In Stalin's Secret Service - Krivitsky, Walter
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In Stalin's Secret Service presents the gripping and unprecedented memoir of Walter G. Krivitsky, a top Soviet intelligence officer turned defector. As chief of Soviet military intelligence in Western Europe, Krivitsky orchestrated espionage networks across Germany, France, the Netherlands, and beyond, coordinating sabotage efforts, intercepting communications, and recruiting influential agents. The memoir recounts Krivitsky's moral journey from dedicated insider to outspoken critic of Stalin's regime. Witnessing the brutal purge of the Red Army's officer corps and the assassination of his…mehr

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Produktbeschreibung
In Stalin's Secret Service presents the gripping and unprecedented memoir of Walter G. Krivitsky, a top Soviet intelligence officer turned defector. As chief of Soviet military intelligence in Western Europe, Krivitsky orchestrated espionage networks across Germany, France, the Netherlands, and beyond, coordinating sabotage efforts, intercepting communications, and recruiting influential agents. The memoir recounts Krivitsky's moral journey from dedicated insider to outspoken critic of Stalin's regime. Witnessing the brutal purge of the Red Army's officer corps and the assassination of his friend and fellow operative, Ignace Reiss, spurred Krivitsky's dramatic defection in 1937. In exile, he settled first in Paris and then emigrated to the United States, collaborating closely with literary agent Paul Wohl and journalist Isaac Don Levine to document his insider account of Stalinist espionage. Originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1939 and released in full book form later that year, the memoir offers chilling insight into Soviet covert operations, including infiltration of Western governments and manipulation of political figures. Although initially met with skepticism, Krivitsky's forecasts - particularly the imminent Nazi-Soviet pact - were eerily confirmed when the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in August 1939, lending credibility to his revelations. The memoir culminates in a dramatic, unresolved finale: Krivitsky turned his knowledge into a liability, believing it was his duty to expose Stalin's threats. He testified before the U.S. House Dies Committee (predecessor of HUAC) and traveled to the UK for exhaustive debriefings by MI5, yet the fate of several notorious Soviet agents, like those in the Cambridge ring, remained elusive. His untimely death under mysterious circumstances in 1941 - officially ruled a suicide - has long been suspected as a Soviet assassination, giving the memoir an open-ended, suspenseful finish.
Autorenporträt
Walter Germanovich Krivitsky, born Samuel Gershevich Ginsberg on June 28, 1899, in Pidvolochysk, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a senior officer of Soviet military intelligence before defecting in 1937. He became one of the first high-ranking Soviet intelligence officials to openly denounce Stalin's regime in the West. Operating under various covers, including that of an antiques dealer, he served as head of Soviet military intelligence operations in Western Europe. In this capacity, he coordinated sabotage missions, intercepted critical communications, and recruited influential agents across Germany, France, the Netherlands, and other countries, while also supporting supply routes to Republican Spain. The assassination of his close friend and fellow operative Ignace Reiss in 1937 marked a decisive turning point, prompting Krivitsky to break with Moscow. He left the Netherlands for Paris and subsequently emigrated to the United States in 1938. Once in exile, he sought to reveal the inner workings of Stalin's secret apparatus and, in 1939, published his memoir In Stalin's Secret Service. Initially met with skepticism, the work quickly gained credibility after the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, which confirmed several of his warnings. Krivitsky later collaborated with American and British authorities, testifying before investigative committees and undergoing extensive debriefings with intelligence services. He provided valuable information on Soviet espionage networks in both Europe and the United States, though he was unable to conclusively identify several key operatives, leaving aspects of the infiltration unresolved. On February 10, 1941, he was found dead in Washington, D.C., from a gunshot wound. Three notes were discovered nearby, and the official investigation concluded suicide. Yet suspicions of Soviet involvement persisted, and many contemporaries believed he had been assassinated by the NKVD, ensuring that his life and legacy remained shrouded in mystery.