 left Russia that the German order (which 
 he po.sses.sed) naming the Russian who 
 was to "defen<l" I'etrograd had been 
 obeyed. 
 
 In pre])aring this material for ))ublica- 
 tion as a pamphlet advantage has been 
 taken of the opporttinity to improve in 
 .some mooted points the form in xvliicli 
 the documents and triiiisjatidii.-i arc )ire- 
 sented.
 
 PART I 
 
 The German-Bolshevik Conspiracy 
 
 A REPORT BY 
 
 EDGAR SISSON 
 
 Special Representative in Russia of the Committee on Public Information in the Winter of 1917-18 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 THE BASIC CONSPIRACY 
 
 Three groups of documents are sub- 
 jected to internal analysis in the material 
 that follows. One group consists of origi- 
 nals, one group consists of photographs of 
 documents believed still to be in the file 
 rooms of the Russian Bolsheviki, and the 
 third (Appendix I) of typewritten circulars 
 that have not been traced to their origi- 
 nals except perhaps in the case of two 
 of the number. The chief importance of 
 the third group is that its appearance in- 
 spired the efforts that led to the uncover- 
 ing of the other groups. And they fit into 
 the fabric of the whole. 
 
 The first set of these appendix circulars 
 came into my hands on February 2, in 
 Petrograd. An additional set appeared 
 the following day at an office where I fre- 
 quently called. A third appeared in an- 
 other quarter a day afterwards. One set 
 was in Russian and two in English. On 
 February 5 I held all three sets. A pos- 
 sible explanation for their appearance at 
 this time and their intent is given in Ap- 
 pendix I. 
 
 By themselves they were plausible but 
 not substantiated. Having first performed 
 the obvious duty of analyzing them for 
 surface values and transmitting them and 
 the analyses to Washington, I turned, 
 therefore, to the task of further investi- 
 gations. 
 
 It isf not yet possible to name those 
 who helped, but in three weeks' time the 
 judgment of facts became apparent. 
 
 The text of the documents discloses both 
 the methods and the effects of the Ger- 
 man conspiracy not alone against Russia, 
 but the world. With each document is 
 the indication of whether it is an original 
 or photograph. With each document is an 
 interpretati\e note. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 1 
 
 People's Commissary for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 {Very Secret) 
 Petrograd, November 16, 1917. 
 To THE Chairman of the Cottncil of 
 
 People's Commissars: 
 
 In accordance with the resolution 
 passed by the conference of People's 
 Commissars, Comrades Lenin, Trot- 
 sky, Podvoi.sky, Dybenko, and Volo- 
 darsky, the following has been exe- 
 cuted by us: 
 
 1. In the archives of the Ministry 
 of Justice from the dossier re "trea- 
 son" of Comrades Lenin, ZinoviefT, 
 Koslovsky, Kollontai and others, has 
 been removed the order of the Ger- 
 man Imperial Bank, No. 7433, of the 
 second of March, 1917, for allowing 
 rnoney to Comrades Lenin, ZinoviefT, 
 Kameneff, Trotsky, Sumenson, Kos- 
 lovsky and others for the propaganda 
 of peace in Russia. 
 
 2. There have been audited all the 
 books of the Nia Bank at Stockholm 
 containing the accounts of Com- 
 rades Lenin, Trotsky, Zinovieff, and 
 others, which were opened by the 
 order of the German Imperial Bank 
 No. 2754. These books have been 
 dehvered to Comrade MuUer, who 
 was sent from Berlin. 
 
 Authorized by the Commi.ssar for 
 Foreign Affairs. 
 
 E. Polivanofp. 
 
 F. Zalkind. 
 
 Note.' — The Russian Council of Peo- 
 ple's Co7Hmissars was dominated by the 
 president, Vladimir Ulianov {Lenin); the 
 then foreign minister, Leon Trotsky, now 
 var minister; and the ambassador to Ger- 
 mmiy, A. Jofje. The marginal indorse- 
 7nent in writing is: "To the secret department . 
 B. U." This is the fashion in ivkich Lenin 
 is accustomed to initial himself. The English 
 equivalent would be V. U ., for Vladimir 
 Ulianov. So, even if there existed no further 
 record of German Imperial Bank order No. 
 7433, here woidd be the proof of its contents, 
 and here is the link connecting Lenin directly 
 with his action and his guilt. The content 
 matter of the circular exists, however, ami 
 herewith follows: 
 
 Order of the 2d of March, 1917, of the 
 Imperial Bank for the representatives of all 
 German banks in Sweden: 
 
 Notice is hereby given that requisition for 
 money for the purpose of peace propaganda 
 in Russia will be received through Finland. 
 These requisitions will emanate from the 
 following: Lenin, Zinovieff, Kameneff, 
 Trotsky, Smnenson, Koslovsky, Kollontai, 
 Sivers, and Merkalin, accounts for whom 
 have been opened in accordance with our 
 order No. 2754 in the agencies of private 
 German businesses in Sweden, Norway, and 
 Switzei'land. All these requests should 
 
 bear one of the two following signatures: 
 Dirshau or Milkenberg. With either ot 
 these signatures th<! requests of the above- 
 mentioned persons should be complied with 
 without delay. — 7453, Imperial Bank. 
 
 / have not a copy of this circular nor a 
 photograph of it, but Document No. 2, next 
 in order, proves its authenticity at once 
 curiously and absolutely. Particular interest 
 attaches to this circular because of Bolsheirik 
 public denial of its existence. It was one of 
 several German circulars published in Paris 
 in the "Petit Parisien" last v.nnter. The 
 Petrograd Bolshevik papers proclaimed it a 
 falsehood. Zalkind, whose signature appears 
 not only here but on the protocol {Document 
 No. 3), was an assistaiU foreign minister. 
 He was sent in February on a mission 
 outside of R-ussia. He was in Christiania 
 in April when I was there. 
 
 Hare photograph of the letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 2 
 
 G[reat) Gleneral] S[tafl], Intelligence 
 
 [Nachrichten] Bureau, Section A, No. 
 
 292. 
 
 {Secret) 
 February 12, 1918. 
 To THE Chairman of the Council of 
 People's Commissars: 
 The Intelligence Bureau has th" 
 honor to inform you that there 
 
 MCHRICHTENBUREAU. 
 
 BecUoB ^V. 
 
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 icpeTHO. 
 
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 C 2'&4. 
 
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 TOBivv -y 
 
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 Facsimile of Document Number 2
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 
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 AnilOTaHTi- 
 
 7Z^ 
 
 were found on the arrested Capt. 
 Konshin two German documents witli 
 notations and stamps of tlio Pctirs- 
 burg secret police [Oklirana] which 
 nhow themselves to be the orininal 
 orders of the Imperial Bank, No. 7433, 
 March 2, 1017, concerning the open- 
 ing of accounts for Messrs. Lenin, 
 Sumonson, Ko.'<lovsky, Trotsky, and 
 other active workers on the peace 
 propaganda, by order No. 2754 of the 
 Impi-riul iJank. 
 
 'i"he.'ic diHcoveries show that at the 
 proper time steps were not taken to 
 destroy the above-mentioned docu- 
 mrnt.s. 
 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. BAfKlt. 
 
 Adjutant: Bukhoi.m. 
 
 Note.— Obscnie Ihe Ihnughlfulnciis with 
 which Bauer, a careful man, scl down ex- 
 
 Document Number 3 — Facsimile of Protocol 
 
 acdij U'liai was in ike document, then-hy pir- 
 viilling the contents to rise again from the 
 ashes to which perhaps he commiUed the 
 damaging paper. He admits that the dorii- 
 7nents found were truthful originals. Tin- 
 world will thank him and Germany will not. 
 I hare the original letter. 11 hears mar- 
 ginal indorsements: "Referred to the Com- 
 
 mission for Combating Counter Revolution. 
 Demanded documents. M . Skripnilc"; and 
 an illegible comment by N . Clorbunoff, Lenin's 
 other Government secretary. The letter is 
 directed to Lenin. Did Skripnik get the 
 documents? I do not know. 
 
 The letter is remarkable otherwise, for the 
 arrested Capt. Konshin mentioned is a 
 German officer, Lieut. Otto, n'ho appears clse- 
 vihere as an agent in the German doutile- 
 crnssing intrigue in the Ukraine. What was 
 behind the mystery of his arrest? What was 
 his fate? 
 
 Note (Oct. 1, 1918).— T/ie order oj the 
 second oj March, lt)I7, a? pointed out in 
 the note to Document 1, has had publicity 
 since lent winter, and nalurally has been 
 
 sxibject to the attack oj the defenders oj 
 Lenin and Trotsky. The effort at con- 
 jusion, however, is oj the straw-man 
 variety. Ij this date were in the Western 
 European calendar, it would precede the 
 March Revolution. So the dejcnders oj 
 Lenin and. Trotsky have argued against 
 the letter that ii mtist have been written 
 by a Counter-Revolutionary Russian who 
 forgot the 13 days' difference in time 
 between the Ritssian and the European 
 calendar. Curiously, ihe persona who 
 make this contention overlook the re- 
 verse oj such an argument — that the or- 
 der was written by a German leho knew 
 AND rsED the Russian calendar. He 
 ought in common sense to have used 
 it, as the letter was written to state when 
 orders jor money jrom Russians would 
 be honored. 
 
 The Germans who maneuvered in Rus- 
 sia were letter perject in Russian jorm 
 (See Document 6, "who use the Riwisian 
 language perjeetly and who are acquainted 
 with Rtissian conditions.") 
 
 But the date, March 2, may he either 
 German or Russian, jor any important 
 bearing it has on the documents. If 
 German, it was written hejore the March 
 Revolution, but in preparation jor getting 
 into it as sooti as it started. Many per- 
 son.?, both in Russia and in Germany, 
 knew oj an impending effort at Revolu- 
 tion. What more natural on Berlin's part 
 than to desire to get its "agents -dis- 
 lurbers" there? And ij they were at that 
 moment widely scattered over the world, 
 the more reason to begin quickly to call 
 them in. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 3 
 
 V. K. [Military Commissariat] D. 
 323 — two inclosures. 
 
 No. 
 
 PROTOCOL 
 This protocol, drawn up by us on the 
 2d of November, 1917, in duplicate, 
 declares that wo have taken with the 
 consent of the Coimcil of People's 
 Commissars from the papcns of the 
 Department of C-ovmtcr Espionage of 
 the Petrograd district and the former 
 Departnu-nt of Police |Okhrana], on 
 instruction.s of the representatives of 
 the German General Staff in Petro- 
 grad: 
 
 1. Circular of the German General 
 Staff No. 421, dated June 9, 1914, 
 concerning the inuiiediale mobiliza- 
 tion of all industrial enterprises in 
 Germany, and 
 
 2. Circular No. 9.1, dated November 
 2S, 1914, of the General Staff of the 
 High Sea Fleet , eoiiceriiing the sending 
 into enemy countries of special agents 
 fur the destruct ion of war supplies and 
 materials. 
 
 The above noted circulars were 
 given over under signed receipt into 
 the Inlelligeive Bureau of the German 
 Staff in Petrograd. 
 
 Authorized by the Council of Peo- 
 l)le's Commissars. 
 
 F. Zalkind. 
 
 E. POLIVANOFP. 
 
 (Illegible, but may be Mekhano.shin.) 
 
 A. ,I(lFI-E. 
 
 The Circulars No. 421 and No. 93 
 mentioned in this protocol and also 
 one coi>y of this protocol were re- 
 ceived on the :kl of November, 1917, 
 by the Intelligence Bureau of the 
 (!(reatl Glen<Tull S[laff] in Petersburg. 
 
 Adjutant: Hbnrich,
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 GR. GENERALSTHB. 
 
 CEHTRHL nBTHEILUNQ. 
 
 / 
 
 Section M. 
 
 1*- 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 CIRC XJ Z, A R 
 
 vcm 9 JuDi i<ii4 
 an Bezirkscommendanten. 
 
 Nacli 24 Sliindcn >oin l-'iiipraiig des vorliegenden Circulars alio Besilzer der Industrie- 
 
 uuternclinuingen tcltgrApliiscIi zn benachriclitieen die Harkele mil mobilisatioas— gewerbli- 
 
 clii-n ;;riijjhischen I^aislelliijigcn und Pluncn zu «roMcnen. die Im Circular dcr Komiisioo 
 
 von r.r.if \V.il.iir!.re <ind Captirl voM 27 Jual 1837 angewiesen sloj. 
 
 jVj 421 Dm MobilisilionsabtheltuDg. 
 Document No. 3 — Facsimile of June 9 Circular 
 
 Funds required for the hiring and 
 bribing of jx-rsonH neeessary for the 
 designated purpose will be jjlaced at 
 your disposal at your refjuest. 
 
 Intelligence Bureau of the General 
 Staff of the High Sea Fleet. 
 
 KOENIQ. 
 
 Note. — Both the circulars hear the pen- 
 ciled notation thai "one copy has been given 
 to the German Intelligence Bureau" at 
 Petrograd. The Germau intent here was to 
 remove from the records of the old Russian 
 Government the evidence, first, that Germany 
 was beginning in June, 1014, H^ active 
 preparations for the vxir that surprised the 
 world in August, 191 4, and second, to re- 
 move the evidence of its responsibility for 
 incendiarism and explosions in the United 
 States, a country mth which Germany was 
 then at peace. The restdt was to give new 
 evidence of the truth of the charges. The 
 evident mixture of bad and good German 
 in these circulars seems to mc evidence of 
 an attempt to provide an alibi again.H the 
 almost inevitable day when the circulars 
 would be revealed. (Sec also page 30.) 
 
 Have original of protocol and have the 
 printed circulars. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 4 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 35. 
 
 January 17, 1918. 
 to the c0mm1ssari.\t op foreign 
 
 Affairs: 
 
 The Bureau has Tvcclved exact in- 
 formation that the leaders of th^'' 
 socialist party now ruling in Russia, 
 
 Note. — The circulars inclosed ar: 
 printed in German , and are as follows: 
 
 Gr[eat] General Staff, Central Division, 
 Section M, No. — , Berlin. 
 
 CiRCOLAR OF June 9, 1914, to District 
 
 COMM.^NDERS: 
 
 Within 24 hours of the receipt of this 
 circular you are to inform all industrial 
 concerns by wire that the documents 
 with industrial mobilization plans and 
 with registration forms be opened, such 
 as are referred to in the circular of the 
 Commission of Count Waldersee and 
 Caprivi, of June 27, 1887. _ 
 
 No. 421, Mobilization Divi.sion. 
 
 Gtcneral] S[taff] of the High Sea Fleet, 
 No. 93. 
 
 Circular of November 28, 1914, to 
 Marine Agencies and Naval 
 Societies: 
 
 You are ordered to mobilize imme- 
 diately all destruction agents and 
 ob.servers in those commercial and 
 military ports where munitions are 
 being loaded on ships going to England, 
 France, Canada, the United States of 
 North America, and Rassia, where 
 there are storehouses of such mvuii- 
 tions, and where fighting units are sta- 
 tioned. It is necessary to hire through 
 third parties who stand in no relation 
 to the official representatives of Ger- 
 many agents for arranging explosions 
 on ships bound for enemy countries, 
 and for arranging delays, embroilments, 
 and difficulties during the loading, dis- 
 patching, and unloading of ships. For 
 this purpose we are especially recom- 
 mending to your attention loaders' 
 gangs, among whom there are many 
 anarchLsts and escaped criminals, and 
 that you get in touch with German and 
 neutral shipping offices as a means of 
 observing agents of enemy countries 
 who are receiving and shipping the 
 munitions. 
 
 Q. S. der BOCHSEEFLOTTL 
 
 
 CIRCTJJjAR 
 
 vom 28 November 1914 
 den Marineagenturen und den Flottenvereinen, 
 
 Es wird Ihnen vorgesohribea soforl alle Agentcn-Beobachter und Agenten— Vertilger 
 iu' diesen Handels und MiliUlr-Hafen zu mobilisierea, wo Schiffe zur LieferungderKriegsam- 
 munition nach England, Frankreich, Kanada, Vercinigle Staaten der Nord-Ameriks und 
 Eussland aufgeladen stin kOnnen, »o NieJerlageu fur solche Ammiinition sicb YorllDdeiinnd 
 auch wo Marine-Krtegseinheiten stehen. 
 
 Es 1st durchaus nothwendig durch dritte in keiiiet Verbinjung zu offlcielen Vertreteo 
 beutschlands stehende Personen Agenten zu erwcrbfii, urn Explosionen aaf in feindlicho 
 Liuider sich begebendcu SchiiVen zu veransulten. um Verspatigungen, Verwiernngen eowie 
 MissverstanJnisse bei Beladung, Absendung und Ausladung der SchilTe zu bewirken.. 
 
 Zu diesen Zweck emptehlen »ii- Ihrer Aufmerksamkeit (janz besonders Ladungs-Verei- 
 jiigungen (Artelen), unter welchen viele Anarchislen und entlaufene Verbrecher sich fin- 
 ieu, ferner dcutsche und nculrale Transporl-Comptoirs und »ach Agenten feindlicher Under 
 bei Emtan^g und Absendung des Kriegsmaterials. 
 
 Die dazu nothigi:Q Geldsummen wcrden laut Ihrer Aufforderung 2ur Verfugttng gfr 
 >tellt. um das unenlbehrliche Personal zut Eneichung des angegebenen Zweekes lu iaielEeil 
 uu4 tu bc-stechen. 
 
 jisdtfictltea Bureau des Geo. Stabes der Hochseeflott:. 
 
 Efienlg. 
 Document No. 3 — Facsimile of November 28 Circular
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 through Messrs. Fuerstenberg and 
 Radek, are in correspondence with 
 Messrs. Scheidemann and Par^nis re- 
 garding the destruction of the traces 
 of the business relations of the party- 
 wit h the Imperial Government. We 
 also know that this correspondence was 
 caused by the demand of leading 
 groups of German socialists, who saw 
 in the said communications a danger 
 to the caase of world socialism. By 
 order of the staff, I have the honor 
 to request the submitting of this ques- 
 tion to special discussion in the pres- 
 ence of the representative of our staff 
 and Mr. von Schoenemann. 
 
 For the head of the department: 
 R. BArER. 
 
 Adjutant: [Illegible.] 
 
 Note. — The world penalty, therefore, was 
 apparent to some Germans. Of the per- 
 sonalities named in the letter, Sche-idemaiin, 
 the leader of the German Governmenl-sup' 
 porting wing of the Socialist party is the 
 most notable. Once before he has been 
 named in relation to the "business relations" 
 of the Russian Bolsheriki with the Imperial 
 Government, writing a letter from Copen- 
 hagen in 1917, to a "Mr. Olherg" in ivhich 
 he slated that 150,000 kroners had been 
 placed at Olberg's disposal at Fuerstenberg' s 
 office through the N'ia Bank. {See Appendix, 
 later.) Now Fuerstenberg by this time, 
 Janiuiry, in Petrograd at Smolny, is trying 
 to help Scheidemann in covering vp old 
 trails. Radek is a clever Polish-Austrian 
 Jew xcho came from Switzerland xcith Lenin. 
 He and Trotsky between them staged the 
 public play-acting at Brest-Litovsk. Von 
 Schoenemann was the accredited German 
 representative to the Bolshevik foreign office. 
 He is nameil later i,n. Documeul No. S. 
 Parvus ts a handler of German propaganda 
 money, with headquarters at Copenhagen, 
 and is credited with being tlie directing force 
 behind Joffe. (For Parvus, see "Neio 
 Europe," January SI, 191S, pp. 94-96.) 
 
 Have phutograph :/ this letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 5 
 
 Gr[eat] General Staff, Central Division. 
 Section M, No. (blank), Berlin. 
 
 October 2.3, 1917. 
 
 To THE GOVER.VMENT OF PeOPLE's 
 COM.MISSAUS: 
 
 In accordance with the agrcoment. 
 wliich took place in Kron.stadt, in July 
 of the present year, bet woon officials of 
 our General StafT and leaders of the 
 l{.u.s.sian revolutionary army and do 
 niocracy, Me.s.srs. Lenin, Trotsky, 
 Raskolnikov, and Dybinko, the Rus- 
 sian Division of our General Staff op<'r- 
 ating in Finland in ordering to Petro- 
 grad ofTicers for the disposal of the 
 IntelliKenco Bureau of the utafT. At 
 the head of the Petrograd Bureau will 
 be the following ofFictirs, who use the 
 Ra^sian language perfectly and who 
 are acquainted \vith Ras-sian conditions: 
 Maj. I..ubert.s, cipher signature 
 
 Agasfer. 
 Maj. von Boelkc, cipher signa- 
 ture Schott. 
 Maj. Bayermei.stcr, cipher signa- 
 ture Ber. 
 Lieut.. Hartwig, cipher .signatures 
 Henrich . 
 The Intelligence Bureau, in ac- 
 cordance with the agreement with 
 JkleRsr.'f. Lenin, Trotsky, and Zinovioff, 
 will have the surveillance of the foreign 
 
 embassies and military missions and of 
 the counter revolutionary movement, 
 and also will perform the espionage 
 and counter espionage work on the in- 
 ternal fronts, for which purpose agents 
 vrill be assigned to the various cities . 
 
 Coincidently, it is annomiced that at 
 the disposal of the Government of 
 People's Commissars are assigned con- 
 sultants to the Ministry of Foreign 
 Affairs, Mr. von Schoenemann, and 
 to the Ministrv of Finance, Mr. von 
 ToU. 
 
 Chief of the Russian Division, Ger- 
 man General Staff: O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant: U. Wolff. 
 
 (And below on the same letter:) 
 
 To THE Commissariat of Foreign 
 Affairs: 
 
 The officers indicated in this paper 
 have been before the military revolu- 
 tionary committee and have agreed on 
 conditions with Mui'avieff, Boie, and 
 Danishevski with regard to their 
 mutual activities. They have all come 
 under the direction of the committee. 
 The consultants wiU appear as called 
 for. 
 
 Chairman Military Revolutionary 
 Committee, Council of Workers' and 
 Soldiers' Deputies: A. Joffe, 
 
 Secretary: P. Krushavitch. 
 
 October 27, 1917. 
 
 Note. — Here is the working compact. If 
 Rausch was then in Berlin he presumably 
 came immediately afterwards to Petrograd. 
 It is more probable that the letter ivas UYitten 
 in Finland than Berlin. In some other 
 letterheads on which Berlin is printed 'the 
 U'ord is run through with a pen. Stationery 
 was hard to get in Petrograd. Maj. Luberls 
 became the head of the Intelligence Bureau 
 (Nachnchten Bureau). Kronstadt loas the 
 midsummer headquarters of Lenin. Rask'il- 
 niknff will be referred to in connection with 
 the project to sell the Russian fleet to Ger- 
 many. Dybenko was the commissar of the 
 fleet, the naval minister, a. driving man and 
 keen wittcd. Zinovieff is the president of 
 the Petrograd Soviet, during the winter tite 
 most poxverful of tlie local bodies of the Rus- 
 sian Soviets. He is Jewish and well edu- 
 cated. Joffe, in the letter of Bolshevik ac- 
 ceptance of the German compact, again sta7ids 
 forth for what he is, the spokcsmaii, after 
 Lenin, in all matters of supreme importance 
 to Germany. 
 
 Have photograph of the joint letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 6 
 
 Crlcatl General Start, Central Division, 
 No. 813. 
 
 November 19, 1917. 
 To the C'ouncil op People's Com- 
 Mi.ssAn.s: 
 
 This is to advise you that the follow- 
 ing persons have been put at the dis- 
 posal of the Rassiaii Government as 
 military advi.sers: Maj. Erich, Maj. 
 Bode, Maj. Sa.ss, Maj. Zimiuernian, 
 Maj. Anders, Lieut. Haa.se, Lieut. 
 Klein, Lieut. Breitz. 
 
 These officers will choose a cadre 
 of the most Huitable oflicrTs from the 
 list of our prisoners, who will likewise 
 be at the disposal of the Ru.ssian 
 
 Government, as was agreed at the 
 conference in Stockholm when Lenin, 
 Zinovieff, and others were traveling 
 through to Russia. 
 
 Head of the Rus.siau Section, German 
 General Staff: O. Rausch. 
 
 Adjutant: U. Wolff. 
 
 Note. — Maj. Anders took the Russian 
 name Rubakov and Maj. Erich the Rxissian 
 name Egorov. Lenin and Zinovieff passed 
 through Germany and Stockholm together. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 27. 
 
 (Confidential) 
 
 January 12, 191S. 
 
 To THE Commissar of Foreign 
 Affairs: 
 
 By the order of the local department 
 of the German General Staff, the In- 
 teUigence Department has reported 
 the names atid the characteristics of 
 the main candidates for the reelection 
 of the Central Executive Committee. 
 The General Staff orders us to insist on 
 the election of the following persons: 
 Trotsky, Lenin, Zinovieff, Kameneff, 
 Joffe, f>verdlov, Lunacharsky, KoUon- 
 tai, Fabrizius, Martov, Steklov, Gol- 
 man, J>unze, Lander, Milk, Preobra- 
 jen.ski, SoUers, Studer, Golberg, 
 Avanesov, Volodarsky, Raskolnikov, 
 Stuchka, Peters^ and Neubut. Please 
 inform the president of the council of 
 the General Staff's wish . 
 
 Head of the Bureau: Agasfer. 
 
 Adjutant: Henrich. 
 
 Note. — The indorsements are: "Copy 
 handed to chairinan Council Workmen's and 
 Soldiers' Deputies, A'o. 936." "Deliver to 
 Comrade Zinovieff and to secret department. 
 
 M . Ov (?) " January l~(Russiancalendar) 
 
 fell in the week of the All-Russian Soviet 
 convention in Petrograd, the ivcek after the 
 forcible dissolution of the Constituent Asse7n- 
 lily. The election come at the end of the 
 week and was a perfunctory re-election of 
 practically the whole former executive com- 
 mittee of commissars. Lacking the exact 
 list, I 7ievertheless can state that the present 
 executive committee was drafted from this 
 group. The name there surpri.'ting to me is 
 that of Martov, the head of a supposedly 
 separate fcuiion. 
 
 Martov is an able writer, was associated 
 with Trotsky in his Paris journali.'itic venture, 
 liut was supposed to have split with him in 
 Russia. The evidence that he is still agree- 
 alile to Germany is pertinent. Madame 
 Kiilloulai, the only woman on this list, ivas 
 the Commissar of Public Welfare. She was 
 sent atiroad for foreign irropaganda in 
 February, but did not get beyond Scandi7iavi<i 
 and later returned to Russia. Ka7ncneff, 
 who weid out of Russia with Kollontai, also 
 sought to return, but 7vas a/rested bi/ the 
 Finnish White Guards (not the Germans) on 
 the Aland Islands, anil his release 7vas the 
 sidiject of negotiations. He is Trotsky's 
 liro!her-in-law. Svcrdlov was te7nporary 
 eh<iirnutn of the AU-Russian Soviet. Lu- 
 narharsky is Co7n7nissar of Education. 
 
 Steklov is editor of the official paper 
 "Livestia." Volodarsky, who has lived in the 
 ihiited States, was in close confidence tviih 
 Lenin. lie teas killed in Moscom the Insl 
 vcck i/i June, .\gasfer, who delivered the 
 order in behalf of Rausch, is Maj. Luberts. 
 
 Have photograph of letter.
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 ROLE OF THE REICHSBANK 
 
 The following documents show in de- 
 tail how the German Government financed 
 the Russian Bolshevik revolution through 
 the German Imperial Bank. 
 
 They show what rewards the German 
 financial and industrial interests demanded 
 in return for the German support of the 
 Bolsheviki. And they show how the Bol- 
 shevik leaders betrayed their own fol- 
 lowers and abandoned the preaching of 
 their social revolution wherever the Ger- 
 mans ordered that it should be abandoned. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 8 
 
 Imperial Bank [Reichsbank], No. 2. 
 
 {Very Secret) 
 
 January 8, 1918. 
 To THE People's Commissar of For- 
 eign Afi'Wirs: 
 
 Notification has to-dav been received 
 by me from Stockholm that 50,000,000 
 roubles of gold has been transferred to 
 be put at the disposal of the repre- 
 sentatives of the People's Commissars. 
 This credit has been supplied to the 
 Russian Government in order to cover 
 the cost of the keep of the Red Guards 
 and agitators in the country. The 
 Imperial Government considers it ap- 
 propriate to remind the Council of 
 People's Commissars of the necessity 
 of increasing their propaganda in thi; 
 country, as the antagonistic attitude of 
 the south of Russia and Siberia to the 
 existing Government in Russia is 
 troubhng the German Government. 
 It is of great importance to send ex- 
 perienced men everywhere in order to 
 set up a uniform government. 
 
 Representative of the Imperial Bank: 
 
 G . VON ScHANZ. 
 
 Note. — Members of the Red Guard tccre 
 paid, frorrfi 12 to IG roubles a day, whereas 
 soldiers were paid hardly that number of 
 kopecks. This letter shoios where the money 
 came from.. The Bolshenk Government also 
 required factory owners to pay regular wages 
 to their workers lohile the latter served in the 
 Red Guard. The notation on letter indicates 
 that it was referred to Menshinski, the 
 financial minister, whose expert councillor 
 was the German, von Toll. Menshinski 
 personally conducted the wrecking of the 
 Russian banks, a maneuver that deprived all 
 opponents of Bolshemkism of their financial 
 jneans of warfare. It ivas a classic job of 
 destruction, done in the name of reconstruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Have photograph cf this letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 9 
 
 Imperial Bank, No. S, Berlin. 
 {Very Secret) 
 
 January 12, 1918. 
 To THE Commissar of Foreign Af- 
 fairs: 
 
 I am instructed to convey the 
 agreement of the Imperial Bank to the 
 issue out of the credit of the General 
 Staff of 5,000,000 roubles for the dis- 
 patch of the a-ssistant naval commissar, 
 KudriasholT, to.the Far East. 
 
 On arrival at Vladivostok he should 
 visit the retired officer of the Russian 
 Fleet, Mr. Panoff, and instruct Butten- 
 
 hoff and Staufachcr, who are known to 
 I'anolT, to come to ace him. Both the 
 mentioned agents will bring with them 
 Messrs. Etlward Shindler, William 
 Kebcrlcin, and Paul Diese [or Dczc]. 
 With these persons it is necessary to 
 think out a plan for carrying out the 
 Japanese and American war materials 
 from Vladivostok to the west. If this 
 is not possible then they must instruct- 
 Diese [or Deze) and his agents to 
 destroy the stores. Sliindler must 
 acquaint Kudriashoff with the Chincsi; 
 agents at Nikolsk. These persons 
 should receive the agreed amounts and 
 should bo dispatched to China to carry 
 on an agitation against Japan. 
 Representative of the Imperial Bank: 
 
 G. VON ScHANZ. 
 
 Note. — If this plan was developed to a 
 climaj: it was not by Kudriashoff. He was 
 killed on his passage through Siberia two or 
 three weeks later arid it was reported that a 
 great sum of money was taken from his body 
 by his murderers, who were said to be two 
 Cossacks. Most of the German agents 
 named in this letter were still active in Siberia 
 in the spring, as shown by Document No. 29. 
 
 Have photograph of this letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 10 
 
 Imperial Bank, No. 5. 
 
 January 11, 1918. 
 
 To THE Chairman of the Council, of 
 
 People's Commissars: 
 
 My Dear Mr. Chan-man: The_ in- 
 dustrial and commercial organizations 
 in tierraany interested in trade rela- 
 tions with Russia have addressed them- 
 selves to me in a letter, including 
 several guiding indications. Permit 
 me to bring them to your attention. 
 
 1 . The conflict of the Russian revolu- 
 tion with the Russian capitalists abso- 
 lutely does not interest Gei-man manu- 
 facturing ciroles, in so far as the ques- 
 tion does not concern industry as such. 
 You can destroy the Russian capitahsts 
 as far as you please, but it would by no 
 means be possible to permit the 
 destruction of Russian enterprises. 
 Such a situation would produce a con- 
 stant ferment in the country, sup- 
 ported by famine of materials and, in 
 consequence of that, of products also. 
 The English, American, and French 
 capitahsts take advantage of this dis- 
 order and understand how to establish 
 here corps of their commercial agents. 
 It is necessary to remember that 
 German industry in the first years 
 after the general peace will not be in a 
 position to satisfy the purchasing 
 demand of the Russian market, having 
 broad similar parallel tasks in the 
 Near East, in Persia, in China, and in 
 Africa. 
 
 2. It is essential, therefore, to con- 
 duct a canvass and gather statistical 
 information with regard to the condi- 
 tion of industry, and, in view of the 
 absence of money in Russia, to ad- 
 dress in business conversations which- 
 ever is desired of the groups of Ger- 
 man commercial banks. 
 
 3. Trade with Germany may be in 
 the first period almost exclusively 
 exchange for wheat and for any re- 
 niaming products to receive house- 
 hold necessities. Everything which 
 exceeds the limits of such trade should 
 be paid for in advance to the amoimt 
 of 75 per cent of the market value, 
 with the payment of the remaining 
 quarter in a six months' period. In 
 
 place of such an arrangement, prob- 
 ably, it would .sccin to be possible to 
 permit, privatel}', the taking of German 
 dividend shares on the Russian financial 
 market, or solidly guaranteed indus- 
 trial and railroad loans. 
 
 In view of the indicated interest 
 of German manufacturers and mer- 
 chants to trade relations in Russia, 
 I cordially beg you, Mr. Chairman, 
 to inform me of the views of the Gov- 
 ernment regarding the questions 
 touched upon, and to receive the as- 
 surances of my sincere respect. 
 
 Representative of the Imperial Bank 
 and Stock Exchange in Berlin: 
 
 G. VON Schantz. 
 
 Note. — The engaging attitude of the 
 German manufacturers toward Russian 
 capitalists is the feature of this letter, 
 apart from the cordial and evidently un- 
 derstanding expressions of the ' repre- 
 sentative of the German Imperial Bank 
 to that opposed enemy of the capitalists 
 of all nations, Lenin. The letter was 
 sent to the secret department by Secre- 
 tary Skripnih. Perhaps some day von 
 Schanz will disclose Lenin's answer. 
 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 11 
 
 Imperial Bank. No. 123TS. 
 [Printed circular in Russian] 
 
 RESOLUTION 
 of a conference of representatives of 
 the German commercial banks cotir- 
 vened on proposal oj the German 
 delegation at Petrograd by the man/- 
 agement of the Imperial Bank, to dis- 
 cuss the resolutions oj the Rhine- 
 Westphalian Industrial Syndicate and 
 Handelstag. 
 
 Berlin, December 28, 1917. 
 
 1. All loans are canceled the bonds 
 of which are in the hands of German, 
 Austrian, Bulgarian, and Turkish 
 holders, but payment must be real- 
 ized by the Russian treasury in the 
 course of a 12-months' term after the 
 conclusion of .separate peace. 
 
 2. The purchase is permitted of all 
 Russian securities and dividend- 
 bearing paper by the representatives 
 of the German banks at the rate of 
 the day on the open market. 
 
 3. After the conclusion of separate 
 peace, on the expiration of 90 days, 
 there are reestablished all the shares 
 of private railway companies, metal- 
 lurgical industries, oil companies, and 
 chemical pharmaceutical works. 
 
 Note. — The rating of such papers 
 will be made by the German and Aus- 
 trian stock exchanges. 
 
 4. There are banished and for five 
 years from date of signing peace are 
 not to be allowed English, French, 
 and American capitals in the follow- 
 ing industries: Coal, metallurgical, 
 machine building, oil, chemical, and 
 pharmaceutical. 
 
 5. In the question of development 
 in Russia of coal, oil, and metallurgical 
 branches of industrj' there is to be 
 established a supreme advison,' organ 
 consisting of 10 Russian specialists, 
 10 from the German industrial or- 
 ganizations and the German and Aus- 
 trian banks. 
 
 6. The Russian Government must 
 not interfere in the region of ques- 
 tions connected with the transfer to 
 the benefit of Germany of two mining 
 districts in Poland — Dombroski and
 
 10 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 KACHRICHTEN-BUREAU. 
 8ectioii,_;i^L . 
 
 '25 SsBpaJia I9I8 r- 
 
 rocnoAsiHy ripeflciiiaTejiis CoBtra HapoflHsxi KOMHcca 
 
 CekbeTHO. lynow the jatr oj the resolution on this, 
 
 I its early wniter appearance. 
 
 Have besides the notated photograph a 
 printed copy oj this circular. 
 
 POBS- 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 12 
 
 
 i ipoflanCi Koj4i6fc^ous r.Tpou- 
 
 POWHO lI8|iCTIITi pyKQBOflH- 
 
 PasBiflKir'npii CTaBKi-KoMHCca.pOBX *e8ep- 
 KajiBuaHOBHia, mtoCh ohh pafioiajiH no-npea- 
 «euy B£ nojiHofi HesaBHCHuocTH a Tafini oti 0(f:$imia-nB- 
 Haro niraSa CTasKit h TeHepajiBHaro ffliafia bi> IlaTepCyp- 
 rt B ocotfeHRo rsH- BoHqi-BpyesHia e KoHxps-PasBiflKH 
 Cisepnaro SpoHia, chocacb jih'ul ct HapoaniatB Kohhc- 
 capous npan. KpHJieHKO- 
 
 vyr^ 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 12 
 
 OTflSjieHis /il^^^tCLMy 
 
 Olkishski — and to Austria of the oil 
 region ia Calicia. The transfer of 
 the latter will be only in the form of 
 limitations of the right of making 
 claims, land allotments, and applica- 
 tion of capital for the production and 
 refining of oil. 
 
 7. Germany and Austria enjoy tlie 
 unlimited privilege of sending into 
 Russia mechanics and qualified work- 
 men. 
 
 8. Other foreign mechanics and 
 workmen during five years after the 
 conchl^ion of poar-e between Russia 
 and Germany are not to be allowed to 
 enter at all. 
 
 9. The statistical department of pro- 
 ducing and manufacturing industries 
 with the corresponding Government 
 organ must be controlled by German 
 specialists. 
 
 10. Private banks in Russia arise 
 only with the consent and according 
 to the plan of the Union of German 
 and Austrian Banks, whereVjy the 
 rating of tlie stocks of the banks on 
 all exchanges of the Now and Old 
 World will be handled by the group 
 of the Deutsche Bank. 
 
 11. At the port.s of Petrograd, Arch- 
 angel, Odessa, Vladivostok, and Ba- 
 tum will be established, under the 
 leadership of specialists from Ger- 
 many, special stati.stical economic 
 committees. 
 
 As regards the tariff, railway aii<l 
 shipping rate policies to regulate the 
 Russo-German-Austrian trade rela- 
 tions, this part of the economical 
 treaty will be discussed by the spe- 
 cial Tariff Council of the Handels- 
 tag. 
 
 Signed : 
 
 Chairman: von Ghen.ver. 
 Secretary : Berbnbixet. 
 XoTK. — The, penned indijrsemenl on the 
 photographed copy oj the resolution is: 
 
 "Chairman oj the Central Executive Com- 
 mittee: Commissar Menshinsky requests 
 that thi.'i resolution should be taken under 
 adi-'iseme7it, and to prepare tlie ground in 
 the Council oj the Workmen's and Sol- 
 diers' Deputies, in case the Council oj 
 People's Commissars will not accept 
 these requests. Secretary D. Khaskin." 
 Menshinsky is Minister oj Finance. 
 All oj these terms, wholly punitive to 
 American, English, and French capital, 
 could lurk in the secret section in the 
 present German-Russian treaty. I do not 
 
 G. G.'S, 
 
 NACHRICHTENBUREAU. 
 BecllJn ^... 
 
 25 *9Bpajifl I9I8 p. 
 
 Gtreat] Gteneral] S[taff]. Intelligence 
 Bureau, Section R, No. 7S0. 
 
 Feb. 25, 1918. 
 
 (Secret) 
 
 To THE Chairman of the Council 
 OF People's Commissars: 
 After conferring with the People's 
 Commissar Trotsky, I have the honor 
 to ask you urgently to inform the 
 directors of the Counter Espionage at 
 Army Headquarters [Stafka], Commis- 
 sars Feierabend and Kalmanovicb, 
 that they should work as formerly in 
 complete independence and without 
 the knowledge of the official staff at 
 Army Headquarters and the General 
 Staff in Petersburg, and particularly 
 Gen. Bonch-Bruevich and the secret 
 service of the northern front, com- 
 municating only with the People's 
 Commissar Lieut. Krilenko. 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 Adjutant: Bukholm. 
 
 Note. — Across the letter is written: 
 "Injorm Mosholov. N. G." (Gorbunojj's 
 initials). In the margin is written: 
 ''Passed on to the Commissar oj War. M. 
 Skripnik." The significance oj this let- 
 ter is that^ it is to Lenin; that the two 
 ehiej secretaries oj himselj and the coun- 
 cil passed it on jor action; and that 
 Trotsky and. Lenin on February 27 were 
 continuing to hamper the Russian com- 
 mander at a vioment ichen the German 
 army was threatening Petrograd. Mo- 
 tiholov was one oj the commissars on the 
 stajj oj Krilenko, the comnmsar repre- 
 senting the Council oj Commissars in the 
 command oj the Riussian military jorces. 
 His achievements as a disorganizer were 
 notable. This letter indicates that he had 
 the conjidence oj Germany. 
 
 Have original letter. 
 
 B.CeKpeTHO. 
 
 r. ITpeficiflaTeJiw CoBira HapoflHuxi, KouHccapoBi. 
 
 
 "^ 
 
 To jOHeceHlflMi Hamefl taflHol nreHTypH, Bi-OTpsjjaJCs, 
 fltBcTByioiaHxi npoTBBi repuaHCKaA BOflcKt a npoTHst As- 
 ct^jo-yKpatiHCKiiro Kopnyca, BaCmoflaeTcfl nponaranfla Ha- 
 HloHajifcBaPo BOBOTaHlK h tfopitfu ci HtimaaH h ar* eoioe- 
 HHKft*!H-7KpaHH^allH. flponiy cQotfmBTt, sto pp eAnpiBSTo 
 npaBHTGJiMTBOire BJifl npe_KpaqeHl« stoB speflHoB ariiTsni^#» 
 
 IftyejiBiTHKi OxfllneRla 
 
 lAuoTaHTl 
 
 ''^^^«*^, 
 
 /'K^^^?Uc£^ 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 13
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 11 
 
 G[reat] GronoralJ S[tafTl, Inti-lligcnce 
 BurAu, Section R, No. TiZ. 
 
 February 2o, 1018. 
 (Very Secret) 
 To THE Chairman of the Council 
 OF People's Commissars: 
 According to reports of our secret 
 agency in the detachments operating 
 against the German troops and 
 against the Austrian Ukrainian corps, 
 there has been observed propaganda 
 for a national rising and a struggle 
 with the Germans and their alhes, 
 the Ukrainians. I ask you to inform 
 me what has been done by the Gov- 
 ernment to stop this harmful agita- 
 tion. 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 Adjutant: Henbich. 
 
 Note.- — Across the top is written: "Ur- 
 gent. To the Cojnmissars of War and 
 Special Staff. M. Skripnik." The last 
 sentence is underscored, and in the inargin 
 appears a question mark, initialed "L. T." 
 The first is Lenin's order through the sec- 
 retary, and the second may possibly be 
 taken as Trotsky's opposition to any ac- 
 tion. The loss of the Ukraine by counter 
 German intrigue was a sore point in pres- 
 tige with him. ■ But his essential obedience 
 to Germany was not lessened. 
 Have original letter. 
 
 G.-S., 
 
 Intelligence Bureau, Section 
 R. No. 278/611. 
 
 To THE People's 
 Foreign Affairs: 
 
 CoMMiss.w of 
 
 February 7, 1918. 
 
 According to information of the 
 Intelligence Bin-eau it has been ascer- 
 tained that the promise given per- 
 sonally by you, Mr. Commissar, in 
 Brest-Litovsk, not to circulate so- 
 cialistic agitational literature among 
 the German troops is not being ful- 
 filled. I ask you to inform me what 
 steps will be taker in this matter. 
 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 
 Adjutant: Henrich. 
 
 Note. — Brusque words to the foreign 
 minister of the Soviet Government of 
 Workmen, Soldiers, and Sailors of the 
 Russian Republic, delivered not by an 
 equal in official rank, but by the deputy 
 of a German major at the head of an in- 
 telligence department of the German 
 Government. Did Trotsky resent or deny 
 the imputation? Instead he wrote with 
 his own hand in the margin: "I ask to 
 discuss it. L. T." Thus he admits that 
 he did give the promise at Brest-Litovsk. 
 The question raised concerns only the 
 measure of obedience to be required. 
 
 Have original letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 15 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Headquarters 
 [Stavlta], No. 311, special section. 
 
 To the Chairman of the Council 
 
 op People's Commissars: 
 
 January 29, 1918. 
 
 The Counter Espionage at the 
 Army Headquarters advices that at 
 the front is being spread by unknown 
 agitators tlie following counter revo- 
 lutionary literature : 
 
 1. The text of circulars of various 
 Gorman Government institutions with 
 proofs of the connection of the Ger- 
 man Government with the Bolshevik 
 workers before the passing of the Gov- 
 ernment into their hands. The.se 
 leaflets have reached also the German 
 commanders. 
 
 The Supreme Commander has re- 
 ceived a demand from Gen. Hoffman 
 to stop this dangerous agitation by all 
 means possible. 
 
 2. A stenographic report of the con- 
 versation of Gen. Hoffman with Com- 
 rade Trotsky, whereby it was sup- 
 
 ovsk. The news of it did, not reach even 
 Pctrograd until the next day. Yet on that 
 day printed circulars were being dis- 
 tributed at the front .stating that Trotsky 
 had agreed to do the very thing he did 
 do, and giving an augury of events that 
 did lake place a week later when Ger- 
 many did begin its advance and when the 
 Bolsheviks did fulfill all demands. The 
 fact is that simple truth was being 'told. 
 Nor is the means by which it was secured 
 at all obscure. A few daring and skillful 
 Russians had found a ?neans to get infor- 
 mation from Brest-Litovsk. 
 
 The circulars referred to in the first 
 
 (.0- c//fc2..^. 
 
 NACHRICHTEN-BUREAU. TocnonnRy Hapo;iH0ny HOMHOcaoy no rHOorpaR 
 
 HUMt JiTlJiaMt. 
 
 Section 'l, 
 
 7 .Sespajis 1913 r. 
 
 .Xf,: 
 
 r 
 
 1T0 ;iaiiHoe BaMK ;iimHO. rocnofliiHi, KoMuccapi, 
 B7. BpecTi-JlHTORCK^ o6t,riRHie HO pacnpopTpft- 
 HflTb B7> repMaHCKnx7> ToKcxax-b coiiiajiHOTima- 
 CKOS arHTauionHoB jinTepaTypu He HcncnHreTCH. 
 Hpomy c6o6nnTb, ;<aKlH 6jAyTi> no STOiiy-noBOfly 
 
 '^Hayn.ThHHK's 0T;\*ji9;ii 
 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 14 
 
 posedly proposed to the latter to make 
 peace on conditions of considerable 
 concessions on the part of the Cen- 
 tral Empires, but on the obligation 
 of the Russian delegation to stop the 
 socialization of the life of the state. 
 Comrade Trotsky supposedly offered 
 the termination of war without peace 
 and the demobilization of our army. 
 When Gen. Hoffman announced that 
 the Germans would continue the ad- 
 ^•ance, Trotsky supposedly replied: 
 '"Tiien under the pressure of force we 
 shall be forced to make peace and ful- 
 fill all demands." 
 
 This document has created indigna- 
 tion among the troops. Against the 
 Council of People's Commissars are 
 heard cruel accusations. 
 
 Commissar: S. Kalmanovich. 
 
 Note. — This letter is a warning of the 
 slow ri-iing but coming storm that will 
 sweep these boldest pirates of history 
 from the country they have temporarily 
 stolen. To get a real understanding of 
 the meaning of the second, and important, 
 section of the letter, it must be pointed 
 out that until February 1, the Russian 
 calendar was 13 days behind the Western 
 European calendar. The real date of this 
 Utter, therefore, is February 10. This is 
 the date Trotsktj's "No peace; no war' 
 pronouncement was made at Bresl-Lit- 
 
 paragraph are of course those already 
 familiar to Washington from February 
 dispatches. 
 
 The following naive comment adds to 
 the attractiveness of the letter: "The 
 Committee for Combating the Counter 
 Revolution stales that these circulars were 
 sent from the Don, and the stenographic 
 report was seized in transmission from 
 Kieff. Its origin is undoubtedly Austrian 
 or from the Rada. — M. Skripnik." 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 THE GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK PLOT 
 
 AGAINST THE ALLIES 
 
 The following documents, with Mr. 
 Sisson's interpretati\-e notes, expose the 
 German-Bolshevik plot against the Allies. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 16 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Headquarters, 
 No. 215. 
 
 January 21, 1918. 
 
 To the Commiss.«!I,\t of Foreign Af- 
 fairs : 
 
 We hereby advise you of the ar- 
 rival in Mogilev of the following Ger-
 
 12 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 man officers, who are being ordered to 
 England. France, and America : 
 
 Zanwald, von Weine, Pabst, Mayer, 
 Gruenwaldt, and Baron Schilling. 
 They have been granted passports, 
 sent here by Commissar Trotsky. 
 
 Von Weine, with a Danish pass- 
 port in the name of Hansen, a mer- 
 chant of Copenhagen, is to proceed 
 to England. 
 
 Baron Schilling is ordered to the 
 United States of America with a Nor- 
 wegian passport in the name of Dr. 
 Joseph Brun. 
 
 Gruenwaldt has instructions to pro- 
 ceed to France with a Russian pass- 
 port in the name of the Lett, Ivan 
 Kalnin. 
 
 The remaining persons are to make 
 a journey through Finland and Swe- 
 den, supplied with papers from the 
 German staff, in order to follow up 
 the counter revolutionary work of 
 countries allied to us. 
 
 Chief of Counter Espionage: 
 
 Feierabend. 
 
 Commissar: Vuznetorff. 
 
 Note. — A young German who said he 
 was a deserting officer and that his name 
 was Mayer, sought the aid oj the Embassy, 
 the military mission, and myselj in get- 
 tiny to America. He was a good-looking 
 young Prussian, had lived in New York, 
 fpoke English with very little accent, and 
 dhimed to have been converted to the 
 h-esident's views on peace requisites. He 
 ■laid he had walked across the lines as a 
 deserter because he could stand no more 
 of German war, and that he wanted to go 
 'n the United States to talk and write 
 against Germany. I was not receptive. 
 He said he was a lieutenant. There is no 
 record at our military control office in 
 Christiania oj a passport to Dr. Joseph 
 Brun. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 17 
 
 Commissar for Combating the Counter 
 
 Revolution and Pogroms. No. 32. 
 
 Petrograd. 
 
 January 5, 1918. 
 
 To THE People's CoMMissAnwT for 
 
 Foreign Affairs: 
 
 The plenipotentiary Commissar for 
 Combating the Counter. Revolution, 
 Comrade Antonoff, requests the com- 
 missariat for foreign affairs to issue 
 passports for going to Denmark to 
 the following conirade.s. who are go- 
 ing to the allied countries to conduct 
 peace propaganda: 
 
 To England are going: Comrades 
 Adolf Pavlovich Ribba, Ilia Juliovich 
 Uritski, Vladi.slav Antonovich Dash- 
 kevich. 
 
 To France: Rimrna Lvovna Or- 
 lova, Vladimir Konatantinovich 
 Schneur. 
 
 To America: l.'^ai Bori.iovich Kahn, 
 Mark Vla.-»ievich Orit-fker, Sofia Ar- 
 lurovna Mack. 
 
 All the named conirude.s will visit 
 at Copenhagen the premi.ses of thf 
 .Htaff. where they will receive neutral 
 pa.-«ports for the trip to the named 
 countries. At the rlisposal of the dis- 
 patched will be plii<c<! the necessary 
 means for combatinu in the picss with 
 the iriiperiiilists of Kn^rland, France, 
 and the United State.-i. Their confi- 
 dential addrcwes will be transmitted 
 to you later on the arrival of the 
 
 named comrades at the places of 
 their destination. 
 
 Authorized commissars : 
 
 A. Shilinski. 
 
 F. ZuBFJtT. 
 
 Note. — Trotsky indorsed this note: "To 
 be urgently executed. L. T." 
 
 The plan oj peace propaganda campaign 
 in the allied countries is plainly outlined. 
 These Bolshevik-German agents will 
 preach international Bolshevism and will 
 charge the countries at war with Germany 
 with the very imperialistic offenses oj 
 which Germany is guilty. This also was 
 the method used in Russia by the Bolshe- 
 vik-German press in attacking the United 
 States, England, and France. In the for- 
 mula of the propaganda, imperialism re- 
 lates not only to territory but to business 
 enterprise. The agents listed above likely 
 sought entrance under different 7iames. 
 They and the centers from which they 
 work should be recognized, however, by 
 their words and their works. The com- 
 missars who sign are members of the com- 
 mission jor Combating the Counter Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 18 
 
 G[reat] General Staff. Central Division, 
 Section M, No. 961. 
 
 December 20, 1917. 
 to the commiss.wiat of foreign 
 Affairs : 
 
 According to the negotiations be- 
 tween the Russian and German peace 
 delegations at Brest-Litovsk, the Rus- 
 sian Division of the German Gen- 
 eral Staff have the honor to request 
 the hastening of the departure of agi- 
 tators to the camps of Russian pris- 
 oners of war in Germany, for the re- 
 cruiting of volunteers who will be .sent 
 to the English and French troops for 
 the purpo.se of observation and peace 
 propaganda. 
 
 Simultaneously, the staff requests 
 tlif following .sailors to be sent to 
 Germany: Shishko. Kirshu, Matviev, 
 and Dratchuk. They will receive 
 special instructions when traveling 
 through Brest-Litovsk. 
 
 Chief of the Ru.ssian Division, Ger- 
 man General Staff: O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant: U. Wolff. 
 Note. — This request was rejerrcd to the 
 Commissariats on Military and Naval Aj- 
 jairs. 
 
 A marginal question asked by E. P. 
 (probably Polivanoff): "f/s] Dratchuk at 
 Black Sea'/" He was al Sevastopol and 
 may not have been sent. The others 
 went, visited the camps jor war prisoners 
 in Germany, and then returned to Russia. 
 Shishko in February was Comniis.far <ij 
 the Naval College in Petrograd. 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 19 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Headquartem, 
 No. — . 
 
 January 16, 1918. 
 To THE Council of People's Com- 
 missars: 
 
 I Iierebv bring to the notice of 
 the Council of People's Comnii.ssarics 
 that through our front, on the per- 
 .-^onal permission of the Supreme 
 Commander, have pa.s.sed 100 Ger- 
 man odicers, 2.50 non-commissioned 
 oflicers, who proceeded to our inter- 
 nal fronts; part of the German 
 
 officers have gone to the front in 
 the Don region, part to the front 
 against Dutoff, and part to Eastern 
 Siberia and the Trans-Baikal for 
 the surveillance, and if it shall be 
 possible, to oppose the Japanese oc- 
 cupationary detachment and the 
 counter revolutionary Trans-Baikal 
 Cossack officers. 
 Counter Espionage Official: 
 
 P. Arkhipov. 
 Note. — An odd comment gives interest 
 
 to this letter. H is this: "An accusation 
 
 or a silly accusal jor personal benefit? 
 
 Communicate [<o] Comrade Krdenko,'' 
 
 signed "N. G." 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 20 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Headquarters, 
 No. 52. 
 
 Jan. 8, 1918. 
 To the Council of People's Com- 
 
 MISS.\RS : 
 
 The Supreme Commander Krilenko 
 has recei%'ed an offer from the Supreme 
 Commander of the German army to 
 send to the disposal of the German 
 staff ten reliable officers of the revo- 
 lutionary army. The said persons 
 must arrive at Warsaw, -where they 
 will receive their further instructions. 
 The aim of the trip is to visit the 
 camps of our prisoners of war on the 
 propaganda of peace ideas. The staff 
 points out the desirability of sending 
 Dz'evaltovsky, Simaj^hko, Saharoff, 
 and Volodarsky. 
 
 For the Chief of the Counter 
 Espionage: S. Kalmanovrh. 
 
 For the Commissar: Alexjeff. 
 Note. — Dzevaltovsky was an officer oj 
 the Lije Guards Grenadier Regiment, and 
 on agitator who aroused the soldiers at 
 the time oj the ill-jated June advance. 
 Volodarsky has been rejerred to pre- 
 I'iously. He was assassinated in late June 
 at Moscow. Kalnianovich was a Com- 
 missar on the staff oj Krilenko, the talk- 
 ing man who was assigned to disorganize 
 the army. In actual army rank Krilenko 
 was a sublieutenant. 
 
 Have pholoi/raph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 21 
 
 C.r. General Staff, Central Division, Sec- 
 tion M, No. 7B0. 
 
 Berlin, November 1, 1917. 
 
 To THE Council of People's Com- 
 missars: 
 
 In accordance with an inquiry from 
 the German General Headquarters. I 
 have the honor to request you to in- 
 form me at the earliest possible ino- 
 incnl the exact quantity of amrauni- 
 tidii at the following places; Petro- 
 nr.id. Aichangel, Kazan, Tiflis. 
 
 It, is necessary also to state the 
 <|Uanlity and storage plac'o of the 
 supjilies which have been received 
 from .\Micricu, ICiigland, and France. 
 .■iiid also the units which are keeping 
 t^uard over the military stores. 
 Head of Division: O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant : U. Wolff. 
 
 ■^riTE.—This is a request made upon a 
 rnuntry which America. Englnnd, and 
 France still regarded nl that date ns an 
 ally. 
 
 Have photograph oj letter.
 
 I he UllKMA.iN-tJUL5>Htl VIK CUiN Sr IK A.1^ I 
 
 U 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 22 
 
 G[eneral] S[tafr] of the High Sea Fleet, 
 No. 79. 
 
 Jan. 10, 1918. 
 (Very Secret) 
 To THE Council ov People's Com- 
 
 Mi.ss.ws: 
 
 Thn Pptersburg representative of 
 the Supreme Sea Command has re- 
 ceived by \virele.«s from Kiel orders 
 to propose to the Council of People's 
 Commissars to place at the disposal 
 of our agents at Vladivostok — But- 
 tenhof, Staufacher, and Franz Wal- 
 den — several steamships. On these 
 ships must be loaded the goods indi- 
 cated b\- fiin- named agents and also 
 
 NACHRICHTEN-BUREAU. 
 
 Stction ^ 
 
 rocnoBHHy 
 HUM* Jll^.nei.M'i 
 
 33 «9BpaJi/i 19 18 I*. 
 
 ted to-day to me by radio A, I apply 
 to the Russian Government with a 
 proposal to take measures to deliver 
 to the Pacific by railway three of our 
 submarines, disa.ssemblcd. On the 
 conclusion of peace negotiations and 
 the conclusion of peace between Ru.s- 
 sia and Germany this transporting 
 must be begun immediately, whereby 
 on the conclusion of the war the 
 transpoi'ted vessels will remain at tlu' 
 disposal of the Russian Government . 
 
 Capt. Lieut.: RuD. Miller. 
 
 Note. — The letter j.s indorsed: "Report- 
 ed. Seeretary Skripuik." The transportin,/, 
 aecordiiifi to the e.ut<<iorl.eal demand, ya.i 
 tn begin immediately after peace wii?: 
 signed. These are the only two eom- 
 viunicalions oj Capt. Miller that app< ar. 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 JiBHHO , 
 
 HfiponROHy KoMHCcapy no V.HOcipaH- 
 
 TJlSBeCT 
 
 y ofmeHi 
 
 CorflacHO jtR<iHux« nsperoBoposs uokxi qt, 
 r.npeflc*.fleTeji8u» COB*tft HaponHuxi KoMncoapoBi, 
 Chjio p^meBO aanopmaTB OTi^ant KTa;ii>HHCKaPO no- 
 co.n5>CTBa Ksi neTepflypra h, no BoauosHOCTH.npo- 
 JisBecTH oCiiCKi nooo.nfiCKRro 6araaa.06* btomi 
 ji ciHTaw flonroMi k8b*.cthtb' BRc-i. 
 
 OTR%neHi„(^%^jUu>{ 
 
 AAl>HTaHT» 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 26 
 
 persons indicated by them, and be 
 sent as directed to ports of the United 
 States, Japan, and British colonies in 
 Eastern Asia. In case of absence of 
 free tonnage in Pacific ports, it is nec- 
 essar.v to ch,arter ships sailing under a 
 foreign flag. The object of sending the 
 ships is to cany to enemy countries 
 agents-agitators, and agents-destruc- 
 tors. .\11 the expenses and risk the 
 Petrograd agency of the Supreme 
 Naval Command takes for account 
 of the naval operations fimd. 
 
 Capt. Lieut. Rudolph Miller. 
 Note. — The hidorsement oj Lenin's sec- 
 retary Skripnik is: "Reported." The ac- 
 tive Vladivostok agents have been rejerred 
 to previously. The threat oj the arrival 
 oj German agents through Pacijic ports is 
 apparent. 
 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 23 
 
 G[eneral] S[tatt] of the High Sea Fleet, 
 No. 85. 
 
 Jan. 14, 191S. 
 (Very Secret) 
 To the Council of People's Com- 
 missars; 
 
 According to instructions of the Ger- 
 man High Sea Command, transmit- 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 24 
 
 Commissar for Combating the Counter 
 Revolution and Progroms, No. 445/63. 
 
 Petrograd, Jan. 21, 1918. 
 
 To THE COMMISS.\R OF WaR, SklIAN- 
 
 sky: 
 
 Our agency on the Furhstatskaya 
 informs us that two people not seen 
 before ha\e been noticed to visit the 
 American Embassy three times. 
 
 Maj. Luberts begs to point out to 
 Commissioner Podvoisky the neces- 
 sity of keeping a watch over the 
 movements of these two persons. I 
 ask your instructions. 
 
 Commissar: A. Kozmin. 
 
 Note. — Maj. Liiberts believed in identi- 
 fying visitors to the American Embassy. 
 Podvoisky was the Minister oj War. 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 25 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R. 
 No. 16S. 
 
 Dec. 17, 1917. 
 (Very Secret) 
 To THE Commissar on Foreign Af- 
 fairs : 
 At the request of the Commission 
 
 on Combating the Counter Revolution 
 of December 17, the Intelligence Bvi- 
 reau has the honor to forward a ILsfc 
 of men watching the missions of the 
 countries allied to Russia: 
 
 The British Embassy is watched by 
 German scouts Luze, Telman, Possel, 
 Franz, and Gezel; Russian agents 
 Ovisannikov, Gluschenko, and Balia- 
 sin. 
 
 The French Embas.sy is watched by 
 German scouts Silvester, Butz, Fol- 
 hagen; Russian agents Bala-shev, 
 Turin, Gavrilov, Sadavnokov, and 
 Shilo. 
 
 The U. S. A. Embassy is watched 
 by German scouts Strom, Buchholtz, 
 Fasnacht, Todner; Russian agents 
 Spitzberg, Sokolnizky, Turasov, and 
 Vavilov. 
 
 The Roumanian mission is watched 
 by German scouts Suttner, Baider, 
 Wolf; Russian agents Kuhl, Nikitin, 
 Zolotov, and Arkipov. 
 
 The Italian Emba.ssy is watched 
 by Austrian scouts Kuhlder. von Geze, 
 Coin, and BurmeLster; Russian agents 
 Salov, Alekseievsky, and Kuzmin. 
 
 These agents must fulfill all in- 
 structions of the Commission for 
 Combating the Counter Revolution, 
 Sabotage, Looting, etc. 
 Head of Bureau : Agasfer. 
 
 Adjutant; E. Rantz. 
 
 Note, — The German Maj. Luberts 
 (Agasjer, see Document A'o, 6), therejore 
 was the keeper oj Ambas.-tadorial hostages 
 nj the allied countries in Russia through- 
 out the winter. The names listed above 
 leere unidentifiable in the establishments 
 oj at least the Brili.^h and the American 
 Embassies. All may have been outside 
 ^catchers. The mcthwl oj outside sur- 
 veillance is shown in Document No. 27. 
 Have photograph oj letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 26 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 715. 
 
 (Perso?ial) 
 
 Feb. 23, 1918. 
 To the Commissar of Foreign Af- 
 fairs: 
 
 According to my personal conversa- 
 tion with the chairman of the Coun- 
 cil of People's Commi.'sars, it has 
 been decided to delay the departure 
 of the Italian Embassy from Peters- 
 burg and, as far as po.ssible, to search 
 the Emba.ssy baggage. Of this de- 
 cision I count it my duty to inform 
 you. 
 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 Adjutant : Henrich. 
 
 Note. — Across the top oj letter is writ- 
 ten by Trotsky. "Instruct," and signed 
 u'ith the i7iitiats, L. T. H is here set 
 jorth laconically that a German officer oj 
 the General Stafj and Lenin in conjerence 
 ordered the search oj the baggage oj the 
 ambassador oj a country jriendly to Rus- 
 sia and at war with Germany; and that 
 Trotsky gave the insti^ctions jor carry- 
 ing out the order. A clerk's note at the 
 bottom is additionally specific: "To be 
 {/iven to Blagonravofj ." The last named 
 was the Cotnmissar oj Martial Law in 
 Petrograd. The Halian Embassy train 
 teas delayed for more than 24 hours when 
 it sought to depart, some days later. 
 Petroff, assistant foreign minister, told 
 me on March 2 with a great show of in- 
 dignation, that "The halians had given 
 a diplomatic passport to the embassy 
 cook." So, he said, it was right to search
 
 14 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 T^ACHRICKTEN-BUREAU. 
 Section — O. . 
 
 tl^ipTa I9I6 rona 
 
 B.CeKpetKO. 
 BiKOMPcriio no ''opbi* fh KOHTpt-pesojiwuieU 
 
 1 W i '■'■ 
 
 JjJiZl 0>iur;<^ 
 
 HarTOHJiiiMl. rooSn^ae* TH , mto Ha(im)neHieMi> h 
 ET. rji/waS HeoSxoanMOCTH HananeHieMt Ha ;inoH- 
 cKiixi, auapaKaHCKHXt h pyccKHXi o(})nuepoB-b,KO- 
 MaHi7i.iuHXi> OKK/nauiOHHaii'b KopnycoMT) btj Boctoh- 
 Ho8 CnS«pii, saBSjiywTt HaiuH areHTti nray^axept, 
 KpHrepi, THse, BaJibHeRHi, ByTTeHrcnirE7~;;;atTaHi= 
 H fKpHOaHOBvmi, KT. KOHMT> H HaaJies-HTT) oCpaiiaTb- 
 CH KaKt KOMHccapy KoSosesy. Tarn, h KOMannHpo- 
 BaHHUMt KOMMCcien jiHuawt. Aapeca ar.eHTOBij yKa- 
 aaHu Bt cnzcKt f? 3. 
 
 
 HayantKHKi 
 
 A-JllOTSHTt 
 
 O^^^***"^^ 
 
 *-^^!(*AMp\ - ^^) iXAH^u, 
 
 ^ y^uKMj^^Ms 
 
 lished in the Marble Palace — Lieut. 
 Beklier and a member of the central 
 executive committee of the Council of 
 Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, 
 Frunze. 
 
 On the French Embassy, on the 
 French Quay, house No. 8, Comrade 
 Peters, member of the central execu- 
 tive committee of the council of 
 Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, 
 supplementary. 
 
 On the North American Embassy 
 observation has been established at 
 Furhstatskaya Street, house No. 23, 
 apartments Nos. 1 and 4. In the lat- 
 ter Comrades Goldberg and Spitzberg 
 are carrjang on the observation very 
 successfully. Telephones have been 
 installed in the above-mentioned places. 
 General management of the surveillance 
 has been intrusted to AKred von 
 Geigendorf. 
 
 Commissar: Mitopovich. 
 
 For Secretary: R . Baetski. 
 
 Note. — Most of the names in this letter, 
 including the signatures at end, are un- 
 familiar. Peters, placed in charge of French 
 observation, is a Lettish sailor, active and 
 able, a former resident of England. The 
 robbery of the Italian ambassador took place 
 late in the evening on a lighted frequented 
 central street and was a day's sensation. 
 The observation point on the American 
 Embassy was a yellow apartment house al- 
 most opposite the entrance. After I got this 
 information I tested the ^vatch and always 
 saw a head or hand retreating from a window. 
 But I doubt if the xvalchers profited 7mick by 
 studying the visitors to the embassy. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 29 
 
 the train. If they had belter luck than 
 they did when they held up and searched 
 the Italian ambassador in hi.i automobde 
 almost in jront oj the Hotel Europe, I dM 
 not hear oj it. Document 27 tells oj that 
 robbery. 
 Have original letter, A'o. S6. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 27 
 
 n 
 
 Commissar on Combating the Counter 
 Eevolution and Pogroms, No. 71. 
 
 Petrograd, Feb. 24, 1918. 
 (Specially Secret— Personal) 
 
 To THE People's Commissar on Fcm- 
 
 EiGN Affairs: 
 
 Our agent.? investigating the Italian 
 Embassy, I. E. Maerov. Imenit^ki, and 
 Urov, followed up the ambassador 
 and conducted a search of him in the 
 street, with a confiscation. Docu- 
 iiient.s regarding relations \yith Ger- 
 man diplomats and the special papers 
 of the ambass'idor to the allied am- 
 bassadors, mentioned by you. were not 
 found In order to mask the attack 
 several articles li.stcd in the protocol 
 furnished by Comrade Imenitski were 
 taken from the aiiibaHsador. 
 
 The watch on the British and 
 ,\merican ambassadors and the Ser- 
 bian minister ha.s been intensified. 
 The supplementary observation point 
 on the British Embassy has been estab- 
 
 6R. 6ENERALSTAB. 
 
 tENTSIL HBTBEILDHl 
 
 Section M. 
 
 24 ieapajta 1913. r.x. 
 
 rocnoA: 
 J\ls;iaMS. 
 
 JOBipHTejIJiHO. 
 
 my HapoflHOMy KoMHCceipy .no.~KHocTjPdHHNM£ 
 
 V<' 
 
 /j)^*^ 
 
 My 
 
 no nopytieHiw HMnepfKaro HpaBiiTe;ii>cTBa HMtw msctb npocnTS 
 Bt cpo4HOMi nopflflKi npoHSBecTH aHKSTy KaKlo ToproBHfl cyfla, 
 BcnoMoraTQjibHHe KpeKcepa ii TpaHcnopTU Moryii. (5uTb oTtrpasJieHa 
 Bi Bcjiu TMXaro OKeaHa, Tffi. PepMaHCKoa HpaBiiTO/.bCTBO naMtpeuo 
 co3flaTb fl.'ifl rtopbflu CI aMepHKaHo-anoHCKoii ToproB.ieR cnjibHtJtt 
 KOMMepuecKiil iJuiOTt, n.r!aBaKimiR noAi pyccKinii (|i;ioroui. 
 
 BwicTt ci TftMt flOBomy flo Baniero CBtAiwiS, mto bi EeLiTlB- 
 CKOMb t.iioTfe Baam MaTpoca pacnpoAanyrt cb BoeHHaxi nopa(5neR 
 KaTepa, Me;iKle uenaHiiaMu, Minniw h (Spohsobmh MacTH mpiimhi h 
 npoM. He flano-jiH fiu nocemy CBoeapeMeHHHwi noRHHTb Bonpoc* 
 npoAa«ii repwaHlM sthxi pacxHutaouuxi h paesopflCMuxt Boew- 
 Huxi Kopa(5;ietl. 
 
 PtmeHie npaadTOjibCTBa (5.iaroBo;iiiTe «Ht cooOmHTb. 
 
 Ha>»a.nbHiiKi PyccKaro OrntJia 
 TepMaHCKaro rdHOi<a.nbHaro DiTaO 
 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 28
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 15 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 28 
 
 Gr. General Staff. Central Division, Sec- 
 tion M, No. 389. 
 
 (Confidential) 
 
 February 24, 1918. 
 To THE People's Commissar of For- 
 eign Affairs: 
 
 According to instruction.'? of the 
 Imperial Government, I have the 
 honor to ask you to make in the short- 
 est po.ssible time an investigation as to 
 what commercial boats, auxiliary cruis- 
 ers, and transports may bo sent into 
 the waters of the Pacific Ocean, where 
 the German Government intends to 
 form, for tlie purpose of opposing the 
 American-.Japanese trade, a powerful 
 commercial fleet flying the Russian 
 flag. 
 
 graph as indicating the use against America 
 to which Gertnany intends to put Russia is 
 self-evident. The ludicrous picture painted 
 in the second paragraph at once intensifies 
 the sliame o/ tlic ending of the fine new Russian 
 Navy and discloses the German hope of 
 securing and refitting the vessels. 
 Have original letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 29 
 
 G. G.-S., 
 
 Intelligence Bureau, 
 No. 883. 
 
 Section R, 
 
 (Very Secret) 
 
 March 9, 1918. 
 To THE Commission for Combating 
 THE Counter Revolution: 
 It is herewith communicated that 
 for watching, and if neces.sary attack- 
 ing, the Japanese, American, and Rus- 
 
 COKpeTHO. 
 
 6fl. GENEnuSTiiB. 
 
 UITHI IITHEIIiDXt. 
 
 SeeUon li./ii^ 
 
 i£6.*eBpajifl..l9J8_c- 
 jtJ'-f:?.,, 
 
 pOBi. 
 
 
 i^^f^d.^, 
 
 •^ «^ OiAiJieHle flbafia KftieTi nee** npocjiTb CB^RiHitl o 
 
 HacTEoeHitt HanpaB.tfleuBxi> Kh HcKOBy OTp/qjoBi h npe- 
 
 flocTpperaeTi oTt BosMoaHhixi neqajiBHaxi floMcflCTBiK, 
 
 ec;i)i Bi sTMXi oTpHflaxii SyfleTi BecTMCb naipioTiiMe- 
 
 tfK&g nponaranfla h erHTauiJi npoTHBS FepMaKCKoH Ap- 
 
 ulx. 
 
 HttMajitHHKi PyccKaro OTfli.na 
 repuaiiCKaro rcH^ajibHaro JliflUa.^/^ 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 30 
 
 At the same time I call to j-our at- 
 tention the data that in your Baltic 
 fleet your sailors are selling from the 
 war ships the launches, small fittings, 
 copper, and bronze p.'irts of machines, 
 etc. Would it not be the proper time 
 to raise the question of selling to 
 Germany these war vessels which are 
 being stripped and disarmed? 
 
 Be so kind as to communicate the 
 decision of the Government. 
 
 Head of the Ru.ssian Division of the 
 German General Staff: O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant: U. Wolff. 
 
 Note. — Opposite first paragraph is the 
 notation: ^'Ask Lomof. Markin." Latter 
 was one of Trotsky's secretaries. Opposite 
 paragraph second, Markin makes notation. 
 Refer to Raskolnikoff." Latter is a com- 
 missar on this Naval General Staff , who con- 
 ducted conferences with German officers in 
 Kronstadt in March, April, and July, 1917 , 
 and an active aid to Dybenko in stirring up 
 the Russian fleet to revolt. Do not know who 
 Lomof is. The importance of the fi,rst para- 
 
 sian officers who may command the ex- 
 peditionary forces in eastern Siberia, 
 our agents Staufacher, Ivrieger, Geze, 
 Walden, Buttenhoff, Dattan, and 
 Skribanovich take charge, and to whom 
 it is necessary that either Commissar 
 Kobozeff or any of those named by 
 the commission must apply. The ad- 
 dresses of the agents are shown in list 
 No. 3 
 
 Head: R. Bauer. 
 
 Adjutant: M. K .(?) 
 
 Note. — Comments to "Telegraph Kobo- 
 zeff" and "Telegraph Streaberg," ivith an 
 illegible signature, appear on letter, and 
 below it is the order: "Give the list," initialed 
 "D. Z.," corresponding ivith the signing 
 habit of Dzerzhinski, chairman of the Com- 
 mission for Combating the Counter Revolu- 
 tion. Beloiv this order appears the list of 
 addresses, as follows. 
 
 Report according to list No. 3. 
 
 1. Staufacher Vladivostok, Panoff's 
 
 house. 
 
 2. R. Krieger, Nikolsk, Ussurisky. 
 
 'i. A. Geze, Irkutsk, drug store, 
 ZhinzherofT. 
 
 4. F. Walden, Vladivostok, his own 
 house. 
 
 a. Buttenhoff, lvhabarov.sk, firm 
 Kun.st & Albers. 
 
 6. Dattan, Tomsk, Nechayevskaya 
 Street (Initial A.) 
 
 7. [Brothers or Baron] Kuzberg, 
 Harbin, offices of the Chine.se-Eastem 
 Railway . 
 
 8. Skribanovich (initial G.), Blago- 
 vcschensk, house of Kunst & Albers. 
 
 9. Panoff, Vladivostok, his own 
 house. 
 
 This letter was sent me after I left Petro- 
 grad and reached me A pril 5 . It is important 
 not only for content, indicating as it does the 
 names and addresses of agents-destructors 
 who are called upon for increasing activity 
 against the United States and Japan to make 
 the Pacific Ocean a new area of terror, but 
 shcnmng tliat the German General Staff was 
 contimdng after the Brest-Litovsk "peace" to 
 work actively with the Russiart, Bolshevik 
 Government. 
 
 Have original letter. 
 
 CHAPTER rV. 
 
 THE PLOT FOR A SHAMEFUL 
 PEACE 
 
 Germany made its Russian peace with 
 its own puppet government, the mis- 
 named Council of People's Commissars, 
 (he president of which is Vladimir Uli- 
 uuov (Lenin), the foreign minister of 
 which was Leoir Trotsky, and the ambas- 
 .sador of whicli to Germany is A. Joffe. 
 Germany made this peace harder upon the 
 Russian people as punishment to the am- 
 bition of its tools in seeking to become 
 too powerful, and in hoping for a little 
 while not only that Russia would be de- 
 li\-ered over to them, but that they could 
 double-cross their masters by turning a 
 simulated German revolution into a real 
 one. 
 
 But their craftiness was a toy in the 
 hands of rough German force. Germany 
 was actually double-crossing them by ne- 
 gotiating with the Ukranian Rada at the 
 moment they dreamed they were tricking 
 Germany. 
 
 Germany, however, did not discard the 
 Bolshevik leaders, recognizing their fur- 
 ther use in the German world campaign 
 for internal disorganizations in the nations 
 with which it wars, but confined them to 
 the limited inland province which Great 
 Russia proper has now become. 
 
 Lenin, according to statements made 
 public as soon as Trotsky's spectacular 
 device of "No peace — No war" failed, 
 alwaj's was for peace on any German 
 terms. He dominated the situation there- 
 after and conceded everj-thing that Ger- 
 many a.sked. Nor did Trotskj- cease to 
 continue to obey the German orders de- 
 livered to him both by Gen. Hoffman at 
 Brest-Litovsk, and at Petrograd directly 
 by the Russian Division of the German 
 General Staff, which was seated in Pet- 
 rograd itself from November. 1917, and 
 which was still there in full operation
 
 16 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 when I left, Monday, March 4, the day 
 that Petrograd received notification that 
 peace had been signed at Brest-Lit ovsk 
 by the Russian and German delegations. 
 
 Trotsky, therefore, rests rightly under 
 the accusation of having staged his the- 
 atrical scene as a climax to the Russian 
 disorganization desired by Germany. The 
 actual order he gave was for the immedi- 
 ate demobilization of the Russian army, 
 leaving the German army unopposed. 
 
 The actual effect of the work of the 
 Bolshevik leaders, moreover, was to en- 
 able Germany to combine its former army 
 of the Russian front with its western 
 army, for the launching of its March of- 
 fensive in France. Such has been the 
 fruition of Russia's German-directed Bol- 
 shevikism. 
 
 The following documents tell the story 
 of the betrayal of Russia to a shameful 
 and ruinous peace. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 30 
 
 G[reat] General Staff. Central Divisior 
 Section M/R, No. 408. 
 
 'Secret) 
 February 26, 1918. 
 To THE Chairman of the Council op 
 People's Commissars: 
 This Division of the Staff has the 
 honor to request data of the attitude 
 of the detachments teing sent to 
 Pskoff and to guard against all possible 
 disastrous results if in these detach- 
 ments any will carry on patriotic 
 propaganda and agitations against the 
 German army. 
 
 Head of the Russian Division Ger- 
 man General Staff: O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant: U. Wolff. 
 
 Note. — The chairman oj the Council of 
 People's Commissars is Lenin. At the top 
 of this letter is the written comment: "Urgent. 
 Chairman of the Council of People's Com- 
 missars asks Vohdarsky to communicate 
 this to the agitation dcpartmMt. Secretary 
 Skripnik." Skrijmik is the first secretary of 
 the Government, personally reporting to 
 Lenin. A second notation in viargin is: 
 "Central Executive Committee No. 823 to 
 report," signed with illegible initials. The 
 detachments being nerd to Pskoff at this time 
 were composed of Red Guards and of the 
 recrints of the new Red Army. Pskoff luas 
 taken by the Germans without a fight. 
 Have original letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 31 
 
 G. G.-.S., Inttlliucnco FJureau, Section R, 
 No. 7o0. 
 
 (.Very Secret) 
 
 February 27, 1018. 
 
 To THE PnESIDF.NT OF THE CoUNCIL 
 
 OF People's Commwsar.s: 
 
 Not having received an exact nn.swer 
 to my que.stion of the 2.'ith of February, 
 I now have the honor a scfond time to 
 request you 1o inform me in the shorts 
 est possiole time the numbers and kind 
 of forces sent to Pskoff and Narva. 
 
 At the sarno time, at the orders of 
 the representative of our General 
 Staff, I once more remind you of the 
 deoimbilitv of nnTninp' 0<n>. Pnrski to 
 
 the post of commander in chief of the 
 Russian armed forces, in place of Gen. 
 Bonch-Bruevich, whose actions do not 
 meet the approval of the German High 
 Command. Since the attacks on the 
 lives and property of the German 
 landowners in Esthonia and Livonia, 
 which, accordmg to our information, 
 were carried out with the knowledge of 
 Gen. Bonch-Bruevich, and his nation- 
 alistic actions in Orel, his continuance 
 in the position of general is no longer 
 desirable . 
 
 Head of the Bureau: 
 
 Agasfer. 
 
 Note. — Across the letter is loritten "Send 
 to Trotsky and Podvoisky. N. G." {Gor- 
 hunov's initials, chief secretary of the Council 
 of People's Cominissars.) Obseruc the man- 
 datory nature of the whole letter and particularly 
 of the first paragraph , Agasfer, as lias been 
 shown, is tlie cipher sigyiature of Maj. 
 Liiberts, head of the Petrograd Intelligence 
 Bureau of the German General Staff, the 
 chief branch of the Russian Division, of the 
 German General Staff, the head of which is 
 Maj. Rausch, referred to in this letter as the 
 representative of "our General Staff." .4;> 
 ■parenihj both Luberts and Rausch wrote a 
 warning against sending any patriots to the 
 defending forces, and seemingly the Bolshevik 
 effort at obedience as indicated in document 
 No. SO was 7iotfast enough to suit the German 
 martinets. Podvoisky ivas minister of war. 
 
 Gen. Parski was appointed to the com- 
 
 mand of the Petrograd district, and as late as 
 June 14 still held the post. He formerly 
 rcas in command of the city of Riga, which 
 was surrendered to the Germans tvithout 
 adequate defense in the early autumn of 1917 . 
 Have original letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 32 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 272/600. 
 
 {Very Secret) 
 
 February G, 191S. 
 To THE People's Commissar of For- 
 eign Affairs: 
 
 I ask you to immediately give the 
 Turldsh subject, Carp C. ^lissirof, a 
 Russian passport m place of the one 
 taken from him, which was given him 
 in 1912 on the basis of the inclosed 
 national passport. 
 
 Agent C. Missirof is to be sent to 
 the staff of the Russian High Com- 
 mand, where, according to the previous 
 discussion between Gen. Hoffman and 
 Commissars Trotsky and Joffe, he will 
 keep watch on the activity of the head 
 of the staff, Gen. Bonch-Bruevich, in 
 the capacity of assistant to the Com- 
 missars Kalmanovich and Feierabend. 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 Adjutant: Bukholm. 
 
 /(7 <"«^;^K-J^. 
 
 G» Gm''S» 
 
 NACHRICHTEN-BUREAU. 
 Section . '^'^ 
 
 Z'l $e?.Dajrs I9I8 r. 
 
 ^.CeKpetHO. 
 
 r'.npe/t.Qtflo.Tejifo Jo.^lTc HapoflHii.\i, KoMjfccapoBl. 
 
 HacTomumas^ He no;iy»jHai voiHavo OTstTa wa uoll sairpoci 
 OTi 25 (J-espaJia, ■ iiuiro lecaB BTOpir-mo npocHti at cpo^ovii 
 
 ^IflOMUXl KI. riCKOBV *'WapBt- 
 
 OfiHOBpeuea 
 ■pqjiiHaro ElTa^ 
 Ha^jeHlfl rtfi. rifi 
 
 p-yf^iK UpeRCTaBHTQJta Hanero rsHO- 
 anouHHaw o jtejiareJiBHOcTH nas- 
 ,H(ffnocTi BepxoBHaro r.naBHOK0aaH- 
 BQoBjawiHiiuH cttHeaiH, Bviicjo reH«BoHi«b- 
 y iMiyBHtMP'T^feaTejm/icTii KOT^paro He scTptsaeTi co<iyBCTBln 
 .'repiMWKar'o BepxosHaro KouaMflOBaHlH. TenepL-ze, aocxi 
 noKymeHlft Ha aasHi. k HyymecTBO HiwetiKaxt eeji^neBJiaRiJiB- 
 *K^eBt Bi 3cT;iHHfiia a JIiKjuiaHflla, iio , no HaiDHMi cstfli- 
 HlHMi, npoHBonuio ci Blfloiia reu. EoHyt-BpyeBtma h Haulo-«' 
 HajjHOTBTiecKoE fltHTcntpooim ero b» Opni, npefiuBauie r^w 
 Kepajia fie. ero nocTy HexejiaTonBHO. 
 
 
 HawojiLiiHKi. OTfli;ieHl;! 
 
 r^ 
 
 Facsimile Document Number 31
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 17 
 
 Note. — litre we have the bMnd-lhc-scenc 
 disclosure of llie rcid rclnlions belioeai 
 Trotsky and Gen. Hoffman at Bresl-LUovsk , 
 slripping the mask from the public pose. 
 Trolsky got his orders in tliis case and he 
 carried them out. Across the top of this 
 letter, too, he has written his own conviction, 
 "Ask Joffe. L. T.," while Joffe, whone rdle 
 seems to be that of the mouthpiece of Germany, 
 has written in the 7nnrgin, "According to 
 agreement this must be done. A. Joffe." 
 Thereby he becomes a witness for the agree- 
 ment itself — that pledge between himself, 
 Trotsky, and the military chief of the German 
 Government at the Brest-Litovsk conference, 
 to betray the commander of the Russian army 
 when he should attempt to defend Russia 
 against Germany. A further marginal note 
 states that the passport was given February 7, 
 under the Russian name, P.L. Ilin. 
 
 Have original letter and the surrendered 
 passport. Kalmanovich and Feierabend were 
 Commissars of Counter Espionage, 
 
 THE UKRAINIAN DOUBLE-CROSS 
 
 How the Bolsheviki themselves were 
 double-crossed in the Uki-aine; how the 
 Germans toyed with their puppets to dis- 
 organize Russia, with disclosures of plans 
 for assassination of loyal Russian leaders, 
 are shown in the following documents and 
 Mr. Sisson's accompanying notes. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 33 
 
 ^ Counter Espionage at Army Headquarters, 
 No. 63. 
 
 January 10, 1918. 
 To THE Commission for Comb.vtino 
 THE Counter Revolution: 
 
 The Commissar on Combating the 
 Counter Revolution in a cijjhcr tele- 
 gram, No. 235, demanded the sending 
 of special agents to Kiefl and Novocher- 
 kask. 
 
 There have been sent Conu-ades 
 Vlasenko, Gavrilchuk, and Korablev, 
 who have more than once very suc- 
 cessfully performed information ser- 
 vice. The commissar in his cipher 
 telegram indicates that the German 
 and Austrian ag nts assigned from 
 Petrograd, Lieuts. Otto, Krcmer, 
 Blum, and Vasilko, are playing a 
 double role, reporting on what is hap- 
 pening at Petrogi-ad, and they carry 
 on an intensive agitation in favor of a 
 separate peace of the Ukraine with the 
 Central Powers, and for the restoring 
 of order. Their work is having suc- 
 cess. 
 
 To Siberia have been ordered Com- 
 rades Trefilev and Shepshelevich, in 
 connection with your report of the 
 pm-chase and export of gold by Austrian 
 prisoners in Siberia. 
 
 Director of Counter Espionage: 
 
 Feierabend. 
 
 Secretary: N. Dracheff. 
 
 Note. — So stands disclosed the manner in 
 which Germany set about to double-cross the 
 Bolshevik servants who in success had be- 
 come at times uppish in bargaining with 
 their 7nasters. It icas not a part of the 
 German program to create in Russia a power 
 wliich it could not at any time control, or, if 
 need be, overturn. Its plan licre had the 
 additional advantage of not only disciplining 
 the Petrograd Bolsheviks but also of disunify- 
 ing Russia still further. It worked out to a 
 separate peace with Ukraine and a separate 
 peace with Great Russia. Lieut. Otto is 
 the Konsldn aftenvards arrested for some 
 unknown betrayal. See Document No. S. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 34 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Head<iuartei-ri, 
 No. 511. 
 
 January 30, 1918. 
 To THE Commission for Combating 
 
 Counter Revolution: 
 
 You are informed that the German 
 and Austrian officers located at Kiefl 
 now have private meetings with mem- 
 bers of the deposed Rada. They in- 
 sistently inform us of the inevitable 
 siffiiing and ratification of peace treaties 
 both between the Ukraine and the 
 Central Powers and between Roumania 
 and Austria and Germany. 
 
 Director of Counter Espionage: 
 Feierabend. 
 
 Commissar: O. Kalmanovich. 
 
 Note. — Corroborative of the preceding 
 document. The separate peace with the 
 Ukraine already had been signed. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 officer referred to in Document So. 
 cipher signature is Schott. 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 His 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 35 
 
 G. G.-S. Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 181. 
 
 {Very Urgent) 
 
 December 9, 1917. 
 To the People's Commissar of For- 
 eign Affairs: 
 
 In accordance with your request, the 
 Intelligence Bureau on November 29 
 sent to Rostof Maj. von Boehlke, who 
 arranged there a survey over the 
 forces of the Don Troop Government. 
 The major also organized a detachment 
 of prisoners of war, who took part in 
 the battles. In this case, the prisoners 
 of war, in accordance with the direc- 
 tions given by the July conference at 
 Kronstadt, participated in by Messrs. 
 Lenin, Zinovieff, Kameneff, Raskolni- 
 koff , Dybenko, Shisko, Antonoff, Kril- 
 enko, Volodarsky, and Podvoisky, 
 were dressed in Russian army and navy 
 uniforms. Maj. von Boehlke took 
 part in commanding, but the conflicting 
 orders of the official commander 
 Arnautoff, and the talentless activity 
 of the scout Tulak, paralyzed the plans 
 of our officer. 
 
 The agents sent by order from Petro- 
 grad to kill Gens. Kaledin, Bogaevsky, 
 and Alexieff were cowardly and non- 
 enterprising people. Agents passed 
 through to Karauloff. The communi- 
 cations of Gen. Kaledin with the 
 Americans and English are beyond 
 doubt, but they limit themselves en- 
 tirely to financial assistance. Maj. 
 von Boehlke, with the passport of the 
 Finn, Uno Muuri, retui'ned to Petro- 
 grad and will make a report today at 
 the office of the chairman of the 
 council at 10 p. m. 
 
 For the head of the Bureau: 
 
 R. Bauer. 
 
 Adjutant: 
 
 M. K.- 
 
 -(?). 
 
 Note. — This is a cold-blooded disclosure 
 of a German-Bolshevik plan for the assassitm- 
 tion of Kaledin and Alexieff, as well as proof 
 of a condition often denied by Smolny during 
 the winter — that German prisoners were being 
 ai-med as Russian soldiers in the struggle 
 against the Russian nationalists on the Don. 
 The letter also contains the most complete list 
 of the participants in the July conspiracy 
 conference at Kronstadt. The marginal 
 comment opposite the assass-ination para- 
 graph, "Who sent them?" is in an unknown 
 handwriting. Maj. von Boehlke is a German 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 36 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, 
 No. 136. 
 
 (Very Secret) 
 
 November 28, 1917. 
 To the Council of People's Com- 
 missars: 
 
 In accordance with your request, the 
 Intelligence Bureau of the General 
 Staff informs the Council of People's 
 Commissars that the LTkrainian Com- 
 mission at the Austrian High Com- 
 mand, in which participate the em- 
 powered representatives of the German 
 Staff, has worked out a plan of the 
 activities of the revolutionaries known 
 to the Council of People's Commis.sars 
 and the Central Executive Committee 
 of the Council of Workmen's and 
 Soldiers' Deputies — Chudovsky, Boyar- 
 sky, Gubarsky, and Piatakov — who are 
 under the full direction of the Austro- 
 Hungarian High Command. 
 
 The commander in chief of the Rus- 
 sian army has been made acquainted 
 by Schott with plans of the Austro- 
 German High Command and will co- 
 operate with him. 
 
 Head of Bureau: Agasfer. 
 
 Note. — At this early time there was har- 
 mony all around on the Ukraine program, 
 Germans, Austrians, and the Commissars in 
 complete brotherhood. Schott is Maj. von 
 Boehlke and Agasfer is Maj. Luberts. 
 Have photogrCTph of letter. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 TROTSKY AND ROUMANIA 
 
 The machinations of Trotsky, inspired 
 by the German Gen. Hoffman, for the 
 disruption of Eoumania are disclosed in 
 the following: 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 37 
 
 Counter Espionage at Army Headquarters, 
 No. 20. 
 
 January 2, 1918. 
 To THE Commission on Combating 
 
 Counter Revolution : 
 
 Commander in chief Ivrilenlco has re- 
 quested the Counter Espionage at the 
 Army Headquarters to inform you that 
 it is necessary to order the following 
 persons to the Roumanian front im- 
 mediately: From Petrograd, Commis-sar 
 Kuhl, "Socialist Rakovsky, Sailor 
 Gnieshin; and from the front the chief 
 of staff of the Red Guard, Durasov. 
 These persons should be suppUed with 
 literature and with financial resources 
 for agitation. To them is committed 
 the task of taking all measures for the 
 deposing of the Roumanian king and 
 the removal of counter revolutionary 
 Roumanian officers. 
 
 Director of Coimter Espionage: 
 
 Feierabend. 
 
 Secretarj': N. Drachev. 
 
 Note. — This marks the continuance of 
 large-scale work to disorganize the Roumanian 
 army. That it advances disappointingly to 
 Germany is evidenced by vengeful steps 
 taken by Gen. Hoffman and Trotsky from 
 Brest-Litovsk, when in the middle of January
 
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 Facsimile of face of Turkish passport surrendered by Missiroff. Notice that the passport was given him by Turkey 
 in 1911. Letter No. 32 indicates that he had a previous Russian passport delivered to him in 
 
 1912, on basis of Turkish passport.
 
 20 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 (western calendar) Trotsky, at the request of 
 Gen. Hoffman, ordered the arrest in Petro- 
 grad of the Roumanian minister Diamandi. 
 (See Document 37 A .) 
 
 At about the same thrie the Roumanian 
 public gold reserves in custody mthin the 
 Kremlin walls at Moscow were seized by the 
 Russian Goi'ernmenl. Diamandi was re- 
 leased from arrest at the demand of the 
 united diplomatic delegations at Pelrograd, 
 but his humiliations continued, and on 
 January 28 he was ordered from Pelrograd, 
 being given less than 10 hours to prepare for 
 the departure of a party that contained many 
 women and children. Ambassador Francis 
 sought in vain of Zalkind, who was acting as 
 Foreign Minister in the absence of Trotsky 
 again at Brest, for an extension of the time 
 of departures. The Roumanian parly was 
 thrown pell-mell on a train at midnight. 
 It was delayed in Finland on one excuse and 
 another, not immediately apparent, but in 
 three weeks the minister, leaving behind a 
 large part of his people, was allowed to pro- 
 ceed to Torneo. By good luck he reached 
 there the day after the Red Guard lost Torneo 
 to the While Guard. Tliat day saved his 
 life, for on the person of Svetlitzsky, a Russian 
 commissar who joined him in mid-Finland 
 and accompanied him to Torneo, was found 
 an order to Timofcyeff, the commissar at 
 Torneo, to shoot him. Svellilzsky ivas shot 
 instead. When I passed through Torneo 
 the control officer talked frankly about the 
 details, expressing the opinion that the shoot- 
 ing might have been a mistake, as it was not 
 shoum that Svetlilzsky was aware of the con- 
 tents of the letter. Svetlitzsky, however, was 
 an important person in Pelrograd, close to 
 Trotsky. Our American party brought Gtir- 
 anesco, the first secretary of Ihe Roumanian 
 delegation, oid of Finland through the lines 
 with IIS. He had been in Red Finland seven 
 v.w'«. Behind us at Bjerrteburg we left 
 several families of Roumanians who had de- 
 parted from Pelrograd with the minister. We 
 would have liked to hove In-oughl them through 
 the lines of the two armies, but our venture 
 was loo desperate to permit unauthorized addi- 
 tion.tto the party. 
 
 The marginal notation on this letter is 
 "Execute," initialed "Ch," the sign manual of 
 Chicherin, the relumed exile from England, 
 at that lime Assistant Commissar of Foreign 
 Affairs, now Minister of Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT 37A* 
 
 • The contents of this letter, written by 
 Joffe, were telegraphed to Washington in Feb- 
 ruary, and photographic copy of letter for- 
 warded by Ambassador FrancLs to State De- 
 partment. 
 
 No. 771, AITair of Peace Delegation 
 
 (Gonfidential) 
 
 Brest-Litov.9k, December 31, 1917. 
 
 To THE Coi:ncil of People's Com- 
 missars: 
 
 Comrade L. Trot.«ky ha.s churned 
 ino to bring lo Ihe knowlcdf^n of the 
 Courieil of People's Commis.sars the 
 motive.s for h\^ «e|c({rjij)hifi i)ro|)osul to 
 orreHtthe Roimiuniim diplomatic ropre- 
 sentatives in I'etershurK. 
 
 flen. HofTiii.'iii, referring lo the ron- 
 ferenee wliieh hml taken pliiee in 
 Brest-Litovsk between (lie liieiiibers of 
 the German and Aiistro-IIuiiKarian 
 delegations on iJeeember 2'.», ijresented 
 totno Rii.s.sian di'lexation in <ho name 
 of theClerrnnri and Aust rian Thief fJom- 
 roand fa deeiphered radio-telegram was 
 exhibited in thi.i (•onn<'etion) a con- 
 fidenlinl diiiiand eoneerniriK the im- 
 mediate ineiUiment of tho floiimanian 
 army to recogui^e the neceaaity of aa 
 
 armi.stice and adopting the terms of a 
 democratic peace pointed out by the 
 Russian delegates. The implacability 
 of the staff and the whole commanding 
 force of the Roumanian army, witli 
 regard to which the Chief Command of 
 the German army has received the most 
 exact agency information, spoils the ex- 
 cellent impression produced in Ger- 
 many and on all the fronts by the 
 Russian peace propositions, which has 
 made it possible to again stimulate the 
 popular feeling agni7tsl England, France, 
 and America and can bring about an 
 undesirable and dangerous aggravation 
 of the peace question, up to the German 
 army going over lo the attack on our 
 front and an open annexation of lite 
 territories occupied in Russia. 
 
 The general expressed his opinion 
 that against peace might be the Cos- 
 sacks, some Ukranian regiments, and 
 the Caucasian army, in which case 
 they will also doubtless be joined by 
 the Roumanian armies, which, accord- 
 ing to the information in possession of 
 the German staff, enters into the cal- 
 culations of Kaledin and Alexieff. It 
 is greatly in the interests of the Ger- 
 man and Austrian delegations that 
 complete harmony should prevail on 
 the entire Russian front as regards the 
 conclusion of an armistice and adopt- 
 ing the terms of a separate peace 
 between Russian and Germany, seeing 
 that in this event the German and 
 Austrian Chief Command will propose 
 to Roumania their terms of peace, and 
 will be in a position to take up their 
 operative actions on the western front 
 on a very large scale; at the same time 
 Gen. Hoffman, in the course of a con- 
 versation with Comr. Trotsky, twice 
 hinted at the necessity of immediately 
 beginning these war operations. 
 
 When Comr. Trotsky declared that 
 at the disposal of the council's power 
 there are no means of influencing the 
 Roumanian staff. Gen. Hoffman 
 pointed out the necessity of sending 
 trustworthy agents to the Roumanian 
 army, and t,he possibility of arresting 
 the Roumanian mission in Petersburg, 
 and repressive measures against the 
 Roumanian king and the Roumanian 
 commanding forces. 
 
 After this interview Comr. L. 
 Trotsky liy cable proposed to arrest 
 the Roumanian mission in Petersburg 
 with all its members. This report is 
 being sent by special covirier — C!om- 
 rade 1. G. Brossoff, who has lo prrsoii- 
 ally Iraiisinil to Commissar Podniiskii 
 some infornniiion. of a secret characti r 
 regarding tlic semling lo the Roumanian 
 army of those persons whose names 
 Comr. Brossoff will give. All these 
 persons will be paid out of the cash of 
 the "German Naphtha - Industrial 
 Hank," which has bought near Bore- 
 slav the business of the joint-stock 
 company of Fanto & Co. The chief 
 direction of those agents has been 
 intrusted, according to Gen. Hoffman's 
 indication, to a, certain \^dIf Vonigel, 
 who is keeping a watch over the mili- 
 tary agents of the countries allied witli 
 us. As regards the English and 
 American dijtlomatic representatives. 
 Gen. Hiiffmim has expressed the agree- 
 meid of ttir Girnian slaff to the measuns 
 adojitid Ijy Comr. Trotsky and Comr. 
 I.azuuiniff Willi regard lo watching over 
 their activity. 
 
 Member of the delegation: 
 
 A. JoKFE. 
 
 [Marginal Notations] 
 
 Comr. Shitkevitch: 'i'ake copies and 
 send to the Commiss. for Foreign 
 
 Affairs, personally to Comr. Zalkind. 
 [Passages printed above in italics 
 
 marked'^ To Sanders. 
 
 Reported January 4, regarding the 
 ■ arre.st of Diamandi and others. 
 
 M. Shitkevitch. 
 January 5, 1918. — To the Chancery: 
 
 Send an urgent telegram to Trotsky 
 
 about the arrest of the Roumanian 
 
 minister. — Savelieff. 
 
 Note (as cabled Feb. 9).— The date is 
 January 12, western calendar, Ihe eve of the 
 Russian New Year. The Roumanian min- 
 ister was arrested that night in Pelrograd, 
 and only released on the united demand of 
 all onbassies and legations in Pelrograd. 
 Since then he has beett sent out of Russia. 
 The letter shows that Trotsky look Gen. 
 Hoffman's personal demand as an order for 
 action. Most imporlant of all, however, it 
 strips the mask from. Ihe Lenin and Trotsky 
 public proleslations that they have sotight to 
 prevent the peace negotiations with Germany 
 from turning lo the nrililary advantage of 
 Germany against the United Slates, England, 
 and France. The aim here diifctosed is in- 
 stead to aid Germany in stimulating feeling 
 against England, France, and the United 
 Stales, in enabling Germany lo prepare for an 
 offensive on the western front. A German 
 bank is named as paymaster for Bolshevik 
 agilalors among the Roumanian soldiers. 
 Is "Wolf Vonigel," the field director, the Wolf 
 von I gel of American notoriety? The simi- 
 larity in name is striking. Finally, Gen. 
 Hoffman and the German slaff is satisfied unth 
 Trotsky's watch over the American and 
 English diplomats. Joffe, who signs the 
 letter, is a member of the Russian Peace 
 Commission. Since this letter was written 
 Zalkind has gone lo Switzerland on a special 
 7nission. 
 
 Note. — (July 6, 1918). He did not reach 
 there, being unable to pass through England, 
 and in April was in. Christiana. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 38 
 
 Commission for Combating the Counter 
 Revolution and Pogroms, No. - — . 
 
 Petrograd, Dec. 14, 1917. 
 
 Major von Boehlke: 
 
 E.STEEMED Comrade: I liring to 
 your notice tliat our Finni.sh com- 
 rades, Hakhia, Pukko, and Enrot have 
 advised the Commissar for Combating 
 ihe Counter Revolution of the follow- 
 ing facts: 
 
 1. Between the English officers and 
 the Finnish bourgeois organizations 
 there are connections which cause us 
 serious apprehension. 
 
 2. In Finland have been installed 
 two wireless stations which are u.sed 
 by unknown persons who communicate 
 in cipher. 
 
 ;'.. Between Gen. Kaledin and the 
 American mission there is an undoubt- 
 ed communication, of which we have 
 received exact information from your 
 source, and, therefore, a most careful 
 supervision of the American Embassy 
 is necessary. 
 
 These reports must be established 
 exactly. Our agents are helpless. 
 Please excuse (hat I write on the of- 
 ficial lett(-r heads, but I hasten to do 
 this, sitting here at the commission at 
 ail extraordin.aiy meeting. Ready to 
 .service. F. Zalkind. 
 
 Note. — The written comment at the top 
 of llic letter is: "Commissar for Foreign 
 Affairs. 1 request exact instructions. 
 Scholt." It is von Boehlke's question, 
 signed with his ci/ihtr name. (See docu- 
 ment 5.) The leltir may imply that von
 
 Ike GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 21 
 
 Boehlke had, in the opinion of his good 
 friend Zaikind, a means of internal obser- 
 vation at the Ayncrican Embassy. 
 Bavc ■photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 39 
 
 Counter Espionage at the Army Headquarters. 
 No. 268. 
 
 (Very Secret) 
 
 January 2.5, 1918. 
 To THE Commission on Combating 
 THE Counter Kevolution: 
 
 The 23d of January at the Army 
 Headquarters [Stavka] there took 
 place a conference at which there par- 
 ticipated Maj. von Boehlke, a.ssigned 
 from Petrograd. It was decided, upon 
 the insistence of the German consult- 
 ants, to send to the internal fronts the 
 following persons, furnishing theni all 
 powers for dealing with individual 
 counter revolutionaries: 
 
 To the Don: Zbikliorcv, Rudnev, 
 Krogultz, and Ernest Delgau. 
 
 To the Caucasus Front: Vassili 
 Dumbadze, Prince Jlathabelli, Sevas- 
 tianov, and Ter-Baburin. 
 
 To the 1st Polish Corps of Gen. 
 . Dovhor-Menitsky are assigned Dem- 
 bitski, Stetkus, Zliimiitis, and Gas- 
 man. 
 
 Be so good as to take all measures 
 for the quick assignment and the ade- 
 quate furnishing of the assigned per- 
 sons with money, reserve passports, 
 and other documents. 
 
 Senior olhcer : Peter Mironov. 
 Note. — This is an assassination order 
 against individuals. It was not success- 
 ful against the Polish general. Dembadse 
 and Prince Machabetli were German spies 
 implicated in the Sukhomlinoff affair and 
 sentenced to prinon, but afterwards liber- 
 ated by the Bolsheviks. Lieut. Col. Dem- 
 bitski was a Bolshevik Polish officer. Ba- 
 liurin was an assistant chief of staff under 
 Krilenko. The letter is indorsed: "Com- 
 rade Lunacharsky. Go and report to Com- 
 rade Zinovieff," signature illegible. 
 Have photograph of lettei. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 40 
 
 Counter Espionage at the Army Headquarters, 
 No. 51/573. 
 
 January 19, 1918. 
 
 To the Commission for Combatino 
 the Counter Revolution : 
 
 There have been received two notes 
 addressed to the Supreme Commander 
 from the staffs of the Austrian and 
 German High Commands. These notes 
 inform the Army Headquarters 
 [Stavka] that the organizer of the 
 ^•ohmteer army in the Don region, 
 Gen. Alexieff, is in written communica- 
 tion with the officer personnel of the 
 Polish legions at the front, with the 
 view of getting the help of Polish oth- 
 cers in the counter revolution. This 
 information has been received by the 
 Austrian agents from the Polish Bol- 
 shevik Comrade Zhuk, who pl?yed a 
 large part at Rostov diu-ing the No- 
 vember and December battles. On 
 the other side, the representative of 
 the German Government, Count Lerch- 
 enfeldt, reports of the rapidly grow- 
 ing movement in Poland in favor of 
 the bourgeois estate owners' imperial- 
 istic plan to defend with arms the 
 greatest possible independence of Po- 
 land, with the broadening of its fron- 
 
 tier.'i at the expense of Lithuania, 
 White Russia, and Galicia. 
 
 This movement is actively supported 
 by the popular democratic party in 
 Warsaw, as well as Petrograd, by 
 military organizations guided by the 
 counter revolutionary estate owners 
 and the bourgeois Polish clergy. 
 
 The situation which has arisen was 
 discussed on the 16th of January at 
 the Stavka in the presence of Maj. 
 von Boehlke, sent by the Petrograd 
 branch of the German Intelligence 
 Bureau, and it was there decided: 
 
 1. To take the most decisive meas- 
 ures, up to shooting en masse, against 
 the Polish troops which have submit- 
 ted to the counter revolutionary and 
 imperialistic propaganda. 
 
 2. To arrest Gen. Dovbor-Menitsky. 
 
 3. To arrange a surveillance of the 
 commanding personnel. 
 
 4. Send agitators to the Polish le- 
 gions to consult regarding this the 
 Polish revolutionary organizations 
 known to the committee. 
 
 5. On learning of the counter revo- 
 lutionary activity of Polish officers 
 to immediately arrest them and send 
 them to the Stavka at the disposal 
 of the Counter Espionage. 
 
 6. To arrest the emissaries of Gen. 
 Alexieff, Staff Capt. Shuravsky, and 
 Capt. Rushitsky. 
 
 7. To request the Commission for 
 Combating the Counter Revolution, 
 in agreement with the German In- 
 telligence Bureau at Petrograd, to ar- 
 range a surveillance and observation 
 of the following institutions and 
 persons : 
 
 (a) The military committee. 
 (6) The Society of Friends of the 
 Polish Soldier. 
 
 (c) Inter-Party Union. 
 
 (d) The Union of Polish Invalids, 
 (p) IMembers of the Polish Group 
 
 of the former state Duma and council. 
 
 (/) The chairman. Lednitsky. and 
 the members of the former Committee 
 for the Liquidation of Affairs of the 
 Kingdom of Poland. 
 
 ig) Boleslav Jalovtski. 
 
 ih) Vladislav Grabski. 
 
 (i) Stanislav Shuritski. 
 
 (j) Roman Catholic Polish clergy. 
 
 (k) The Polish Treasury through 
 which, according to agency reports, 
 the governments of countries allied 
 with Russia intend, with the assistance 
 of the New York National City Bank, 
 to supply with monetary resources the 
 counter revolutionary camp. 
 
 (?) It is necessary to verify the pri- 
 vate reports of several Lithuanian 
 revolutionaries that among the Church 
 Benevolent Funds, which are at the 
 disposal of the Polish clergy, are the 
 capitals of private persons who hid 
 their money from requisition for the 
 benefit of the state. 
 
 In case of establishment of any 
 connection with the counter revolu- 
 tion, the guilty Polish institutions are 
 to be liquidated, their leaders and also 
 persons connected with the counter 
 revolutionary activity are to be ar- 
 rested, and sent to the disposal of the 
 Stavka. 
 
 Chief of the Counter Espionage : 
 
 Commissar: 
 
 Feierabend. 
 Kalmanovich. 
 
 'Note.— Again Oermany, through Count 
 Lcrehcnfcldt, was intriguing on both sides. 
 Chiefly, however, the significance of the let- 
 ter is in the thoroughness of the oictlined 
 German plan to crush the threat of armed 
 opposition from the Polish legions of the 
 Bussian army. The troops were fired upon, 
 as indicated. The preceding document 
 really follou)S this in natural sequence. The 
 next two further elucidate the situation 
 for the benefit of the Poles of the outside 
 world. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 41 
 
 Counter Espionase at llie Army Headquarters, 
 No. 461. 
 
 January 28, 1918. 
 
 To the Commission for Combating 
 THE Counter Revolution : 
 
 The Special Constituent Commission 
 on the conflict with the Polish counter 
 revolutionary troops has begun its ac- 
 tivity. All the conduct of its affairs 
 has been located at the Counter Es- 
 pionage at the Army Headquarters 
 [Stavka], where is being collected all 
 information on the counter revolution 
 on the external and internal fronts. 
 At the commission have arrived mem- 
 loers of the Commission for Combating 
 the Counter Revolution, E. Miekono- 
 shin, I. Zenzinov, Zhihnski, and from 
 Sevastopol Comrade Tiurin. To a 
 conferpnce were called agents an- 
 nouncing their wish to be sent for 
 conflict with the bourgeois Polish 
 officers: Lieut. Col. Dcmbitski, Bole- 
 slav Yakimovich, Roman Strievsky, 
 Joseph Yasenovsky, and Mikhail 
 Adamovich. All those agents are un- 
 der obligation to carry the affair to 
 the point of open insubordination of 
 the soldiers against the officers and 
 the arrest of the latter. 
 
 For emergency the commander in 
 chief ordered to assign Nakhim Sher 
 and Ilj'a Raz}'mo\' for the destruction 
 of the counter revolutionary ringlead- 
 ers among the Polish troops, and the 
 commission recognized the possibility 
 of declaring all Polish troops outside 
 the law, when that measure should 
 present itself as imperative. 
 
 From Peterburg, obsen-ers an- 
 nounced that the Polish organizations 
 are displaying great reser\"e and cau- 
 tion in mutual relations. There has 
 been established, howe\er, an unques- 
 tionable contact between the High 
 Military Council located in Peter- 
 burg and the Polish officers and sol- 
 diers of the bourgeois estate-owning 
 class with the counter revolutionary 
 Polish troops. On this matter in the 
 Commissariat on Militan.' Affairs, 
 there took place on Januaiy 22 a con- 
 ference of Comrades Podvoisky. Ked- 
 rov, Boretzkov, Dybenko. and Ko\als- 
 ky. The Commissar on Naval Affairs 
 announced that the sailors Trushin, 
 Markin, Peinkaitis, and Schultz de- 
 mand the dismissal of the Polish 
 troops, and threaten, in case it is re- 
 fused, assaults on the Polish legion- 
 aries in Peterburg. The commander- 
 in-chief suggests that it might be pos- 
 sible to direct the rage of the sail- 
 ors mentioned, and of their group, to 
 the front against the counter revolu- 
 tionary Polish troops. 
 
 At the present time our agitation 
 among the Polish troops is being car-
 
 22 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
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 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 23 
 
 Facsimile of front of Finnish passport surrendered by Nevalainen in order to receive 
 the Russian passport referred to in Document Number 43.
 
 24 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 ried on in very active fashion and 
 there is great hope for the disorgan- 
 ization of the Polish legionaries. 
 
 Chief of Counter Espionage: 
 
 FeI EH ABEND. 
 
 Secretarj-; Iv. Alexieff. 
 
 Note. — Save photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 42 
 
 Counter Espionage at the ,\rmy Headquarters. 
 No. 21. 
 
 January 28, 1918. 
 
 To THE Commission for Comb.a.ting 
 THE Counter Kevolution : 
 
 At the request of the commander 
 in chief, in answer to your inquir>-. 
 I inform you, supplementary to the 
 dispatch, that the funds sent with 
 Maj. Bayermeister have been received 
 here. Among the troops acting on 
 the front against the counter revolu- 
 tionaries have been prepared several 
 battalions for conflict wuth the Poles 
 and Eoumanians. We will pay 12 
 roubles a day, with an increased food 
 ration. From the hired sections sent 
 against the legionaries have been 
 formed two companies, one from the 
 best shots for the shooting of officer- 
 regiments, the other of Lithuanians 
 and Letts for the spoiling of food re- 
 serves in Vitebsk, Minsk, and Mogilev 
 governments, in the places where the 
 Polish troops are situated. Various 
 local peasants have also agreed to 
 ittaek the regiments and e.tterminaie 
 them. 
 
 Commissar: G. Mosholov. 
 
 Secretary: Iv. Alexieff. 
 
 Note. — These two documents shoiv that 
 the policy against these patriotic soldiers 
 was one of merciless extermination, 
 financed by German money, handed out 
 by a German officer. Bayermeister is 
 named in Document No. 5. 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 THE COMPLETE SURRENDER 
 The following documents show the com- 
 plete surrender of the Bolshevik leaders 
 to thf^ir Oerman masters: 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. M 
 
 C[reat] General StafT, Central Division, 
 Section M-R, No. 411. 
 
 February 26, 1918. 
 
 (Very Secret) 
 
 To THE Council of Peoii,e's Commis- 
 
 SAB.S : 
 
 According to instructions from the 
 High Commanil of the German Army, 
 I have the honor to remind you that 
 the withdrawing and disarming of tlic 
 Russian Red Guard from Finland 
 must be commenced immediately. It 
 is known to the staflf that the chief 
 opponent of this step is the head of 
 the Finnish Red Guard, Yarvo TIaap- 
 alalnen, who has n great influcnic 
 on the Russian trivnrm-hr fcnniradrsl, 
 I refjuost vnii to nHsrgn for this Htrug- 
 gle with Tfsapniainen our nxent, Wal- 
 ter Nevnlalncn (Ncvalaiscllc), lioarcr 
 
 of Finnish passport 3681, and supply 
 
 him with a passport and passes. 
 Head of the Division: 
 
 O. Rausch. 
 Adjutant : U. Wolff. 
 
 Note. — Written at the top of the let- 
 ter and signed N. G., the initials of 
 Lenin's secretary, Is. Gorbunov, is the or- 
 der : ' ' Send to the Comynissar of Foreign 
 Affairs and execute." In the margin is 
 ■trritten "Passport Sll — No. 393," btit 
 unfortunately the name under which the 
 new passport was given is 7iot mentioned. 
 This order explains the withdrawal of the 
 Uussian Bed Guard from Finland in early 
 March and the abandonment of the Fin- 
 nish Bed Guard to its fate. The latter, 
 however, took care of the disarming both 
 of Btissian soldiers and sailors as thcij 
 left Finland, for the Finns needed guns 
 and ammunition. The Bussians some- 
 times fought but ivere surrounded and 
 disarmed. In Helsingfors while I was 
 there in March the Bed Guard and the 
 sailors were fighting each other nightly 
 with rifles and machine guns. One of two 
 Finnish Bed Guard leaders almost surely 
 is Nevalainen, but under the circum- 
 stances I do not care to speculate. 
 
 The order to hold all foreign embassies 
 in Bed Finland was given coincidently 
 with the appearance of one of them upon 
 the scene. The excuse offered was that 
 foreigners were carrying injormation to 
 the White Guard. Simultaneously influ- 
 ence was exerted in the White Guard to 
 increase difficulties in passage between the 
 lines. It is reasonable to place the ob- 
 stacles to passage created on both sides 
 of the Finnish line to German effort, for 
 German aid was being given the White 
 Guard openly at the moment it was in- 
 triguing in the inner councils of the Bed 
 Guard. The American party cornered in 
 Finland escaped only by persistence and 
 good fortune. The British Embassy party 
 was passed through the day before the 
 closing order came. The French and Ital- 
 ian Embassies were obliged after a month 
 of vain effort to return to Bussia. 
 
 Have original letter and the surrend- 
 ered passport. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 44 
 
 C. C.-S.. Intelligence Buriau, Section R, No. 283. 
 
 February 7, 1918. 
 To THE Commissar of Foreign Af- 
 fairs : 
 
 We are tokl that secret service 
 agents attached to the Army Head- 
 f|uarters [Stavka] are following Maj. 
 Erich, who h.is been ordered to Kiefl'. 
 1 ask yon to take urgent measures to 
 remove the surveillance of the above- 
 named officer. 
 Head of the Bureau: Agasfer. 
 Adjutant: Bi'kiioi.m. 
 
 Note. — Chieherin, assistant foreign 
 minister, initials a marginal cowmen'., 
 "Talk it over." This note marks the pe- 
 riod of acute irritation over the Ukraine 
 between Bolsheviks and Germans. Agos- 
 fcr is Maj. Luberts. 
 Have original teller. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 45 
 
 ':. '; S., Inlelliijenre lliir.iin, Si-.lion R. No. 22B. 
 
 February 4, 1918. 
 
 To THE Commissar or Foreign Af- 
 fairs: 
 By instructions of the reprpsentn- 
 
 tive of our stalT I have the honor to 
 
 ask you immediately to recall from 
 the Ukrainian front the agitators 
 Bryansky, Wolf, Drabkiu, and Pitts- 
 ker. Their activity has been recog- 
 nized as dangerous by the German 
 General Staff. 
 
 Head of the Bureau: 
 
 Adjutant: 
 
 Agasfer. 
 Henbich. 
 
 Note. — An exchange of courtesies of 
 the same period as Document No. 44. 
 Chieherin has notalcd it, "Discuss." 
 
 Have original letter, and also photo se- 
 cured earlier. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 46 
 
 G. G.-S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R, No. 238. 
 
 February 3, 1918. 
 
 To THE Commissar op Foreign Af- 
 fairs : 
 
 According to instructions of the 
 representative of our General Staff, I 
 have the honor once more to insist 
 that you recall from Esthonia, Lithu- 
 ania, and Courland all agitators of 
 the Central Executive Committee of 
 the Council of Workmen's and Sol- 
 diers' Deputies. 
 
 Head of the Bureau : 
 Adjutant: 
 
 Aqasfer. 
 
 BUKHOLM. 
 
 Note. — Another instance of the time 
 when Germany was using an iron hand of 
 discipline, clearing of agitators the Prov- 
 inces it already had announced ffls inten- 
 tion of seizing for its own. The letter 
 was referred by Markin, one oj Trotsky's 
 secretaries, to Volodarsky, xvho scents to 
 have been in chareie of the proletarian 
 agitation in these Provinces. 
 
 Have original oj letter, and also photo 
 secured earlier. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 47 
 
 G. G.-.S., Intelligence Bureau, Section R. No. 317. 
 
 To THE Council of People's Com- 
 missars : 
 
 The Intelligence Bureau has re- 
 ceived preci.so information that the 
 agitators of the Potrograd Council of 
 Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, 
 Volodarski, BrosofT, and Guschin, have 
 completely changed the character of 
 llin Ksthimia socialists' activity, 
 which finally led to the local German 
 landlords being declared outlawed. 
 By order of the General Staff I ask 
 you to take immedinto steps for the 
 restoring of the rights of the above- 
 mentioned German Itindlorda and the 
 recalling of the agitators. 
 
 For the head of the Buronu: 
 
 R. Bauek. 
 Ailjutant: E. Ratitz. 
 
 Note. — 7'/ii.« order for the release of 
 the German landlords was at once obeyed, 
 and the act of stirrender, evidently at 
 the direct order of Lenin, to tohnm this 
 letter is addressed, marked the end of the 
 incipient rebellion of the lintshevik lead- 
 ers against their German masters. 
 
 Have photograph of lelter.
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 25 
 
 VARIED ACTIVITIES 
 
 The following documents show various 
 miscellaneous activities, including meas- 
 ures for the assassination of counter revo- 
 lutionaries : 
 
 IJOCUMENT NO. 48 
 
 Counter Espionage at tlic Army Heudquartera. 
 No. — 
 
 January 22, 1918. 
 
 To THE Council of People's Com- 
 missars: 
 
 By our agents it has been estab- 
 liished that connections between the 
 Poles, the Don, and French officers, 
 and also probably the diplomatic rep- 
 resentatives of the allied powers, are 
 maintained by means of Russian offi- 
 cers traveling under the guise of sack 
 speculators. In view of this we re- 
 quest you to take measures for the 
 strict surveillance of the latter. 
 
 Commissar: Kalmanovich. 
 
 Note. — The indorsement on this is iy 
 GorbunojJ, "Copy to inform Podvoisky 
 and Dzerzhinsky." The jornier was War 
 Minister, the latter chairman oj the Com- 
 mission jar Combating the Counter Revo- 
 lution. Sack speculators were jood ped- 
 dlers who went into the provinces and 
 brought food, to the cities jor profitable 
 sale. Soldiers practically had a monopoly 
 of the trade. 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 49 
 
 G[reat] General Staff, Intelligence Bureau, 
 Section R, No. 151. 
 
 December 4, 1917. 
 
 To THE CoMMISS.Mil.AT OF MILITARY 
 
 Affairs : 
 
 Herewith the Intelligence Bureau 
 has the honor to transmit a list of the 
 persons of Russian origin who are in 
 the service of the German Intelligence 
 Department : 
 
 Sakharoff, officer First Infantry 
 Reser'i-c Regiment ; Ensign Ter-Ary- 
 tiuniantz, Zanko, Yarchuk, Golovin, 
 Zhuk, Ilinsky, Cherniavsky, Capt. 
 Postinkov, Schneier, Sailors Trushin 
 and Gavrilov. All the persons men- 
 tioned are on the permanent staff of 
 the Intelligence Bureau of the German 
 General Staff. 
 
 Head of the Bureau: 
 
 AOASPER. 
 
 Adjutant: Henrich. 
 
 NoTE.^//ai'c photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 50 
 
 G[reat] General Staff, Central Division, 
 Section M, No. 22. 
 
 January 14, 1918. 
 (Very Confidential) 
 To THE Chairman of the People's 
 CorxciL of Commissars: 
 The Russian Division of the German 
 General Staff has received an urgent 
 report from our agents at Novocher- 
 
 kash and Rostoff that the friction 
 which has arisen between Gen. Ale.xieff 
 and Gen. Kaledin, after which the 
 vohmteer corps of Gen. Alexicff be- 
 gan the movement to the north, is a 
 tactical step to have a ba.se in the 
 rear. In this way the army of Gen. 
 Alexieff will have a reliable rear ba.so, 
 protected by Cossack troops, foi- 
 supplying the army, and a base in 
 case of an overwhelming movement on 
 the part of the enemy. The communi- 
 cations of Gen. Alexieff with the 
 Polish troops have been proved by new 
 reports of the Polish Bolshevik com- 
 missars, Zhuk and Dembitski. 
 
 Chief of the Division of General 
 Staff: O. Rausch. 
 
 Chief Adjutant: R. Krieger. 
 
 Note. — Important as showing that the 
 German had a real fear of the military 
 possibilities in the Alexieff -Kaledin move- 
 ment. The suicide of Gen. Kaledin at a 
 moment of depression, following betray- 
 als that undoubtedly were carefully plot- 
 ted, teas tragiealhj a part of the great 
 national tragedy. 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 51 
 
 Counter Espionage at the .\riny Headquarters. 
 No. 263/79. 
 
 January 23, 1918. 
 
 To the C0MMISSABI.4T OF FOREIGN 
 
 Affairs : 
 
 To your inquiry regarding those 
 agents who might be able to give 
 an exact report of the sentiment of 
 the troops and population in the 
 Provinces, I transmit to you a short 
 list of the Eusso-German agents-in- 
 formers: In Voronezh, S. Sirtzoff; 
 in Rostoff, Globoff and Melikoff; in 
 Tifiis, Enskidze and Gavriloff; in 
 Kazan, Pf altz ; in Samara, Oaipoff 
 and Voenig; in Omsk, Blagoveuschen- 
 sky and Sijiko ; in Tomsk, Dattan, 
 Tarasoff, and Rodionoff; in Irkutsk, 
 Zhinzherova and Geze ; in Vladivos- 
 tok, Buttenhoff, Panuoff, and Erlan- 
 ger. 
 
 Chief of Counter Espionage: 
 
 Feier.\bend. 
 Commis.sar : Kalmanovich. 
 
 Note. — Apart from the list of agents 
 tliis letter has ijilerest from the comment: 
 ' ' To the company of Comrade Boneh- 
 Bruevich and Secret Department." The 
 signature is illegible. 
 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 52 
 
 Counter Espionage at the Army Headquarters. 
 No. 395. 
 
 January 21, 1918. 
 
 To THE Commission for Combating 
 the Counter Revolution : 
 The agents of the Counter Espion- 
 age at the Stavka [Army Headquar- 
 ters] have established that the an- 
 archists Stepan Kriloff, Fedor Kut- 
 zi, and Albert Bremsen, at Helsing- 
 fors, and also Nahim Arshavsky, 
 Euphim Levin, and Mikhail Shatiloff 
 
 had during the recent days a con- 
 ference with the chief of staff of the 
 Petrograd army district Shpilko. Af- 
 ter Comrade Shpilko transmitted to 
 the anarchists the offer of Comrade 
 • Antonoff and Comrade Bersin to re- 
 cruit agents for the destruction of sev- 
 eral counter revolutionists, the latter 
 e.'ciircssed their willingness and im- 
 mediately begail the recruiting. To 
 Kieff are assigned the following, who 
 have been hired at Helsingfors: S. 
 Smirnoff and Rigamann ; and to 
 Odessa, Brack and Schulkovicli. 
 
 For the Chief of the Counter Es- 
 jdonage. 
 
 Commissar: C. Moshlov. 
 Note. — -r7ii.s is an as.iassinaiion com- 
 pact between Bolsheviks and anarchists. 
 Antonoff, if one of the chief Bolshevik 
 military leaders, is credited with the tak- 
 ing of Petrograd, and was in charge of 
 the operations against Alexieff and Kale- 
 din. The list of anarchists include sev- 
 eral notorious characters. 
 Have photograph of letter. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 53 
 
 Counter Espionage at the Army Headquarters, 
 No. 471. 
 
 January 27, 1918. 
 
 To the Commission foe Combating 
 
 the Counter Revolution: 
 
 By us here there has been received 
 a report from Finland, from Grishin 
 and Rakhi, of the counter revolu- 
 tionaiy activity of the lawyer, Jonan 
 Kastren. This Kastren, in the years 
 1914-15 recruited on German funds 
 Finnish volunteer regiments and sent 
 them to Germany. For facilitating 
 the work of recruiting he represented 
 himself as a Socialist-Maximalist, and 
 jiromised support to the Workers' Red 
 Guard. In his office in Stockholm 
 many of our comrades found a cordial 
 reception and material support. Kas- 
 tren furnished to Russia German 
 money for the propaganda of Bol- 
 shevism in Russia. He had already 
 established in 191G a division of the 
 German General Staff' in Helsingfors. 
 Now he, together with Svinhuvud, 
 Ernroth, and Nandelschtedt, is on the 
 side of the White Guards and is aid- 
 ing them with money, supplies, and 
 arms. We are informed that Kas- 
 tien works both with German and 
 English money. It is necessary im- 
 mediately to cut short the work of 
 Jonas Kastren and his group. The 
 commander in chief advises to call to 
 Petersburg the Finnish comrades, 
 Rakhi and Pukho, or order Grishin 
 to Helsingfors. 
 
 Commissar; A. SiVKO. 
 
 Secretarj-: Iv. Alexieff. 
 
 Note. — Kastren was still alive when I 
 spent a treek in Helsingfors in ilarch, 
 but he added to his chances of longevity 
 by fleeing in early February to the White 
 Guards headquarters at Tasa. The order 
 for his removal came too late. Again we 
 see Germany playing with both sides in 
 Finland at the same time. 
 
 Have photograph of letter.
 
 26 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 APPENDIXES TO THE REPORT 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 DOCUMENTS CIRCULATED BY ANTI- 
 BOLSHEVIKI IN RUSSIA 
 This appendix is of circulars of which 
 (except in two cases noted) I have neither 
 originals nor authenticated copies. A 
 number of sets of them were put out in 
 Russian text in Petrograd and in other 
 parts of Russia in the winter (1917-18) by 
 the opponents of the Bolsheviki. The cir- 
 culars were declared to be copies of docu- 
 ments taken from the Counter Espionage 
 Bureau of the Kerensky Government, sup- 
 plemented by some earher material from 
 the same bureau when it was under the 
 Imperial Government. The opportunity 
 for securing them could easily have been 
 afforded to the agents and employees of 
 the Bureau, for most of the employees 
 walked out when the Bolsheviki grasped 
 the Government, and could have taken 
 freely of the contents of their departments. 
 Some of the documents were included 
 in the publication made in Paris, hitherto 
 referred to. 
 
 I have not relied on them as proof, 
 but they fit to other fabrics of proof, and 
 in the light of it are more valuable for 
 themselves than they were when they 
 stood alone. 
 
 Two of the documents among those 
 circulars are the circular of industrial 
 mobilization of June 9, 1914, and the 
 "destruction agents" circular of November 
 28, 1914. (See Document 3 of my Report.) 
 This group of circulars came into my hands 
 "Ete"'flfSt week in February, 1^18, in an 
 English version with the unknown transla- 
 tor's notes and a few days later two other 
 sets, one in English and one in Russian, 
 reached me. I prepared a digest of the set 
 and .\mba.ssador Francis cabled the message 
 in code to the State Department Febru- 
 ary 9. It was nearly four weeks later 
 before I secured the matter referred to 
 in my Report a.s "Originals" and all 
 the photographs listed in my Report. Two 
 of these originals were of circulars I had 
 .seen in copy form four weeks earlier. 
 That summarizes the case of the circulars 
 of the appendix considered as evidence. 
 Edgar Sisson. 
 
 Analysis of German conspiracy matter, 
 with notes as prepared by me and 
 cabled State Department in Ambassa- 
 dor Francis's code February 9, 1918, 
 and with some added notes, as indi- 
 cated.* 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 54 
 
 Circular rcbruary IS, lltll. — IVoim 
 the Ministry (of Finance] to all groups 
 of German bunks and, by agree- 
 ment with the AuHtro -Hungarian 
 Government, thf^ Oeaterrcichische-Kre- 
 ditan-stalt:" 
 
 The managementfl of all German 
 ban ks which are tran.sacting business 
 
 • Tho U-xt which i» preflentod in thij* pui))ica- 
 tion Ia in tho mnin that of the translation intr> 
 Cnfrlish, by an unl<nown trannlator, which wim 
 cabled to tho Stato Department. For convenience 
 this is called version A. A second translation 
 into English difTerinK in extent and phraseolotfy 
 from the former is styled version B. The 
 mimeonrnphed set of these circulars in Russian, 
 which Mr. .Sisson secured, is referred to as 
 version C ; it agrees in the main with B bo far 
 as the latter extends. Version B does not in- 
 clude Documents 61 to 68 inclusive. Passaifes 
 printed in italics in the text are in version A 
 but not in B and C ; passages in braclteta are 
 1/1 B and C but are omitted in ventoD A. 
 
 abroad and, by agreement with the 
 Austro-Hungarian Government, the 
 Oesterreichische - Kreditanstalt Bank, 
 are hereby advised that the Imperial 
 Government has deemed it to be of ex- 
 treme necessity to ask the manage- 
 ment of all institutions of credit to 
 establish with all possible dispatch 
 agencies in Luleo, Haparanda, and 
 Varde, on the frontier of Finland, and 
 in Bergen and .\rasterdam. The estab- 
 lishment of such agencies for a more 
 effective observation of the financial 
 interests of German shareholders of 
 Russian, French, and English con- 
 cerns may become a necessity under 
 certain circumstances, which would 
 alter the situation of the industrial 
 and financial market. 
 
 Moreover, the managements of bank- 
 ing institutions are urged emphatically 
 to make provisions for very close and 
 absolutely secret relations being estab- 
 lished with Finnish and American 
 banks. In this direction the ministry 
 begs to recommend the [extremely ac- 
 tive] Swedish Nia Banken in Stock- 
 holm, the bankvig office of Furslenberg, 
 the commercial company, Waldemar 
 Hansen, in Copenhagen, as concerns 
 which are maintaining lively relations 
 with Rassia. — (Signature) No. 373. 
 In charge of Division for Foreign Opera- 
 tions. 
 
 Note. — This is the outline of the basic 
 financial structure begun in February, 191.',, 
 five months before war ivas launched, and 
 still in operation. Notice the reappearance 
 in subsequent Lenin messages of towns Luleo 
 and Varde. Likewise the reference to Ameri- 
 can bonis. Olaf Ashberg, one of the heads of 
 the Nia-Banken, came to Petrograd a month 
 ago (January, 1918) and on the icay boasted 
 that Nia-Banken was the Bolshevik bank. 
 He was overheard by one of our own group. 
 He secured from Smolny permit for export 
 several hundred thousand gallons of oil, 
 opened at Hotel d'Europe headquarters where 
 both Mirbach and Kaiserling of German 
 commissions have been entertained, negotiated 
 urith State bank February 1 contract for buyinij 
 cash roubles ayid establishing foreign credit for 
 Russian Government. Furslenberg is now at 
 Sinolny using the name Ganetzky, is one of tlie 
 inner group, and is likely soon to be placed 
 in charge of Slate bank. Ashberg now in 
 Stockholm, but reluming. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 55 
 
 Circular, November 2, 1914. — From 
 the General Staff to all militaiy attaches 
 [agents] in the countries adjacent to 
 Rus.sia, France, Italy, and Nonvay. 
 
 In all branches of (iernian banks iii 
 Sweden, Norwny, Switzerland, [China,] 
 and the United Stales special wiir 
 credits have been opened for subsid- 
 iary war refjuircmeiitH. The Ciencral 
 Staff is authorizing you to avail j'our- 
 self in unlimited mimhumIs of these 
 credits for tho destruction of the; 
 enemy's factories, plants, and the most 
 important military and civil structures. 
 Simultaneously with the instigation of 
 strikes it is necessary to make provision 
 for the damaging of motors, of mechan- 
 isms, with the destruction of veasels 
 [carrying] military supplies to enemy 
 countrieBJ setting incendiary fires to 
 Blocks 01 raw materials and finished 
 
 products, deprivation of large towns 
 of their electric energy, stocks of fuel 
 and pi-ovisions. Special agents, detailed 
 to be at your disposal, will dehver to 
 you explosive and incendiary devices, 
 and a list of such persons in the coun- 
 try under your observation who will 
 assume the duty of agents of destruc- 
 tion.— (Signed) Dr. [E.] Fischer, Gen- 
 eral Army Councilor. 
 Note (Oct. 10, 1918).— 0/ the typewritten 
 versions of tliis letter in my possession, one is 
 dated June 9, 191 i, and tivo are dated Nov. 2, 
 1911,. TIte latter is the more likely date, and 
 the chances are that June 9 is a typographical 
 error. No evidence value has been placed on 
 this circular, as the introduction to this chapter 
 carefully points old. 
 
 The case of the next circular, however. No. 
 56, of the date June 9, is different. Here the 
 date is right, and has the corroborative sup- 
 port of Document No. S. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 56 
 
 Circular, June 9, 1914.— General Staff 
 to all [district] intendencies: 
 
 Within 24 hours after receipt of this 
 circular you are to inform all industrial 
 concerns by telegi-aph that the docu- 
 ments with industrial mobilization 
 plans and with registration forms be 
 opened, such as are referred to in the 
 circular of the Conariission of Count 
 A\'aldersee and Count Caprivi, of Jime 
 27, 1887.— No. 421 re Mobilization. 
 [Versions B and C read: Within 24 
 hours of receipt of this circular notify by 
 telegraph all owners of industrial enter- 
 prises to open packets with industrial 
 mobilization statistics (or specifications) 
 and plans, as stated in tho circular, etc. 
 Both versions B and C add the note: 
 This circular was seized in the correspond- 
 ence of Major Epeling with Consul Count 
 Lerchenfeldt.] 
 
 Note. — This is the content of circular of 
 irhich I have original German printed circular 
 in the form, in which it is reproduced in my 
 report in connection with Document N^o, 3. 
 E.S.,JulyG, 1918. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 57 
 
 Circular, November 2, 1914. — From 
 the Imperial Hank to tlie representa- 
 tives of tho Nia-Banken and the agents 
 of the Diskonto Gcscllschaft and of the 
 Deutsche-Bank: 
 
 At the present time there have been 
 concluded conver.salions between tho 
 authorized agents of the Imperinl Bank 
 and the Russian revolutionaries, 
 Messrs. Zinovioff [here anil below ver- 
 sion A has ZenzinofT] and Lunncharsky. 
 Both the mentioned jjorsons addressed 
 themselves to several financial men, 
 who for their part aildresscd them- 
 selves to our representatives. \\c are 
 ready to sujjport the agitation and 
 propaganda projected by them in 
 l{us.sia on the [one] absolute condition 
 t hat the agitation and projjaganda noted 
 [planned] by the above-mentioned 
 Messrs. Zinovioff and Lunacharsky will 
 touch the active armies at the front. In 
 case the agents of the Imperial Bank 
 should address themselves to your 
 banks we beg you to open them the
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 27 
 
 necessary credit which will be covered 
 completely as soon as you make de- 
 mand oil Berlin.— (Signed) Kisser. 
 
 [Addition as part, of document]: 
 Zinovieff and Lunafharsky got in toucli 
 with Imperial Banlc of Germany 
 through the banlcers, D. Rubenstein, 
 Max Warburg, and Parvus. Zinovieff 
 addressed himself to Rubenstein and 
 Lunacharsky through Altvater to War- 
 burg, through whom he found support 
 in Parvus. 
 
 NoTK. — Lunacharsky is the present 
 People's Commissioner of Education. Par- 
 vus and Warburg both figure in tlie Lenin and 
 Trotsky documents. Parvus is an agent at 
 Copenhagen (see "New Europe," January SI , 
 1918, pp. 94-95). Warbitrg is believed to 
 have been lately in Petrograd. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 58 
 
 Circular, November 28, 1014. — 
 From Naval General Staff to the naval 
 attache [Version C reads agents]: 
 
 You are ordered to mobilize immedi- 
 ately all destruction agents and ob- 
 servers [agents-observers and agents- 
 destroyers] in those commercial and 
 military ports where munitions are 
 being loaded [may be loaded] on ships 
 going to England, France, Canada, the 
 United States of North America, and 
 Russia, where there are storehouses of 
 such mmiitions and where [naval] fight- 
 ing units are stationed. It is necessary 
 to hu-e through third parties who stand 
 in no relationship to the official repre- 
 sentatives of Germany, agents for ar- 
 ranging explosives [explosions] on ships 
 bound for enemy countries, and for ar- 
 ranging delays, embroilments, and con- 
 fusions during the loading, dispatching, 
 and unloading of ships. For thi;3 purpose 
 we are specially recommending for your 
 attention loaders' gangs, amongst 
 whom there are many anarchists and 
 escaped criminals [and that you get in 
 touch with*] Gernian and neutral (ship- 
 ping) offices, and [as a means of observ- 
 ing*] agents of enemy countries who are 
 receiving and shipping the munitions. 
 Funds required for the hii-ing and brib- 
 ing of persons necessary for the desig- 
 nated purpose will be placed at your 
 disposal at yom- request.— (Signed) 
 No. 93. Secret Service Division of the 
 Naval Staff. Koenig. 
 
 [Original translator's comment {as 
 part of document):] The above docu- 
 ment was among the documents seized 
 during the investigation of the fire of 
 the storehouses of the firm of Ivcrsen, 
 and among the documents of Consul 
 Gering and Vice Consul Ceroid. 
 
 * In the German circular (see Document No. 
 3) but omitted in versions A, B, and C. 
 
 Note. — This is an English translation, by 
 an unknown translator, of circular of xMch I 
 have German printed circular in form in 
 which it is reproduced in connection u'ith 
 Document No. 3. See my Report, Docu- 
 ment No. 3.—E. S., July 6, 1918. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 59 
 
 Circular, January 15, 1915, from 
 the General Staff to the military 
 attaches (agents] in the United States: 
 
 Inclosed you wiU find [original 
 translator's vote: or, we are sending 
 you] the circular of November 2, 1914, 
 for your guidance and its application 
 in the territory of the United States. 
 In tliis connection your attention is 
 
 called to the possibility of hiring 
 destruction agents among members of 
 anarchist (labor) organizations.— (Sign- 
 ed) General Army Councilor, Dr. [K.j 
 Fischer. 
 
 [Original translator's comment (as 
 part of document):] This circular is re- 
 cited in the letter of Dr. Klassen to the 
 board of the Pan-German League in 
 Stockholm, which was intercepted in 
 Stockholm. 
 
 Notes (By Edgar Sisson, July 0, 1918).— 
 The date of November 2 appears in typed 
 version as I have seen it, but probably this is 
 error, as instruction is a direct sequel to 
 document of November 28 {No. 3) . (Later.) — 
 Nov. a is right. Nov. 28 was to naval 
 agents. This is to military agents. — E. S. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 60 
 
 Circular, February 2:3, 1915.— Press 
 Division of the Ministry of Foreign 
 Afi'airs to all ambassadors, ministers, 
 and consular officials in neutral coun- 
 tries: 
 
 You are hereby advised that in the 
 country to which you are accredited 
 special offices are established for the 
 organization of propaganda in the 
 countries of the coahtion of powers 
 which is in a state of belligerency 
 with Germany. [Versions B and C 
 read: in countries at war with German 
 coalition). The propaganda will be 
 connected with the stirring up of 
 social mirest and strikes resulting from 
 it; of revolutionary outbreaks; of 
 separatism among the component parts 
 of the state; of civil war; and will also 
 comprise agitation against [in favor of) 
 disarmament and the discontinuation of 
 the war butchery. You are requested to 
 cooperate and to favor in every way the 
 managers of said offices. These per- 
 sons will present to you proper certifi- 
 cates [credentials). 
 
 (Signed) Barthelm. 
 [Original translator's comment (as 
 part of document):] According to reliable 
 information to this category of persons 
 belonged: Prince Hohenlohe, B^ornson, 
 EpeUug [Eveling], Karsberg (Ker- 
 berg), Sukennikoff, Pai'vus, Fursten- 
 bcrg (Ganetsky), Ripke, and probably 
 Kelysiiko (Kolishlco) . 
 Note. — Here is the exact Gcrinan formula 
 for the incitement of war "fro?n the^^rear" — 
 strikes, ejforts at revolution, tlie use of 
 humanitarian appeals to weaken the arm of 
 its foes. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 61 
 
 Circular, October 14, 1916.— From 
 president of KirdorlT's Rhenish- 
 Westphalian Industrial Syndicate to 
 the central office of Nia-Banken in 
 Stockholm, to Sevnsen-Baltzer, rep- 
 resentative of the Diskonto-Gesell- 
 schaft in Stockholm, and to Mr. 
 Kirch [Kriek], representative of 
 Deutsche Bank in Switzerland: 
 
 The Rhenish- Westphalian Indus- 
 trial Coal Syndicate charges you with 
 the management of the account of 
 which you have been apprised for the 
 support of Russian emigrants desir- 
 ous of conducting propaganda amongst 
 Russian prisoners of war and the 
 Russian army. — (Signed) Kirdorff. 
 Note. — This docimicni already figures in 
 the archives of several Governments, hanng 
 been intercepted in the correspondence of 
 Prince von Buelow. It has new and direct 
 
 pertinency on tlie Lenin-Trotsky data which 
 follows herewith. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 62 
 
 Copenhagen, June 18, 1917. 
 Mr. RuFFNER [Rdffer], HeLsingfors. 
 Dear Sir: Please bo advised that 
 from the Disconto-Ge.selLschaft ac- 
 count 315,000 marks have been tran-s- 
 fcrred to Mr. Lenin's account in Kron- 
 stadt, a-s per order of the Syndicate. 
 Kindly acknowledge receipt: Nilande- 
 way 08, Copenhagen, W. Haasen & 
 Co. — Svensen. 
 
 Note. — Kronstadt, tlie navy base, was the 
 nerve center from which Lenin's activities 
 radiated during the sumirwr, both before and 
 after he fled Petrograd. He vxis Twt always 
 there hut it was the Bolshevik domain. The 
 sailors wei-e ami .still are his first dependence . 
 Hansen & Co. are named in Document No. C/,. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 63 
 
 Geneva, June 16, 1917. 
 Mr. Ftrstenberg, Stockholm: 
 Please note that at the request of Mr. 
 Katz, francs 32,000 (82.000J have been 
 paid for the publication of Maximalist- 
 Sociahst pamphlets. Advise by tele- 
 gram addressed to Decker of the 
 receipt of the consignment of pam- 
 phlets, number of bill of lading, and 
 date of arrival. — (Signed) Kriek, 
 Deutsche Bank. 
 
 Note. — Fursienberg is named in Docw- 
 ment No. 64 and is Ganetsky in Petrograd. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 64 
 
 Stockholm, September 21, 1917. 
 Mr. Raphael Scholan [Sch.^ujiakn], 
 
 Haparanda. 
 
 Dear Comrade: The office of the 
 banking house M . Warburg has opened 
 in accordance with telegram from presi- 
 dent of Rhenish-Westphalian Syndi- 
 cate an account for the undertaking of 
 Comrade Trotsky. The attorney 
 [agent} purchased arms and has organ- 
 ized their transportation and dehvcry 
 u]) to Luleo and Varde. Name to the 
 office of Essen & Son in Luleo, receivers, 
 and a person authorized to receive the 
 money demanded by Comrade Trot- 
 sky. — J. F\JRSTENT3ERG. 
 
 Note. — This is the first reference to 
 Trotsky, and connects him with Banker War- 
 burg and Furstenberg. Lideo and Varda are 
 Swedish towns, the former near to Hapar- 
 anda, which is on the border of Sweden and 
 Finland. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 65 
 
 Stockholm, September 12, 1917. 
 
 Mr. Farsen, Kronstadt (via Hel- 
 singfors): Carried out. your commis- 
 sions; passports and the indicated sum 
 of 207,000 marks as per order of your 
 !Mr. Lenin have been handed to per- 
 sons mentioned in your letter. The 
 selection found the approval of his 
 excellency, the ambassador. Confirm 
 the arrival of said persons and the re- 
 ceipt of their counter '■eceipts — Sven- 
 
 SON. 
 
 Note. — See Document No. 61 . Lenin had 
 received more than half a million marks at 
 this date. (See also Document No. 68).
 
 28 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 66 
 
 LuLEO, October 2, 1917 
 
 Mr.ANTONOv,Haparanda: Comrade 
 Trotsky's request has been carried out. 
 From the account of the Syndicate and 
 the ministry [Original translator's note: 
 probably Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
 in BerUn, press di%'ision] 400,000 
 kroners Lave been taken and remitted 
 to Comrade Sonia, who will call on 
 you \\-ith this letter, and will hand you 
 the said sum of money. — J. Fursten- 
 
 BERG. 
 
 Note. — Antonov is the chief military 
 leader of the Bolshei'iki. He was in com- 
 mand of the forces that took Petrograd. He 
 now is in the field against Kaledin and 
 Alexieff. At the date of this letter Trotsky 
 already was at the head of the Petrograd 
 Soviet and the Bolsheviki revolutibn was only 
 a month away. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 67 
 
 Berlin [Copenhagen], August 25, 1917 . 
 
 Mr. Olberg: Your desii-e considered 
 together with the intentions of the 
 Party. [Version C reads: Your wish, 
 based on your correspondence with 
 M. Gorky, falls in entirely with the 
 f^ifns of the P^-ftv /* By agreement 
 with the persons known to you 
 1.50,000 kroners are transferred to be 
 at your disposal at Furstenberg's 
 office, through Nia-Banken. Kindly 
 advise Vorivarts about everj-thing that 
 is being written by the newspaper 
 (of M. Gorky] about present events. — 
 Scheidemann. 
 
 Note. — This letter from Scheidemann, the 
 German Socialist leader, links him with 
 Furstenberg-Ganetsky, with the Nia-Banken, 
 and with the subsidy of the Russian revolu- 
 tion. "Voru-drts" refers to Scheidemann' s 
 organ at Berlin.. Scheidemann' s roles both 
 as German peace propagandist and as Ger- 
 man strike quelltr are illumined by this 
 letter. 
 
 Note (Sept. 12, 191SJ. — Gorky did support 
 the BoUheviks before they came into power, 
 but almost immediately afterward turned 
 against them. — E. S. 
 
 DOCUMENT NO. 68 
 
 Berlin, July 14, 1917. 
 Mr. Mir [Mor], Stockholm: We 
 are transferring to vour name through 
 Mr. I. Ruehvergen 180,000 marks 
 [. Of this sum Engineer Steinberg 
 will transmit 140,000 marks to Lrtiin] 
 for the expense of your [his] journey 
 to Finland. The balance will be at 
 your disposal for agitation against 
 England and France. The letters of 
 Malianik and Stocklov, which were 
 sent [by you] were received and will 
 be considered. — Parvus. 
 Note. — Lenin was in hiding in July. Re- 
 port placed him, among other places, in 
 Stockholm. Notice that the agitation is to be 
 against England and France. It took the 
 form from the opening days of the Bolshevik 
 revolution of attacks upon them as "imperial- 
 istic nations." Parvus is the Copenhagen 
 agent already referred to. — E. S., July 6, 
 1918. 
 
 APPENDIX 11 
 
 ILLUSTRATING THE "OFFENSE TACTICS" 
 OP THE BOLSHEVIK LEADERS AGAINST 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 — A CONVERSATION BY TELEGRAPH BE- 
 TWEEN CHICHERIN .\T PETROGRAD (WHO 
 IS SPEAKING) AND TROTSKY AT BBEST- 
 LITOVSK, IN FIRST WEEK IN FEBRUARY, 
 1918, A FEW DAYS BEFORE TROTSKY 
 MADE HIS "no PEACE NO WAr" GES- 
 ture, with its practical .aspect of 
 demobilizing the army and opening 
 Russia's unarmed breast to Ger- 
 many. 
 
 With reference to the allies the sit- 
 uation is evidently favorable. Sepa- 
 rate peace will not cause a rupture. 
 England has reconciled herself to this 
 in advance. The recognition of us is a 
 matter of the near future. England 
 and America are playing up to us sepa- 
 rately. A few days ago there appeared 
 a so-called head of a commercial mis- 
 sion, Lockhart, with a letter from Lit- 
 vinoff stating that the bearer is an 
 honest man who indeed fully sympa- 
 thizes with us. Indeed, he is a subtle, 
 alert Englishman; expresses very Mb- 
 eral views; runs down his Government. 
 He is a type of the diplomat of the new 
 school. At present he is not an official 
 representative, but dc facto he is an 
 envoy, having been sent by the war 
 cabinet. After our recognition he will 
 obtain an official position with us. He 
 promises all kinds of favors from Eng- 
 land. 
 
 He explained that if we should not 
 spoil the situation our recognition is a 
 question of the near future, but some- 
 thing would have to be ceded on our 
 part. He said that no government 
 could tolerate intervention in its inter- 
 nal affairs. If we are going to raise the 
 British people, if our agents in England 
 will attempt to cause strikes, England 
 will not tolerate this. It proved later 
 that this had reference to Petroff's 
 mission. Concerning the latter spe- 
 cially Lockhart said that his appoint- 
 ment would be difficult for England to 
 swallow, and should he be arrested in 
 England or not be allowed to land we 
 would probably reply by reprisals, and 
 thus the whole business would be 
 spoiled. He begged that we postpone 
 this matter for 10 or 12 days. 
 
 Simultaneously Ransome tried to 
 persuade Petroif not to go to England. 
 His journey in case of a conflict would 
 put the question of a revolution in 
 England on edge, which would be ex- 
 ceedingly risky. We discussed this 
 question and decided that our strength 
 was in attack, and that whatever 
 would happen it would be the worse for 
 Lloyd George & Co., and the revolu- 
 tion would be the gainer. We sent 
 Petroff's passport to be viseed. Lock- 
 hart came running to us. I arranged 
 for an interview with Petroff. Lock- 
 hart stated that the question had been 
 referred for decision to London. We 
 said that Russia represented a p.art of 
 the world's revolutionary movement 
 and that in this was its strength. We 
 and our comrades in England would 
 proclaim that this is not a concrete 
 organization of strikes. We explained 
 the aini of Petroff's mission — i.e., the 
 clearing up of misunderstandings be- 
 tween two nations. He will appeal to 
 all organs of the British nation. This 
 has also been sent by radio. 
 
 Lockhart stated that he was very 
 well impressed and promised to tele- 
 graph advising that the vise should be 
 granted. We await fmther tlcvelop- 
 ments. He stated that according to 
 English information the German troops 
 on the eastern front were so badly in- 
 fected by our propaganda that no 
 second course of barrack regime could 
 cure them. He said that our method 
 of fighting militarism was the most 
 effective. We listened to this and 
 laughed up oui- sleeves. 
 
 Note. — There in the last sentence we 
 liave it. The Bolshevik plot in Russia 
 could be placarded a cynical jarce, ij it 
 were not a world tragedy. Thin appendix 
 is jroni an intercepted di.'<patclt which 
 came into the possession oj Mr. Sisson.
 
 PART II 
 
 I. LETTER OF MR. CREEL TO NA- 
 TIONAL BOARD FOR HISTORI- 
 CAL SERVICE 
 
 Committee on Public Information, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 October 18, 1918. 
 
 Professor Joseph Schaefer, Vice— Chair- 
 man National Board for Historical 
 Service, 1133 Woodward Building, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir:— Professor Ford tells me that 
 the Directors of the National Board for 
 Historical Service are meeting this after- 
 noon at four o'clock, and I have asked him 
 to take up with you the matter of consider- 
 ing the documents recently released for 
 publication by the Committee on Public 
 Information for the purpose of showing the 
 intimate and continued connection of 
 Lenin and Trotsky and their immediate 
 associates with the German Government. 
 
 When only the opening installments of 
 the series of seven had been published, the 
 question of authenticity was raised by the 
 New York Evening Post. The rest of the 
 press of America, virtually without excep- 
 tion, accepted the fact of publication as^ 
 evidence of the genuineness of the docu- 
 ments; and even the continued attempts of 
 the New York Evening Post to rally the 
 forces of doubt failed absolutely, only two 
 men with any pretension of historical knowl- 
 edge joining in any degree with the Post. 
 
 As a matter of course, the Conunittee on 
 Public Information was committed from the 
 first to a policy of absolute openness with 
 regard to these documents. While never 
 submitted to any unofficial body for pur- 
 poses of investigation, it is nevertheless the 
 fact that they have been gone over time and 
 again by various agencies of the Govern- 
 ment, and were not released for publication 
 by this Committee until express sanction 
 had been received from the highest author- 
 ities of the Government. 
 
 It was our idea from the first, and it is 
 our idea now, to make pamphlet presenta- 
 tion of the documents, together with fac- 
 simile reproductions of all the more im- 
 portant originals. This task, attended by 
 many mechanical difficulties, has just been 
 completed. 
 
 The situation that now faces us is this: 
 The documents were given to the press with 
 the good faith of the G9vernment behind 
 them, and our promise is out to present 
 them in pamphlet form with tlie photo- 
 graphic reproductions of originals. We can- 
 not, in any manner, afford to appear dila- 
 tory or evasive, nor do we desire to publish 
 the pamphlet without taking cognizance of 
 the charges that have been made. 
 
 What I would like to do is to present the 
 documents to a Committee, to be ap- 
 pointed by you, together with the charges 
 that have been made, and to have these 
 charges considered carefully with a view to 
 determining their truth or falsity. If you 
 will undertake this task, I would not desire 
 to place any time limit upon you in any 
 degree, but it is still the case that time is 
 the very essence of the matter, for publica- 
 tion has been promised, and is waited for 
 daily. May I suggest, therefore, that you 
 appoint an authoritative committee, small 
 in numbers, and that this committee assem- 
 ble at once here in Washington where the 
 necessary material is available for their in- 
 formation? 
 Believe me, 
 
 Verj' truly, 
 
 George Creel, 
 
 Chairman . 
 
 The committee as appointed by the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee oj the National Board 
 jor Historical Service, in response to the 
 above request, consisted oj Dr. J. Franklin 
 Jameson, editor oj the "Amcricaii His- 
 torical Review" and Director of the D<part- 
 meiil of Historical Research of the Carnegie 
 Institution of Washington; awl Dr. Siimwi 
 N . Harper, Professor of Russian Langwige 
 and Institutions in the University oj 
 Chicago. 
 
 II. REPORT OF THE SPECIAL 
 
 COMMITTEE ON THE GENUINENESS 
 
 OF THE DOCUMENTS 
 
 National Board for Historical Servke. 
 Washington, D. C: 
 
 October 26, 1918. 
 George Creel, Esq., Chairman of the 
 Committee on Public Information, Wash- 
 ington, D. C: 
 
 Dear Sir:— By your letter of October 18, 
 addressed to the vice-chairman of the Na- 
 tional Board for Historical Service, you have 
 asked that body to appoint a committee to 
 examine, in respect to their genuineness, 
 the series of documents purporting to show 
 the relations between the Russian Bol- 
 shevist leaders and the German Govern- 
 ment, which were released for publication 
 in the September newspapers by tlie Com- 
 mittee on Public Information. You have 
 asked that such committee should take into 
 careful consideration the arguments against 
 the genuineness of those documents put 
 forward in the columns of the New York 
 Evening Post, with a view to deteiininc the 
 vaUdity or invalidity of those arguments. 
 The undersigned were on October 19 ap- 
 pointed by the Board named to serve as a 
 committee, and were requested by you to 
 report our findings with the utmost frank- 
 ness, regardless of any posit.ions already 
 publicly taken by you or by the Govern- 
 ment. In pursuance of the.'=e instructions 
 we beg leave to submit the following report. 
 
 As a basis for our work you have laid 
 before us proof-sheets of a pami)hlet edition 
 of these documents, entitled The German- 
 Bolshevik Conspiracy, and containing fac- 
 similes of some sixteen of the documents in 
 question, translations of documents num- 
 bered from 1 to 68, and of a few other docu- 
 ments subjoined to them, and comments 
 and notes by Mr. Edgar Sisson, who pro- 
 cured the documents and editecl them for 
 the first or newspaper pubhcation. The 
 translations thus laid before us are those 
 which appeared in the newspapers, and the 
 documents bear the same numbers, by 
 which, accordingly, we shall refer to them 
 in this report. Mr. Sisson's comments in- 
 clude some additional notes, of October 
 date, correcting and enlarging his previous 
 comments in the light of information sub- 
 sequently received. 
 
 Concerning the translations, though in 
 strictness our function is limited to exami- 
 nation of originals, we will take the liberty 
 to say that the versions put forth for pub- 
 lication in the newspapers are marked by 
 grave imperfections. These imperfections 
 we understand to have arisen naturally from 
 the fact that Mr. Sisson, under the circum- 
 stances in which he worked in Petrograd and 
 at other successive places, was obliged to 
 have his translations made by several dif- 
 ferent hands. Wliether the resulting un- 
 evenness and other imperfections should be 
 removed before publication of the transla- 
 tions in a more permanent form, is a matter 
 which we, of course, leave to your discre- 
 tion; but we are obliged to allude to them 
 because they have laid the documents open 
 
 29 
 
 at certain points, some of which will be 
 mentioned later, to suspicions which the 
 originals of those passages nowise warrant. 
 
 Upon Mr. Sisson's inferences from his 
 documents we do not understand that we 
 are expected to comment , nor do we desire 
 to express, or to be influenced by, any 
 opinion respecting the conduct of Bolshe- 
 vist leaders or German officials; our pres- 
 ent duty, as we conceive it, is confined 
 merely to examination into the genuine- 
 ness of a specific series of documents. 
 
 You have also laid before us the original 
 documents in sixteen eases, and in the other 
 cases the photographs, on which all the 
 translations from No. 1 to No. .53 were 
 based, and also the mimeographed texts in 
 Russian from which were made tiie tran.s- 
 lations from No. .54 to No. 08. Mr. Sisson 
 has detailed to us, with all apparent candor, 
 the history of his reception of the docu- 
 ments, and has permitted us to question 
 him at great length as to these transactions 
 and as to various points relative to the 
 papers. Several officials of the Government 
 in Washington have obliged us by contribut- 
 ing other pertinent and valuable information. 
 
 In presenting the results of our investi- 
 gations, we find it desirable to distinguish 
 the documents into three groups: first, and 
 much the largest, (I) those presented to us 
 in Russian originals or photographs — four- 
 fifths of the whole set; (II) the two docu- 
 ments presented to us in circulars printed in 
 German; (III) those documents for which 
 no originals or photographs are presented, 
 but the translations of which rest solelj' on 
 mimeographed texts in Ru.ssian, purporting 
 to represent originals in or from Russian 
 archives. 
 
 In other words, our first group (I) con- 
 sists of the documents bearing the numbers 
 1 to 53, inclusive. Our second ^oup (II) 
 consists of the two documents which appear 
 translated in the newspaper publication as 
 annexes to document No. 3. They also 
 appear, with facsimiles, after No. 3 in the 
 proposed pamphlet; and they are identical 
 with Nos. 56 and 58 in the appendix. Our 
 third group (III) embraces all the docu- 
 ments of Appendix I (Nos. 54 to 68, inclu- 
 sive) except; Nos. 56 and 58. We comment 
 upon these groups separately. 
 
 I. The originals and photographs com- 
 posing what we have called the first group 
 are all in the Russian language. They are 
 tj^pewTitten (save one which is printed) on 
 letter-heads of the Petrograd bm'eau of the 
 German General Staff, of the Counter- 
 Espionage at the Stavka (army headquar- 
 ters), or of other offices in Russia, German 
 or Russian. They are dated according to 
 the Russian calendar ("Old Style"), up to 
 Februar}-, 1918, when the Bolshevist Gov- 
 ernment made the change to "New Style." 
 We have subjected them with great care to 
 all the applicable tests to which historical 
 students are accustomed to subject docu- 
 ments of the kind, and to as many others 
 as we could devise and use, consistently 
 with the need of making a reasonably early 
 report. Besides studying whatever inter- 
 nal evidences could be derived from the 
 papers themselves, we have, so far as we 
 could, compared their versions of what 
 went on with the actual facts. Upon the 
 basis of these investigations, we have no 
 hesitation in declaring that we see no rea- 
 son to doubt the genuineness or authen- 
 ticity of these fifty-three documents. 
 
 II. The two documents of our second 
 group seem to us to call for a special, a less 
 confident , and a less simple verdict . Printed 
 in German, they purport to be official Ger- 
 man orders of the year 1914, — the one ad- 
 dressed on June 9 of that year, seven weeks 
 before the outbreak of the war, by the
 
 30 
 
 The GERMAN-BOLSHEVIK CONSPIRACY 
 
 General Staff ot the German Army to dis- 
 trict commandants, enjoining them to cause 
 German industrial establishments to open 
 their instructions respecting industrial mob- 
 ilization; the other, dated November 28, 
 1914, addressed bv the General Staff of the 
 High Sea Fleet to maritime agencies and 
 naval societies, and caUin§ on them to 
 mobilize destructive agents in foreign har- 
 bors, with a ^^ew to thwarting shipments of 
 munitions to "England, France, Canada, 
 the United States, and Russia." The prob- 
 lem of their genuineness must be considered 
 in connection with Documents Kos. 56 and 
 58 in the Appendix, which are nearly iden- 
 tical with them, differing in sense only as 
 Russian translations might easily differ from 
 German originals. 
 
 The errors of tvpography, of spellmg, and 
 even of grammar, in these German circu- 
 lare, make it impossible to accept them as 
 original prints of the General Staffs named. 
 Certain peculiarities of expression tend in 
 the same direction. In the naval circular 
 the explanation, in parenthesis, of the Ger- 
 man word Vereinigungen by the Russicism 
 Arlelen (Russian word with German plural 
 ending) makes it impossible to think of the 
 document as one printed by the German 
 Naval Staff for use indifferently in all the 
 various countries in which there were Ger- 
 man maritime agencies and naval societies. 
 Furthermore, the reference to the United 
 States is puzzling. On the other hand, 
 Document No. 3, a protocol which presents 
 e.xceptional evidences of genumeness, re- 
 cords the transfer from Russian archives, 
 into the hands of German military officials 
 in Petrogi-ad, of two documents which it 
 not only designates by date and number but 
 describes; and date, number, and descrip- 
 tida-eefresposd-^ tfeoseel-the^t^o paiJers 
 in question. There is other evidence in 
 Washington of the existence of two such 
 circulars, said to be of the dates named, in 
 Fctrograd archives in 1915. Attention 
 should also be called to the manuscript an- 
 notations on the circulars, plainly visible in 
 the facsimiles. On both appears, in blue 
 pencil, a note which, properly translated, 
 reads: "One copy given to the Naclinchten- 
 Bureau.—.\i- chive." That is to say, one 
 printed copy has been handed over, in ac- 
 cordance with the formal record made in 
 Document No. 3, to the Military Intelli- 
 gence Bureau of the German General Staff 
 (a bureau which then or soon after was 
 housed under the same roof with the Bol- 
 shevist Government , in the Smolny Insti- 
 tute), while this present printed copy is to 
 be put in the Russian archives. The circu- 
 lar dated June 9 bears also the annotation 
 in red ink, "To the protocol [of] Nov. 2, 
 1917," confirming the connection asserted. 
 We do not think these two printed circu- 
 lars to be simpl" forgeries. We do not 
 think them to b(" in their present shape, 
 documents on wl )se entire text historians 
 or publicists can safely rely as genuine. 
 If we were to hazard a conjecture, it would 
 be that they are derived, perhaps at one or 
 two removes, from actual documents, which 
 may have been copied in manuscript and 
 at a later time reproduced in print. In any 
 case, they have no relation to the Bolshevist 
 officials, except indirectly through their 
 
 connection with Document No. 3, which, 
 with or without them, shows the Petrograd 
 office of the German General Staff desirous 
 of withdrawing certain papers from the 
 Russian archives, and the Bolshevist Gov- 
 ernment complying with its desires. 
 
 III. For the documents of our third 
 group, apart from Nos. 56 and 58, we have 
 only the Russian mimeographed texts. The 
 originals of nearly all of them would have 
 been written in German. We have seen 
 neither originals nor photogi-aphs, nor has 
 Mr. Sisson, who rightly relegates these doc- 
 uments to an appendix, and expresses less 
 confidence in their evidential value than in 
 that of his main series, Nos. 1 to 53. With 
 such insufficient means of testing their gen- 
 uineness as can be afforded by Russian 
 translations, we can make no confident 
 declaration. Thrown back on internal evi- 
 dence alone, we can only say that we see 
 in these texts nothing that positively ex- 
 cludes the notion of their being genuine, 
 little in any of them that makes it doubtful, 
 though guarantees of their having been ac- 
 curately copied, and accurately translated 
 into Russian, are obviously lacking. 
 
 We should say the same (except that its 
 original is not German) of the telegraphic 
 conversation between Chicherin and Trot- 
 -sky, which Mr. Sisson prints as Appendix 
 II. The letter of Joffe, on the other hand, 
 dated December 31, 1917, which he prints 
 just after his No. 37,* stands on as strong 
 a basis as documents Nos. 1 to 53, for Mr. 
 Sisson had at one time a photograph of it. 
 derived in the same manner as his other 
 photographs. 
 
 As to the Reichsbank order of March 2, 
 1917, printed by him as an annex to Docu- 
 ment No. 1, the text there presented docs 
 nnt. _purport. to represent. n\ore tha"_'t,R iji'n- 
 eral substance. The reader is not asked to 
 rfly on its accuracy and completeness, and 
 we should not wish to do so. 
 
 It remains to consider the specific criti- 
 cisms, as to genuineness of the documents, 
 advanced by the New York Evening Post. 
 and its correspondents. Most of them fall 
 away when it is known that the main series 
 ot documents, Nos. 1 to 53, are written in 
 Russian and dated in accordance with the 
 calendar currently used in Petrograd, and 
 when it is considered that, as is well known, 
 the Bolshevist coup d'etat was expected in 
 that city for some time before it took 
 place. 
 
 Thus, the Evening Post (of September 16, 
 17, IS, 21, 1918) repeatedly scouts docu- 
 ment No. 5, dated in the newspaper pub- 
 li<'ation "October, 1917," and document No. 
 21, dated November 1, 1917,— letters ad- 
 dressed by the Petrograd bureau of the Ger- 
 man General Staff to the Bolshevist Govern- 
 ment — on the ground that on those dates, 
 in the Beriin calendar, there was no Bol- 
 shevist Government, the Bolshevist coup 
 having been delivered on November 7 of 
 that calendar. But these documents are 
 not, of Jierlin, though they arc typewritten 
 on letter-heads bearing that name in print, 
 
 * Printed as Document No. 37A in this 
 pamphlet edition. It should be noted also that 
 the "teleKraphic convcrBation" referred to is 
 taken from an intercepted dispatch which came 
 directly into Mr. Sisson's hands. This, perhaps, 
 was not made clear to the committee. 
 
 in the one case crossed out with the pen, 
 in the other case not. Document No. .5 
 seems to have been written in Finland. We 
 have been able to make out, in the photo- 
 graph, the day-date in its heading. It i.^ 
 ,15 October, i.e., November 7 of New Style; 
 and the Bolshevist acknowledgment at the 
 bottom bears the date, not given in the 
 newspaper publication, "27 .X. 1917," i.e., 
 November 9 of New Style. In other words, 
 more cannot be said than that the German 
 General Staff, not unaware of preparations 
 of which all the world was aware in Petro- 
 grad, was prompt in action. It is a slight 
 but significant touch that Colonel Rausch, 
 writing from Finland on the day when the 
 expected outbreak occurred, styles the new 
 org.anization "Government {Prai'ilelslvo) of 
 People's Commissaries" instead of "Council 
 iSot'iel) of People's Commissaries," the 
 designation actually adopted. 
 
 The Post's criticism (Sejitember 16) of 
 Document No. 2 on the ground of its men- 
 tion of the "Petersburg Secret Police" (Okh- 
 rana), assumed by the writer to have been 
 destroyed on Alarch 10 or 11, seems 
 to us to have no conclusive weight. 
 The old Okhrana was abolished by the rev- 
 olution, but the revolutionary Government 
 itself had of course its secret service, to 
 which a German might continue to apply 
 the old name. 
 
 A correspondent of the Post, Mr. E. J. 
 Omeltchenko, in its issue of October 4, 
 rightly finds it singular that Dr. von 
 Sehanz, in Documents Nos. 8 and 9, should 
 be represented as signing himself on Janu- 
 ary 8, "Representative of the Imperial 
 Bank," and on January 12, "President of 
 the Imperial Bank." It should be explained * 
 that the Russian word used is the same in 
 bo'ili caaPS, Prcdsiarilcl, but that the trans- 
 lator of No. 9 wrongly translated it "Presi- 
 dent," while the tran.slator of No. 8 trans- 
 lated it rightly, "Representative." 
 
 Mr. Omeltchenko also, v.h\\ reference to 
 Document No. 8, prints figures of the gold 
 reserves of the Reichsbank and of the Bank 
 of Sweden, November, 1917, to January, 
 1918, in the belief that, if the Reichsbank 
 had at the beginning of January given the 
 Bolshevist officials a credit in Sweden of 
 50,000,000 roubles gold, these figures would 
 show the fact, ^^'c are informed on high 
 financial authority that the Reichsbank 
 would be able to effect such a transaction 
 by means much less easily traced. Mr. 
 Omeltchenko questions the need of the 
 transaction, but the insecurity and unset- 
 tled conditions prevailing within the boun- 
 daries of the old Russian eiiii)ire might 
 easily account for the desire of the Bol- 
 sheviki to establish a large gold credit 
 abroad without the necessity of actually ex- 
 porting gold. 
 
 Professor Edward S. Corwin, in the sa,me 
 issue of the Evening Post, rightly criticises 
 (he date June 9, 1914, for Docmnent No. 
 55. Its proper date appears to be Novem- 
 ber 2, 1914. The niimeograijhcd Russian 
 text bears that date. A translator, prob- 
 ably by confusion with No. 56, gave it the 
 June date. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 J. Franklin J.^meson. 
 Samuel N. II.\iiri;n.
 
 D 000 902 323 5