The Secret World of American Communism (Annals of Communism Series)

For The First Time, The Hidden World Of American Communism Can Be Examined With The Help Of Documents From The Recently Opened Archives Of The Former Soviet Union. An Engrossing Narrative Places The Documents In Their Historical Context And Explains Key Figures, Organizations, And Events. Chronology Of American Communism -- Ch. 1. Background. A Brief History Of The American Communist Party. The Clandestine Activities Of The Cpusa. The Question Of Joseph Mccarthy. The Historiographic Debate -- Ch. 2. Clandestine Habits: The 1920s And The Early 1930s. The Comintern And Covert Operations. John Reed And Clandestine Funding Of American Communism. Julius And Armand Hammer. Other Secret Communications. The Pan-pacific Trade Union Secretariat. Earl Browder And Undercover Operations In Asia. Harrison George And The Secret Work Of The Pptus. Agnes Smedley, Comintern Agent -- Ch. 3. The Secret Apparatus Of The Cpusa: The Early Years. The Cpusa Establishes Its Secret Apparatus. J. Peters And The Secret Apparatus, 1932-1938. Rudy Baker Replaces J. Peters. The Washington Communist Underground, 1933-1943. The Ware Group And The La Follette Committee. Peters And The Washington Informant Group, 1943. Copying Confidential State Department Letters, 1936 -- Ch. 4. The Secret Apparatus Branches Out. The Secret Apparatus Under Rudy Baker, 1938-1940. Fighting Ideological Deviationists And Other Enemies. Weeding Out Internal Enemies. Stealing The Files Of Party Enemies. Enforcing Ideological Conformity. Max, The Agent Who Wouldn't Go Home, 1939-1942. Fighting Deviationists And Bad Elements In The Spanish Civil War. The Surveillance Of Bertram Wolfe, 1937. The Death Of Albert Wallach, 1938. Suspicious Individuals And Deserters In The Abraham Lincoln Battalion -- Ch. 5. Other Faces Of The Secret World. Ann Cadwallader Coles, A Southern Artist In The Secret World. American Communists And Soviet Radio Propaganda, 1937-1942. Williana Burroughs, New York Teacher And Soviet Radio Propagandist. American Students In The International Lenin School. American Communists In Red Army Uniforms, 1936 Ch. 6. The American Communist Party, The Secret Apparatus, And The Nkvd. The Brother-son Network In World War Ii. The Brother-son Network And Soviet Atomic Espionage. Morris Cohen, Atomic Spy. Recruiting Japanese Cadre For The Comintern. Earl Browder And The Nkvd. Earl Browder As An Nkvd Talent Spotter, 1940. Margaret Browder, Nkvd Agent, 1938. Irene Browder, Commissar With Emergency Powers Earl Browder's Back Channel To The White House -- Ch. 7. The American Communist Underground Fights World War Ii. The Cpusa, The Oss, And Soviet Intelligence. Recruiting Veterans Of The International Brigades For The Oss, 1941-1945. Eugene Dennis, William Donovan, And The Infiltration Of The Oss And Owi. Reporting On The American Embassy In Moscow, 1942-1943 Ch. 8. Soviet Intelligence And American Communists, 1942-1945. Nkvd And Gru Inquiries About Americans. Judith Coplon, Soviet Spy. Albert Feierabend, Soviet Agent. Edmund Stevens, Pulitzer Prize-winning Reporter. Veterans Of The International Brigades. Oss And State Department Employees. Elizabeth Bentley And The Perlo Group. The Credibility Of Whittaker Chambers -- Ch. 9. Conclusion -- Appendix A The Archival Record -- Appendix B Organization Of The American Communist Party. Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, And Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov; Russian Documents Translated By Timothy D. Sergay. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 337-339) And Index. For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. By interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a convincing new picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), one of the most controversial organizations in American public life. Heated debates about whether the Communist Party harbored spies or engaged in espionage have surrounded the party from its inception. This authoritative book provides proof that the CPUSA was involved in various subversive activities. At the same time, it discloses fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities. The documents presented range from letters by Americans wishing to do international covert work for the Soviet Union to top secret memos between the head of Soviet foreign intelligence, the Comintern, and the CPUSA. They confirm that --the Soviet Union heavily subsidized the CPUSA and that some prominent Americans laundered money for the Comintern; --the CPUSA maintained a covert espionage apparatus in the United States with direct ties to Soviet intelligence; --the testimony of former Communists concerning underground Communist activity in the United States can be substantiated; --American Communists working in government agencies stole documents and passed them to the CPUSA, which sent them on to Moscow; --the CPUSA played a role in atomic espionage; and much more. An engrossing narrative places the documents in their historical context and explains key figures, organizations, and events. Together the narrative and documents provide a revealing picture of American communism and convey the contradictory passions that drew so many Americans into the Communist movement and eventually tore that movement apart. For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. Interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a convincing new picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), providing proof that it was involved in espionage and other subversive activities. At the same time, they disclose fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities.

"A formidable achievement in archival research. No one will be able to write about the cpusa in the future without reference to this volume."-Maurice Isserman, Nation

"A memorable, powerful book. . . . One of this year's most significant books about twentieth-century American political history."-David J. Garrow, New York Newsday

"This book contains the first new revelation about American Communism in a generation. It is superbly edited and admirably presented. No one interested in the history of the American Communism can afford to miss it."-Theodore Draper

Harvey Klehr, the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Politics at Emory University, is also the author of The Heyday of American Communism. John Earl Haynes is a specialist in twentieth-century American history at the Library of Congress. Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov is formerly of the Comintern Archive at the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Recent History.

For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. An engrossing narrative places the documents in their historical context and explains key figures, organizations, and events. Illustrations.

By interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), one of the most controversial organizations in American public life. Heated debates about whether the Communist Party harboured spies or engaged in espionage have surrounded the party from its inception. This book provides proof that the CPUSA was involved in various subversive activities. At the same time, it discloses details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities. The documents presented range from letters by Americans wishing to do international covert work for the Soviet Union, to top secret memos between the head of Soviet foreign intelligence, the Comintern and the CPUSA. They confirm that: the Soviet Union heavily subsidised the CPUSA and that some prominent Americans laundered money for the Comintern; the CPUSA maintained a covert espionage apparatus in the United States with direct ties to Soviet intelligence; the testimony of former Communists concerning underground Communist activity in the United States can be substantiated; American Communists working in government agencies stole documents and passed them to the CPUSA, which sent them on to Moscow; and the CPUSA played a role in atomic espionage. A narrative places the documents in their historical context and explains key figures, organizations and events. Together the narrative and documents provide a picture of American communism and convey the contradictory passions that drew so many Americans into the Communist movement and eventually tore that movement apart Based on documents newly available from Russian archives, The Soviet World of American Communism conclusively demonstrates the continuous and intimate ties between the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) and Moscow. In a meticulous investigation of the personal, organizational, and financial links between the CPUSA and Soviet Communists, the authors find that Moscow maintained extensive control of the CPUSA, even of the American rank and file. The widely accepted view that the CPUSA was essentially an idealistic organization devoted to the pursuit of social justice must be radically revised, say the authors. Although individuals within the organization may not have been aware of Moscow's influence, the leaders of the organization most definitely were