Joseph Katz
Encyclopedia
Joseph Katz allegedly worked for Soviet intelligence
from the 1930s to the late 1940s as one of its most active liaison agents. Katz was assigned management of the “First Line,” that part of the NKGB mission aimed at recruiting selected members of the Communist Party USA
. He was an agent/group leader (gruppovik) and co-owner of a Soviet
front company that manufactured gloves.
The Venona project
suggests he may have been implicated, along with Amadeo Sabatini, in the murder of Walter Krivitsky
in 1941. After the death of Jacob Golos
in November 1943, spotting and recruitment was taken over by Katz by mid–1944, while Elizabeth Bentley
continued as manager and courier. Katz was extremely active at this time. Katz was known to Elizabeth Bentley as “Jack.”
In 1944 Katz was put in charge of handling agent recruitments from the New York City
TASS office headed by Vladimir Pravdin
, former rezident of the NKGB in New York. And in September 1944 Katz was freed of other liaisons (operations) and was assigned to work directly under Washington D.C. Rezident Anatoli Gromov. Gromov came to the United States to implement a new security program of isolating agents from each other by a complicated arrangement of cutouts.
Katz and Bentley’s operations in New York and Washington were very extensive. Bentley would eventually name more than 80 individuals who were providing information to the Soviet intelligence from a dozen government institutions.
Katz informed Bentley at their first meeting in October 1944 that Gromov had been sent to the United States to improve security of NKGB operations. One aspect of this modernization was to have Bentley turn over to NKGB control all of her agents not previously surrendered to NKGB officers.
After Bentley's defection Katz was assigned the task of killing her, but the murder was never carried out. Katz moved to Western Europe
to form a company for covering the illegal courier line between Europe and U.S. Katz lived in France
from 1948 to 1951 then moved to Israel
. His code names in the Venona project
are "X" and "Informer".
Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies
There was a succession of Soviet secret police agencies over time. The first secret police after the Russian Revolution, created by Vladimir Lenin's decree on December 20, 1917, was called "Cheka"...
from the 1930s to the late 1940s as one of its most active liaison agents. Katz was assigned management of the “First Line,” that part of the NKGB mission aimed at recruiting selected members of the Communist Party USA
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....
. He was an agent/group leader (gruppovik) and co-owner of a Soviet
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....
front company that manufactured gloves.
The Venona project
Venona project
The 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...
suggests he may have been implicated, along with Amadeo Sabatini, in the murder of Walter Krivitsky
Walter Krivitsky
Walter Germanovich Krivitsky was a Soviet intelligence officer who revealed plans of signing Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact before defecting weeks before the outbreak of World War II....
in 1941. After the death of 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...
in November 1943, spotting and recruitment was taken over by Katz by mid–1944, while 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...
continued as manager and courier. Katz was extremely active at this time. Katz was known to Elizabeth Bentley as “Jack.”
In 1944 Katz was put in charge of handling agent recruitments from the New York City
New 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...
TASS office headed by 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....
, former rezident of the NKGB in New York. And in September 1944 Katz was freed of other liaisons (operations) and was assigned to work directly under Washington D.C. Rezident Anatoli Gromov. Gromov came to the United States to implement a new security program of isolating agents from each other by a complicated arrangement of cutouts.
Katz and Bentley’s operations in New York and Washington were very extensive. Bentley would eventually name more than 80 individuals who were providing information to the Soviet intelligence from a dozen government institutions.
Katz informed Bentley at their first meeting in October 1944 that Gromov had been sent to the United States to improve security of NKGB operations. One aspect of this modernization was to have Bentley turn over to NKGB control all of her agents not previously surrendered to NKGB officers.
After Bentley's defection Katz was assigned the task of killing her, but the murder was never carried out. Katz moved to Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
to form a company for covering the illegal courier line between Europe and U.S. Katz lived in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from 1948 to 1951 then moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. His code names in the Venona project
Venona project
The 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...
are "X" and "Informer".