Karel Richard Richter
| Richter, Karel Richard | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Active | 1940-1941 |
| Codename(s) | ROBOTER |
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| Born |
29 January 1912 Kraslice, Czechoslovakia |
| Died | 10 December 1941 (aged 29) Wandsworth Prison, London, England |
| Cause of death |
Execution by hanging |
| Buried | Wandsworth Prison Cemetery |
| Nationality | German |
| Residence | Kraslice, Czechoslovakia |
| Parents | Richard Richter and Marie Burgert |
| Occupation | Merchant Seaman |
Karel Richard Richter (29 January 1912 – 10 December 1941) was a German spy who was executed by hanging at Wandsworth Prison. Richter was captured on 14 May 1941 after parachuting into the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He was convicted of espionage at the Old Bailey on 24 October 1941, sentenced to death and hanged on 10 December 1941 at Wandsworth Prison.
Richter was a Czechoslovak citizen born in 1912 in Austria-Hungaria, in Kraslice in the Sudetenland. His parents were Richard Richter, a metal worker, and Marie Burgert. Richter had one sister, Gertrude, who later married a Totzauer and one brother, František (read franteesheck). From 1918 to 1923, Richter attended the State School in Kraslice. When he was 11 years old, Richter attended the Staats-Oberreal-Gymnasium in the city of Most (Brüx in German). Richter graduated in 1927 at the age of 16 years and spent the next two years working as an apprentice at the Citroen car workshop in the city of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad in German). Upon completion of his apprenticeship, around 1930, Richter returned home and worked in his father's metal-work business. In 1932, with support from his father, Richter started a car-rental business, but by 1934 the business had failed. Unemployed for six months, Richter sought to join the Czechoslovak Army but was rejected three times on medical grounds. In 1935, Richter wrote to the American Consul in Prague, seeking an American visa, but was told he would have to wait two years.
In 1935, Richter travelled to Hamburg and shipped aboard the Cassel bound for Java. Richter worked as a machinist in the engine room and this particular voyage lasted one year. In the autumn of 1936, Richter returned to Hamburg on the Cassel. In Hamburg, Richter joined the "New York" which travelled between Hamburg and New York, with each round trip taking about 27 days. Richter was employed as a machinist in the engine room and made the round trip thirteen times that year. In 1937, Richter joined the "Hamburg", which also plied the Hamburg-New York route, and spent one year on board. In 1939, Richter joined the Hansa which also traveled between Hamburg and New York. During the summer of 1939, the Hansa returned to Hamburg and, with war looming, Richter was paid off (or deserted) and returned to his home in Kraslice.
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