Nervenkrieg: Gustav Adolf von Tzschoppe, Joel Jacoby und das preußische Geheimdienstwesen im Vormärz - Edition eines autobiographischen Berichts aus dem Jahr 1840

Abstract

In August 1840, Joel Jacoby, a literary author, Jewish convert to Catholicism, and informant for the Prussian secret service, filed a detailed report of his life at the local authorities in Breslau (Silesia). Presenting a scholarly edition of this unique archival source, this article analyses the machinations among secret agents in the 1830s with special emphasis on the tense relationship between Jacoby and Gustav Adolf von Tzschoppe, who acted as the driving force behind the persecution of so-called demagogues in Prussia. The pervasive atmosphere of distrust generated by the Prussian intelligence system had far-reaching psychological consequences for the agents involved: Both Jacoby and Tzschoppe showed signs of paranoia.