World: The Champagne Spy

(2 of 2)

As Lotz entered a party a few days later, the brigadier shouted: "Here comes the Israeli spy who tried to get into our rocket base." Everyone laughed, including Lotz. He had already reported to his Israeli colleagues­who still refer to him as "the champagne spy"­that the Shaloufa base was being made ready for Soviet missiles.

In 1965 the Egyptians rounded up a number of West Germans as a precautionary measure before a visit by East German Boss Walter Ulbricht. When the police searched Lotz's home, they discovered that he had been spying for the Israelis. Since the 1968 prisoner exchange, Lotz has lived modestly in Tel Aviv as an Israeli air force major. He has grown paunchy despite his daily riding, and sometimes admits that he misses the high life in Cairo.