| Nathan Gregory Silvermaster |
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Silvermaster was identified as a , 1946 ( FBI Silvermaster file, Volume 82) , p. 12 (PDF page 17) LIFE Silvermaster was born in Odessa , Russia , on October 27 , 1898 . He moved with his family to China , where he learned to speak perfect English with a British accent. He immigrated to the U.S., and received a B.A. from the University Of Washington in Seattle (where he was “stated to be a known Communist”) and a Ph.D. from the University Of California, Berkeley , where his thesis was entitled “Lenin’s Economic Thought Prior to the October Revolution.” He became a Naturalized American citizen in 1926. He was reported to be in contact with a very large number of Communist Party USA officials, and was active in a number of Communist Front Groups . FBI Report , op. cit., pp. 21-23 (PDF pp. 26-28) While nominally remaining on the employment rolls of the Farm Security Administration , Silvermaster arranged in 1942 to be detailed to the Board Of Economic Warfare . The transfer, however, triggered objections from military counter-intelligence who suspected he was a hidden Communist and regarded him as a security risk. On July 16 , 1942 the U.S. Civil Service Commission recommended "Cancel eligibilities...and bar him for the duration of the National Emergency ." Silvermaster denied any Communist links and appealed to Under Secretary of War Robert Patterson to overrule the security officials. Both White House advisor Lauchlin Currie (identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover name “Page”Robert J. Hanyok, ''Eavesdropping on Hell: Historical Guide to Western Communications Intelligence and the Holocaust'', 1939-1945 (Washington, DC: Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, 2005, 2nd Ed.), p. 119 (PDF page 124)) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Harry Dexter White (identified in Venona as the Soviet agent operating under the cover names “Lawyer” 1251 KGB New York to Moscow, 2 September 1944, p. 2 ; “Jurist”; “Richard” 83 KGB New York to Moscow, 18 January 1945, p.1 ) intervened on his behalf. Silvermaster subsequently received two promotions and pay raises. At the office cabled another Silvermaster report stating: "(Silvermaster) has sent us a 50-page Top Secret War Production Board report . . . on arms production in the U.S." 1821 KGB New York to Moscow, 26 December 1944 Silvermaster is also associated with Harry Dexter White at the Bretton Woods Conference , and his testimony before the US Senate Internal Security Subcommittee covers "175 pages of interrogation and exhibits" regarding his espionage activities in the US. He was never convicted of any crime. CHRONOLOGY
SILVERMASTER GROUP The Silvermaster spy ring operated primarily in the Department of the Treasury but also had contacts in the Army Air Force and in the White House . Sixty-one of the Venona cables concern the activities of the Silvermaster spy ring. This represents 1% of the total (approx 6,000 cables) and 3% of the (2,000) translated/partially translated VENONA cables.
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