FACES AND PLACES: Venona: the rest of the story (06/27/99)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Venona: the rest of the story

The Organization for the Rebirth of Ukraine (ODVU as it is known in Ukrainian), a brotherhood of dedicated Ukrainian nationalists, used to be one of the most powerful anti-Communist alliances in the Ukrainian American community.

Conceived in 1929 during a visit to the United States by Col. Yevhen Konovalets, head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), ODVU had its first national convention in 1931 in New York City with delegates from 14 separate branches in attendance. Two other nationalist-oriented organizations, the Ukrainian Gold Cross, a society of women, and the Young Ukrainian Nationalists (MUN) were established by ODVU in 1931 and 1933, respectively. By 1938, the ODVU network included some 10,000 Ukrainian Americans.

During the 1930s ODVU's influence extended to the Ukrainian National Association, then the most significant secular institution in the community. At the 1937 convention delegates representing more than 30,000 UNA members elected 11 ODVU and Gold Cross members to the 22-seat UNA Supreme Assembly. The election placed the UNA firmly into the nationalist Ukrainian camp.

The growth of Ukrainian nationalist sentiment in America, of course, was blaringly condemned by Ukrainian and American Communists and their fellow travelers in the liberal media who viewed Ukrainian nationalism as a virus that threatened the viability of the Soviet empire. Guided by the NKVD, Soviet agents initiated a campaign of vilification in the 1940s, an effort that culminated in both the UNA and ODVU being accused of Nazi subversion. The FBI investigated, compiled four volumes of material on ODVU, the UNA and the United Hetman Organization (UHO), and exonerated all three.

Although the names of FBI informants still are protected by the Department of Justice, FBI files do yield their organizational affiliation, namely, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Ukrayinski Schodenni Visti (Ukrainian Daily News - the Ukrainian Communist press organ) and the Ukrainian Workingman's Association. Press clippings from The Hour, a news bulletin financed by the ADL and edited by Albert Kahn, described Ukrainian nationalists as anti-Semites, saboteurs and terrorists who enjoyed Nazi support.

The most damaging calumny, however, appeared in a 1942 book titled "Sabotage! The Secret War Against America," co-authored by Albert Kahn. In chapter titled "Bombers and Killers," Konovalets is described as "a rapist and killer." ODVU is depicted as one "of the most dangerous espionage-sabotage organizations in the world ... It is remarkable that in all the literature dealing with the worldwide machinations of the Axis, practically no mention has been made of the most important auxiliary of the international Nazi espionage and sabotage machine: the fascist Ukrainian fifth column."

Svoboda, press organ of the UNA, is portrayed as "a medium for conveying instructions to ODVU spies. The Svoboda offices at 81-83 Grand St., Jersey City, became a clearinghouse for espionage directives coming in from Berlin, Tokyo and Rome." Accused of harboring Nazi sympathies, Svoboda editor-in-chief Luka Myshuha is described as "a tall, thin, 55-year old Ukrainian-born American with sharp, birdlike features, a narrow forehead and a tight mouth that habitually twists in a caustic smile."

Heartily endorsed by Walter Winchell, America's leading radio news commentator, "Sabotage!" was condensed by the Reader's Digest in its October 1942 issue. Describing The Hour as "a confidential newsletter published for the use of editors, columnists and radio commentators which has won a nationwide reputation for its exclusive news scoops on Axis plots in the United States," America's widely read periodical concluded that the authors' "facts have been carefully authenticated." Legitimized by such enthusiastic endorsements, "Sabotage!" became a runaway bestseller. The FBI, meanwhile, concluded that "The Hour is definitely affiliated with the Communist Party, although this fact is carefully concealed from the public."

Who was Albert Kahn? I mention the man in my book on the Ukrainian immigration in general, as well as in my history of the Ukrainian National Association. I was certain he was a Stalinist, but I couldn't prove conclusively that he worked for the Soviets. With the publication of "Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America" by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr, I now know the rest of the story.

"Venona" is the name of a super-secret project conducted by American code-breakers to examine ciphered Soviet diplomatic cablegrams to and from the United States. The code was not actually deciphered until 1946, and the information was finally made available to researchers.

The cables, write Messrs. Haynes and Klehr, "identify 349 citizens, immigrants and permanent residents of the United States who had had a covert relationship with Soviet intelligence agencies." This included "spies in virtually every major government agency of military or diplomatic importance," including the White House. Many of the traitors were members of the Communist Party of the U.S.A. (CPUSA).

Also listed in the book is Albert Kahn, first mentioned by former Soviet agent Elizabeth Bentley in her testimony to the FBI and confirmed by Venona. A secret member of the CPUSA, his Venona NKVD cover name is believed to be "Fighter." His handler was probably Avrim Landy (probable code name "Khan") who also worked with Mikhail Tkach (code name "Perch"), editor of the Ukrainian Daily News and a frequent contributor to the Ukrainian Communist press in the United States. Tkach is described as a person "who carried out KGB tasks among Ukrainian immigrants and ran a group of subagents." His daughter and son-in law, Anne and Michael Sidorovich, were on the NKVD payroll.

As anyone familiar with Ukrainian American history knows, the lies perpetrated by Albert Kahn, Mikhail Tkach, the Sidorovichs and the ADL savaged the Ukrainian American community during World War II by associating Ukrainian nationalism with anti-Semitism and Nazism. The aftereffects of the Soviet-inspired smear campaign still linger. These NKVD handmaidens also laid the groundwork for Operation Keelhaul, an Allied action that led to the forcible repatriation of thousands of innocent Ukrainian refugees to the Soviet Union and certain death in Stalin's gulag. If we ignore or remain oblivious to these abominations, they will visit us again, and again. The past cannot be buried.

Myron Kuropas' e-mail address is: [email protected]

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