DOI: 10.20535/2307-5244.50.2020.210142
Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University (Mykolaiv)
Since the resumption of Soviet-German diplomatic
relations and the start of German consular institutions functioning in the
USSR, in particular, in Ukraine, one of the important areas of their
representatives’ diplomatic activity was the coverage of major events in their
area of residence. An example of such activity was Andor Hencke, the Consul of Germany in the Ukrainian Socialist
Soviet Republic,
a true professional, nicknamed «The Chief Soviet Analyst» in the Third Reich.
In Ukrainian historiography, the personality of Andor
Hencke is not studied enough. Among the Ukrainian researches who explored the
activity of A. Hencke, special attention should be paid to the scientific
works of A. Rublev, V. Marochko, L. Vovchuk, and the collection
«The Great Terror in Ukraine: German Operation of 1937-1938». The sources of
the research were the documents of the SBU Sectoral
State Archive and the
memoirs of A. Hencke, which are not translated into Ukrainian yet. The
main methodological tool used in this research is the biographical method of
historical reconstruction.
Therefore, the main task of this article is to
reconstruct the biography of the consul A. Hencke, focusing on the period
of his diplomatic service in Kyiv (1933-1935). Special attention is paid to the main areas of the
diplomat’s activity in the context of Consulate of Germany work in Kyiv.
The Consulate of Germany in Kyiv at the time of Andor Hencke service performed a wide range of tasks. A. Hencke was involved in a variety of activities. On the one hand, he carried out official responsibilities, such as protection and assisting the compatriots, visits to the areas which were the subject of their consular territorial powers, analysis of a general situation, informing the embassy in Moscow and the German Foreign Office in Berlin, taking part in official meetings with the Soviet leaders, etc. On the other hand, A. Hencke’s activities included considerable amount of latent diplomatic work, such as arranging of the intelligence and information network in the host country, preparation of analytical reports on the political and economic situation in the country, direct intelligence activity and work with the agents. All the materials show that A. Hencke had immense authority not only in diplomatic circles but within the Soviet special services as well.
Keywords:consul, consulate, Andor Hencke, Germany, Ukrainian SSR, Kyiv.
