| Country: | Germany |
| Details of Formation: | US intelligence had set up a German stay-behind network after the war. It was allegedly disbanded in 1953 amid concerns that members’ neo-Nazi sympathies might be discovered by the press. However, there is substantial evidence that a Gladio operation existed in Germany despite the former disbanding. It is also suggested that Gladio was built up by the German secret service BND. (Wikipedia) |
| Details of Termination: | Schwert continued to exist until revelations in Italy in the 1990s brought the Gladio operation network to public attention. On Nov. 18, 1990, Bonn said that Schwert continued to exist; another news source dated Nov. 23, 1990 says that Germany has disbanded or announced to disband it soon. |
| Purpose: | Schwert’s purpose was to prepare for, and implement, armed resistance in case of a Warsaw Pact invasion and occupation (Wikipedia). Groups were supposed to mount guerilla attacks in that case. . |
| Organisation: | Schwert had connections to the German secret service BND. The Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC) coordinated the Gladio networks in Europe (Wikipedia). Only a tiny clique of military intelligence chiefs and right-wing politicians knew about Schwert. In Germany, Schwert was funded by the CIA; several of its leaders were ex-Nazis. Overall government-relation is unclear. The network of groups may have some semi-official status within the intelligence community. But this status is not recognized but instead hidden even from some domestic governments and prime ministers. The groups were ultimately answerable to NATO-CIA rather than domestic governments in event of attack by Warsaw Pact. |
| Weapons and Training: | Civilian members were equipped with clandestine shortwave radios and had a cache of further equipment for signaling helicopters or submarines to drop special agents (Wikipedia). Training was conducted under US Green Berets as well as British experts. |
| Size: | -- |
| Reason for Membership: | Civilians were recruited as stay-behind partisans (Wikipedia). |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| Other Information: | Schwert was part of the Galdio network with other countries such as France, Greece and Italy. Gladio specifically refers to the Italian branch of the NATO stay-behind organisation, but “Operation Gladio” is used as an informal name for all of them. In Germany, Gladio was code-named TD BJD. Members included civilian stay-behind partisans and special agents. (Wikipedia) |
| References: | Wikipedia. “Operation Gladio”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Gladio&oldid=763490893 |