Richard Sorge

Richard Sorge, born in Russia, was a Soviet human-source intelligence officer operating in Japan, under cover as a German journalist, until his eventual discovery, arrest, and execution. Providing information on both Japan and Germany, he is considered one of the most effective spies and espionage network leaders of the Second World War; he was respected even by his enemies, and Prange's biography of Sorge mentions both the bravery of Sorge, and the respect shown by Japanese prison officials, even as he was hanged.