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The official intelligence gathering organisations of the German government include:

Foreign Affairs and Counterintelligence Office of the Ministry of Defence (Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Ministerium der Verteidigung)

• Responsible for intelligence-gathering and espionage abroad and counter-intelligence and counter-intelligence activities at home.
  

Organisations Department of the Operations Staff of the Army High Command (Organisationsabteilung der Operationsstab der Oberkommando des Heeres)

• Responsible for operational and strategic intelligence relating to foreign armies and military developments
  

Naval Intelligence Department of the Admiralty Staff (Abteilung Marine-Nachrichtendienst der Admiralstab der Kriegsmarine)

• Responsible for operational and strategic intelligence relating to foreign navies and naval operations
  

Foreign States Department of the Air Force General Staff (Abteilung Fremde Staaten des Generalstab der Luftwaffe)

• Responsible for operational and strategic intelligence relating to foreign air forces and air operations
  

Further information will be provided for each organization in subsequent entries.

Formally known as the Foreign Affairs and Counterintelligence Office of the Ministry of Defence this intelligence gathering agency emerged in the wake of the Great War to provide the German Government with the means to conduct operations abroad and to defend against foreign intelligence-gathering activities within the German national territory. At the time of its formation in 1921 is was the sole such organisation allowed by the victorious Allies. It is responsible for intelligence gathering via sources abroad  both overt sources such as defence attaches and covert sources such as espionage agents; for the gathering of so-called open intelligence from published sources (foreign newspapers, press reports, etc.); and for conducting counter-intelligence activities  the monitoring of foreign military attaches, pursuit of foreign agents and the prevention of clandestine transmissions.

At the present time the chief of the Abwehr is Vizeadmiral Wilhelm Canaris; the Chief of Staff is Major-General Hans Oster.

Structure and role:

Abteilung I - Zentrale: Central Administration  recruitment and training of agents; records and records management; pay and financial matters; archives.

Abteilung II - Ausland: Foreign Intelligence  operational control of agents abroad; defence attache system; evaluation and dissemination of information obtained

Abteilung III - Spionageabwehr: Counter Intelligence  investigation and elimination of foreign intelligence gathering activities on the national territory; defence against potential sabotage; investigation and elimination of foreign intelligence gathering activities outside the national territory.

Abteilung IV - Chiffrier und Horchdienst: Signals Intelligence  cryptanalysis and traffic analysis

Abteilung V - Sonderaufgaben: Special Tasks  development of special equipment

This department of the General Staff was salvaged from the former Abteilung III b of the Great General Staff of the Imperial Army; it was organised in 1920 as an element of the Truppenamt. It was responsible for collecting and evaluating operational and strategic intelligence relating to foreign armies and military developments abroad.

The current chief of the Organisationsabteilung is Major-General Eberhard Kinzel.

There are four sub units under the direction of the Organisationsabteilung:

Abteilung Fremde Heere West : Presently directed by Oberst Reinhard Gehlen. It is responsible for military intelligence regarding the armies of Europe and the Americas.

Abteilung Fremde Heere Ost: Presently directed by Oberst Alexis Freiherr von Roenne. It is responsible for military intelligence regarding the armies of Asia and Africa.

Kriegswissenschaftliche Abteilung: Presently directed by Oberst Gerhard Wessel. It is responsible for military intelligence regarding the war economy potential of foreign nations.

Kriegsgeschichtliche Forschungsanstalt des Heeres: Presently directed by Oberstleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz. It performs historical research and analysis and contingency planning for annual maneuvers.

This organisation emerged from the former naval intelligence department of the Imperial Navy, and was formally called into being in 1922. It is responsible for the gathering, analysis and dissemination of operational, strategic and technical intelligence relating to foreign navies and naval operations.

The current chief of the Marine-Nachrichtendienst is Kapitän zur See Norbert von Baumbach

Its current structure comprises:

Referate Zentral: Responsible for administrative and personnel matters, archives, records and procurement.

Referate Fernmeldeaufklärung: Responsible for the interception of the wireless communications of foreign navies and their analysis. Cryptanalysis of the wireless communications of foreign navies is handled by the Gruppe Kryptanalytische.

Referate Fotografie: Responsible for the collection and interpretation of photographic intelligence from overt and covert sources.

Referate Fremde Marinen: Responsible for the collection, collation and analysis of objective data pertaining to foreign navies, including ship identification materials, order of battle information, technical data etc.

Referate Übersetzung: Responsible for the translation and distribution of documents pertaining to foreign navies, including but not limited to documents obtained by covert means.

This element of the Luftwaffe General Staff was in fact founded in 1922 as the Research Office (Forschungsamt) of the Troops Department of the Heer, in the period before Germany was allowed to maintain air forces. It initial role was to gather and study information relative to the progress of aviation abroad and apply that knowledge to the German aviation industry. With the formal establishment of the Luftwaffe the Research Office was realigned as a part of the Luftwaffe Generalstab and was responsible for operational and strategic intelligence, as well as maintaining its technical collection and evaluation role.

The current chief of the Abteilung Fremde Staaten is Generalmajor Alfred Keller

Its current structure comprises:

Referate I  Verwaltung (Administration): Responsible for records and records management; pay and financial matters; archives

Referate II  Personal (Personnel): Responsible for training personnel for their respective specialties, including the training of air attaches stationed abroad

Referate III  Erfassungsansatz (Traffic Analysis): Responsible for air signals intelligence gathering and traffic analysis

Referate IV  Dechiffrierung (Cryptanalysis): Decoding of messages obtained via air signals intelligence

Referate V  Auswertung (Evaluation): Interpretation and evaluation of photographic reconnaissance material on the strategic level

Referate VI  Technisches Amt (Technical Evaluation): Evaluation of foreign aeronautical equipment and aircraft obtained by overt or covert means