to escape detainment, and to cover up his own trail. Philby was successful, and on June 27, 1951, J. Edgar Hoover, former director of the FBI, received a memorandum that read, “Wire dispatches on June 7 1951, state Maclean and Burgess have defected behind the Iron Curtain… Our files reflect a contact between M[a]clean and Alger Hiss on October 19, 1946… Both contacts have related solely to official business.” Burgess and Maclean fled at the seemingly perfect time, leaving their allies and foes to deal with the repercussions of their actions.
Leaving others (namely, members of the general public) to deal with the fallout of their actions, was not entirely new for Soviet spies. Interestingly enough, the FBI was able to establish a connection between the Five and an accused communist and Soviet spy, Alger Hiss. Hiss was well known for his HUAC …show more content…
The Five were working in tandem with the United States government at a time where those who were involved in government activities were under a lot of scrutiny, as espionage was a common issue in almost all U.S. government departments. It was in that time that McCarthyism, rose to power. Hiss was one of many targeted by McCarthy, though one of the few who was actually guilty. It is not all that surprising that the Five would be conspiring with other Soviet spies in the government (Hiss was a New Deal official). However, McCarthy himself said it best, “[Hiss] is important not as an individual anymore, but rather because he is so representative of a group in the State Department.” The same sentiment applies to the Cambridge Five. Though the spy work they accomplished was catastrophic to the United States, it was not the entire extent of the damage they had done.
Leaving others (namely, members of the general public) to deal with the fallout of their actions, was not entirely new for Soviet spies. Interestingly enough, the FBI was able to establish a connection between the Five and an accused communist and Soviet spy, Alger Hiss. Hiss was well known for his HUAC …show more content…
The Five were working in tandem with the United States government at a time where those who were involved in government activities were under a lot of scrutiny, as espionage was a common issue in almost all U.S. government departments. It was in that time that McCarthyism, rose to power. Hiss was one of many targeted by McCarthy, though one of the few who was actually guilty. It is not all that surprising that the Five would be conspiring with other Soviet spies in the government (Hiss was a New Deal official). However, McCarthy himself said it best, “[Hiss] is important not as an individual anymore, but rather because he is so representative of a group in the State Department.” The same sentiment applies to the Cambridge Five. Though the spy work they accomplished was catastrophic to the United States, it was not the entire extent of the damage they had done.