Training Border

The former Czechoslovak foreign intelligence service (The First Directorate of the National Security Corps) also included what was called the “illegal programme”. Its non-official “technical” officers were stationed abroad on long-term postings under non-official cover. Prior to “stationing”, they were screened and also underwent a variety of training. There is some interesting information relating to this, for instance, in file 11580/109 codenamed Training Border which gives information about a false state border in the Markschlag forest, supervised by the Koranda Border Patrol Unit, some 1500 m from the actual border with Austria. This training border was used by the foreign intelligence department to train informers and especially “illegals”.

A technical officer codenamed FRANZ carried out his training mission on the training border on 3 September 1959. The mission, in which FRANZ was supposed to think he was really on a mission in Austria, was preceded by in-depth preparation, including surveillance of the relevant area, identification of a suitable place for the dead drop,[1] ensuring that no unauthorised persons could access the location on the day of the training, etc.

FRANZ was informed in advance of the scheduled mission, and his officer-in-charge also informed him of the fabricated legend, but FRANZ did not receive specific instructions until the day itself. The task was clear: Bring important materials for assessment, which had been placed, according to the report, in the dead drop by an informer in Austria. FRANZ was given a diagram describing the position of the dead drop, a drawing of it, a pocket knife to open it, a camera and a handkerchief. His identity documents were obviously taken from him before the mission. He was also instructed on what to do if he was detained by the Austrian border patrol or encountered other civilians (his good German skills were an advantage). A military counterintelligence officer disguised as a border patrol officer instructed FRANZ on the timing of the supposed patrols by the Austrian security forces, and the officer-in-charge gave him a 30-minute slot to complete the entire mission, which matched the interval between the regular checks by the Austrian border patrols.

As an “illegal”, FRANZ fulfilled the task without any major difficulty in 25 minutes. His behaviour was assessed as “inconspicuous but wary, without haste but effective”. When the training was completed, the officer-in-charge passed the brass box that FRANZ had collected, containing a film, and the entire container to the political officer of the relevant Border Patrol unit to be destroyed.

[1] Dead drops were used for the covert transfer of intelligence materials, avoiding personal contact. The basis for a successful collection was a detailed description of the location with a diagram of the site, and a description of the container itself, ideally with a drawing.