Leonard Mins
Encyclopedia
Leonard Emil Mins was an American who worked in the Russian Section of the Research and Analysis Division of the Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) during World War II
. Mins also worked for Soviet Military Intelligence (GRU
).
Mins joined the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) in 1919 and worked for the Communist movement in Germany in 1920 and 1921. In 1924 and 1925 Mins worked for the Executive Committee of the Comintern
as a translator. From 1927 to 1932 Mins did Communist Party work in the United States
. In 1934 he transferred his party membership to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(CPSU).
Mins was in France
in 1938 working with exiled German writers, one of whom was the father of the later notorious East German spymaster and Stasi
officer Markus Wolf
. In his 1997 memoirs Wolf recalled his old friend as, “a Communist exile who had been my parents' close friend” in Russia. “He had been the channel through which my father was able to communicate with us during his internment in France.”
Mins worked for the OSS from 1942 to late 1943, and worked mostly on a survey of strategic minerals and oil reserves
in Asia and the Soviet Union. Mins was the subject of a Dies Committee investigation in 1943. Mins denied being a member of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) but admitted he taught at the Workers School, a Communist controlled entity, and served on the editorial board of Partisan Review
, had been a member of the John Reed Club, written for the New Masses, and a member of the League of American Writers. Mins admitted he had lived in Moscow from 1934 to 1936 but insisted he only made translations for the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
, is "Smith". Mins is referenced in the following Venona project
decrypts:
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...
(OSS) 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...
. Mins also worked for Soviet Military Intelligence (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...
).
Mins joined the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) in 1919 and worked for the Communist movement in Germany in 1920 and 1921. In 1924 and 1925 Mins worked for the Executive Committee of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
as a translator. From 1927 to 1932 Mins did Communist Party work in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1934 he transferred his party membership to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
(CPSU).
Mins was 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...
in 1938 working with exiled German writers, one of whom was the father of the later notorious East German spymaster and Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
officer Markus Wolf
Markus Wolf
Markus Johannes "Mischa" Wolf was head of the General Intelligence Administration , the foreign intelligence division of East Germany's Ministry for State Security . He was the MfS's number two for 34 years, which spanned most of the Cold War...
. In his 1997 memoirs Wolf recalled his old friend as, “a Communist exile who had been my parents' close friend” in Russia. “He had been the channel through which my father was able to communicate with us during his internment in France.”
Mins worked for the OSS from 1942 to late 1943, and worked mostly on a survey of strategic minerals and oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
in Asia and the Soviet Union. Mins was the subject of a Dies Committee investigation in 1943. Mins denied being a member of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) but admitted he taught at the Workers School, a Communist controlled entity, and served on the editorial board of Partisan Review
Partisan Review
Partisan Review was an American political and literary quarterly published from 1934 to 2003, though it suspended publication between October 1936 and December 1937.-Overview:...
, had been a member of the John Reed Club, written for the New Masses, and a member of the League of American Writers. Mins admitted he had lived in Moscow from 1934 to 1936 but insisted he only made translations for the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Venona
Leonard Mins cover name in Soviet Mililtary Intelligence, and as deciphered in the Venona projectVenona 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...
, is "Smith". Mins is referenced in the following 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...
decrypts:
- 1131 GRU New York to Moscow, 12 July 1943
- 1348 GRU New York to Moscow, 16 August 1943
- 1350 GRU New York to Moscow, 17 August 1943
- 1373 GRU New York to Moscow, 23 August 1943
- 1456 GRU New York to Moscow, 8 September 1943