Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource Double lives : spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West, Stephen Koch

Double lives : spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West, Stephen Koch

Creator
Summary
  • "The goal was to turn the Russian revolution into a world revolution, and the strategy was a masterful campaign led by a propaganda genius to align Western intellectuals with Stalin's Soviet Union. The man assigned to this task by the Politburo was Willi Munzenberg, a German communist living in Paris, a publisher and brilliant manipulator of public opinion. He recruited the notable artists and writers of the age, some conscious of their role, others utterly unaware of their part in this carefully orchestrated crusade." "The full story of this clandestine army has never before been told, since most of the celebrities who led these double lives either did so in total secrecy, or were themselves unaware of who was really pulling the strings. Leading intellectuals, including Lillian Hellman, Andre Gide, Andre Malraux, Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, John Dos Passos, Bertolt Brecht, and many others, either were among Munzenberg's "agents of influence" or were manipulated by them. Most had enlisted in their idealism for the anti-Fascist movement (privately, Munzenberg used the term "Innocents' Clubs" for his various front organizations), yet not a few of these writers and artists soon found themselves defending the most debased Soviet actions and principles." "Steven Koch masterfully recounts this astounding story of betrayal, covert operations, and even murder, which played itself out on an international stage from secret trials in Moscow to the halls of M15 in London, to New York and Hollywood. From the early 1930s to the mid 1960s, there were few significant episodes between East and West in which Munzenberg's recruits, or their successors, did not play a dramatic and decisive role. Among many other stunning revelations, Koch discloses new insights into how the German and Soviet secret services collaborated in the 1930s so that Hitler and Stalin could destroy their domestic enemies, a juncture leading to Hitler's Blood Purge and Stalin's Great Terror."
  • "Although these "secret soldiers" fell short of Lenin's goal for the Comintern - to convert the West to the communist cause - this covert network profoundly affected cultural history for decades of the present century. This is a new chapter in the history of espionage that is also a brilliant exploration of the meaning of political morality in our time."--Jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
x, 419 pages
Contents
  • Lying for the truth
  • Fire and fraud
  • The lieutenant
  • Trial, counter-trial, and the Dimitrov conspiracy
  • The deal
  • The case for the traitor
  • Cambridge West
  • Bloomsbury and espionage
  • In America
  • An end to innocence
  • The Spanish stratagem
  • Münzenberg's end
Isbn
9780029187302
Instance
Label
Double lives : spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West
Title
Double lives
Title remainder
spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West
Statement of responsibility
Stephen Koch
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "The goal was to turn the Russian revolution into a world revolution, and the strategy was a masterful campaign led by a propaganda genius to align Western intellectuals with Stalin's Soviet Union. The man assigned to this task by the Politburo was Willi Munzenberg, a German communist living in Paris, a publisher and brilliant manipulator of public opinion. He recruited the notable artists and writers of the age, some conscious of their role, others utterly unaware of their part in this carefully orchestrated crusade." "The full story of this clandestine army has never before been told, since most of the celebrities who led these double lives either did so in total secrecy, or were themselves unaware of who was really pulling the strings. Leading intellectuals, including Lillian Hellman, Andre Gide, Andre Malraux, Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, John Dos Passos, Bertolt Brecht, and many others, either were among Munzenberg's "agents of influence" or were manipulated by them. Most had enlisted in their idealism for the anti-Fascist movement (privately, Munzenberg used the term "Innocents' Clubs" for his various front organizations), yet not a few of these writers and artists soon found themselves defending the most debased Soviet actions and principles." "Steven Koch masterfully recounts this astounding story of betrayal, covert operations, and even murder, which played itself out on an international stage from secret trials in Moscow to the halls of M15 in London, to New York and Hollywood. From the early 1930s to the mid 1960s, there were few significant episodes between East and West in which Munzenberg's recruits, or their successors, did not play a dramatic and decisive role. Among many other stunning revelations, Koch discloses new insights into how the German and Soviet secret services collaborated in the 1930s so that Hitler and Stalin could destroy their domestic enemies, a juncture leading to Hitler's Blood Purge and Stalin's Great Terror."
  • "Although these "secret soldiers" fell short of Lenin's goal for the Comintern - to convert the West to the communist cause - this covert network profoundly affected cultural history for decades of the present century. This is a new chapter in the history of espionage that is also a brilliant exploration of the meaning of political morality in our time."--Jacket
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1941-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Koch, Stephen
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HX518.S8
LC item number
K62 1994
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Münzenberg, Willi
  • Münzenberg, Willi
  • Münzenberg, Willi
  • Katz, Otto (Publizist)
  • Communist strategy
  • Communism
  • Espionage, Communist
  • Propaganda, Communist
  • Communism
  • Communist strategy
  • Espionage, Communist
  • Propaganda, Communist
  • Intellektueller
  • Kommunismus
  • Agitprop
  • Spionage
  • Westliche Welt
Label
Double lives : spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West, Stephen Koch
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 391-404) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Lying for the truth -- Fire and fraud -- The lieutenant -- Trial, counter-trial, and the Dimitrov conspiracy -- The deal -- The case for the traitor -- Cambridge West -- Bloomsbury and espionage -- In America -- An end to innocence -- The Spanish stratagem -- Münzenberg's end
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
x, 419 pages
Isbn
9780029187302
Lccn
93011523
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)28424138
  • (OCoLC)ocm28424138
Label
Double lives : spies and writers in the secret Soviet war of ideas against the West, Stephen Koch
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 391-404) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Lying for the truth -- Fire and fraud -- The lieutenant -- Trial, counter-trial, and the Dimitrov conspiracy -- The deal -- The case for the traitor -- Cambridge West -- Bloomsbury and espionage -- In America -- An end to innocence -- The Spanish stratagem -- Münzenberg's end
Dimensions
25 cm
Extent
x, 419 pages
Isbn
9780029187302
Lccn
93011523
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)28424138
  • (OCoLC)ocm28424138

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

  • African Studies LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Alumni Medical LibraryBorrow it
    72 East Concord Street, Boston, MA, 02118, US
    42.336388 -71.072393
  • Astronomy LibraryBorrow it
    725 Commonwealth Avenue, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02445, US
    42.350259 -71.105717
  • Fineman and Pappas Law LibrariesBorrow it
    765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350979 -71.107023
  • Frederick S. Pardee Management LibraryBorrow it
    595 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.349626 -71.099547
  • Howard Gotlieb Archival Research CenterBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 5th Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Mugar Memorial LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Music LibraryBorrow it
    771 Commonwealth Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350723 -71.108227
  • Pikering Educational Resources LibraryBorrow it
    2 Silber Way, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.349804 -71.101425
  • School of Theology LibraryBorrow it
    745 Commonwealth Avenue, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.350494 -71.107235
  • Science & Engineering LibraryBorrow it
    38 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215, US
    42.348472 -71.102257
  • Stone Science LibraryBorrow it
    675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02445, US
    42.350103 -71.103784

Library Links

Zepheira Logo
Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by Boston University Libraries. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...