Leon Großvogel

Leon Grossvogel was a Polish-French Jewish businessman, Comintern official, resistance fighter, communist agitator and one of the organizers of a Soviet intelligence network in Belgium and France, that was later called the Red Orchestra by the Abwehr. Grossvogel used the following code names to disguise his identity: Pieper, Grosser, and Andre. In the autumn of 1938, Grossvogel became associated with Leopold Trepper, a Soviet intelligence agent who would later run a large espionage network in Europe. Grossvogel established two cover companies, the Foreign Excellent Raincoat Company and later Simexco that would be used by Trepper as a cover and funding for his espionage network. Grossvogel who organised funding for the companies, would later become an assistant to Trepper, organising safehouses, couriers, cutouts and agents.