Johannes Steele
Encyclopedia
Johannes Steel 1908-1988 is best known for his 1934 book The Second World War.
The son of a German-Dutch landowner, Steel grew up in Elberfeld
on the border of the two countries. He studied in Heidelberg
, Oxford
, Geneva
, and Berlin
, and then worked as a journalist. He fled to the France and then Britain when the Nazis took power and later emigrated to the United States. He continued to work as a journalist, writing for The Nation
and the New York Post
.
His book The Second World War predicted the war based on an assessment of Nazi intentions and historical parallels. Though the book had the war starting in 1935 rather than 1939 as it actually did, it became highly regarded after the start of the war proved him basically right. Because of his prescience, he became widely followed, with a popular radio commentary in the U.S. during the war.
He was alleged to have had a covert relationship with Soviet intelligence
during World War II
.
A deciphered Venona cable of Soviet intelligence traffic from July 1944, reveals Steel telling Vladimir Pravdin
of the New York KGB that Roman Moszulski, the director of the Polish Telegraphic Agency, was secretly pro-Communist and wanted to m told Moszulski that he should remain in place with the Polish Telegraphic Agency
, which was aligned with the London-based Polish government-in-exile, and set up a meeting with the KGB. At the meeting Moszulski told Pravdin he believed Poland should have good relations with the Soviet Union and, "having thought over the full seriousness and the possible consequences of his step, he was putting himself at our disposal and was ready to give the Communists all the information he had and to questions concerning his activities." To prove his bona fides to Soviet intelligence, Moszulski conveyed a list of Polish exiles and Polish-Americans, including an evaluation of how they stood on Polish-Soviet relations.
Steel's cover name assigned by Soviet intelligence and deciphered by Arlington Hall
cryptographers is DICKY, DICKI and DIKI. Steel is referenced in the following Venona project decryptions:
734 KGB New York to Moscow, 21 May 1944; 1039–1041 KGB New York to Moscow, 24–25 July 1944; 1393 KGB New York to Moscow, 3 October 1944; 1814, 1815 KGB New York to Moscow, 23 December1944.
The son of a German-Dutch landowner, Steel grew up in Elberfeld
Elberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...
on the border of the two countries. He studied in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and then worked as a journalist. He fled to the France and then Britain when the Nazis took power and later emigrated to the United States. He continued to work as a journalist, writing for The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
and the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
.
His book The Second World War predicted the war based on an assessment of Nazi intentions and historical parallels. Though the book had the war starting in 1935 rather than 1939 as it actually did, it became highly regarded after the start of the war proved him basically right. Because of his prescience, he became widely followed, with a popular radio commentary in the U.S. during the war.
He was alleged to have had a covert relationship with Soviet intelligence
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
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...
.
A deciphered Venona cable of Soviet intelligence traffic from July 1944, reveals Steel telling Vladimir Pravdin
Vladimir Pravdin
Vladimir Pravdin or Roland Lyudvigovich Abbiate codename LETCHIK was a senior NKVD assassin working in Europe during the Great Terror. He later became a KGB agent, stationed in the United States....
of the New York KGB that Roman Moszulski, the director of the Polish Telegraphic Agency, was secretly pro-Communist and wanted to m told Moszulski that he should remain in place with the Polish Telegraphic Agency
Polish Telegraphic Agency
Polish Telegraphic Agency was a Polish state-owned news agency established in 1918. As the only such agency in Poland at the time it was the official supplier of news on Poland both for the Polish press and foreign media . Since 1927 the PAT also issued a weekly newsreel...
, which was aligned with the London-based Polish government-in-exile, and set up a meeting with the KGB. At the meeting Moszulski told Pravdin he believed Poland should have good relations with the Soviet Union and, "having thought over the full seriousness and the possible consequences of his step, he was putting himself at our disposal and was ready to give the Communists all the information he had and to questions concerning his activities." To prove his bona fides to Soviet intelligence, Moszulski conveyed a list of Polish exiles and Polish-Americans, including an evaluation of how they stood on Polish-Soviet relations.
Steel's cover name assigned by Soviet intelligence and deciphered by Arlington Hall
Arlington Hall
Arlington Hall was a former girl's school and the headquarters of the US Army's Signal Intelligence Service cryptography effort during World War II. The site presently houses the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, and the United States National Guard Readiness Center. It...
cryptographers is DICKY, DICKI and DIKI. Steel is referenced in the following Venona project decryptions:
734 KGB New York to Moscow, 21 May 1944; 1039–1041 KGB New York to Moscow, 24–25 July 1944; 1393 KGB New York to Moscow, 3 October 1944; 1814, 1815 KGB New York to Moscow, 23 December1944.
External links
- W.E.B. DuBois, The Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century. New York, NY: International Publishers Co. Inc., 1968, pp. 343–360. excerpt http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/DuBois/DUBOISW4.HTML
- Johannes Steele Stories Listed by Author.