Greg Silvermaster
Encyclopedia
Nathan Gregory Silvermaster (November 27, 1898 – October 7, 1964), an economist
with the United States
War Production Board
(WPB) during World War II
, was the head of a large ring of Communist spies
in the U.S. government. It is from him that the FBI Silvermaster File
, documenting the Bureau's investigation into Communist penetration of the Federal government
during the Cold War
, takes its name. His wife, Helen and stepson, Anatole Volkov, were members of his ring.
He was identified as a Soviet
agent in the WPB operating under the code names Pel, Pal, “Paul” in the Venona decrypts; and as “Robert” both in Venona and independently by defecting Soviet intelligence
courier Elizabeth Bentley
.
, Russia (present-day Odessa, Ukraine) in 1898. He moved with his family to China
, where he learned to speak perfect English with a British accent. He emigrated to the United States and earned his B.A.
from the University of Washington
in Seattle (where he was “stated to be a known Communist”) and a Ph.D.
from the University of California, Berkeley
, where his thesis was entitled Lenin’s Economic Thought Prior to the October Revolution. He became a naturalized
American
citizen in 1926. He was reported to be in contact with a very large number of Communist Party USA
officials, and was active in a number of Communist front groups
.
, Silvermaster arranged in 1942 to be detailed to the Board of Economic Warfare
. The transfer, however, triggered objections from military counter-intelligence who suspected he was a hidden Communist and regarded him as a security risk. On July 16, 1942 the U.S. Civil Service Commission recommended "Cancel eligibilities ... and bar him for the duration of the National Emergency
."
to overrule the security officials. Both White House advisor Lauchlin Currie
(identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover name “Page”) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Harry Dexter White
(identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover names “Lawyer”; “Jurist”; “Richard”) intervened on his behalf. Silvermaster subsequently received two promotions and pay raises.
, Silvermaster was able to provide the Soviet Union with a large amount of data on arms, aircraft, and shipping production. In June 1943, Silvermaster sent a War Production Board report on arms production in the United States, including bombers, pursuit planes, tanks, propelled guns, howitzers, radar and submarines, sub chasers, and the like, to Soviet intelligence. Then, in December 1944, the New York MGB office cabled another Silvermaster report stating: "(Silvermaster) has sent us a 50-page Top Secret War Production Board report ... on arms production in the U.S."
Silvermaster was associated with Harry Dexter White
at the Bretton Woods conference
, and his testimony before the US Senate Internal Security Subcommittee covers "175 pages of interrogation and exhibits" regarding his espionage activities in the U.S.
and in the White House
. Sixty-one of the Venona cables concern the activities of the Silvermaster spy ring. This represents 1% of the total (approx 6,000 cables) and 3% of the (2,000) translated/partially translated VENONA cables.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
War Production Board
War Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
(WPB) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, was the head of a large ring of Communist spies
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
in the U.S. government. It is from him that the FBI Silvermaster File
FBI Silvermaster File
The FBI’s Silvermaster file is a 162-volume compendium of some 26,000 pages of documents relating to the Bureau’s investigation of Communist penetration of the Federal government during the Cold War....
, documenting the Bureau's investigation into Communist penetration of the Federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, takes its name. His wife, Helen and stepson, Anatole Volkov, were members of his ring.
He was identified as a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
agent in the WPB operating under the code names Pel, Pal, “Paul” in the Venona decrypts; and as “Robert” both in Venona and independently by defecting Soviet intelligence
Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies
There was a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The first secret police after the Russian Revolution, created by Vladimir Lenin's decree on December 20, 1917, was called "Cheka"...
courier Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Bentley
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley was an American spy for the Soviet Union from 1938 until 1945. In 1945 she defected from the Communist Party and Soviet intelligence and became an informer for the U.S. She exposed two networks of spies, ultimately naming over 80 Americans who had engaged in espionage for...
.
Early years
Silvermaster was born of a Jewish family in OdessaOdessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Russia (present-day Odessa, Ukraine) in 1898. He moved with his family to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, where he learned to speak perfect English with a British accent. He emigrated to the United States and earned his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle (where he was “stated to be a known Communist”) and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where his thesis was entitled Lenin’s Economic Thought Prior to the October Revolution. He became a naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen in 1926. He was reported to be in contact with a very large number of Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
officials, and was active in a number of Communist front groups
Front organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
.
Government
While nominally remaining on the employment rolls of the Farm Security AdministrationFarm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
, Silvermaster arranged in 1942 to be detailed to the Board of Economic Warfare
Board of Economic Warfare
The Office of Administrator of Export Control was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July 2, 1940 . Brigadier General Russell Lamont Maxwell, United States Army, headed up this military entity...
. The transfer, however, triggered objections from military counter-intelligence who suspected he was a hidden Communist and regarded him as a security risk. On July 16, 1942 the U.S. Civil Service Commission recommended "Cancel eligibilities ... and bar him for the duration of the National Emergency
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
."
Spy
Silvermaster denied any Communist links and appealed to Under Secretary of War Robert PattersonRobert Patterson
Robert Patterson was a United States major general during the Mexican-American War and at the beginning of the American Civil War...
to overrule the security officials. Both White House advisor Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Currie
Lauchlin Bernard Currie was a Canadian-born U.S.economist from New Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada, and allegedly an agent of espionage for the Soviet Union....
(identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover name “Page”) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Harry Dexter White
Harry Dexter White
Harry Dexter White was an American economist, and senior U.S. Treasury department official, participating in the Bretton Woods conference...
(identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover names “Lawyer”; “Jurist”; “Richard”) intervened on his behalf. Silvermaster subsequently received two promotions and pay raises.
War Production Board
At the War Production BoardWar Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
, Silvermaster was able to provide the Soviet Union with a large amount of data on arms, aircraft, and shipping production. In June 1943, Silvermaster sent a War Production Board report on arms production in the United States, including bombers, pursuit planes, tanks, propelled guns, howitzers, radar and submarines, sub chasers, and the like, to Soviet intelligence. Then, in December 1944, the New York MGB office cabled another Silvermaster report stating: "(Silvermaster) has sent us a 50-page Top Secret War Production Board report ... on arms production in the U.S."
Silvermaster was associated with Harry Dexter White
Harry Dexter White
Harry Dexter White was an American economist, and senior U.S. Treasury department official, participating in the Bretton Woods conference...
at the Bretton Woods conference
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after...
, and his testimony before the US Senate Internal Security Subcommittee covers "175 pages of interrogation and exhibits" regarding his espionage activities in the U.S.
Chronology
- August 1935 to November 1938 Farm Security AdministrationFarm Security AdministrationInitially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
- November 1938 to July 1940 Maritime Labor Board
- July 1940 to December 1944 U.S. Department of Agriculture
- 1942 to 1945 U.S. Department of Treasury
- mid 1945 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (became the War Assets Corporation)
- March 1946 resigned from government
Silvermaster group
The Silvermaster spy ring operated primarily in the Department of the Treasury but also had contacts in the Army Air ForceUnited States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
and in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Sixty-one of the Venona cables concern the activities of the Silvermaster spy ring. This represents 1% of the total (approx 6,000 cables) and 3% of the (2,000) translated/partially translated VENONA cables.
- Nathan Gregory Silvermaster, Chief Planning Technician, Procurement Division, United States Department of the TreasuryUnited States Department of the TreasuryThe Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
; Chief Economist, War Assets Administration; Director of the Labor Division, Farm Security Administration; Board of Economic WarfareBoard of Economic WarfareThe Office of Administrator of Export Control was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July 2, 1940 . Brigadier General Russell Lamont Maxwell, United States Army, headed up this military entity...
; Reconstruction Finance CorporationReconstruction Finance CorporationThe Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...
Department of Commerce - Helen Silvermaster, wife
- Anatole Boris Volkov, stepson
- Solomon Adler aka Schlomer AdlerSolomon AdlerSolomon Adler was an economist who worked in the U. S. Treasury Department, serving as Treasury representative in China during World War II. He was identified by Whittaker Chambers and Elizabeth Bentley as a Soviet intelligence source and resigned from the Treasury Department in 1950...
, U.S. Department of the Treasury - Norman Chandler Bursler, United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
Anti-Trust Division - Frank CoeFrank CoeVirginius Frank Coe was a United States government official who was identified by Soviet defectors Elizabeth Bentley and Whittaker Chambers as being an underground member of the Communist Party...
, Assistant Director, Division of Monetary Research, Treasury Department; Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador in London; Assistant to the Executive Director, Board of Economic Warfare; Assistant Administrator, Foreign Economic AdministrationForeign Economic AdministrationIn the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the Foreign Economic Administration was formed to relieve friction between US agencies operating abroad. As described by the biographer of the FEA's chief, Leo Crowley, the agency was designed and run by "The Nation's #1 Pinch-hitter".S. L... - Lauchlin CurrieLauchlin CurrieLauchlin Bernard Currie was a Canadian-born U.S.economist from New Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada, and allegedly an agent of espionage for the Soviet Union....
, Administrative Assistant to President Roosevelt; Deputy Administrator of Foreign Economic Administration; Special Representative to China - Bela GoldBela GoldBela Gold, also Bill Gold, , was born in Cluj-Napoca .-Biography:He was the son of Esther and Leo Gold , and had a brother, William Gold . His father was a dry goods salesman, and the family had emigrated in 1920...
, Assistant Head of Program Surveys, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of AgricultureThe United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
; Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization; Office of Economic Programs in Foreign Economic Administration - Sonia Steinman GoldSonia Steinman GoldSonia Steinman Gold has been alleged to be part of the Silvermaster spy ring in Washington D.C., spying for the Soviet Union during World War II.-Biography:...
, Division of Monetary Research U.S. Treasury Department; U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Interstate Migration; U.S. Bureau of Employment Security - Irving KaplanIrving KaplanIrving Kaplan was an official of the United States government accused of involvement in Soviet espionage. He worked with David Weintraub in the Works Progress Administration's National Research Project, later moving to the Department of the Treasury, the War Production Board , and the Foreign...
, Foreign Funds Control and Division of Monetary Research, United States Department of the Treasury Foreign Economic Administration; chief advisor to the Military Government of GermanyAllied Military Government for Occupied TerritoriesThe Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within European territories they occupied.-Notable AMGOT:... - George SilvermanGeorge SilvermanAbraham George Silverman was a mathematician and statistician who graduated from Harvard University.-Biography:...
, civilian Chief Production Specialist, Material Division, Army Air ForceUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
Air Staff, War DepartmentUnited States Department of WarThe United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
, Pentagon - William Henry TaylorWilliam Henry TaylorWilliam Henry Taylor was a Canadian-born US Treasury economist accused by Elizabeth Bentley of having been a Soviet spy.-Life:...
, Assistant Director of the Middle East Division of Monetary Research, United States Department of Treasury - William "Lud" UllmanLud UllmanWilliam Ludwig Ullmann was an American official accused of spying for the Soviet Union.-Biography:He was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1908, attended Drury College , and graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA in 1935. Ulmann then took a job with the National Recovery Administration...
, delegate to United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Charter meeting and Bretton Woods conferenceUnited Nations Monetary and Financial ConferenceThe United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after...
; Division of Monetary Research, Department of Treasury; Material and Services Division, Air Corps Headquarters, Pentagon - Harry Dexter WhiteHarry Dexter WhiteHarry Dexter White was an American economist, and senior U.S. Treasury department official, participating in the Bretton Woods conference...
, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Head of the International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
Sources
- Christopher M. Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB (New York: Basic Books, 1999).
- Gregg Herken. Brotherhood of the Bomb. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002.
- 746, 747, 748 Venona New York KGB to Moscow, May 25 1942 Data on construction and distribution of U.S. military aircraft.
- 1061, 0162, 1063 Venona New York KGB to Moscow, July 3, 1943, pg. 1 pg. 2 Numerical strength of the United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
. - Richard C.S. Trahair and Robert Miller, Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations (New York: Enigma Books, 2008) ISBN 978-1-929631-75-9.
External links
- The Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) has the full text of former KGB agent Alexander Vassiliev's Notebooks, containing new evidence on Silvermaster's role in Soviet espionage in the United States
- FBI Silvermaster File 65-56402 (26,000+ pages)
- Silvermaster Group FBI FOIA (1,950 pages)