Zalmond Franklin
Encyclopedia
Zalmond David Franklin or Salmond Franklin was a Communist Party of the United States member and KGB
asset during World War II
. Zalmond was married at one time to KGB operative Sylvia Callen
. According to the testimony of Louis Budenz, Zalmond did “secret work’’ in Spain during the Spanish Civil War
, and he also worked part of the time as a bacteriologist at a Spanish Loyalist hospital.
Upon returning in the late 1930s, Zalmond is alleged to have been recruited for anti-Trotsky
work and was sent on several missions to Canada on behalf of Soviet intelligence. He worked as a security guard at the Soviet Pavilion in the 1939 New York World's Fair
, sharing this work with two of his former comrades from the International Brigade, Morris Cohen
and Milton Wolff. He is reported to have worked in Alberta
, Canada
, in 1943. Michael Straight named Franklin in his FBI interview as one of his Soviet intelligence contacts.
In March 1942, Franklin met with Clarence Hiskey
, Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University
and a member of the CPUSA, in New York City. As they walked to the subway, Hiskey described the progress of the research that was then being undertaken at Columbia on the atomic bomb. "Imagine," he told Franklin, "a bomb dropped in the center of this city which would destroy the entire city." Hiskey would supply Franklin with classified material until he moved to the Metallurgical Laboratory
at Chicago in October 1943. Then Hiskey, codenamed RAMSEY, would be handled by the GRU
illegal Arthur Adams
.
Franklin is referenced in the 26 May 1944 Venona project
decrypt. It is a report from Bernard Schuster describing a complaint from Nathan Einhorn
about Franklin. Franklin had married Rose Richter after divorcing Sylvia Calen a year earlier. Einhorn's wife, Frieda and Rose Richter were sisters. Einhorn was complaining to Schuster that Zalmond was bragged too much about his contact with Soviet intelligence. Einhorn believed this affected operational security. According to the cable Schuster was keeping an eye on Franklin in case of more insecure talk. Shortly afterward, Franklin was removed from active work.
decrypt:
Anatoly Gorsky’s December 1948 "Memo on Compromised American Sources and Networks" gives CHAP as Franklin's codename. CHAP appears in the following decrypts:
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
asset 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...
. Zalmond was married at one time to KGB operative Sylvia Callen
Sylvia Callen
Sylvia Callen Franklin, also known as Sylvia Lorraine Callen, and Sylvia Caldwell, was a young Chicago communist, recruited by Louis Budenz into the Communist Party USA's secret apparatus circa 1937....
. According to the testimony of Louis Budenz, Zalmond did “secret work’’ in Spain during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, and he also worked part of the time as a bacteriologist at a Spanish Loyalist hospital.
Upon returning in the late 1930s, Zalmond is alleged to have been recruited for anti-Trotsky
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
work and was sent on several missions to Canada on behalf of Soviet intelligence. He worked as a security guard at the Soviet Pavilion in the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
, sharing this work with two of his former comrades from the International Brigade, Morris Cohen
Morris Cohen (Soviet spy)
Morris Cohen also known in London as Peter Kroger was an American convicted of espionage for the Soviet Union. His wife Lona was also an agent.-Birth and education:...
and Milton Wolff. He is reported to have worked in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, in 1943. Michael Straight named Franklin in his FBI interview as one of his Soviet intelligence contacts.
In March 1942, Franklin met with Clarence Hiskey
Clarence Hiskey
Clarence Francis Hiskey , born Clarence Szczechowski, became active in the Communist Party USA when he attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin. He became a professor of chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Columbia University and Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute...
, Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and a member of the CPUSA, in New York City. As they walked to the subway, Hiskey described the progress of the research that was then being undertaken at Columbia on the atomic bomb. "Imagine," he told Franklin, "a bomb dropped in the center of this city which would destroy the entire city." Hiskey would supply Franklin with classified material until he moved to the Metallurgical Laboratory
Metallurgical Laboratory
The Metallurgical Laboratory or "Met Lab" at the University of Chicago was part of the World War II–era Manhattan Project, created by the United States to develop an atomic bomb...
at Chicago in October 1943. Then Hiskey, codenamed RAMSEY, would be handled by the 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...
illegal Arthur Adams
Arthur Adams (spy)
Arthur Aleksandrovich Adams – a Soviet spy, Hero of the Russian Federation, who passed to the Soviet Union critical information about the American Manhattan Project.-Biography:...
.
Franklin is referenced in the 26 May 1944 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...
decrypt. It is a report from Bernard Schuster describing a complaint from Nathan Einhorn
Nathan Einhorn
Nathan Einhorn was a journalist and Executive Secretary of the American Newspaper Guild in New York from 1938 to 1946. He was a member of the Communist Party of the United States of America and allegedly served as a major link between Soviet intelligence and the CPUSA.- Source :* John Earl Haynes...
about Franklin. Franklin had married Rose Richter after divorcing Sylvia Calen a year earlier. Einhorn's wife, Frieda and Rose Richter were sisters. Einhorn was complaining to Schuster that Zalmond was bragged too much about his contact with Soviet intelligence. Einhorn believed this affected operational security. According to the cable Schuster was keeping an eye on Franklin in case of more insecure talk. Shortly afterward, Franklin was removed from active work.
Venona
Zalmond Franklin codenamed CHEN, possibly in error, is referenced in the following 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...
decrypt:
- 749 KGB New York to Moscow, 26 May 1944.
Anatoly Gorsky’s December 1948 "Memo on Compromised American Sources and Networks" gives CHAP as Franklin's codename. CHAP appears in the following decrypts:
- 1003 KGB New York to Moscow, 18 July 1944.
- 1328 KGB New York to Moscow, 15 September 1944.
- 1430 KGB New York to Moscow, 10 October 1944.
- 1523 KGB New York to Moscow. 27 October 1944.