World War II/Cold War Spies: Walter Krivitsky (Russia, 1899-1941)

Figure 1.--Here we see Soviet military intligence agent and defector as a child in the Tsarist Russia. His testimomy before the Congressional Dies Committee received enormous press coverage. The testimony debunked the narative being perpetrated by the liberal media, mamely that American Communists were independent of Soviet control and were not a security threat.

Walter Krivitsky was not a Cold War spy, he was more of a World War II spy, but his untimely death throws a great deal of light on to the Soviet espionage operation in America. Krivitsky was born into a Jewish family in Tsarist Russia. Hr grew up among the Tsarist supression of Jews. the same effort that drove so many mostly Polish Jews to America. As a teenager, he was drawn into the Bolshevik underground. Like many Tsarist Jews, he saw socialism, espcially the Bolsheviks as the key to an idelic future. He became an important Soviet military intelligence agent, carrying out espionage missions throughout Western Europe. He was, however, horrified by the Stalinist Great Terror, losing close fiends. It is amazing how nany people unlike Krivitsky acceoted Stalin's barbarities. Not so much people in the Soviet Union, they had little choice, but well informed intelectuals in the West whose lives were not in danger. Krivitsky had a gut renching decision to make. He had to choose between his fervent commitment to socailism and his hatred of Stalinism. In the end he defected to the West (1937). While living in the United States, he published magazine articles and a book criticizing Stalin and the Soviet Union with details that were previously unknown. [Krivitsky] He was called before the Congressional Dies Committee which received enormous press coverage. His testimony debunked the narative being pursued by the liberal media, namely that American Communists were independent of Soviet control and were not a security threat. [Giffin] Of course that was obvious because American Communists so closely followed the Soviet propaganda line --even the alliance with NAZI Germany (1939-41). But given the weight of liberal media, it was not fully understood. There was in particular, considerable sympathy for the Soviets among prominent New Dealers, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace and future vice president being a case in pointe. Wallace was close to President Rooevekt who demanded that the Democratic Nonimating Convention acceot him as the Party's vice-presidential candidate (1940). Krivitsky met and worked with Whittaker Chambers. Krivitsky's death under suspicous circumstance was reported with a New York Times headline. It does much to demonstate Stalin's long reach in America and the ameturish operations of the FBI at this stage of World War II/Cold War.

Sources

Giffin, Frederick. "The death of Walter Krivitsky," Social Science Vol. 54, No. 3 (Summer 1979), pp. 139-46.

Krivitsky, Wakter. In Stalin's Secret Service (1939) Therevhave been several further editions.

Created: 6:22 PM 5/12/2020
Last updated: 6:22 PM 5/12/2020