Angela Calomiris
Encyclopedia
Angela "Angie" Calomiris (August 1, 1916 - January 30, 1995) was an American photographer who became a secret FBI informant within the Communist Party USA
(CPUSA) under the name Angela Cole. Calomiris spent seven years undercover in the party from February 1942 until April 26, 1949 when she was called to testify in the trial of eleven CPUSA leaders, who were convicted of conspiracy to advocate the overthrow of the US government on October 13, 1949.
on August 1, 1916 and grew up on the Lower East Side
of Manhattan. Her father was a furrier, who lost his job during the Great Depression
and was forced to support his family through menial labor. Calomiris attended Brooklyn College
and Hunter College
of the City University of New York
for two years, and decided to become a professional photographer, having fallen in love with photography as a child. After her studies, she took up residence in Greenwich Village
and "instead of buying food, she saved money to buy a camera". She also joined the Photo League, a group of amateur photographic enthusiasts, which included a number of communists among its members.
A few weeks after meeting with the FBI, Calomiris attended a lecture about Soviet efforts in World War II
, where she was recruited by communist organizers. She then agreed to join the party, but was advised by her communist recruiters that she should take an assumed name for security reasons and chose the name Angela Cole. Calomiris then rose quickly through the ranks of the party by volunteering for jobs that no one else wanted to do. Over her time in the party, she served as educational director, branch organizer, and co-section organizer of the West Midtown Branch of the CPUSA, before rising to the position of finance secretary. As finance secretary, Calomiris had access to extensive information on party members, including the real names of all members of the branch and the leaders of the national party, and passed all of this information to the FBI. Throughout the time that Calomiris served as an informant, she supported herself as a professional photographer, specializing in animal photographs, but the FBI also paid her a salary (a fact which Calomiris later denied) and covered her expenses, including Communist Party dues.
During World War II, the US Department of Justice avoided prosecuting American communists, to avoid antagonizing the Soviet Union, then a military ally. After the end of the war, they began compiling a case against the leadership of the CPUSA, using evidence from informants, including Calomiris. John McGohey, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, was given the lead role in prosecuting the cases and, under the Smith Act
, presented charges against twelve communist leaders on July 20, 1948. The defendants were then indicted by a grand jury and arrested.
After the arrests, Calomiris remained undercover, and continued her activities within the Party. When the trial of the communist leaders began in January, she travelled to Washington, DC to join a protest against the prosecutions. She also donated $50 in government money to the legal defense fund for the defendants, and was asked to help plan their legal strategy, but refused. During the trial, the prosecution decided to use Calomiris as a surprise witness and on April 26, she "stunned" the defendants by taking the stand for the prosecution.
In her testimony, Calomiris identified four of the defendants, John Williamson
, Benjamin J. Davis
, Robert G. Thompson
, and Gilbert Green as members of the Communist Party and provided information on its organization. She also testified that the Party espoused violent revolution against the government and that the Party had attempted to recruit members working in key war industries, on instructions from Moscow. Calomiris was then cross-examined so harshly by the defense, that the presiding judge Harold Medina
rebuked the defense attorney, but the questioning "failed to shake her testimony."
Around the time of the trial, Calomiris also began dating Myrtis Johnson, the sister-in-law of her FBI handler, Ken Bierly, a fact that attracted attention from the media.
in 1950. George Scharsburg of the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that the book was "well worth reading" and A.H. Raskin of the New York Times praised it for being "as interesting for its insight into the problems that best a Government 'plant' in the party as it is for the light it throws on the jealousies, personal intrigues and divisions that exist behind the party's monolithic facade", but Richard Donnelly criticized the book in The Yale Law Journal for being "rather pretentious".
After the publication of her book, Calomiris went on a number of talk radio shows, appearing most notably on former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
's show on NBC
, Today with Mrs. Roosevelt, where Roosevelt praised Calomiris as "a young lady of great courage." During the same period, Calomiris continued to work with the FBI, providing information on a communist lesbian policewoman named Yetta Cohn, which resulted in the firing of Cohn and another woman.
in Provincetown, Massachusetts
in the 1960s. She died on January 30, 1995 in San Miguel de Allende
, Mexico
.
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....
(CPUSA) under the name Angela Cole. Calomiris spent seven years undercover in the party from February 1942 until April 26, 1949 when she was called to testify in the trial of eleven CPUSA leaders, who were convicted of conspiracy to advocate the overthrow of the US government on October 13, 1949.
Early life
The daughter of Greek immigrants, Calomiris was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on August 1, 1916 and grew up on the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan. Her father was a furrier, who lost his job during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and was forced to support his family through menial labor. Calomiris attended Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
and Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
for two years, and decided to become a professional photographer, having fallen in love with photography as a child. After her studies, she took up residence in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and "instead of buying food, she saved money to buy a camera". She also joined the Photo League, a group of amateur photographic enthusiasts, which included a number of communists among its members.
FBI Informant
In February 1942, Calomiris was approached by two FBI agents, who asked her if she would be willing to infiltrate the CPUSA as an informant. The agents told her that she would receive neither money nor glory for her work, and that she would be disavowed if discovered, possibly putting her in personal danger, but Calomiris accepted their offer anyway after a week of deliberation. When asked about her decision in 1950, Calomiris told the New York Times that she accepted the offer because she "kind of wanted to be a hero." Her FBI handlers advised her to "never act conspiratorially or try to pry into party secrets", but rather to simply gather and report whatever information came her way.A few weeks after meeting with the FBI, Calomiris attended a lecture about Soviet efforts in 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...
, where she was recruited by communist organizers. She then agreed to join the party, but was advised by her communist recruiters that she should take an assumed name for security reasons and chose the name Angela Cole. Calomiris then rose quickly through the ranks of the party by volunteering for jobs that no one else wanted to do. Over her time in the party, she served as educational director, branch organizer, and co-section organizer of the West Midtown Branch of the CPUSA, before rising to the position of finance secretary. As finance secretary, Calomiris had access to extensive information on party members, including the real names of all members of the branch and the leaders of the national party, and passed all of this information to the FBI. Throughout the time that Calomiris served as an informant, she supported herself as a professional photographer, specializing in animal photographs, but the FBI also paid her a salary (a fact which Calomiris later denied) and covered her expenses, including Communist Party dues.
Foley Square trial
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act or Smith Act of 1940 is a United States federal statute that set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S...
, presented charges against twelve communist leaders on July 20, 1948. The defendants were then indicted by a grand jury and arrested.
After the arrests, Calomiris remained undercover, and continued her activities within the Party. When the trial of the communist leaders began in January, she travelled to Washington, DC to join a protest against the prosecutions. She also donated $50 in government money to the legal defense fund for the defendants, and was asked to help plan their legal strategy, but refused. During the trial, the prosecution decided to use Calomiris as a surprise witness and on April 26, she "stunned" the defendants by taking the stand for the prosecution.
In her testimony, Calomiris identified four of the defendants, John Williamson
John Williamson (Communist)
John Williamson was a Scottish-born radical best remembered as a top leader of the Communist youth movement in the 1920s in the United States.-Early years:...
, Benjamin J. Davis
Benjamin J. Davis
Benjamin J. "Ben" Davis , was an African-American lawyer and communist who was elected to the city council of New York City, representing Harlem, in 1943...
, Robert G. Thompson
Robert G. Thompson
Robert George Thompson was born on June 21, 1915 in Grants Pass, Oregon, Thompson fought on the side of the Spanish Republicans in the Civil War in Spain, attaining the rank of battalion commander with the all-American volunteer Abraham Lincoln Brigade.Following the Spanish Civil War Thompson saw...
, and Gilbert Green as members of the Communist Party and provided information on its organization. She also testified that the Party espoused violent revolution against the government and that the Party had attempted to recruit members working in key war industries, on instructions from Moscow. Calomiris was then cross-examined so harshly by the defense, that the presiding judge Harold Medina
Harold Medina
Harold Raymond Medina, Sr. was an American lawyer, teacher and judge who is most noted for hearing landmark cases of conspiracy and treason.Medina died in 1990 at the age of 102.- Early life :...
rebuked the defense attorney, but the questioning "failed to shake her testimony."
Around the time of the trial, Calomiris also began dating Myrtis Johnson, the sister-in-law of her FBI handler, Ken Bierly, a fact that attracted attention from the media.
Celebrity after the trial
The defendants in the Foley Square trial were convicted on October 13, 1949, and Calomiris became a minor celebrity as the result of her role in the proceedings. She capitalized on the fame by writing an autobiography, Red Masquerade: Undercover for the FBI, which was published by LippincottLippincott Williams & Wilkins
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is an academic and professional medical publisher owned by Wolters Kluwer group. It publishes textbooks, various electronic media, and over 275 journals and newsletters in the health-care field. Publications are aimed at physicians, nurses, clinicians, and students...
in 1950. George Scharsburg of the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that the book was "well worth reading" and A.H. Raskin of the New York Times praised it for being "as interesting for its insight into the problems that best a Government 'plant' in the party as it is for the light it throws on the jealousies, personal intrigues and divisions that exist behind the party's monolithic facade", but Richard Donnelly criticized the book in The Yale Law Journal for being "rather pretentious".
After the publication of her book, Calomiris went on a number of talk radio shows, appearing most notably on former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
's show on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Today with Mrs. Roosevelt, where Roosevelt praised Calomiris as "a young lady of great courage." During the same period, Calomiris continued to work with the FBI, providing information on a communist lesbian policewoman named Yetta Cohn, which resulted in the firing of Cohn and another woman.
Later life
Calomiris's celebrity status soon began to evaporate, and a number of potential television and movie projects fell through as did offers of a photography job. Around the same time, Calomiris broke up with Myrtis Johnson, and fell out with many of her friends in the New York lesbian community, who disapproved of her decision to give the FBI information on Cohn. Calomiris then left New York, opening a bed and breakfastBed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
in Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
in the 1960s. She died on January 30, 1995 in San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is a city and municipality located in the far eastern part of the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. It is 274 km from Mexico City and 97 km from the state capital of Guanajuato...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.