Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America (71 page)

By early 1945 Rosenberg and his network were at the top of their productivity. A KGB report on the status of the New York station networks
demonstrates its size and importance:

Liberal-Julius Rosenberg. B. in 1918 in NY. A Jew. Married (Ethel). z yearold child. Both are fellowcountrymen [Communists]. He is on a special register [secret CPUSA membership roll]. He is an electrical engineer by training.
He works as an assistant workshop chief at the "Zenith" company which manufactures radio devices for the army signal corps. He was recruited to work
with us through "Sound" [Gobs] in late 41. Starting in the fall of 42, he was
handled by "Twain" [Semenov], whom he knew as "Henry." Since 27.04.44,
he has been handled by "Callistratus" [Feklisov], whom he knows as Alex."
He gave valuable materials on radio + oversaw probationers [sources] who
had been handed over from "Sound": "Metes'' [Barr], "Yakov' [Perl], "Lens"
[Sidorovich]. "Nil" [Sussman], "Senya" [Sobell], "Persian" [McNutt],
"Hughes" [Sarant], and "Caliber'' [Greenglass] were later recruited through
him. "He always regards any assignment with a sense of responsibility and
makes an effort to carry it out fully and on time. He is impetuous by nature
and occasionally hasty. He is diligent. As a group handler, he is equal to the
task and enjoys a certain degree of authority among his probationers [agents]."
Large workload - dangerous to his health. "`Liberal' is highly politically developed and devoted to our cause. He considers helping our country to be the
principal aim of his life. During the war, he experienced all the sorrows of defeat and the joys of victory alongside all our people." His wife knows about her
husband's work and personally knows "Twain" and "Callistratus." She could be
used independently, but she should not be overworked - poor health.

"Nil"-Nathan Sussman 27 years old, married, no children, both are fellowcountrymen. In 41 he got a job as a jr. engineer at a factory of the "Corpus"
[Western Electric] company. He is one of the factory's top specialists on radar
installations. He has access to valuable materials, and has the right to take
them out of the factory. He was recruited for work with us at the end of 42 by
"Liberal," whom he has known well since they were children. Materials on aviation radars. His wife does not know - "Nil" cannot be taken off the CPUSA
register, b/c she would become suspicious of him and worry.

"Meter"-Joel Barr. B. in 1916. Fellowcountryman. Included on a special
secret register. A bachelor. Radio engineer. Recruited through "Sound." One of the most productive probationers in "Liberal's" group. Currently lives with
"Hughes," a personal friend. "The probationer is politically developed and
conscientious. He is devoted to our cause."

"Hughes"-Alfred Sarant. B. in 1919 in the USA. A radar engineer at one
of "Corpus's" factories. His parents are Greek, they own a house. He joined
the CPUSA in 1940. He cut down on his activities in the Workers party [New
York's American Labor Party] after we established contact with him in 44. Recruited through "Liberal"... .

"Senya,"-Morton Sobell. Fellowcountryman, a bachelor. B. in igi5 in
the USA. An electrical engineer. Recruited at the end of 43 by "Liberal."
Friends since they were children. Wanted to leave his job, where he won't be
promoted b/c he is a Jew ("Hydro" [RCA]). He stayed at our request.

"Persian"-Russell McNutt. B. in 1916 in the USA. A civil engineer at the
"Kellex" company. Married, i child. A fellowcountryman; his father-a longtime fellowcountryman, a close friend of "Helmsman's" [Browder's]. He is
well-to-do. Gave materials on equipment used for "Enormous" [Manhattan
Project]. + A floor-plan of camp No.1 [Oak Ridge].

"Yakov"-William Mutterperl. B. in 'i8 in NY to a family of Jewish emigrants from Poland. A specialist on aerodynamics. Recruited by "Sound" on
the basis of a lead by "Liberal" in Apr. 42. Subsequently met with "Twain,"
whom he knew as "Henry." A fellowcountryman since 41. His wife doesn't
know....

"Caliber" [David Greenglass]-"Liberal's" brother-in-law. A sergeant,
works as a mechanic in camp No.z [Los Alamos]. Gives general information
about work in the camp. He doesn't know the details, however.

"Wasp" [Ruth Greenglass]-"Caliber's" wife, lives in Albuquerque.10

By any standard, Rosenberg's network was a remarkable technical intelligence apparatus. It included five engineers (Rosenberg, Sussman,
Barr, Sarant, and Sobell) working at leading electronic firms producing
advanced military radio, radar, sonar, and cutting-edge avionics; one leading military aviation scientist (Perl) who worked on the development of
America's first jet fighter; a civil design engineer (McNutt) working for
Kellex, the contractor building the Manhattan Project's uranium separation plant at Oak Ridge; and a skilled machinist (Greenglass) working at
Los Alamos and assisting in machining the trigger mechanism for the first
plutonium bomb. In a report to Moscow Center, Feklisov wrote of Rosenberg and his network:

"During the war a great many valuable materials for our national industry
were received personally from "Liberal" [Rosenberg]. Since March 1945 alone
detailed, complete sets of materials were received on the radars AN/APS-z, AN/APS-iz, SM, AN-CRT-4, AN/APS-i, AN/APN-iz; on infrared communications equipment; and so forth. We should take special note of the materials
given us by the agent on the AN/CPQ-i bomb fuse and a model of the fuse itself, which were given the highest marks by the Council on Radar. "Liberal's"
successful work in handling agents and in supplying us with valuable secret
materials was repeatedly cited by the center, and it was rewarded with large
monetary payments. "Liberal" is definitely a person who is completely devoted
to us and accumulated significant experience during the war years in illegal
work. He views working with us as the main purpose of his life.""

William Perl was the single most valuable agent in the Rosenberg apparatus. He provided documents on a long-distance fighter under development by Vultee aircraft; technical reports on the jet engine under development by Westinghouse; other technical reports of the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration); and, amazingly, blueprints of the Lockheed P-8o (America's first operational jet fighter). Feklisov wrote that Perl
provided ninety-eight technical studies totaling five thousand pages and
that Moscow Center judged half the material "very valuable" and most of
the rest "valuable." In September 1944 the KGB New York station told
Moscow that Perl thus far had received reimbursement only for the extra
expenses incurred by his espionage work but that it felt his productivity
had already earned him a bonus of $500, similar to that of other veteran
sources of Rosenberg's network. Moscow agreed and also judged Perl's
aviation intelligence as so important that when he moved to the Lewis
Flight Propulsion Laboratory near Cleveland, Ohio, to work on advanced
military aircraft, the KGB authorized Rosenberg to set up Michael
Sidorovich and his wife Ann as hosts of a safe house in Cleveland devoted
solely to receiving Perl's intelligence and transmitting it to the KGB.12

In late 1944 the FBI furnished the Army with information that Julius
Rosenberg, then employed as an engineer-inspector by the Army Signal
Corps, was a Communist. Given his access to sensitive military electronic
equipment, the Army discharged him in February 1945. The news
alarmed Moscow Center, and it ordered defensive measures:

"The most recent events with L ["Liberal"/Rosenberg] are extremely serious
and require us, first of all, to properly evaluate what happened, and secondly,
to make a decision about Us role in the future. In deciding the latter, we should proceed from the fact that in him, we have a loyal elan whom we can
trust completely, a man who in his practical work over the course of several
years has shown how strong his desire is to help our country. Besides this, in L.
we have a talented agent who knows how to work with people and has considerable experience recruiting new agents.

We can assume that, besides the reason that was put forward when L was
fired about his belonging to the fellowcountrymen [CPUSA], the competitors
[American security] could have in their possession oth. incriminating infbrma-
tion about him, including something about his affiliation with us. On the basis
of this argument in particular, we believe that L. should not take any legal action to be reinstated at his job and should leave this matter to the trade union,
which should do whatever is done for other union members in similar cases.
There should not be any pressure in this regard coming from Us end.

Although we do not have any documentary information indicating that the
competitors are to any degree aware of his connection with us.... nevertheless, taking into account the circumstances that preceded L's dismissal, his exceedingly energetic activity, especially when he had initially begun working
with us, as well as the occasional rashness he showed in his work, we believe it
is necessary to take immediate action in order to ensure the safety of L. himself, as well as the agents with whom he had been connected. In order to accomplish this, we proposed in our telegram from 16.11, No. 966, to relieve L.
of his duties as a group handler, reassign his agents to oth. operatives, and
sever the direct connection between our operative and Liberal, reinstating it
with the help of a courier. For this to happen, we think it is necessary to enact
the following measures:

1. Reassign "Hughes" [Sarant] and "Nil" [Sussman] to "Meter" [Barr], thereby
creating a new group headed by "Meter." Neither "Hughes" nor "Nil" should
know about each other's work. "Meter" should meet with each of them separately, while observing the strictest caution and secrecy. "Callistratus" [Feklisov] should meet with "Meter" to oversee his work and process materials.

2. "Senya" [Sobell] should be reassigned to our operative "Light" [Aleksandr
Racv]. It is essential to have a serious talk with the latter, b/c from his previous work with agents who had been transferred to him (Peter [Thomas
Black], Karl [William Stapler]), it is obvious that he has not yet become accustomed to his work and does not treat it with the seriousness it demands.
It is essential that you personally check his work with agents, demand that
he regularly submit reports on meetings he has conducted, and give him instructions for work and demand that they be carried out.

3. Connect "Lens" [Sidorovich] with either "Light" or "Photon" [Ivan
Kamenev], as you see fit....

4. Manage the connection between "Callistratus" and "Liberal" through a courier, for which position we recommend that you use "Leslie" [Lona
Cohen]-"Volunteer's" [Morris Cohen's] wife. In response to your query, we
have already approved the renewal of ties with her. It should be noted that
she does not have experience in our work, but she has already run small errands for the station in the past, for instance: contact with "Link's" [William
Weisband's] brother, etc. You should have a series of instructional talks with
"Leslie" regarding caution and secrecy in our work, and also teach her a
number of practical methods for checking oneself when going to a meeting,
leaving a meeting, etc.

5. Reassign "Wasp" [Ruth Greenglass] and "Persian" [Russell McNutt] to
"Arno" [Harry Gold].

Before severing the direct connection with L, it is essential to explain to
him why it is necessary to suspend personal contact and to instruct him about
the need to observe caution and to keep an eye on himself. You should continue to pay him his wages. Warn him not to make any important decisions
about his work in the future without our knowledge and consent. When addressing him at pres., we should make it clear to him that we are far from indifferent about his fate, that we value him as a worker, and that he absolutely
can and should count on us for help. "r3

Moscow Center's instructions were carried out, Rosenberg was deactivated, and his large network was broken into smaller units. In March
the KGB New York station reported:

"Liberal's [Rosenberg's] group was one of the largest groups, but after Liberal
was fired from his new job-as an inspecting officer of the AAF signal corps,
on account of Hut [FBI] allegedly knowing that he was a member of the fellowcountrymen [CPUSA], we were forced to suspend Us activities and completely discharge him of all his connections in order to avoid failure. Liberal
had handled: Lens [Sidorovich], Yakov [Perl], Senya [Sobell], Nil [Sussman],
Meter [Barr], Persian [McNutt], Hughes [Sarant], Wasp [Ruth Greenglass],
and Caliber [David Greenglass].

In accordance with Center's instructions and our proposals, the group has
been broken down as follows: Yakov, along with Lens's/Objective's [Michael
and Ann Sidorovich's] s/h [safe house] was given to Callistratus [Feklisov] for
debriefing. Yakov's materials will be transmitted via Objective to Squirrel
[unidentified courier]; the latter will also be connected with Callistratus.
Hughes [Sarant] works with Meter. Nil is also being reassigned to Meter.
Meter is in his turn connected with Callistratus. Persian is connected with
Aleksey [Anatoly Yatskov]. Senya-with Light [Raev]. This leaves only Wasp
and Caliber, who are currently in the Preserve [Los Alamos], and they can he
contacted through any of our new people using our password."

The KGB New York station in June also reported: "'Liberal [Rosenberg]
is rather upset about the fact that he was left without any people, but he
fully realizes the correctness of our plans to break his group up into
smaller units. The main thing with which he currently has the hardest
time reconciling is his relative inactivity. At every meeting, he asks to be
allowed to take material out of the factory [Emerson Radio] himself and
thus make himself useful to us."'14

While prudent, the KGB's actions were, in retrospect, unnecessary.
The FBI had identified Rosenberg as a Communist and security risk but
had no indication that he was actually engaged in espionage and no suspicion that he headed a large KGB-linked network. Aside from providing
the Signal Corps with the basis for his firing, the FBI did not initiate an
espionage investigation of Rosenberg or his contacts. It was an example
of the lax nature of American security at the time that Rosenberg quickly
found work as an electrical engineer for Emerson Radio, a major defense
contractor from whom, in his role as a Signal Corps inspector, he had earlier stolen and given to the KGB a working artillery proximity fuse, one
of America's most effective military technological innovations.