Harry Gold
Encyclopedia
Harry Gold was a laboratory chemist who was convicted of being the “courier” for a number of Soviet spy rings during the Manhattan Project
.
to poor Russia
n Jewish immigrants. As a young man he became interested in socialism
which eventually led him to contacts within the Communist movement.
After leaving school, Gold worked for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company as a laboratory assistant. He lost his job in 1932 as a result of the Great Depression
. After a variety of menial jobs, Gold studied chemical engineering at Drexel Institute
(1934–36). Gold was recruited into espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union
in 1935 by Thomas Lessing Black. He eventually found work with Brothman Associates.
, but he was not a recruited agent of the rezidentura. This changed in late 1940 when Soviet Case Officer
Semyon Semenov appropriated Gold from Golos (Gold confession, KF-AS, p. 196). Gold became a formally recruited Soviet agent at this time, and was assigned the codename GUS, or GOOSE. Semyonov remained Gold's control officer until March 1944.
In 1950, Klaus Fuchs
was arrested in England and charged with espionage. Fuchs confessed that while working in the United States during World War II he had passed information about the atom bomb to the Soviet Union
. Fuchs denied working with other spies, except for a courier who collected information from him. When initially shown photographs of suspects, including Gold, he failed to identify him as the courier, but did so after subsequent prompting.http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/kgb/deep/interv/k_int_robert_lamphere.htm
Under interrogation, Gold admitted that he had been involved in espionage since 1934 and had helped Fuchs pass information about the Manhattan Project
to the Soviet Union by way of Soviet General Consul Anatoli Yakovlev. Gold's confession led to the arrest of David Greenglass
. His testimony resulted in the arrest, trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
, though in later trials he was revealed to be a somewhat unreliable witness.
Harry Gold was sentenced in 1951 to thirty years imprisonment. He was paroled in May 1965, after serving just over half of his sentence.
He died in 1972 in Philadelphia, where he is buried in Har Nebo Cemetery
.
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
.
Early life
Gold was born in SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to poor Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Jewish immigrants. As a young man he became interested in socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
which eventually led him to contacts within the Communist movement.
After leaving school, Gold worked for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company as a laboratory assistant. He lost his job in 1932 as a result of 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...
. After a variety of menial jobs, Gold studied chemical engineering at Drexel Institute
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
(1934–36). Gold was recruited into espionage on behalf 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....
in 1935 by Thomas Lessing Black. He eventually found work with Brothman Associates.
Espionage
In 1940, Gold was activated for Soviet espionage by Jacob GolosJacob 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...
, but he was not a recruited agent of the rezidentura. This changed in late 1940 when Soviet Case Officer
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....
Semyon Semenov appropriated Gold from Golos (Gold confession, KF-AS, p. 196). Gold became a formally recruited Soviet agent at this time, and was assigned the codename GUS, or GOOSE. Semyonov remained Gold's control officer until March 1944.
In 1950, Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Fuchs
Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs was a German theoretical physicist and atomic spy who in 1950 was convicted of supplying information from the American, British and Canadian atomic bomb research to the USSR during and shortly after World War II...
was arrested in England and charged with espionage. Fuchs confessed that while working in the United States during World War II he had passed information about the atom bomb to 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....
. Fuchs denied working with other spies, except for a courier who collected information from him. When initially shown photographs of suspects, including Gold, he failed to identify him as the courier, but did so after subsequent prompting.http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/kgb/deep/interv/k_int_robert_lamphere.htm
Under interrogation, Gold admitted that he had been involved in espionage since 1934 and had helped Fuchs pass information about the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
to the Soviet Union by way of Soviet General Consul Anatoli Yakovlev. Gold's confession led to the arrest of David Greenglass
David Greenglass
David Greenglass was an atomic spy for the Soviet Union who worked in the Manhattan project. He was the brother of Ethel Rosenberg.-Biography:...
. His testimony resulted in the arrest, trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg and Julius Rosenberg were American communists who were convicted and executed in 1953 for conspiracy to commit espionage during a time of war. The charges related to their passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union...
, though in later trials he was revealed to be a somewhat unreliable witness.
Harry Gold was sentenced in 1951 to thirty years imprisonment. He was paroled in May 1965, after serving just over half of his sentence.
He died in 1972 in Philadelphia, where he is buried in Har Nebo Cemetery
Har Nebo Cemetery
Har Nebo Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Notable interments:*David Cohen, Philadelphia City Councilman*Harry Gold, atomic spy...
.
Further reading
- Harry Gold testimony, 26 April 1956, part 20, 1020, both in “Scope of Soviet Activity in the United States,” U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act, 84th Cong., 2d sess.
- Robert Lamphere and Tom Shachtman, The FBI-KGB War (New York: Random House, 1986)
- Williams, Robert Chadwell, Klaus Fuchs: Atom Spy, Harvard University Press 1987 ISBN 0-674-50507-7
- Richard C.S. Trahair and Robert Miller, Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations, Enigma Books 2009 ISBN 978-1-929631-75-9
- Allen Hornblum, The Invisible Harry Gold: The Man Who Gave the Soviets the Atom Bomb, Yale University Press, 2010 ISBN 0-300-15676-6
External links
- Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) Full text of Alexander Vassiliev's notebooks (including more information on Gold's involvement in espionage.)
- An Interactive Rosenberg Espionage Ring Timeline and Archive
- Annotated bibliography for Harry Gold from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues