The secret past of a child: The son of the GDR agent Ruth Werner

The secret past of a child: The son of the GDR agent Ruth Werner

The 82-year-old Peter Beurton lives in the picturesque Feldberg lake landscape, whose life story is closely linked to a remarkable figure in German history: his mother, Ruth Werner. Werner, born Ursula Maria Kuczynski, was a communist agent who worked for Soviet military intelligence during the Nazi era. Also known under the code name “Sonja”, she published the autobiographical novel “Sonjas Rapport” in 1977, in which she openly reported on her exciting and dangerous life as a spy. SVZ reports that ...

Ruth Werner was born on May 15, 1907 in Friedenau, Berlin and grew up as one of six children in a Jewish family. She joined the German Communist Party (KPD) at a young age and was actively involved in the communist resistance. In the 1930s she lived in various countries, including China and Switzerland, where she worked as a spy for the GRU. In addition to being a talented agent, she was also a writer who chronicled her experiences in several books. Wikipedia provides information about Ruth Werner…

The eventful childhood of Peter Beurton

Peter Beurton was born in Oxford in 1943 and was the child of Ruth Werner and the committed communist Len Beurton, who fought against Franco in Spain. The family initially only spoke English, which is why Peter only learned German in 1950 when they moved to East Berlin. There he had to go to a children's home with his half-sister. Despite these difficult circumstances, his mother visited the children regularly. Initially, Peter had a rather negative impression of the Germans, but his living conditions changed enormously over time. SVZ describes Peter Beurton's childhood ...

In 1953, the family began to regularly visit the picturesque area around Carwitz, which would help Peter see a different side of Germany. After school, Peter studied biology and earned a doctorate. He then worked at the Central Institute for Philosophy at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin and is still active in academic work today.

Legacy and memory

The story of Ruth Werner is not only the story of a spy, but also the story of her time and her political beliefs. Her life spanned all the ups and downs of the 20th century, and she left behind a significant literary work that contributes to the understanding of this turbulent era. In addition to her literary work, she was also committed to the culture of remembrance: since the 1970s, she has regularly spent summers in Carwitz, where an association was founded in 2010 to preserve her legacy. Unfortunately, this club was dissolved in 2023.

Ruth Werner died on July 7, 2000 in Berlin and found her final resting place on Baumschulenweg. Her son Peter Beurton, with his roots and family history deeply rooted, remains an important voice in the memory of what he and his mother lived through. It becomes clear that the lives of Ruth Werner and Peter Beurton not only left their mark on history, but also shaped the personal stories of countless people who lived during this time.

For more exciting information about the world of espionage in Berlin, visit this link.