27 - the Spy
November 24, 2004
Kim Philby
Philby and his father Sir John Philby
Philby and his 1st wife Alice Friedman, a communist agent
Russian stamp in honour of Philby
Harold Adrian Russell Philby, known as "Kim" after the character in Kipling's jungle story has been described as both debonair and unkempt, as both unfriendly and ingratiatingly smooth. He was in fact a chameleon who could be whatever the occasion demanded. Philby was so intelligent as a spy that he could detect the difference between "disinformation" meant to deceive the Russians, and secrets that were worth knowing. He had not only incredible instincts, but a certain panache.
He has said that he was recruited as a spy by Edith Tudor-Hart, a British Communist, and by NKVD (later KGB) operative Arnold Deutsch in 1934. In his autobiography, "My Silent War," --- a propaganda document written after he defected to Russia --- he said that he, in turn, recruited Burgess and Maclean. The difficulty with Philby's statements is that he cannot always be believed, and some authors have raised doubts about his recruitment and his recruiting. It is true, of course, that all of them knew each other well at Cambridge.
Philby's father was a well known authority on Arabia. St. John Philby was at various times a British spy, a diplomat, and an adviser to King Saud. He was eccentric, often critical of the British government, and something of a controlled madman. His son saw little of his father in his youth, greatly admired him, and was somewhat intimidated by him. Biographers of Philby have speculated that the result of this strong father was a life-long stammer that Kim could control, and sometimes use to his advantage in order to appear ingenuous.
Unlike Blunt and Burgess, Philby was a confirmed and hyperactive heterosexual, marrying four times, with a number of mistresses between marriages. With the exception of his fourth wife, a Russian citizen to whom he was introduced during his life in Russia, and his first wife, a committed Communist --- probably an agent --- his second and third wives had no idea of his profession. Both wives number two and three were seduced by Philby while married to others, and left their husbands to marry Philby.
Philby died in 1988, and was recognized before his death with the Order of Lenin, and after death with a postage stamp bearing his likeness and his dates of birth and death.
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Main27 - the Spy
November 23, 2004
Klaus Fuchs
Although he received a far more lenient sentence than the Rosenbergs, Klaus Fuchs provided information to the Soviets which was of considerably greater significance.
Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs was born in Germany in 1911. As a young man, he was interested in politics and became a member of the German Communist Party. As the Nazi's power grew in Germany, the Gestapo began rounding up Communists, forcing Fuchs to leave his country or be imprisoned. Fleeing through France, Klaus Fuchs made his way to England, where he resettled. As a German refugee, Klaus Fuchs received some aid in England, including a scholarship to Bristol University. By 1937, Fuchs had graduated from Bristol with a doctorate in Physics. He decided to continue his education with advanced studies in Physics at Edinburgh University.
By 1940, the war in Europe had escalated and Britain began to fear for its national security. All Germans in England were taken into custody and placed into internment camps, where they were to be held until the end of the war. Klaus Fuchs was taken to a camp located in Quebec, Canada where he would live for several months. A prominent faculty member at Edinburgh University, Professor Max Born, intervened on Fuchs behalf and was able to obtain special treatment for Fuchs. By the spring of 1941, Fuchs was once again engaged in his studies at the University. Within months, Fuchs would be asked to work on the British "Tube Alloys" program in Birmingham, the British atomic bomb research project.
In 1943, Fuchs was transferred to the Columbia University in New York City where he began to work on the Manhattan Project, the American atomic bomb program. Klaus Fuch's work with the Americans eventually took him to the Los Alamos, New Mexico research facility, where Klaus Fuchs was regarded as an excellent scientist and researcher, a serious man who focused with great intensity on his work. No one suspected that Fuchs had been transferring very detailed notes on the bomb project to a Soviet courier named "Raymond", who was actually Harry Gold.
By 1948, the Venona cables were beginning to be deciphered. One of these cables was a report on the progress of the atomic bomb research written by Fuchs himself. It was not evident at first whether Fuchs had written the report for the Soviets or if it had been acquired by the Soviet's through some other means. Either way, it was proof that the Russians had penetrated the secrecy of the Manhattan Project. By January 1949 suspicion of Fuch's involvement in espionage had grown. The FBI confronted him with accusations of spy activity at the Harwell Atomic Research facility in England, where Fuchs was the head of the theoretical division. Fuchs soon confessed to his part in the theft of atomic secrets and was sentenced to fourteen years in prison, the maximum possible fine under British law for passing military secrets to a friendly nation. After serving nine years of his sentence, Fuchs was allowed to relocate to East Germany where he resumed his scientific career and lectured in Physics.
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Main27 - the Spy
Mata Hari
Mata Hari
The woman who adopted this name was born Margaretha Zelle on August 7, 1876 in Leeuwarden, Holland. She was the second child of Adam Zelle and his wife Antje van der Meulen and was the only girl in a family of four boys. M’greet was the nickname her family gave her. M’greet was noticeable for her thick black hair, black eyes, and easily tanned olive complexion.
At the beginning of the 20th century she moved to France where she started a career as a nude dancer. She became famous and moved in the highest circles of Europe. Her fame made it easy to travel to various European countries. Even during the war. So, the French Secret Service asked Mata Hari to mingle with the Germans and find out as much as she could. However, during her first mission something went wrong and she was arrested by the British Intelligence Service. All of her alibis were watertight, so the British agents had to release her. In the meantime, the French too got suspicious. It also became clear that German army officers were paying her. Officially it was to keep them company but the French intelligence office wasn't so sure about that. When she tried to cross the French border, to visit one of her lovers, she was arrested by the French Secret Service and interrogated. During one of these long sessions, she succumbed and confessed to be a German spy, known under the pseudonym of H21. The trial that followed was nothing but a showcase. The French were convinced that she was: "one of the greatest spies of the century, responsible for the death of tens of thousands of soldiers". She was found guilty and condemned to death. On 15 October 1917 she was shot by a firing squad.
In the years following Mata Hari’s death, the dancer-turned-courtesan and just barely turned-spy became a legend. She has been portrayed onscreen by Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Sylvia Kristel, and Jeanne Moreau.
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