“American” Jews Who Spied for the USSR

By Earl P. Holt III

The Roosevelt and Truman Administrations were honeycombed with Soviet intelligence agents, and the vast majority of these traitors were Jews. Their networks were so extensive that it became necessary to draft other CPUSA members — who were not federal employees — to assist in servicing the enormous volume of “product” they collected.

Most were assigned secret code-names by the GRU (Soviet Military Intelligence) or NKVD (Soviet Civilian Intelligence, and predecessor to the KGB.) These spies were embedded in one or both Administrations, and reported directly to seasoned “handlers” from one of the two Soviet intelligence agencies.

Code-breakers within the Army Signal Corp’s VENONA project were able to decode only fractions of about one percent of all transmissions that flowed back and forth between Moscow and its agents in the U.S. Moreover, the “window of opportunity” to intercept and decode those messages existed for only about 18 months. As a result, the identities of many traitors were never discovered, nor were their code-names revealed.

American-Jewish Spies

Some spies in the following list do not have Soviet code-names. Nevertheless, they are known to have spied for the USSR because they are either described in decoded VENONA transcripts, or their contributions to Soviet espionage are discussed within those transcripts. Alternatively, some were acknowledged to be spies through other means, such as the Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) of the FBI. These are designated as “indeterminate” where their code-names would otherwise be indicated.

Some have more than one code-name assigned to them: These individuals may have been independently recruited by both the NKVD and GRU, with neither spy agency becoming aware of the other’s efforts owing to the “compartmentalization” practiced by all successful intelligence agencies. Another explanation is that some code names may simply have been changed at the whim of Soviet spymasters.

Alger Hiss is an example of a Soviet spy with two code-names: He was referred to as “Lawyer” by the NKVD, and “Mars” by the GRU. He is not included in the list because he was not a Jew. I have tried very hard to include only Jews in the list, although some names may not appear to be Jewish, even though they are. One example of this is Rudy Baker, who changed his surname from its original “Blum.”

Fractions of one percent of the 300,000 transmissions sent to the USSR’s agents in America would appear to be a relatively small “harvest” of intelligence material: Yet, the fact that so many traitors WERE exposed by VENONA is a strong indication of just how expansive those Soviet spy networks really were, much as the “tip” of an iceberg provides a pretty good indication of what remains below and unseen.

The many individuals exposed as Soviet espionage agents are also an indication of just how prescient and heroic Wisconsin Senator Joe McCarthy was in his courageous efforts to investigate and expose the disloyal and treasonous federal employees who spied for Stalin and the USSR before, during and after WWII.

American Jews who Spied for the USSR:

John Abt (“Amt”)
Solomon Adler (“Sachs”)
Lydia Altschuler (“Lidia”)
Thomas Babin (“Brem”)
Marion Bachrach (indeterminate)
Rudy Baker (“Rudi” and “Son”)
Joel Barr (“Meter” later “Scout”)
Theodore Bayer (“SIMON”)
George Beiser (indeterminate)
Aleksandr Belenky (indeterminate)
Cedrick Belfrage (“No. 9”)
Joseph Berger (indeterminate)
Joseph Bernstein (“Marquis”)
Walter Bernstein (indeterminate)
T.A. Bisson (“Arthur”)
Samuel Bloomfeld (indeterminate)
Robinson Bobrow (indeterminate)
Abraham Brothman (“Chrome Yellow” and “Expert”)
Michael Burd (“Tenor” and “Bass” and “Ten”)
Norman Bursler (indeterminate)
Sylvia Callen (“Satyr”)
Frank Coe (“Peak”)
Lona Cohen (“Lesley”)
Morris Cohen (“Volunteer”)
Anna Collums (indeterminate)
Judith Coplon (“Sima”)
Samuel Dickstein (“Crook”)
Demetrius Dvoichenko-Markov (“Hook”)
Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov (“Masha”)
Frank Dziedzik (indeterminate)
Nathan Einhorn (“Egorn”)
Max Elitcher (Indeterminate)
Jacob Epstein (“Harry”)
Jack Fahy (“MAXWELL”)
Lynn Farish (“Attila”)
Charles S. Flato (“Bob” and “Char”)
Isaac Folkoff (“Uncle”)
Zalmond Franklin (indeterminate)
Boleslaw Gebert (indeterminate)
Rebecca Getzoff (“Adam”)
Harold Glasser (“Ruble”)
Bela Gold (“Acorn”)
Harry Gold (“Goose” and “Arnold”)
Sonia S. Gold (“Sonya”)
Eliot Goldberg (indeterminate)
Alexander Goldberger (“Peter”)
Jacob Golos (“Sound”)
George Gorchoff (“Gustav”)
Gerald Graze (indeterminate)
Stanley Graze (indeterminate)
David Greenglass (“Bumblebee” & “Caliber”)
Ruth Greenglass (“Wasp”)
Theodore Hall (indeterminate)
Maurice Halperin (“Hare” and “Stowaway”)
Kitty Harris (“Aida” or “Ada”)
Clarence Hiskey (“RAMSAY”)
Louis Horvitz (indeterminate)
Rosa Isaak (indeterminate)
Herman R. Jacobson (“S-I”)
Emma Harriet Joseph (“IVY”)
Julius Joseph (“Cautious”)
Bella Joseph (“Colleague”)
David Karr (“indeterminate”)
Gertrude Kahn (“Dinah”)
Joseph Katz (“X” and “Informer”)
Mary Jane Keeney (indeterminate)
Phillip Keeney (“Bredan” and “KINI”)
Alexander Koral (“Berg”)
Helen Koral (“Miranda” and later “Art”)
George Abramovitch Koval (“DELMAR”)
Samuel Krafsur (“IDE”)
Charles Kramer (“Plumb” and “Lot” and “Mole”)
Christina Krotkova (“Jeanne” and “Zhanna”)
Stephen Laird (“Yun”)
Avram Landy “KhAN”
Oscar Lange (“FRIEND”)
Trude Lash (indeterminate)
Richard Lauterbach (indeterminate)
Michael Leshing (indeterminate)
Leo Levanas (“ALMA”)
Morris Libau (indeterminate)
Henry Magdoff (“KANT”)
William Malisoff (“HENRY” and “TALENT”)
Hede Massing (“Redhead”)
Robert Menaker (“BOB” and “CZECH”)
Leonard Mins (“Smith”)
Arthur Moosen (“Frank”)
Franz L. Neumann (indeterminate)
Eugenie Olkhine (indeterminate)
Frank Oppenheimer (indeterminate)
Nicholas Orloff (“OSIPOV”)
William Perl (indeterminate)
Victor Perlo (“Raider”)
Paul Pinsky (indeterminate)
William Pinsly (“CORK” and “NEMO”)
Vladimir Pozner (“Plato”)
Lee Pressman (indeterminate)
Esther Trebach Rand (“AIDA” and “KLO”)
Bernard Redmont (“MON”)
Steven Rich (“Sandi”)
Ruth Rivkin (indeterminate)
Samuel Rodman (indeterminate)
Julius Rosenberg “ANTENNA” & “Liberal”
Allan Rosenberg (used actual name)
Ethyl Rosenberg (indeterminate)
Alfred Sarant (“Hughes”)
Saville Sax (indeterminate)
Marion Schultz (“LAVA”)
Bernard Schuster (indeterminate)
Milton Schwartz (“Matvey”)
Max Seborer (indeterminage
Oscar Seborer (indeterminate)
Stuart Seborer (indeterminate)
Abraham George Silverman (“Aileron”)
Helen Silvermaster (“Dora”)
Nathan Silvermaster (“Pal” & “Robert”)
Morton Sobell (indeterminate)
Jack Soble (“Abram” & “Czech”)
Myra Soble (indeterminate)
Robert Soblen (indeterminate)
Alfred Stern (“Louis”)
Izzy Stern (“Blin” = “pancake”)
Augusta Stridsberg (“Klara”)
Helen B. Tenney (“Muse”)
Mikhail Tkach (“PERCH”)
William Ludwig Ullman (indeterminate)
Sara Veksler (“Ola” or “Ols”)
Irving Charles Velson (“Nick”)
Margietta Voge (“Daughter”)
Harold Ware (indeterminate)
William Weisband (“Link”)
Joseph Weisbrod (“Antenna”)
Harry D. White (true name Weit) “Richard”
Enos Wicher (“Kin” or “Keen”)
Maria Wicher (“Dasha”)
Ignacy Witczak (“R”)
Ilya Wolston (“Slava” or “Glory”)
Flora Wovschin (“Zora”)
Jones Orin York (“NEEDLE”)
Daniel Zaret (indeterminate)
Mark Zborowski (“Tulip” and “Kant”)

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