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Alger Hiss (view source)

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That month, Hiss requested top-secret files from the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (precursor of the CIA) on British, Soviet, French and Chinese internal security policies, as well as Far East policy,<ref>Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, pp. 361-362</ref> according to a State Department internal security probe of Hiss ordered by Secretary of State James F. Byrnes,<ref>Ron Capshaw, "[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=E9146EC9-A031-4F77-9691-F4C7F1ACA9F4 Alger Hiss: The Left's Religious Icon]," FrontPageMagazine.com, May 4, 2007</ref> and made public in 1993;<ref>Sam Tanenhaus, "New Reasons to Doubt Hiss," ''Wall Street Journal'', November 18, 1993</ref> FBI surveillance at this time found that Hiss also developed "a keen interest in atomic energy," and other matters relating to military intelligence,<ref>Sam Tanenhaus, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=WNp4AAAAMAAJ&pgis=1 Whittaker Chambers: A Biography]'' (New York: Random House, 1997) ISBN 0375751459, pp. 519; John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=M8p00bTFvRkC Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999) ISBN 0300077718, p. 172; Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'', New York: Random House, (ed. 1997), pp. 321-322.</ref>—all of which was well outside the purview of his office.<ref>John Earl Haynes, "[http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page63.html Ales: Hiss, Foote, Stettinius?]" johnearlhaynes.org, June 7, 2007; Allen Weinstein, ''Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case'' (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978), ISBN 0394495462, p. 363</ref> Loy Henderson, director of the State Department Office of Near East Affairs (NEA), quietly ordered members of NEA to keep confidential materials and information from Hiss.<ref>H. W. Brands, ''Inside the Cold War: Loy Henderson and the Rise of the American Empire, 1918-1961'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991) ISBN 0-19-506707-X, pp. 297-298</ref>

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According to Sudoplatov, "One of the officials [at Yalta] we had established confidential relations with was Alger Hiss," who was "highly sympathetic to the interests of the Soviet Union."<ref>Anatoli Sudoplatov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Leona P. Schecter and Jerrold L. Schecter, ''Special Tasks'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995) ISBN 0316821152, p. 227</ref> According to confidential [[GRU]] sources, during the conference, Hiss gave daily briefings to Stalin's military adviser, General Mikhail Abramovich Milshtein (deputy director of the [[GRU]]), revealing not only the American negotiating strategy but insights into the attitudes of the American negotiators.<ref>Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History''(Washington: Potomac Books Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574883275, p. 130</ref> Sudoplatov added:

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According to Sudoplatov, "One of the officials [at Yalta] we had established confidential relations with was Alger Hiss," who was "highly sympathetic to the interests of the Soviet Union."<ref>Anatoli Sudoplatov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Leona P. Schecter and Jerrold L. Schecter, ''Special Tasks'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995) ISBN 0316821152, p. 227</ref> According to confidential [[GRU]] sources, during the conference, Hiss gave daily briefings to Stalin's military adviser, General Mikhail Abramovich Milshtein (deputy director of the GRU), revealing not only the American negotiating strategy but insights into the attitudes of the American negotiators.<ref>Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History''(Washington: Potomac Books Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574883275, p. 130</ref> Sudoplatov added:

{{cquote|In conversation, Hiss disclosed to Oumansky,<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,851866,00.html Ambassador Extraordinary]," ''Time'', November 22, 1943</ref> and then Litvinov,<ref>Hugh D. Phillips, ''Between the revolution and the West: a political biography of Maxim M. Litvinov'' (New York: Westview Press, 1992) ISBN 0813310385</ref> official U.S. attitudes and plans; he was also very close to our sources who were cooperating with Soviet intelligence and to our active intelligence operators in the United States. Within this framework of exchange of confidential information were references to Hiss as the source who told us the Americans were prepared to make a deal in Europe.<ref>Anatoli Sudoplatov, Pavel Sudoplatov, Leona P. Schecter and Jerrold L. Schecter, ''Special Tasks'' (New York: Back Bay Books, 1995) ISBN 0316821152, p. 227</ref>}}

When Roosevelt asked the Secretary of State "to get a lawyer to consult with him over the wording of the Polish boundary statement," wrote Stettinius, "I called Alger Hiss."<ref>Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=IjhQ_gsiCzwC Roosevelt and the Russians]'' (Whitefish, Mont.: Kettinger Publishing, 2005) ISBN 1419103105, p. 270</ref> The U.S. ended up ceding eastern Poland to the Soviet Union,<ref>Gregor Dallas, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=LXdVF6LmTa8C 1945: The War That Never Ended]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005) ISBN 0300109806, p. 557</ref> essentially ratifying the deal Stalin had made with Hitler in the "secret protocols" of the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]].<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/pdfs/NonAggressionPact.pdf Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact with Secret Protocols, August 23, 1939], World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West (PBS)</ref> U.S. Ambassador to Poland Arthur Bliss Lane resigned in protest, writing, "As I glanced over the document, I could not believe my eyes: To me, almost every line spoke of a surrender to Stalin."<ref>Arthur Bliss Lane, ''I Saw Poland Betrayed: An American Ambassador Reports to the American People'' (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1948) ASIN B000NWTIF8, p. 56</ref>

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The agreement also gave the Soviet Union three votes in the UN to one for the U.S.,<ref>Ralph de Toledano and Victor Lasky, ''[http://www.americandeception.com/index.php?action=downloadpdf&photo=/PDFsml_AD/Seeds_Of_Treason-Ralph_de_Toledano_and_Victor_Lasky-1950-278pgs-POL.sml.pdf&id=343&PHPSESSID=b964065077a1de19538c4c7b1cf9e825 Seeds of Treason: The True Story of the Hiss-Chambers Tragedy]'', (NY: Funk and Wagnalls, 1950), ASIN B0007DS43A pp. 107-109 (PDF 115-117)</ref> and agreed to forced "repatriation" of refugees for slave labor<ref>[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/cab_195_3_transcript.pdf War Cabinet Minutes], June 11, 1945, p. 182; Richard D. McKinzie, "[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/lubini.htm Oral History Interview with Dr. Isador Lubin]," Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, June 26, 1974</ref> or death in the Soviet Gulag.<ref>Nikolai Tolstoy, ''The Secret Betrayal'' (New York: Scribner, 1978) ISBN 0684156350; Julius Epstein, ''Operation Keelhaul: The Story of Forced Repatriation from 1944 to the Present'' (Old Greenwich, Conn.: Devin-Adair Co., 1973) ISBN 978-0815964070</ref> In addition, Roosevelt made a secret agreement with Stalin (Churchill was not informed), giving the Soviets Japanese territory, as well as economic rights in Manchuria.<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/behindcloseddoors/in-depth/the-conferences.html#Argonaut2 Yalta (codename Argonaut, phase 2 Magneto)], World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West (PBS)</ref> The complete text of all the agreements was not disclosed until 1947.<ref>"[http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Yalta_Conference.aspx Yalta Conference]," ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', Sixth Edition, 2008</ref> Asked if he had "drafted or participated in the drafting" of parts of the Yalta agreement, Hiss would testify, "I think it is accurate and not an immodest statement to say that I did to some extent, yes."<ref>[http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hiss/8-5testimony.html Testimony of Alger Hiss before the House Committee on Un-American Activities], August 5, 1948</ref>

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The conference ended February 11; the next day, [[Franklin Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] was dead.<ref>[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/coldwar/index.php?action=chrono Ideological Foundations of the Cold War], Harry S. Truman Library, National Archives and Records Administration</ref> Hiss went on to [[Moscow]],<ref>John Ehrman, "[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol51no4/pdf-files/Ehrman_Alger_Hiss_Again-Web%20(U).pdf The Mystery of 'ALES': Once Again, the Alger Hiss Case]," ''Studies in Intelligence'', Vol. 51, no. 4 (2007), p. ; John F. Fox, Jr., "[http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/history/foxpaper.htm In the Enemy’s House: Venona and the Maturation of American Counterintelligence]," 2005 Symposium on Cryptologic History, October 27, 2005; Eduard Mark, "Who was 'Venona's' 'Ales'? Cryptanalysis and the Hiss Case," ''Intelligence and National Security'' 18 (Autumn 2003), pp. 54-55, 57-88, 62, 64</ref> where he was reportedly decorated with the Order of the Red Star<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009) ISBN 0300123906, p. 278; Robert L. Beisner, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=D9Zb_feBUdkC Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War]''' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) ISBN 0195045785, p. 282; G. Edward White, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=FvR4HBTiYzAC Alger Hiss's Looking-glass Wars: The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy]'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0195182553, p. 226; Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History''(Washington: Potomac Books Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574883275, p. 131</ref> and honored by Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov|V.M. Molotov]].<ref>Ralph De Toledano, “[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_47_17/ai_80900413/ Hiss defenders covering for the `old man'],” ''Insight on the News'', December 17, 2001</ref> Five members of a [[GRU|Soviet military intelligence]] apparatus in Washington (one of whom had been a GRU source in the 1930s, and had access to high-level intelligence about U.S. foreign policy) received Soviet decorations in February 1945, according to a 2006 report in a Russian military journal.<ref>Vladimir Lota, “Moris Makes Contact,” ''Krasnaya Zvezda'' (''Red Star''), May 5, 2006, cited in John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, “[http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page70.html 'Ales' is Still Hiss: The Wilder Foote Red Herring],” 2007 Symposium on Cryptologic History, The Center for Cryptologic History, October 19, 2007</ref> On April 25, 1945, [[Pavel Fitin]], head of [[NKVD]] foreign intelligence, reported to NKVD Chief Vsevolod Merkulov<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858400-1,00.html Policeman on Trial]," ''Time'', December 28, 1953</ref> that [[Harold Glasser]], a Soviet agent in the [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]] code-named "Ruble,"<ref>KGB file 43072, vol. 1: "Ruble"—Harold Glasser (Alexander Vassiliev, [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/White_Notebook_No.3_Translated.pdf White Notebook #3], p. 36 [PDF p. 44]), Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars</ref> learned of this award from his friend, "Ales," a GRU agent:

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The conference ended February 11; the next day, [[Franklin Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] was dead.<ref>[http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/coldwar/index.php?action=chrono Ideological Foundations of the Cold War], Harry S. Truman Library, National Archives and Records Administration</ref> Hiss went on to [[Moscow]],<ref>John Ehrman, "[https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol51no4/pdf-files/Ehrman_Alger_Hiss_Again-Web%20(U).pdf The Mystery of 'ALES': Once Again, the Alger Hiss Case]," ''Studies in Intelligence'', Vol. 51, no. 4 (2007), p. ; John F. Fox, Jr., "[http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/history/foxpaper.htm In the Enemy’s House: Venona and the Maturation of American Counterintelligence]," 2005 Symposium on Cryptologic History, October 27, 2005; Eduard Mark, "Who was 'Venona's' 'Ales'? Cryptanalysis and the Hiss Case," ''Intelligence and National Security'' 18 (Autumn 2003), pp. 54-55, 57-88, 62, 64</ref> where he was reportedly decorated with the Order of the Red Star<ref>John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr and Alexander Vassiliev, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=qCAVQ_cdomcC Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America]'' (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009) ISBN 0300123906, p. 278; Robert L. Beisner, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=D9Zb_feBUdkC Dean Acheson: A Life in the Cold War]''' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006) ISBN 0195045785, p. 282; G. Edward White, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=FvR4HBTiYzAC Alger Hiss's Looking-glass Wars: The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy]'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0195182553, p. 226; Jerrold and Leona Schecter, ''Sacred Secrets: How Soviet Intelligence Operations Changed American History''(Washington: Potomac Books Inc., 2002) ISBN 1574883275, p. 131</ref> and honored by Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov|V.M. Molotov]].<ref>Ralph De Toledano, “[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_47_17/ai_80900413/ Hiss defenders covering for the `old man'],” ''Insight on the News'', December 17, 2001</ref> Five members of a [[GRU|Soviet military intelligence]] apparatus in Washington (one of whom had been a [[GRU]] source in the 1930s, and had access to high-level intelligence about U.S. foreign policy) received Soviet decorations in February 1945, according to a 2006 report in a Russian military journal.<ref>Vladimir Lota, “Moris Makes Contact,” ''Krasnaya Zvezda'' (''Red Star''), May 5, 2006, cited in John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, “[http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page70.html 'Ales' is Still Hiss: The Wilder Foote Red Herring],” 2007 Symposium on Cryptologic History, The Center for Cryptologic History, October 19, 2007</ref> On April 25, 1945, [[Pavel Fitin]], head of [[NKVD]] foreign intelligence, reported to NKVD Chief Vsevolod Merkulov<ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,858400-1,00.html Policeman on Trial]," ''Time'', December 28, 1953</ref> that [[Harold Glasser]], a Soviet agent in the [[United States Department of the Treasury|U.S. Treasury]] code-named "Ruble,"<ref>KGB file 43072, vol. 1: "Ruble"—Harold Glasser (Alexander Vassiliev, [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/docs/White_Notebook_No.3_Translated.pdf White Notebook #3], p. 36 [PDF p. 44]), Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars</ref> learned of this award from his friend, "Ales," a GRU agent:

[[Image:Hissetal.jpg|thumb|300 px|Vishinskii (2nd from left), Molotov (5th from left), Stettinius (7th from left), Alger Hiss (right), ca. January 1945. ''Image courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, National Archives and Records Administration'']]{{cquote|According to data from [[Anatoly Gorsky|Vadim]] the group of agents of the [[GRU|"military" neighbors]] whose part [[Harold Glasser|Ruble]] was earlier, recently was decorated with orders of the USSR. Ruble learned about this fact from his friend Ales, who is the head of the mentioned group.<ref>Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, ''The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—the Stalin Era'', (New York: Random House, 1999), ISBN 0375755365, pp. 268-269; G. Edward White, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=FvR4HBTiYzAC Alger Hiss's Looking-glass Wars: The Covert Life of a Soviet Spy]'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0195182553, p. 226</ref>}}

This memo apparently refers to [[Venona project|Venona]] decrypt 1822, dated March 30, 1945, in which "Vadim" ([[Anatoly Gorsky]], chief of Soviet intelligence in the U.S.)<ref>Christopher Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, ''The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB'' (New York: Basic Books, 2000), ISBN 046500312, p. 90</ref> reports,<ref>The translation used here is that of [http://www.johnearlhaynes.org/page61.html John R. Schindler]. Cf. Eric

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