How the Cold War BeganOn September 5, 1945, cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko severed ties with the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, reporting to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allegations of extensive Soviet espionage in North America, providing stolen documents detailing Soviet intelligence matters to back his claims. This action sent shockwaves through Washington, London, Moscow, and Ottawa, changing the course of the twentieth century. Using recently declassified FBI and Canadian RCMP files on the Gouzenko case, author and Cold War scholar Amy Knight sheds new light on the FBI's efforts to incriminate Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White in order to discredit the Truman Administration. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover seized upon Gouzenko's defection as a means through which to demonize the Soviets, distorting statements made by Gouzenko to stir up "spy fever" in the U.S., setting the McCarthy era into motion. Through the FBI files and interviews with several key players, Knight delves into Gouzenko's reasons for defecting and brilliantly connects these events to the strained relations between the Soviet Union and the West, marking the beginning of the Cold War. |
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How the Cold War Began: The Igor Gouzenko Affair and the Hunt for Soviet Spies Amy Knight Limited preview - 2006 |
How the Cold War Began: The Igor Gouzenko Affair and the Hunt for Soviet Spies Amy W. Knight No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
Acheson Alan Nunn Alger Hiss allegations allies American Anna appeared arrest Arthur Steinberg asked atomic Bentley Bentley’s bomb British Camp X Canada Canadian government commissioners Communist Party Corby defection defector Department diplomatic documents Dwyer Elizabeth Bentley Elli espionage evidence fact fbi Gouzenko February Fred Rose Gouzenko affair Halperin Harry Dexter White Harvison Hollis Hoover huac Ibid Igor Gouzenko intelligence services interrogation interview investigation King’s knew later Lester Pearson letter Lunan Mackenzie King March May’s McCarran memorandum Montreal Moscow nkvd Norman Robertson November October officer Ottawa Pavlov Philby political prime minister RC Report rcmp recruits Rivett-Carnac Roger Hollis Rose’s Royal Commission Russian Sawatsky Papers Senate sent September siss Soviet agent Soviet Embassy Soviet espionage Soviet Union spies spy suspects Stalin statement Stephenson telegram testimony tion told top secret Toronto Truman United Venona Washington WMK Diary York Zabotin