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==Family==
==Family==
Krafsur was born to Jacob and Selia Krafsur on Januray 10, 1913 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father had been married previously and was left a widow before marrying Selia. The family name was originally Krapin. His father was working as a tailor in Boston in 1930. His father was born in Poland and his mother in Russia, they were ethinic Jews that spoke Yiddish.
Krafsur was born to Jacob and Selia Krafsur on Januray 10, 1913 in Boston, Massachusetts. His father had been married previously and was left a widow before marrying Selia. The family name was originally Krapin. His father was working as a tailor in Boston in 1930. His father was born in Poland and his mother in Russia; they were ethnic Jews who spoke Yiddish.
==Early career==
==Early career==
In 1934, Krafsur joined the [[Communist Party of America]].<ref>The Venona Secrets: Exposing America's Cold War Traitors, Herbert Romerstein, Eric Breindel, page 430</ref> He attended Northeastern University for a year.<ref>''Venona: Decoding Espionage in America'', John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Yale University Press, (1999), pgs. 242–244, 248.</ref> Before going to [[Spain]] to fight with the [[Abraham Lincoln Brigade]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]],<ref>[http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:RQEKkR4YxdoJ:www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/spanjews.pdf+Krafsur+Boston+%2268+Phillips%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us Jews Who Served in the Spanish Civil War, by Martin Sugarman]</ref>he lived at 68 Phillips Street in Boston. Krafsur was wounded in Spain in 1937 and returned to the States. That same year he married Dixie Elizabeth Scoville in [[Vermont]].<ref>[http://genealinks.com/cgi-bin/marriages.cgi/?Dix GeneaLinks, Online Marriage Records for Your Genealogy]</ref>
In 1934, Krafsur joined the [[Communist Party of America]].<ref>The Venona Secrets: Exposing America's Cold War Traitors, Herbert Romerstein, Eric Breindel, page 430</ref> He attended Northeastern University for a year.<ref>''Venona: Decoding Espionage in America'', John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Yale University Press, (1999), pgs. 242–244, 248.</ref> Before going to [[Spain]] to fight with the [[Abraham Lincoln Brigade]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]],<ref>[http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:RQEKkR4YxdoJ:www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/spanjews.pdf+Krafsur+Boston+%2268+Phillips%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us Jews Who Served in the Spanish Civil War, by Martin Sugarman]</ref>he lived at 68 Phillips Street in Boston. Krafsur was wounded in Spain in 1937 and returned to the States. That same year he married Dixie Elizabeth Scoville in [[Vermont]].<ref>[http://genealinks.com/cgi-bin/marriages.cgi/?Dix GeneaLinks, Online Marriage Records for Your Genealogy]</ref>
In 1938 Krafsur was a member of the editorial staff of ''The Volunteers for Liberty'' a newspaper which was an, "organ of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade" organization out of 125 West 45 Street in New York City.<ref>The Volunteer For Liberty, Vol. 1, No. 3, April, 1938</ref> In April of 1938 he was in charge of finding veterans to tell their war sories to be made into radio plays written by [[Irwin Shaw]].<ref>The Volunteer For Liberty, Vol. 1, No. 3, April, 1938</ref>.
In 1938 Krafsur was a member of the editorial staff of ''The Volunteers for Liberty'' a newspaper which was an, "organ of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade" organization out of 125 West 45 Street in New York City.<ref>The Volunteer For Liberty, Vol. 1, No. 3, April, 1938</ref> In April of 1938 he was in charge of finding veterans to tell their war sotries to be made into radio plays written by [[Irwin Shaw]].<ref>The Volunteer For Liberty, Vol. 1, No. 3, April, 1938</ref>.
He began working for TASS in 1941 after being recruited by the Soviet agent [[Vladimir Pravdin]]. Krafsur was considered an important asset to the KGB because of the many contacts he had with other newsmen. He was the deputy TASS bureau chief in [[Washington, D.C.]] and the [[FBI]] spent a lot of time and effort trying to identify who he was under his codename IDE.<ref>''Venona: Decoding Espionage in America'', John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Yale University Press, (1999), pgs. 242–244, 248.</ref>
He began working for TASS in 1941 after being recruited by the Soviet agent [[Vladimir Pravdin]]. Krafsur was considered an important asset to the KGB because of the many contacts he had with other newsmen. He was the deputy TASS bureau chief in [[Washington, D.C.]] and the [[FBI]] spent a lot of time and effort trying to identify who he was under his codename IDE.<ref>''Venona: Decoding Espionage in America'', John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Yale University Press, (1999), pgs. 242–244, 248.</ref>