Blowback

by Christopher Simpson

  11.

  On Common Cause and its roots in the same circles that gave birth to NCFE, see New York Times: “Mayor at Yule Fete,” December 9, 1950, p. 16; “300 Attend Party for Common Cause,” December 8, 1951, p. 7; “Anti-Reds to Hold ‘Congress of Free’” December 27, 1951; “Freedom Plaque on Sale,” September 26, 1952, p. 15; and “Medina Reverses Himself, Bars Role as Honor Guest at Anti-Red Dinner,” February 25, 1950, p. 1. Boldyreff’s connection with Common Cause is established in the author’s interview with him, August 8, 1983, and in Constantine Boldyreff (as told to Edward Paine), “The Story of One Russian Underground Organization Attempting to Overthrow Stalin,” Look (October 26, 1948), p. 25ff. See also “Chief of Intelligence to OMGUS (Hesse), Subject: Constantin BOLDYREFF,” November 8, 1948 (secret), in the Boldyreff INSCOM dossier. Boldyreff’s visa to the United States was arranged with the assistance of the Tolstoy Foundation, according to army CIC records.

  12.

  For typical newspaper coverage of Boldyreff during his first tour of the United States, see “Russians Are Ready to Revolt Says Leader of Underground,” Boston Herald, October 11, 1948; “Russians Seen Ready to Revolt Against Stalin,” Baltimore Sun, October 11, 1948; Ralph de Toledano, “Man from Russia,” Newsweek, October 25, 1948, p. 38.

  13.

  See citations in source note 12 above. See also Dvinov, Politics of the Russian Emigration, pp. 174–91 passim.

  14.

  “Russians Are Ready to Revolt Says Leader of Underground,” Boston Herald, October 11, 1948.

  15.

  Boldyreff (as told to Paine), op. cit., pp. 25ff.; C. W. Boldyreff (with O. K. Armstrong), “We Can Win the Cold War—in Russia,” Reader’s Digest (November 1950), p. 9ff.; C. W. Boldyreff, “Whither the Red Army,” World Affairs (Fall 1953); C. W. Boldyreff (with James Critchlow), “How the Russian Underground Is Fighting Stalin’s Slavery,” American Federationist (May 1951), p. 14ff., with quote drawn from p. 14. (Critchlow eventually became a career executive with RFE/RL and by 1976 had become sharply critical of the extreme Russian nationalism of many RL broadcasts; see Mickelson, op. cit., p. 201.)

  16.

  Cookridge, op. cit., p. 250; Boldyreff interview, August 8, 1983. For Vlasov Army colonization plan discussed in footnote, see American Consulate General, Casablanca, Morocco, “DP Resettlement Project in French Morocco,” October 7, 1947 (confidential), with enclosed report from Boldyreff, 800.4016 DP/10–747, RG 59, NA, Washington, D.C. On NTS leaders’ backgrounds as Nazi collaborators discussed in footnote, see State Department, NTS—The Russian Solidarist Movement, loc. cit., p. 3; Dvinov, Politics of the Russian Emigration, p. 190. On Tenzerov’s recruitment by Augsburg, see Augsburg, INSCOM Dossier no. XE 004390 16B036.

  The Soviet government has published documents which it claims are a CIA/British SIS agreement on the employment of NTS as an intelligence asset; see Cherezov, op. cit., pp. 54–62. The CIA generally denounces such revelations as forgeries, although it is not known to have done so in this case.

  17.

  Boldyreff, INSCOM dossier no. D-3675 20B85; Boldyreff interview, August 8, 1983.

  18.

  For Boldyreff’s commentaries, see Nicola Sinevirsky (pseudonym), SMERSH, eds. Kermit and Milt Hill (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1950). For Boldyreff’s congressional testimony, see Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act, U.S. Senate, Strategy and Tactics of World Communism, Part 1, May 15 and 27, 1954 (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1954), p. 2ff.; Un-American Activities Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Communist Psychological Warfare (Thought Control) (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1958), which is described as a “consultation” with Boldyreff.

  19.

  Vladimir Petrov interview, July 29, 1985.

  20.

  Church Committee Report, Book IV, pp. 35 and 36n.

  21.

  Kennan vol. II, pp. 97–99.

  22.

  On $180,000 seed money, see Mickelson, op. cit., p. 52. For CFF funding data during the early 1950s, see Collins, op. cit., p. 279ff.; Mickelson, op. cit., p. 52ff.; Comptroller General of the United States, US Government Monies Provided to Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, loc. cit.; and Supplement to Report on U.S. Government Monies (secret), May 25, 1972 (classified annex), a sanitized version of which is available via the Freedom of Information Act.

  23.

  NCFE, President’s Report, 1954, p. 35.

  24.

  Herbert E. Alexander, Financing Politics: Money, Elections and Political Reform (Washington, D.C: CQ Press, 1984), Table 1, p. 7.

  25.

  “Freedom Crusade Opens East-West TV,” Washington Post, September 24, 1951. For discussion of CFF propaganda events, see Collins, op. cit., p. 256ff.; or Mickelson, op. cit., p. 51ff. For typical contemporary news coverage, see, for example, Washington Post: “Freedom Crusade Launched at Meeting in Maryland,” September 14, 1950; “Freedom Bell Here Monday for Crusade,” October 1, 1950; “Churches to Participate in Freedom Crusade,” October 7, 1950; “Eisenhower Opens Crusade for Freedom Behind ‘Curtain,’” September 4, 1951; “Freedom Crusade Rally Scheduled,” September 14, 1951; “‘Place in Sun’ Premiere to Aid D.C. Crusade for Freedom,” October 2, 1951; “Freedom Bell Pierces Curtain,” October 20, 1953; “Parade to Open ‘Freedom’ Drive,” January 28, 1954. Collins reports that the New York Times featured ninety-seven news articles—all of them favorable—about the CFF during the campaign’s first two years of operation.

  26.

  Howard, op. cit.

  27.

  “Freedom Forecast for Baltic States,” New York Times, June 17, 1951; “Baltic Groups Here Hold Freedom Rally,” New York Times, June 16, 1952; also, “1,800 Here Mark Latvia’s Founding,” New York Times, November 18, 1951; “Exile Leaders Join in ‘Bill of Rights’” and “Text of Declaration by 10 Exiled Leaders,” New York Times, June 13, 1952.

  28.

  Thorwald, Illusion, pp. xv-xxii. The Gehlen official Heinz Danlo Herre had also served as chief of staff to Köstring and Herwarth during the Caucasus campaign during the war; see Dallin, German Rule, p. 543n.

  29.

  Petrov interview, July 29, 1985.

  30.

  Dulles testimony before House Foreign Affairs Committee, 1952, quoted in “A Fresh Wind from the USA,” ABN Correspondence, no. 3–4 (1953), pp. 1–2; Petrov interview, July 29, 1985.

  31.

  Dallin, German Rule, p. 497ff.

  32.

  SANACC 395/1 (Operation Bloodstone), loc. cit.

  33.

  “Russians Are Ready to Revolt Says Leader of Underground,” Boston Herald, October 11, 1948.

  34.

  “Text of the Republican Party’s 1952 Campaign Platform,” New York Times, July 11, 1952, p. 8.

  35.

  John Foster Dulles, “A Policy of Boldness,” Life (May 19, 1952), p. 146ff.

  36.

  For an excellent account of Lane’s lobbying and internal Republican party politics on the “ethnic voters” issue, see Louis L. Gerson, The Hyphenate in Recent American Politics and Diplomacy (Lawrence, Kan.: University of Kansas Press, 1964), p. 178ff. See also Vladimir Petrov, A Study in Diplomacy: The Story of Arthur Bliss Lane (Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1971).

  37.

  Gerson, op. cit., p. 193 (“Liberation Weeks,” etc.); Collins, op. cit., p. 329ff.; “D.P. Charges Enslaving of 500,000 Lithuanians,” New York Times, July 18, 1950; “Freedom Forecast for Baltic States,” New York Times, June 17, 1951; “Freedom Crusade Rally Scheduled,” Washington Post, September 14, 1951; “Exile Leaders Join in ‘Bill of Rights,’” New York Times, June 13, 1952; “Baltic Groups Hold Freedom Rally Here,” New York Times, June 16, 1952.

  38.

  Petrov interview, July 29, 1985; Vladimir Petrov, Escape from the Future (Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1973), p. 337ff., with incidents discussed in footnotes at pp. 341–42, 349–51, 354, 360–61. On Pe
trov’s relation to 1952 election: Gerson, op. cit., p. 229, and Petrov interview, July 29, 1985.

  39.

  Gerson, op. cit., p. 194.

  40.

  Republican National Committee, “The Margin of Victory in Marginal Districts,” cited in Gerson, op. cit., pp. 198–99.

  41.

  Grombach, INSCOM dossier. See particularly “Summary of Information (SR 380–320-10)” reports for the following dates and subjects: “G-2 SPS GROMBACH, John Valentine,” June 1, 1955 (top secret); “N. V. Philips Co,” June 1, 1955 (top secret); “Grombach, John V.,” September 23, 1958 (confidential); and memo from Brigadier General Richard Collins, director of plans, programs and security to ASCoSI, Subject: GROMBACH, John Valentine, September 30, 1958 (secret). On Philips’s role, see Grombach letter to Colonel George F. Smith, April 12, 1950, and Collins report, September 5, 1958 (secret).

  42.

  “Memorandum for File: Subj: GROMBACH, John V.,” December 21, 1952, Naval Intelligence Command files, Document No. 62–77306, with attachments, obtained through FOIA.

  43.

  Ray Ylitalo interview, June 18, 1984.

  44.

  Lyman Kirkpatrick, The Real CIA (New York: Macmillan, 1968), p. 149ff. Also Lyman Kirkpatrick interview, April 11, 1984.

  45.

  Ylitalo interview, June 18, 1984.

  46.

  Lyman Kirkpatrick interview, April 11, 1984.

  47.

  Lyman Kirkpatrick interview, April 11, 1984, and Ylitalo interview, June 18, 1984. On leaks from McCarthy’s office, see Kirkpatrick, op. cit., pp. 151–53; and Oshinsky, op. cit., p. 288n.

  48.

  Kirkpatrick, op. cit., pp. 152–53.

  For background on Grombach’s long-standing dispute with the CIA, see Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, U.S. House of Representatives, 80th Congress, National Security Act of 1947 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1947). These unusual hearings were held to discuss the founding of a proposed central intelligence agency and were originally published in 1947 with the names of the witnesses suppressed. General Hoyt Vandenberg was thus originally identified only as “Mr. A,” Allen Dulles became “Mr. B,” and so on. Grombach testified on pp. 49–53 as “Mr. D” and strongly opposed extending overall authority over clandestine intelligence collection to any one agency. These hearings were eventually republished with new appendices in 1982 by the Committee on Government Operations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

  49.

  For coverage of Thayer’s resignation, see “19 Lose U.S. Posts on Morals Charge,” New York Times, April 21, 1953, p. 32; “Aide Will Be Queried on Resignation Story,” New York Times, April 28, 1953, p. 36; and Oshinsky, op. cit., p. 288n. See also Charles Wheeler Thayer, U.S. Army INSCOM Dossier no. X8889748 (secret).

  50.

  On Davies’s role in Hilger immigration, see Berlin to Washington dispatch marked “Personal for Kennan,” 862.00/9–2548, September 25, 1948 (top secret); Heidelberg to Washington dispatch marked “For Kennan,” 862.00/ 9–2748, September 27, 1948 (top secret), which suggests use of false identities; Washington to Heidelberg, 862.00/9–2848, September 28, 1948 (top secret); Heidelberg to Washington, 862.00/9–3048, September 30, 1948 (top secret), all of which are found in RG 59, NA, Washington, D.C.

  On Davies’s role in Poppe’s immigration, see “For [Carmel] Offie from [John Paton] Davies,” 800.4016 DP/3–848, March 8, 1948 (secret); “For Offie from Davies,” 893.00 Mongolia/3–1848, March 18, 1948 (secret); “For [James] Riddleberger from [George] Kennan,” 861.00/10–2248, October 22, 1948 (secret—sanitized); “Personal for Kennan from Riddleberger,” 861.00/11–248, November 2, 1948 (secret—sanitized); and “Personal for Riddleberger from Kennan,” 800.4016 DP/5–449, May 3, 1949 (secret), signed also by Robert Joyce, all at RG 59, NA, Washington, D.C.

  On Davies’s role on Ulus and Sunsh affair, see “For [Carmel] Offie from [John Paton] Davies,” May 27, 1948 (secret), 800.43 Eurasian Institute/5–2748 secret file; “From Tehran to Secretary of State, attention John Davies,” re: Ulus and Sunsh, July 27, 1948 (secret), 800.43 Eurasian Institute/7–2748 secret file; “Department of State to AMEMBASSY, Tehran,” re: Sunsh, July 27, 1948 (secret), 800.43 Eurasian Institute/7–2748; “For Davies from Dooher,” re: Ulus, August 12, 1948 (secret), 800.43 Eurasian Institute/8–1248; “Department of State to AMEMBASSY, Athens,” initialed by Kennan, October 12, 1948 (secret), 800.43 Eurasion [sic] Institute/10–1248, all in RG 59, NA, Washington, D.C. Also Poppe interviews, October 26 and December 4, 1984, Davies interview, November 28, 1983, and Evron Kirkpatrick interview, November 10, 1983.

  51.

  For Times’s characterization of Davies’s position, see New York Times Index, 1954, p. 1154; for Davies’s characterization, Davies interview, November 28, 1983.

  52.

  For an account of Tawney Pippet, see testimony of Lyle H. Munson in Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act, U.S. Senate, Hearings on the Institute of Pacific Relations (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1952), p. 2751ff., and Robert Steele (Lately Thomas), When Even Angels Wept (New York: Morrow, 1973), p. 376n.

  53.

  Walter Waggoner, “Dulles Dismisses Davies as a Risk; Loyalty Not Issue,” New York Times, November 6, 1954, p. 1; and “Text of Statements by Davies and Dulles on the Former’s Ouster,” New York Times, November 6, 1954, p. 8. For a concise overview of the Davies affair and its aftermath, see James Fetzer, “The Case of John Paton Davies,” Foreign Service Journal (November 1977), p. 15ff., with quote from Dulles on p. 31. See also John Paton Davies, Foreign and Other Affairs (New York: W. W. Norton, 1966).

  54.

  Bohlen, op. cit., p. 71ff.

  55.

  Oshinsky, op. cit., pp. 286–93, with quote on p. 292.

  56.

  Ibid.

  57.

  Ylitalo interview, June 18, 1984. Also Petrov interview, July 29, 1985, and, for Bogolepov’s own account of his life, see Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act, op. cit., p. 4479ff.

  58.

  William White, “Bohlen Confirmed as Envoy, 74 to 13, Eisenhower Victor,” New York Times, March 28, 1953, p. 1.

  59.

  Joseph and Stewart Alsop, “Matter of Fact,” Washington Post, July 5, 1953, and Oshinsky, op. cit., p. 293n.

  60.

  Oshinsky, op. cit., p. 293.

  61.

  For Solarium documentation, see U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, vol. II, National Security Affairs, Part 1 (Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1984), pp. 323–443; for Cutler comment, pp. 441 and 401. All the Solarium material was originally classified top secret.

  62.

  Ibid., pp. 388–93 and 399–412. For Kennan’s account of these events, see Kennan vol. II, pp. 180–81.

  63.

  U.S. Department of State, op. cit., pp. 441 (summary of recommendations) and 439 (Albania project), and pp. 393 and 441 (actual acceptance of key Task Force C tactical recommendations). For material discussed in footnote, see Murrey Marder, “Eisenhower Rejected Plan to Disrupt Soviet,” Washington Post, December 7, 1984, p. A22. For text of NSC 5412, see NSC 5412, March 15, 1954, NSC 5412/1, March 12, 1955, and NSC 5412/2, December 28, 1955 (top secret), at RG 273, Policy Papers File, NA, Washington, D.C.

  Chapter Sixteen

  1.

  Powers, op. cit., p. 159.

  2.

  1985 GAO Report, pp. 32–34. Otto von Bolschwing is the anonymous “Subject C” discussed in this study.

  3.

  Ibid., pp. 31–32. Stankievich is the anonymous “Subject B” of the GAO’s study.

  4.

  1985 GAO Report, pp. 31–32.

  5.

  Ibid.

  6.

  Ibid, pp. 26–27, on purge at RFE/RL. On purge of Eberhardt Taubert, see Tauber, op. cit., vol. 1, pp. 150, 32
3, and 644; vol. 2, pp. 1049–50, 1070–71, 1325, and 1328.

  7.

  For Eichmann quote, see Simon Wiesenthal Center, Membership Report, Summer 1985. On Brunner’s wartime career, see Berlin Document Center dossier on Alois Brunner, NSDAP no. 510, 064; SS no. 342 767. See also Alois Brunner, U.S. Army INSCOM dossier no. XE064584 17B025.

  8.

  Cookridge, op. cit., p. 354.

  9.

  Ibid, p. 352.

  10.

  Approximately 400 pages of original documentation on Skorzeny—some of it sanitized—is available through the FOIA at Otto Skorzeny, U.S. Army INSCOM dossier no. XE00 0417. Most of these records date from 1945 to 1950. This body of records, interestingly enough, was subjected to a “special purge” in 1973, according to army records. Additional postwar interrogations of Skorzeny may be found at “Skorzeny, Otto,” Box 739, Entry 179, Enemy POW Interrogation File MIS-Y 1943–1945, RG 165, NA, Washington, D.C. The State Department, FBI, and INS have also released fragmentary records on Skorzeny following FOIA requests. The CIA has yet to release its records on Skorzeny, despite formal requests to do so. Considering Skorzeny’s lifelong involvement in a variety of affairs that touched on CIA concerns—such as the Egyptian project mentioned in the text, the international arms trade, the African uranium industry, aid to Biafran rebels, and, allegedly, political assassinations, to name only a few—the presently available material on Skorzeny can only be considered the tip of a much larger iceberg.