It seems that British agents were all over the German side of the river, receiving Karla when he came over. Germans must've sensed that something was going on by the British, and so the British must notify Germans that someone is coming over who is important to the Brits, or leave out the Germans altogether and operate with total secret. But would that be possible?
shareIt's to the advantage of a country's secret services to operate in secret. If they can carry out the operation without informing the Germans, so much the better. That makes one less avenue for leaks to compromise the operation. Or blow it altogether. And at that point the British were no strangers to blown operations.
As far as being allowed to conduct such operations in a foreign country: at the risk of seeming flippant, it's like like the lyric in a song by the Traveling Wilburys--
In Jersey everything's legal
As long as you don't get caught
There’s no mention of it either in the TV series or the books, but it’s plausible that the Circus might have made an arrangement with the Germans for permission to operate in exchange for a look at the product of the operation. The UK and the FRG were NATO allies, after all, and Karla would likely have had a lot of information about the operations of the Stasi, for instance.
That said, it seems most likely that if they thought they could get away without telling anyone in Germany, they would.
I just came across this bit in the book (emphasis mine):
From Toby’s back, Guillam lifted his gaze slowly to the top floor window of the old house where Collins’ observation post was sited. Guillam had done his Berlin stint, he had been part of it a dozen times. The telescopes and cameras, the directional microphones, all the useless hardware that was supposed to make the waiting easier; the crackle of the radios, the stink of coffee and tobacco; the bunk-beds. He imagined the co-opted West German policeman who had no idea why he had been brought here, and would have to stay till the operation was abandoned or successful - the man who knew the bridge by heart and could tell the regulars from the casuals and spot the smallest bad omen the moment it occurred: the silent doubling of the watch, the Vopo sharpshooters easing softly into place.Which suggests an official German awareness of the operation.
There's a reason it's called "clandestine operations". Also, there's the question of legality. In this case, it could be against German law for the Germans to participate knowingly in that kind of action on their own territory. But it's not illegal for the English to do the same on German soil. Or, it is, but only if the case was somehow brought out in the open or if they got caught.
So, between friendly nations, perhaps the Germans was informed of an operation going on, but asked to "look the other way". It's all a question of deniability. As Enderby said to Smiley, he would get endless resources for the operation, but only recognition if the operation was successful. If it was blown, they would deny any knowledge of it and blame it on Smiley being a senile rogue ex-operative working on a private case. Even Guillaum was seen as being too high up for the Swiss operation, if he was seen it would've been official.
You're all wrong, fellas
This is not Germany.
This Berlin – occupied Berlin! - where a British commander at some time should have said something like ’since I am the legal successor to Adolf Hitler I can invent my own damn reasons to do this’ (whatever that was!)
In Berlin the Occupation Powers decided what was right and what was wrong. Like all occupation powers they of course let much of the daily administration to the natives. But ultimately they decided what was up and down. And the Intelligence services were a law to themselves - in Berlin more than elsewhere.
I thought about that possibility since Berlin was divided into four territories, one of them being British. But in "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" which is also by le Carre, Richard Burton is waiting for a defector from East Germany, and I assume it must be in the British-controlled sector. But the border guards are Germans. And also there's a man from the CIA. So there must be all kinds of nationalities in Berlin.
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