A letter of the KAPD from the Police Archives that served as a questionnaire, detailing instructions for local groups to gather intelligence on revolutionary fighters, industrial resources, military infrastructure, and enemy organizations while emphasizing espionage tactics and secrecy. The letter can be found in "Organisation der leinksradikalen Bewegung im Reich, Büro Kölpin, No. 93" in the "State Archives of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland Department".
Each local group must specify in their report:
1. Which members have a bicycle?
2. Which members have a motorcycle?
3. Which members can ride a motorcycle?
4. Which members can drive a car?
5. In which factories in the hands of revolutionary workers are bicycles and cars available, and in what numbers?
6. Which members can type and use stenography?
7. Which members can operate telegraph equipment?
8. Which members can operate telephone equipment?
9. Which members can operate radio telegraph equipment?
10. Which members can fly?
11. Which members are printers or typesetters?
12. Which members work in factories for telephones?
13. Which members work in factories for telephone wire?
14. Which members work in factories for barbed wire?
15. Which members work in factories for cars and motorcycles?
16. Which members work in factories for weapons and ammunition?
17. Which members work in factories for aircraft?
18. Which members work in factories for radio telegraph equipment?
19. Where are all these facilities located?
20. What are the power dynamics of the workforce in these factories?
21. How many supplies are stored there?
22. Where are the depots of the residents' and soldiers' militias?
23. Where are the weapons and ammunition depots?
24. Where do special military telephone lines go?
25. Where are the telephone exchanges located?
26. Where are the military equipment items located?
27. Where are the radio stations located?
28. Where are the fuel and oil depots located? And so on, and so forth (etc., etc.).
It is recommended to record everything on a single map.
Questionnaire:
This questionnaire is only intended to prevent anything important from being forgotten in the excitement of the action and the haste with which couriers often have to be dispatched. The questionnaire is therefore by no means meant to be a limitation. On the contrary, we are very eager to know more here. Additionally: Reports should always be written on one side of the paper only. In any case, they should be clear but still compact, so that no large margins or the like are left anywhere. After all, couriers cannot possibly carry entire books with them. What is the strike situation? Is there an action committee? What is its composition? Have political workers’ councils been elected? Have we taken power in the city? Are the workers armed? What is the mood of the working class? What is the mood of the bourgeoisie? What is the situation regarding the wider surrounding area? Where is the White Guard, and how strong are they? Which cities in the wider surrounding area are you in contact with? Do you have new information from the wider surrounding area? What kind? What are you doing in the near future? Militarily? Politically? Proposals? Criticism?
The following questions are generally only suitable for verbal communication. The inquiries necessary for this should generally not be handled in writing either. The answers to the questions below can therefore only be provided through couriers, speakers, and the like. Every such reliable means of transmission must be utilized. It concerns the answering of the following questions:
1. How many revolutionary fighters are in your area?
2. Are they already organized in some way?
3. How are they armed?
4. Do you believe you can seize power in your area?
5. Against how strong a force do you believe you can hold your own?
6. What is the general mood of the bourgeoisie?
7. What is the general mood of the working class?
8. Proposals.
9. Criticism.
Espionage Service: One way to gather information about the enemy’s intentions is to infiltrate their own ranks and ascertain what to expect and what to protect against. In common language, this is called spying. And bourgeois ideology labels it disgraceful and dishonorable. However, just as for the bourgeoisie, only that which is directed against them is dishonorable and base, so too, conversely, even the profession of a spy becomes honorable when it is directed against the proletariat. It is exactly the same as with the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, which we must counter with the dictatorship of the proletariat. We must fight capitalism with its own weapons. And that includes spying.
The organizations that must be monitored in this way include the Reichwehr, Security Forces, Citizens’ Militia, Scouts, German National Youth League, German National People’s Party, German People’s Party, sports clubs, etc.
An absolute principle must be that the people undertaking this do not attend our events and, in general, only communicate with us in writing as much as possible. If verbal communication is necessary, it should only happen at night and with the greatest caution. During the day, they do not acknowledge each other on the street. These individuals must also not have previously been prominent in the movement. At home, they can, of course, continue to work for us if they are very cautious. Overall, it’s a difficult matter, but it must be tackled.
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