MASTERARBEIT / MASTER´S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master´s Thesis US-led stay behind networks in Austria A tale from the Cold War: shady deals, dubious loyalties, and underground arms caches. verfasst von / submitted by Lorenzo Cottica, BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master (MA) Wien, 2017 / Vienna 2017 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 805 degree program code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Globalgeschichte degree program as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Uni.-Prof. Mag. DDr. Oliver Rathkolb “A pensar male degli altri si fa peccato, ma spesso ci si indovina.1” (Thinking ill of others is a sin, but it often turns out good guesses.) 1 One of the most famous aphorisms credited to Giulio Andreotti, [undated], cited from ilsole24ore.com. Link. II Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the supervisor of this project, Prof. Oliver Rathkolb who, aside from assisting me throughout the research process, also granted me access to his private archive of copied source-material. Almost a third of all primary sources on which this thesis is founded upon, were thereby sponsored by prof. Rathkolb. I likewise want to thank General Horst Pleiner, for granting me the possibility to conduct and record an interesting interview of over an hour, thereby enriching the research with his expert perspective. III Abstract After dealing with a handful of editorial notes in chapter one, in chapter two, the thesis moves on to a description of the technical and methodological elements of the research itself, such as the terminology used, a critique of the main sources and an overview of the current state of research in this particular field. The third chapter constitutes a summary of the context and the establishment, development, and uproar caused by the revelation of the Italian Gladio network in the early Nineties. In chapter four, the narrative shifts to Austria in early 1996, when the vast majority of the CIA's underground arms and explosives caches came to light, as well as the relevant statements which were made at the time. Chapters five, six and seven constitute the core of this research. Chapter five provides a thick description of the rather complex context in which the Austrian stay behind networks were established, by referencing some of the massive scholarly literature, the narrative splits it into four interconnected layers: geostrategic, political, socioeconomic, and intelligence-related. Chapter six deals with the late Forties and two primary examples of networks led by former Nazis which allegedly had the potential to develop into fully-fledged paramilitary units. Chapter seven presents the evaluated sources on the CIA-led units of the Fifties: besides the Escape and Evasion (henceforth E&E) line and the dedicated radio transmissions unit ICEBERG, these also included both of the paramilitary stay behind units, code-named GRLAUNCH and GRDAGGER. The eighth chapter focuses on the interconnection which has been docu- mented between South Tirol's rich history of terrorism on the one hand, and multiple elements of both the Austrian and Italian stay behind networks on the other. Finally, the ninth chapter presents a summary of the conclusions reached, thereby providing an overview of both the results yielded by this research and the questions that remain unanswered. IV Deutsche Zusammenfassung (German abstract) Nach einigen Anmerkungen zum Aufbau der Arbeit in Kapitel Eins enthält Kapitel Zwei Material und Methoden der Untersuchung, die verwendete Terminologie, Quellenkritik, sowie eine Besprechung des For- schungstandes. In Kapitel Drei erfolgt ein Überblick über Entstehung und Entwicklung des italienischen Gladio Netzwerkes, sowie den politischen Aufruhr, der durch dessen Aufdeckung in den frühen neunziger Jahren verursacht wurde. Das vierte Kapitel befasst sich mit den 1996 geborgenen Sprengstoff- und Waffendepots, deren geographische Aufteilung (Positionierung) und deren Funktionstüchtigkeit (Konservierungszustand), sowie mit einigen relevanten Kommentaren, die zum damaligen Zeitpunkt abgegeben wurden. In Kapitel Fünf erfolgt ein Umriss des komplexen Kontexts der Entstehung des österreichischen Stay Behind Netzwerkes und, unter Bezugnahme auf wesentliche wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen wird der Bogen über vier miteinander vernetzte Ebenen, die geostrategische, politische, sozioökonomische und geheimdienstliche, gespannt. Kapitel Sechs behandelt die späten vierziger Jahre und jene zwei Netzwerke, die von früheren Nazis geführten worden sind, sowie deren mutmaßliches Potenzial zur Entwicklung voll ausgebildeter Stay Behind Einheiten. Anhand der ausgewerteten Quellen werden in Kapitel Sieben die von der CIA ab den fünfziger Jahren geführten Netz- werke vorgestellt: neben der Escape & Evasion line und der Fernmeldetruppe ICEBERG gehörten auch die paramilitärischen Netzwerke GRDAGGER und GRLAUNCH dazu. Kapitel Acht behandelt die dokumentierten Querverbindungen zwischen der terroristischen Geschichte Südtirols und einiger Elemente der Österreichischen sowie der Italienischen Stay Behind Netzwerke. Abschliessend werden in Kapitel Neun eine Zusammenfassung der Schlussfolgerungen präsentiert und dadurch in einem Überblick die Ergebnisse dieser Untersuchung aber auch die noch offenen Fragestellungen aufgezeigt. V List of acronyms AbwA Abwehramt (Austrian intelligence agency, since 1981) ACC Allied Clandestine/Coordination Committee Adm. Admiral AFL American Federation of Labor API Associazione Protezione Italiani (Italian terrorist group) ARB Austrian Rear Base (CIA) art. Article AS Austrian Schilling BAS Befreiungs-Ausschuss Südtirol (South Tyrolean Liberation Committee) BND Bundesnachrichtendienst (German federal intelligence agency) BRD Bundesrepublik Deutschland (West-Germany) CAG Centro Addestramento Guastatori (Gladio's base of Capo Maragiù) CESIS Comitato Esecutivo per i Servizi d'Informazione e di Sicurezza (Italian intelligence coordination coommittee) CGIL Confederazione Generale Italiana dei Lavoratori (major Italian labor union) CIC Counterintelligence Corps CIA Central Intelligence Agency CIO Congress of Industrial Organizations CLN Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (provisional Italian liberation committee during WWII) Col. Colonel COMINFORM Communist Information Bureau CPC Clandestine Planning Committee (until 1958) Coordination and Planning Committee (since 1958) DC Democrazia Cristiana (major Italian right-of-center party) DGER Direction Générale d'Études et des Recheres (French intelligence agency) Doc. Document E&E Escape & Evasion ECA Economic Cooperation Administration ed. Editor(s) / Edited by ed. r. Editorial remark EEC European Economic Community ERP European Recovery Program et al. Et alii etc. Et cetera EUCOM US Army European Command FIAT Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino FOIA Freedom Of Information Act FPÖ Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (major Austrian right-wing party, since 1955) GBH Gewerkschaft der Bau- und Holzarbeiter (Austrian construction and wood workers' union) GdF Guardia di Finanza (Italian fiscal police) Gen. General GNw Gruppe Nachrichtenwesen (Austrian military intelligence agency, since 1954) GOS Gruppo Operativo Speciale (Gladio asset) HnaA Heeres-Nachrichtenamt (Austrian intelligence agency, since 1981) HQ Headquarters ibid. Ibidem IPICR Italian Parliamentary Investigation Commission's Report ISB Information Services Branch JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff JSPC Joint Strategic Plans Committee KGB Комитеет госудаерственной безопаесности (Committee for State Security, USSR) VI KPÖ Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (Austrian communist party) Lt. Col. Lieutenant Colonel MI6 Military Intelligence, Section 6 MIA Movimento Italiani Alto Adige (Italian terrorist group) MOB Munich Operations Base (CIA) MP(s) Member(s) of Parliament MSI Movimento Sociale Italiano (Italian right-wing party) MVD Министерство внутренних дел (Ministry of Internal Affairs, USSR) NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization n. Number NSC National Security Council ÖBH Österreichisches Bundesheer (Austrian armed forces) ÖGB Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund (Austrian trade union federation) ÖMV Österreichische Mineralölverwaltung (major Austrian oil corporation) OPC Office of Policy Coordination ORG Organization Gehlen OSS Office of Strategic Services ÖVP Österreichischer Volkspartei (major Austrian right-of-center party) ÖWSGV Österreichischer Wander-, Sport- und Gelleigkeitsverein (one of Franz Olah's cover organizations) p. Page PCI Partito Comunista Italiano (Italian communist party) POEN Provvisorischen Österreichischen Nationalkomitee (provisional Austrian liberation committee during WWII) PSI Partito Socialista Italiano (Italian socialist party) RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A. (Italian public broadcasting corporation) SACEUR Supreme Allied Commander Europe SAD Sezione Studi ed Addestramento (subdivision of SIFAR, SID, and SISMI) SAS Special Air Service (British special forces) SHAPE Supreme Headqaurters Allied Powers Europe (NATO) SID Servizio Informazioni Difesa (Italian military intelligence 1966-77) SIFAR Servizio Informazioni Forze Armate (Italian military intelligence 1949-66) SISDE Servizio Informazioni per la Sicurezza Democratica (Italian civilian intelligence 1977-07) SISMI Servizio Informazioni per la Sicurezza Militare (Italian military intelligence 1977-07) SOB Salzburg Operations Base (CIA)