The same is true of friends, many of whom I made along this long path. The Buneman family (Peter, Michael, and Naomi) and their late mother, Lady Mary Buneman Flowers, who was a very lovely and lively lady—and her memoir—gave me a strong sense of Harwell and Klaus. Others who agreed to interviews, tours, meetings, teas, and lunches and in every way were supportive are Brian Pollard (Bristol), Kathy Behrens Cowell (Derek Behrens), Charles Perrin and Nicola Perrin (Sir Michael Perrin), Thomas Giesa, Wolfgang Gleiser, and Peter Schütz (Martin Luther Gymnasium, Eisenach), Patricia Shaffer (Los Alamos), Lili Hornig (Los Alamos), Stewart Purvis (the Free German League of Culture), Jo Peierls Hookway (the Peierlses), Nigel West (MI5), Mike Rossiter (Klaus Fuchs), Alexander Vassiliev (the KGB), Victor Ross (internment), Günther Flach (the ZfK, Dresden), Henry Richardson (ethics), Derek Leebaert (the cold war).
And then there were those who read most or some of the manuscript: Bill Leahy, always checking in with me and keeping me moving, reading and critiquing everything I gave him, and his wife and my college friend, Chris, too; Robby Brewer, who also read everything and weighed in with a good critical eye; Margaret Ayres and Steve Case, who gamely suffered through some bad chapters early; Kathryn Johnson, who advised on creating a stronger narrative style; Richard Squires, whose insightful critique of several chapters reformed my narrative; Joe Martin, and Cameron Reed, who bolstered the physics; Cristina Fischer, who critically reviewed the chapters on student unrest in Germany; Cindy Kelley, who, at the last minute, obliged my needs for review of the chapters on the Manhattan Project; Allen Hornblum, who reviewed background material on Harry Gold; John Earl Haynes, who introduced me to Venona; and Peter Collisson, Ed Mayberry, and John Korbel, who read the MI5 chapters early and gave me helpful feedback.
Without German friends to help with some of the translation, I’d still be struggling through the videos and some German archival material: Robert Metzke, Matthias Rolke, and Jan Ehrhardt. My skating coach Alexei Kiliakov tackled some Russian for me, and Caroline Danforth set her mind to a very difficult letter in Sütterlin.
A special thanks to everyone who offered a suggestion, or a reference, or entry to something or someone: Andrew Farrar, Dieter Hoffman, Alex Wellerstein, John Wilhelm, Michael Goodman, Tom Steiner, Andrew Robinson, Sabine Lee, Geoff Andrews, Steve Feller, and an extra special thanks to Kathryn Imboden, who rushed to the Swiss Alps to rescue copies of the Geheeb archives for me and who offered unending support along with Anne Wesp, both friends for more than fifty years.
The archivists at the thirty or so libraries and archives that I visited deserve a big thanks. They were always gracious and informative, often identifying files I wouldn’t have thought to look at, especially those for the University of Kiel at the archives in Schleswig.
Then there is the “team,” which began with Merloyd Lawrence introducing me to Carolyn Savarese, my agent at Kneerim & Williams—thank you, Merloyd—who made the connection to Wendy Wolf at Viking. They are both tough taskmasters when needed who cushioned the required rigor with support, kindness, and humor. The immeasurable and deft skills of Bill Patrick added the polish—and then some—at the end.
Terezia Cicel, Wendy’s assistant at Viking, answered technical questions quickly and knowledgeably and kept everything on schedule, and my friend Laura Cohen worked willingly and tirelessly on the endnotes. And the copy editor, Ingrid Sterner, saved me from so many mistakes.
Last, but certainly not least, are my three children—Elizabeth, Jake, and Sarah—who listened patiently to my problem of the day with love and caring. The smiles and hugs from my two granddaughters kept the joys of life in mind for me.
Abbreviations
PEOPLE
EF: Emil Fuchs
HA: Henry Arnold
KF: Klaus Fuchs
PG: Paul Geheeb
RP: Rudolf “Rudi” Peierls
ARCHIVES
AFSC: American Friends Service Center Archives, Philadelphia
BA: Bundesarchiv, Berlin
BFC: Library of the Society of Friends, Friends House, London
BODLEIAN-P: Rudolf Peierls Papers, Bodleian Library, Special Collections, Oxford University
BODLEIAN-S: Papers of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning, Bodleian Library, Special Collections, Oxford University, Klaus Fuchs file
BRISTOL: University of Bristol Archives, Special Collections
BRITLIBE: British Library (Sound and Vision), London
CAMB: Cambridge University Archives, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Sir Nevill Mott Collection
CHURCH: Churchill Archives Centre, Born Collection, Cambridge University
EISENACH-C: Eisenach City Archives
FAM: Fuchs family papers formerly held by Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski, transferred to the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Fall 2018)
FBI: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, online Vault, vault.fbi.gov/rosenberg-case/klaus-fuchs
GEHEEB: Papers of Paul and Edith Geheeb, formerly held at the École d’Humanité, Hasliberg Goldern, Switzerland, transferred to the Hessische Staatsarchiv, Darmstadt (Fall 2017)
HARVARD-B: Harvard University Archives, Percy Bridgman Collection
HAV: Quaker and Special Collection, Haverford College, Haverford, Pa.
IWM: Imperial War Museum, London
LAC: Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa
LANL: Los Alamos National Laboratories
LASH: State Archives of Schleswig-Holstein, Schleswig, Germany
LEIPZIG: Leipzig University Archives
LOC-N: Library of Congress, John von Neumann collection
MEPO: Metropolitan Police, London
NA: Public Records Office, National Archives, London
NBLA: Niels Bohr Library and Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, Md.
NUFFIELD: Nuffield College, Oxford University, Lord Cherwell Papers
ROYSOC: Royal Society, London
RÜSSEL: Stadt und Industrie Museum, Rüsselsheim am Main
STABI: Staatsbibliotek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Max Born Papers
STASI: Archives of the Ministry of State Security of the former German Democratic Republic, Berlin
TH: Technische Hochschule, Berlin
USHMM: U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., Library and Archives, AFSC Refugee Case Files: Fuchs
VENONA: Wilson Center, Cold War International History Project, Washington, D.C., online, www.wilsoncenter.org/article/venona-project-and-vassiliev-notebooks-index-and-concordance
WIENER: Wiener Holocaust Library, London
Notes
PROLOGUE: REVELATION, LONDON, AUGUST 1949
Perrin, deputy director: Moss, Klaus Fuchs, 130–31.
One week later, Perrin: NA, KV 4/471, 9.24.1949, 178–79.
“The [Joint Intelligence Committee]”: NA, KV 4/471, Liddell diary, 9.24.1949.
“We have discovered Material”: NA, KV 6/134, Maurice Oldfield to Arthur Martin, 8.17.1949.
“From Stettin in the Baltic”: Churchill, speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Mo., March 5, 1946.
“blot this country out”: NA, KV 4/472, Liddell diary, 1.1.1950.
they cabled Martin: NA, KV 6/134, 8.17.1949, 8.24.1949, 8.25.1949.
“To VIKTOR”: NA, HW 15/23, 6.15.1944, Venona.
Martin was different: Nigel West, interview with author, March 2016; Wright, Spy Catcher, 207, 224, 237.
The director of B Branch: Nigel West, interview with author, March 2016.
Scrutinizing the text: NA, KV 6/134, 8.30.1949.
The messages indicated: NA, KV 6/134, 8.30.1949.
Venona was run by: This decryption project had several name changes. It is now known as Venona.
On September 1: NA, KV 6/13
4, 8.30.1949.
The FBI offered up: NA, KV 6/134, 9.1.1949.
“this file when in transit”: NA, KV 2/1245, cover.
“there is, as far as we”: NA, KV 2/1245, HA to J. S. McFadden, 9.18.1947.
The file began with a letter: NA, KV 2/1245, 9.7.1934 and 9.9.1934.
“a short-term certificate”: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.6.1934 and 10.23.1934.
Martin requested the Home: NA, AB 46/232, extract from file, residence permits.
“The Student Klaus Fuchs”: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.6.1934.
“The above-named German”: NA, KV 2/1245, 11.5.1934.
“identical with a certain”: NA, KV 2/1245, 6.19.1942.
Was “Claus Fuchs” the same: NA, KV 2/1245, 12.3.1946.
“He bears a good”: NA, KV 2/1245, 2.3.1943.
“I said I thought”: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.10.1941.
“whether a man of this nature”: NA, KV 2/1245, 7.15.1943.
Perrin said no: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.6.1943.
“This is a very”: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.6.1943.
“[Fuchs is] rather safer”: NA, KV 2/1245, 1.16.1944.
“It would not appear”: NA, KV 2/1245, 1.17.1944.
CHAPTER 1: BEGINNINGS, LEIPZIG 1930
On March 3, 1918: RÜSSEL, Emil Fuchs, “Der zweite Friede,” Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt, 3.3.1918, 1.
The church had assigned: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:11.
little Klaus made a gizmo: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:12.
Klaus and his sister Kristel: Heidi Noroozy, “My Uncle, Klaus Fuchs—Beyond the Cold War,” noveladventurers.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-uncle-klaus-fuchs-beyond-cold-war.html.
His concern for animals: GEHEEB, EF to PG, Jan. 1924.
Emil transferred his older son: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 8.23.1923.
“But little by little”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:12.
Emil wandered dead: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:10.
“But what is so much”: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 8.23.1923.
“the bourgeois world”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:133.
“the existing theology”: EISENACH-C, Hochheim, “Emil Fuchs: Eine Biographie.”
Emil’s notoriety fell: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:128.
“Pastor, hurry up”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:127.
Emil wanted Klaus: STASI, video interview of Klaus Fuchs, 1983.
“known and famous”: NA, KV 2/1259, translated letter from Dr. A. Burghardt, Munich, 12.24.1952.
Even so, Klaus: NA, KV 2/1252, KF to the Skinners, 2.27.1950.
“You can be proud”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:128.
Goaded, Klaus pinned: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:127.
“None of these masters”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:128–29.
“quiet and pale” young man: Wolfgang Gleiser, “Gratwanderer Klaus Fuchs vulgo ‘Atomspion,’” Lutherschule Friends, Eisenach, 2009, 50.
“It was the power”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:130.
“big, lively house”: EISENACH-C, Letter from Heinrich Gaertner, n.d.; GEHEEB, EF to PG, 10.30.1930.
“hints and reminders”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:126.
“a martinet”: NA, KV 2/1552, H. Skinner to HA, 2.12.1950; Marianna Holzer, interview with author, May 4, 2013; Heidi Holzer, interview with author, Sept. 12, 2013.
“I’m jealous of you”: Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski, interview with author, Nov. 2017.
mathematics and physics: LEIPZIG, doc. 577522.
His brother, Gerhard: LEIPZIG, docs. 577522 and 577513.
“It was totally futile”: Krause, Alma Mater Lipsiensis, 251–52.
Candidates from the Social: Krause, Alma Mater Lipsiensis, 252.
“But we know”: LEIPZIG, Plakat 0562.
Gerhard organized lectures: FAM, photos; GEHEEB, PG to Gerhard Fuchs, 3.13.1930, 7.4.1928, and EF to PG, 7.10.1929.
“To achieve something”: GEHEEB, Gerhard Fuchs to PG, 3.13.1930.
The petition accused: LEIPZIG, Socialist Student Union to Rector Falke, 5.10.1930.
Klaus would later say: Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski, interview with author, March 2019.
The duplicity of the leaders: NA, KV 2/1263, 1.27.1950, 1.
As roommates, Klaus: STASI, video interview of Klaus Fuchs.
But to Klaus’s dismay: Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski, interview with author, March 2017.
At semester break in August: GEHEEB, Edith Geheeb to Gerhard Fuchs, 9.27.1930.
The next day a meeting: Eisenach Online timeline.
a “hair-raising” experience: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:128; GEHEEB, EF to PG, 5.30.1930.
For two hours, Hitler: Yale University Avalon Project, chap. 7, no. 1; New York Times, Sept. 26, 1931, 1 (in Bill Downs, blogspot, May 16, 2017).
On November 18: LEIPZIG, Socialist Student Union (KF) to Rector, 11.25.1930.
“a decisive position”: LEIPZIG, Socialist Student Union to Rector, 11.25.1930 and 12.3.1930.
“The best should ‘prevail’”: LEIPZIG, Plakat 0529.
“The great unrest”: LEIPZIG, Socialist Student Union (KF) to Rector, 11.25.1930.
“a very passionate resistance”: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 10.30.1930.
“Of the three of us”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:190.
CHAPTER 2: LOSS, KIEL 1931
Kristel, he told him: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 10.29.1930.
In the early 1920s: Richard F. Hamilton, “The Rise of Nazism: A Case Study and Review of Interpretations—Kiel, 1928–1933,” German Studies Review 24, no. 1 (Feb. 2003): 44.
The culprit ran out: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1931, Rector’s Report, 7.2.1931.
Sunkel and his friend: Irene Dittrich, “Die ‘Revolutionäre Studentengruppe’ an der Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel (1930–1933),” Beirat für Geschichte in der Gesellschaft für Politik und Bildung Schleswig-Holstein e.V, 2012, n2; LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1103.
Klaus arrived in August: NA, KV 2/1245, 10.6.1934.
Klaus was the political leader: Behn, Ein Spaziergang war es nicht, 19.
“What comes now”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:205.
“Mother is on the floor!”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:205; Family genealogy documents, Silke and Dietmar Göbel.
“powerful and shattering”: Fuchs, Mein Leben, 2:205.
Emil had immediately: GEHEEB, correspondence between EF and Odenwaldschule, 10.10–12.1931.
“We ask you to refrain”: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 10.12.1931.
Gerhard held his lecture: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1284.
In a letter printed: “Die Erhoehung der Gebühren,” Der Volkskampf, Nov. 14, 1931; LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1092, NS leaflet, 11.13.1931.
In their newsletter: Dittrich, “Die ‘Revolutionäre Studentengruppe,’” 176.
CHAPTER 3: REVOLT, KIEL 1932
They issued warnings: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1092, University Senate, 5.4.1932.
“the decision that determined”: FAM, Klaus Fuchs statement, n.d., after 1959.
the “bourgeois parties”: NA, KV 2/1263, KF confession, 1.27.1950.
The Fuchs brothers: NA, KV 2/1245, Gestapo note, 10.11.1934.
“They are all”: GEHEEB, EF to PG, 3.1.1932.
In communist neighborhoods: Hempel, Die Kieler Hitlerjugend, 5–6.
But Klaus transferred to the local: BA, R58/3622, police president, Kiel, 10.12.1931; Dittrich, “Die ‘Revolutionäre Studentengruppe,’” n15.
The troupe crisscrossed: Behn, Ein Spaziergang war es nicht, 21–22; interview with Lisa Behn, Berlin 2004, erinnerungsort.de/interviews.
“the sea-embraced Nordmark”: Mühlberger, Hitler’s Voice, 1:220.
According to her: Behn, Ein Spaziergang war es nicht, 18–19; Hempel, Die Kieler Hitlerjugend, 1–3.
Klaus and his colleagues: Behn, Ein Spaziergang war es nicht, 19.
One day, city authorities: Behn, Ein Spaziergang war es nicht, 8, 21.
“the Beast and the Devil”: NA, KV 2/1253, KF to the Skinners, 2.27.1950; interview with Lisa Behn, Berlin 2004, erinnerungsort.de/interviews.
“Heil Hitler”: Frank Omland, “Siegeszug in der Nordmark,” in Dohnke et al., Schleswig-Holstein und der Nationalsozialismus, 43; Hamilton, “Rise of Nazism,” 53.
The Nazis had rolled up: AFSC, Mary Goodhue Carey, MS, Jan. 15, 1932, chap. 1, p. 2.
“‘fascization’ of worker rights”: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1353, 5.2.1932 and 5.28.1932.
Meanwhile, the Nazis: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Anlage D, in “Vorgeschichte,” and Abt. 47, no. 1932, Antwort an den VDA, in “Vorgeschichte.”
“The Nazi leadership”: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Anlage C, in “Vorgeschichte.”
Lichtenfeld, seeing no overt conflict: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Anlage F and H, in “Vorgeschichte.”
“unspeakable ways”: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Freie Kieler Studentenschaft to Rector, 6.23.1932, in “Vorgeschichte.”
The Nazis swiftly: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, NS Notice, 6.24.1932, in “Vorgeschichte.”
At the University Senate: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Senate Meeting, 6.25.1932, in “Vorgeschichte,” and LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1931, Rector Action notice, 6.27.1932.
“masters in the methods”: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, flyer enclosure, Essmann to Hoepner, 7.5.1932.
“immediate dispersal of the Red Student”: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Freie Kieler Studentenschaft to the Rector, 8.8.1932, copy of article in the Kieler Neueste Nachrichten, Aug. 1932, and note by Universitäts-Sekretariat, 7.18.1932.
On July 20: LV Schlüsseltexte zum NS: Hitler-Wahlreden, July 1932, 1n7.
“With subhumanity”: LV Schlüsseltexte zum NS: Hitler-Wahlreden, July 1932, 1n7.
When Klaus heard: NA, KA 2/1263, KF confession, 1.27.1950.
The broken spirit: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, “Ultimatum to the Rektor from the Hochschuler Gruppe der KPD,” n.d.
From then on: NA, KV 2/1263, KF confession, 1.27.1950.
When the winter semester: LASH, Abt. 47, no. 1932, Rector to Gerhard Fuchs, 11.7.1932; Essmann statement to Schepp, 7.13.1932; Gerhard Fuchs statement to Hoepner, 7.27.1932.
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