1974 Arrest of Gunther Guillaume

40 years ago, on April 24, 1974, Günter Guillaume, a personal assistant to German Chancellor Willy Brandt, was arrested in Bonn, who turned out to be a long-term staff member of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR. Brandt voluntarily resigned two weeks later. Despite the fact that the German security services had evidence against the Guillaumes back in mid-1973, almost a year passed before their arrest. Guillaume immediately confessed to espionage. He was introduced into the SPD as early as 1957 and had a reputation as a good party organizer. He has worked as Brandt's personal assistant since 1972.

Guillaume was sentenced to 13 years in prison. In 1981, he and his wife were returned to the GDR as a result of a spy exchange. He was promoted to colonel, and she was promoted to lieutenant colonel. A parliamentary investigation into the Guillaume case, carried out at the suggestion of the Christian Democratic opposition, revealed serious errors in the work of the German security services.