A book dealer in Tokyo has said that he has found a birthday letter that was sent to a legendary spy. This legendary Soviet Intelligence Officer is none other than Richard Sorge, the man who has been credited with turning the tide in the Second World War by working undercover as a journalist in Nazi Germany and in the Empire of Japan during World War Two.
Unaware to Adolf Hitler, Richard Sorge informed the Soviets that the Nazis were in the process of going against the non-aggression agreement they had between the two countries as Hitler was going to march on western Russia.
He also informed the Soviet Union that the Empire of Japan was not going to attack the Soviets and with these bits of information allowed the Soviet Union to transfer its Eastern divisions to the Western Front against the Nazis. This in-turn helped turn the tide in the Second World War allowing the Soviets to push the Nazi`s out of Russia and back into Germany.
The 1938 birthday letter celebrating Richard Sorge`s forty third birthday and his greatly appreciated contribution points out how much the Nazi`s trusted Richard Sorge and how little both Germany and Japan knew of his spy activities.
Mr. Yoshio Okudaira who works at the book shop was quoted as saying, "The letter summarizes how interesting it was that the Nazi`s had so much trust in Sorge".
He also goes on to say that the letter was brought in by a customer who was throwing away a dead relatives collection of Nazi documents. "The customer brought in some interesting stuff but didn't seem to know the importance of the small snapshot of history she was handing over" he added.
The letter was sent to Richard Sorge along with a signed a photograph of Joachim von Ribbentrop, who was the appointed Foreign Minister to Adolf Hitler in 1938.
Mr. Yoshio Okudaira has said that the photograph and letter would be put up for auction, but he did warn that the letter was written by Ribbentrop`s secretary. Nonetheless, Okudaira would welcome all bids for the World War Two piece of history.