Willard Park
Encyclopedia
Willard Zerbe Park anthropologist. Park was a former teaching colleague of Maurice Halperin
at the University of Oklahoma. Both Park and Halperin actively sought out recruitment with Soviet intelligence, or the "Communist East" through the New Masses and Jacob Golos
. Contacts were made with Elizabeth Bentley
through Mary Price
.
on October 14, 1906. He received his A.B.
degree in anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley
and finished a year of graduate school also at Berkeley. At Berkeley he met his future wife, Susan Brandenstein (1908–1993), who was also an anthropology student.
Beginning in 1942 Park was the Assistant Chief of the Economic Analysis Section of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
(CIAA), and later the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
.
In 1943 Park was interviewed in connection with a Hatch Act
investigation. Much of Parks FBI file is redacted, including his background material, which usually includes routine items like a date of birth, parentage, education, and personal information. Park was considered a minor source of intelligence.
He died on April 15, 1965, in Reno, Nevada
.
Maurice Halperin
Maurice Hyman Halperin was an American writer, professor, diplomat, and Soviet spy .-Biography:...
at the University of Oklahoma. Both Park and Halperin actively sought out recruitment with Soviet intelligence, or the "Communist East" through the New Masses and Jacob Golos
Jacob Golos
Jacob Golos, , was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary of ethnic Jewish heritage who became a secret police operative on behalf of the USSR in the United States...
. Contacts were made with 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...
through Mary Price
Mary Price
Mary Wolfe Price 1909—1980 was an American who was accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union.-Early years:Born in 1909 in Rockingham County, North Carolina, Price graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1931...
.
Biography
He was born in Silt, ColoradoSilt, Colorado
Silt is a Statutory Town in Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,740 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Silt is located at , about 185 miles west of Denver....
on October 14, 1906. He received his A.B.
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...
degree in anthropology at 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...
and finished a year of graduate school also at Berkeley. At Berkeley he met his future wife, Susan Brandenstein (1908–1993), who was also an anthropology student.
Beginning in 1942 Park was the Assistant Chief of the Economic Analysis Section of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation during the 1940s, especially in commercial and economic areas...
(CIAA), and later the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in 1943, it became part of the United Nations in 1945, was especially active in 1945 and 1946, and largely shut down...
.
In 1943 Park was interviewed in connection with a Hatch Act
Hatch Act of 1939
The Hatch Act of 1939 is a United States federal law whose main provision is to prohibit federal employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the President and the Vice President, from engaging in partisan political activity...
investigation. Much of Parks FBI file is redacted, including his background material, which usually includes routine items like a date of birth, parentage, education, and personal information. Park was considered a minor source of intelligence.
He died on April 15, 1965, in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
.
Further reading
- Alexander Vassiliev, Untitled Notes on Anatoly Gorsky’s December 1948 Memo on the Failed American Networks (2003)
- FBI Silvermaster file