Harold Glasser
Encyclopedia
Harold Glasser was an economist in the United States Department of the Treasury
and spokesman on the affairs of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
(UNRRA) 'throughout its whole life' and he had a 'predominant voice' in determining which countries should receive aid. Glasser was a member of the Perlo group
of Soviet spies during World War II
and worked closely with Harry Dexter White
. His code name in Soviet intelligence and in the Venona files is "Ruble".
transferred Glasser to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie) or GRU
in order to report on Harry Dexter White
's cooperation with Soviet intelligence (Soviet case officer Boris Bykov had pressured Whittaker Chambers
on the subject of White's intelligence production). Glasser, the number two man in the division beneath White, reported back that as far as he could discern, White was providing everything of importance.
In 1940, Glasser was appointed Chief American economic adviser to Ecuador
through a joint program of the Treasury and U.S. Department of State. In December 1941, the Secret Service
forwarded a report to Harry Dexter White indicating that it had evidence Glasser was involved in Communist activities. White never acted on the report. Glasser continued to serve in Ecuador until 1942.
After America became involved in World War II
, Glasser received appointments to higher-level positions, such as Vice-Chairman of the War Production Board
, was dispatched to serve as economic adviser to American forces in North Africa, U.S. Treasury representative to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and Treasury representative to the Allied High Commission in Italy
.
. Victor Perlo, the groups head, explained to Elizabeth Bentley
that Glasser had been a member of the group before the War started, and Glasser was transferred to work with another group. Charles Kramer
, another member of the Perlo group, told Bentley that Glasser joined Alger Hiss
' group.
In an 25 April 1945 memo from Pavel Fitin
, head of KGB foreign intelligence, to Vsevolod Merkulov, head of the overall KGB organization, Fitin asked fair treatment for an award to be given to a longtime operative, Harold Glasser. Fitin called Merkulov's attention to the fact that Glasser had been working for Soviet intelligence for a long time, since May 1937, usually for the KGB but also at times for the GRU. Fitin explained how, while Glasser was working with the GRU, Glasser felt he had been slighted. Fitin explained how the group of GRU agents of which Glasser was part, was decorated with honors of the Soviet Union
, but Glasser had been neglected because of his transfer back to KGB. The text from KGB Archives reads in part as follows:
Fitin's account corroborates Elizabeth Bentley's deposition.
In the transcript # 1759 KGB Washington to Moscow 28 March 1945, Glasser reports the Treasury Department is sending a young lawyer, Josiah DuBois, to Moscow to serve on the American delegation to the Allied Reparations Commission meeting. Glasser says he established “most friendly relations” with DuBois and judged him to be ideologically a Communist, although he was not a CPUSA member. Glasser reports how he counseled DuBois to be more “discreet” in expressing left-wing views and notes that his personal relationship with DuBois was such that he could “normally obtain by asking” anything he wanted.
Glasser is in the subject of several June 1945 Venona cables. Three June 1945 transcripts report Glasser's transmitting U.S. State Department reports of Soviet war losses, a State Department report on a Finnish company believed to be hiding Nazi financial assets, and an Office of Strategic Services
report on the movement of Nazi gold through Swiss banks.
. In December 1947, at the time of his resignation, Glasser was assistant director of Treasury's Office of International Finance.
Glasser's promotions and job ratings throughout his career were determined by fellow Communists Frank Coe
and William Ullmann; promotions and job ratings were reviewed and backed by Harry Dexter White. Transcripts of Glasser's promotions and job rating forms signed by Coe, Ullmann, and White are in Interlocking Subversion in Government Departments Report.
Pavel Fitin later described as “valuable” the political and economic information Glasser passed along, all of which found its way into thirty-four special reports to Joseph Stalin
and other top Kremlin leaders. Glasser’s materials were “all of critical interest to the leadership of the USSR” because it included the contents of an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) memorandum about the economic consequences of stripping Germany of heavy industry; an internal memorandum from the Department of the Treasury concerning conferences at State Department on postwar reparations; and an internal memorandum by the Treasury Department concerning Lend-Lease
policy toward the Soviet Union. A 4 June 1945 cable reports Glasser would be on the Treasury committee advising Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson
, the U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
United States Department of the Treasury
The 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...
and spokesman on the affairs of 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...
(UNRRA) 'throughout its whole life' and he had a 'predominant voice' in determining which countries should receive aid. Glasser was a member of the Perlo group
Perlo group
Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI by the defection of Elizabeth Bentley...
of Soviet spies 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...
and worked closely 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...
. His code name in Soviet intelligence and in the Venona files is "Ruble".
Transfer to GRU
Harold Glasser joined the United States Department of Treasury in 1936 and became its assistant director of the Division of Monetary Research by late 1938. In 1937, J. PetersJ. Peters
J. Peters was the most commonly known pseudonym of a man who last went by the name "Alexander Stevens" in 1949. Peters was an ethnic Jewish journalist and political activist who was a leading figure of the Hungarian language section of the Communist Party USA in the 1920s and 1930s...
transferred Glasser to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie) or GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
in order to report on 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...
's cooperation with Soviet intelligence (Soviet case officer Boris Bykov had pressured Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers was born Jay Vivian Chambers and also known as David Whittaker Chambers , was an American writer and editor. After being a Communist Party USA member and Soviet spy, he later renounced communism and became an outspoken opponent later testifying in the perjury and espionage trial...
on the subject of White's intelligence production). Glasser, the number two man in the division beneath White, reported back that as far as he could discern, White was providing everything of importance.
In 1940, Glasser was appointed Chief American economic adviser to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
through a joint program of the Treasury and U.S. Department of State. In December 1941, the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
forwarded a report to Harry Dexter White indicating that it had evidence Glasser was involved in Communist activities. White never acted on the report. Glasser continued to serve in Ecuador until 1942.
After America became involved 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...
, Glasser received appointments to higher-level positions, such as Vice-Chairman of the 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...
, was dispatched to serve as economic adviser to American forces in North Africa, U.S. Treasury representative to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and Treasury representative to the Allied High Commission in Italy
Allied Commission
Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allied Powers were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern Advisory Commission to make recommendations...
.
Perlo group
When Glasser returned to the United States in 1944, he reestablished contact with the Perlo groupPerlo group
Headed by Victor Perlo, the Perlo group is the name given to a group of Americans who provided information which was given to Soviet intelligence agencies; it was active during the World War II period, until the entire group was exposed to the FBI by the defection of Elizabeth Bentley...
. Victor Perlo, the groups head, explained to 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...
that Glasser had been a member of the group before the War started, and Glasser was transferred to work with another group. Charles Kramer
Charles Kramer
Charles Kramer, originally Charles Krevisky, was an American economist who worked for U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his brain trust. Among other contributions, he wrote the original idea for the Point Four Program. He also worked for several congressional committees and hired...
, another member of the Perlo group, told Bentley that Glasser joined Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
' group.
In an 25 April 1945 memo from Pavel Fitin
Pavel Fitin
Lieutenant General Pavel Mikhailovich Fitin was a Soviet intelligence officer and was the director of Soviet intelligence during World War II, identified in the Venona cables under the code name "Viktor."- Education :Fitin graduated from a program in agricultural...
, head of KGB foreign intelligence, to Vsevolod Merkulov, head of the overall KGB organization, Fitin asked fair treatment for an award to be given to a longtime operative, Harold Glasser. Fitin called Merkulov's attention to the fact that Glasser had been working for Soviet intelligence for a long time, since May 1937, usually for the KGB but also at times for the GRU. Fitin explained how, while Glasser was working with the GRU, Glasser felt he had been slighted. Fitin explained how the group of GRU agents of which Glasser was part, was decorated with honors of the Soviet Union
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....
, but Glasser had been neglected because of his transfer back to KGB. The text from KGB Archives reads in part as follows:
- "Our agent RUBLE, drawn to work for the Soviet Union in May 1937, passed initially through the military "neighbors" and then through our station valuable information on political and economic issues.... To our work RUBLE gives much attention and energy is devoted and disciplined agent.
- "According to data from VADIM the group of agents of the "military" neighborsGRUGRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
whose part RUBLE was earlier, recently was decorated with orders of the USSR. RUBLE learned about this fact from his friend ALESAlger HissAlger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
, who is the head of the mentioned group. Taking into account RUBLE's devoted work for the USSR for eight years and the fact that, as a result of transfer to our station, RUBLE was not decorated together with other members of the ALES group, consider expedient to put him forward for a decoration of the Order of the Red StarOrder of the Red StarEstablished on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
. Ask for your consent.
Fitin's account corroborates Elizabeth Bentley's deposition.
In the transcript # 1759 KGB Washington to Moscow 28 March 1945, Glasser reports the Treasury Department is sending a young lawyer, Josiah DuBois, to Moscow to serve on the American delegation to the Allied Reparations Commission meeting. Glasser says he established “most friendly relations” with DuBois and judged him to be ideologically a Communist, although he was not a CPUSA member. Glasser reports how he counseled DuBois to be more “discreet” in expressing left-wing views and notes that his personal relationship with DuBois was such that he could “normally obtain by asking” anything he wanted.
Glasser is in the subject of several June 1945 Venona cables. Three June 1945 transcripts report Glasser's transmitting U.S. State Department reports of Soviet war losses, a State Department report on a Finnish company believed to be hiding Nazi financial assets, and an Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
report on the movement of Nazi gold through Swiss banks.
SISS investigation
After the war, he was economic adviser to the American delegation at the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Moscow in 1947 and economic adviser to the Treasury secretary at the board of governors meeting of the World BankWorld Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
. In December 1947, at the time of his resignation, Glasser was assistant director of Treasury's Office of International Finance.
Glasser's promotions and job ratings throughout his career were determined by fellow Communists Frank Coe
Frank Coe
Virginius 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...
and William Ullmann; promotions and job ratings were reviewed and backed by Harry Dexter White. Transcripts of Glasser's promotions and job rating forms signed by Coe, Ullmann, and White are in Interlocking Subversion in Government Departments Report.
Pavel Fitin later described as “valuable” the political and economic information Glasser passed along, all of which found its way into thirty-four special reports to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and other top Kremlin leaders. Glasser’s materials were “all of critical interest to the leadership of the USSR” because it included the contents of an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) memorandum about the economic consequences of stripping Germany of heavy industry; an internal memorandum from the Department of the Treasury concerning conferences at State Department on postwar reparations; and an internal memorandum by the Treasury Department concerning Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
policy toward the Soviet Union. A 4 June 1945 cable reports Glasser would be on the Treasury committee advising Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson
Robert Jackson may refer to:*Robert Jackson , Australian Army general during World War II*Robert Jackson , British musician*Robert Jackson , US political figure in New York City...
, the U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.
Venona
Harold Glasser is referenced in the following decrypted Venona project cables:- 1195 KGB New York to Moscow, 21 July 1943
- 1206 KGB New York to Moscow, 22 July 1943
- 588 New York to Moscow, 29 April 1944
- 769, 771 KGB New York to Moscow, 30 May 1944
- 79 KGB New York to Moscow, 18 January 1945
- 179, 180 KGB Moscow to New York, 25 February 1945
- 1759 KGB Washington to Moscow, 28 March 1945.
- 3598 KGB Washington to Moscow, 21 June 1945
- 3600 KGB Washington to Moscow, 21 June 1945
- 3645 KGB Washington to Moscow, 23 June 1945
- 3688 KGB Washington to Moscow, 28 June 1945
See also
- Venona projectVenona projectThe VENONA project was a long-running secret collaboration of the United States and United Kingdom intelligence agencies involving cryptanalysis of messages sent by intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union, the majority during World War II...
- Wikisource:Venona 79 KGB New York to Moscow, 18 January 1945, KGB in Treasury
Further reading
- Allen Weinstein, Perjury: The Hiss–Chambers Case (New York: Random House, 1997), pgs. 326-327.
- Fitin to Merkulov 25 April 1945, File #43072, Vol. 1, pp. 96–97, KGB Archives.
- Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev, The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America—the Stalin Era (New York: Random House, 1999)
- Interlocking Subversion in Government Departments,’ part 2, 81–82, 98–99.
- John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America, Yale University Press (1999)
- Svetlana ChervonnayaSvetlana ChervonnayaSvetlana Alexandrovna Chervonnaya is a historian living in Russia specializing in the political history of the Cold War period and Soviet espionage activities in the United States of America. Along with Ellen Schrecker, Chervonnaya is known as one of the leading scholarly voices arguing against...
's bio of Glasser
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 Glasser's cooperation with the Soviet Union