The Secret World of American Communism

Annals of Communism

by Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov, Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes

For the first time, the hidden world of American communism can be examined with the help of documents from the recently opened archives of the former Soviet Union. By interweaving narrative and documents, the authors of this book present a convincing new picture of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), one of the most controversial organizations in American public life. Heated debates about whether the Communist Party harbored spies or engaged in espionage have surrounded the party from its inception. This authoritative book provides proof that the CPUSA was involved in various subversive activities. At the same time, it discloses fascinating details about the workings of the party and about the ordinary Americans and CPUSA leaders who participated in its clandestine activities.

The documents presented range from letters by Americans wishing to do international covert work for the Soviet Union to top secret memos between the head of Soviet foreign intelligence, the Comintern, and the CPUSA. They confirm that

--the Soviet Union heavily subsidized the CPUSA and that some prominent Americans laundered money for the Comintern;

--the CPUSA maintained a covert espionage apparatus in the United States with direct ties to Soviet intelligence;

--the testimony of former Communists concerning underground Communist activity in the United States can be substantiated;

--American Communists working in government agencies stole documents and passed them to the CPUSA, which sent them on to Moscow;

--the CPUSA played a role in atomic espionage;

and much more.

An engrossing narrative places the documents in their historical context and explains key figures, organizations, and events. Together the narrative and documents provide a revealing picture of American communism and convey the contradictory passions that drew so many Americans into the Communist movement and eventually tore that movement apart.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American, Espionage

380 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 1995

About the author

Fridrikh I. Firsov is formerly department manager of the Russian Center for the Preservation and Study of Documents of Most Recent History.

Reviews

[Lucinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found at Know Knew Books in Palo Alto. After the Vietnam War, everyone assumed all the trash talk about American Communism was wrong: the Party wasn't REALLY spying on innocent Americans. Then the Cold War ended, the Soviet archives opened up, and as it turns out, the CP USA really was spying on everyone and trying to infiltrate the government. Go figure.

[David Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A while back I read a book called Inside the Stalin Archives. That book wasn't so much about the archives themselves but how American historians got access to the archives. I found it interesting and enjoyable, if not exactly what I was expecting. This book is one of the volumes that was produced by the researchers.

It is presented in an unusual format. It concentrates on 92 specific documents, most of which are reproduced in their entirety. The text places these documents in their context and explains what they mean and their relationship to other documents and often related events in the wider historical record.

But to say these are from the Stalin Archives is a bit dramatic and misleading. These would be more accurately described as the ComIntern archives. They span the time from about 1920 until 1945. Most are from the 1930's, when the archives are more complete. In the early days of the CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA), not all records were sent to the Soviet Union, and when the Second World War broke out more gaps appeared due to obvious logistical difficulties.

Frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed. The picture painted by these documents isn't so much one of a nefarious organization dedicated to the overthrow of American Democracy, but a bickering bunch of ideologues concerned more with who was a Trotskyist or a Lovestoneist. This is not to say that the CPUSA were not dedicated Communists loyal to their Soviet masters, provided with funds and missions to infiltrate the US government, trade unions, and other American institutions. They were. But the documentary evidence provided, while it supports the position that the CPUSA was secretive and involved in a wide variety of surveillance activities, they were relatively unproductive. The best examples provided did show that confidential information was given to the Soviets, but that confidential information was not secret or classified info.

Of course, because these documents come from the ComIntern rather than the KGB (and its forerunners), we're likely not getting the "good stuff." It may well be the case that the CPUSA was as dangerous as the Red Scare of the 1950's would lead us to believe. But I don't think this book makes a very good case of it.

I found the most interesting document was a letter sent from the US Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd, to President Roosevelt from late 1936. Dodd's letter is insightful and if more such letters made their way to Western leaders of the time, perhaps much agony could have been avoided. This letter is enough for me to search out a good biography of Dodd, or at least a book about his time as Ambassador to the Third Reich.

My 2 star rating may be a bit harsh. I found the format of the book interesting. Although I read a lot of history, I don't really know how history is researched when it comes to archival sources. The topic is important, even if the documents we're presented are less than earth-shattering. And there are a number of interesting vignettes of various CPUSA members. I just feel that the book falls short of being the "convincing new picture" of the CPUSA that it purports to be.

[John Waldrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible book, really. Quite challenging to read, since it is filled with documentation translated from Russian (formerly USSR) files into English. There was a brief window of opportunity after the fall of the Soviet Union in which Boris Yeltsin granted access before his corrupt regime fell and was replaced by the even more corrupt regime of Vladimir Putin. But it proves a depth of infiltration into the Federal government during the cold war (and before) that despite being denied is undeniable.

[Shaun Richman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not unhelpful as a documentary guide, but Klehr continues to chase bogeymen instead of actually grapple with what happened and why.