We continue our translation of the Russian-language record of the December 1946 interrogation of SS Standartenführer Anton Kaindl who, at the time of his arrest in May 1945, was the commandant of the infamous Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Due to its length, the translation is being published bit by bit throughout the week. In Part OneContinueContinue reading “Declassified Interrogation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Commander: Part 2”
Category Archives: World War Two
Declassified Interrogation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Commander: Part 1
The Russian Federation FSB website recently declassified and published the Russian-language December 1946 interrogation of SS Standartenführer Anton Kaindl who, at the time of his arrest in May 1945, was the commandant of the infamous Sachsenhausen concentration camp just north of Berlin. The camp was liberated just over 80 years ago, on 22 April 1945,ContinueContinue reading “Declassified Interrogation of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Commander: Part 1”
Did ‘Cambridge Five’ Espionage Contribute to Poland Succumbing to Soviet Influence after World War II?
Recently declassified documents published to the Russian FSB website are claimed to contain information provided by the so-called ‘Cambridge Five’ – the notorious spy ring that provided information to the Soviet Union from the 1930s to the early 1950s. The documents deal with Poland’s efforts to prepare for a post-war world in which that countryContinueContinue reading “Did ‘Cambridge Five’ Espionage Contribute to Poland Succumbing to Soviet Influence after World War II?”
Yeltsin Library Declassifies Nazi Plans to Cooperate with United States, Great Britain
On 7 April 2025, the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library published declassified information which reveals that Nazi Germany planned to cooperate with representatives of the USA and Great Britain in a war against the USSR. The relevant document can be found on the institution’s website; the English translation is provided below. The declassified document is postedContinueContinue reading “Yeltsin Library Declassifies Nazi Plans to Cooperate with United States, Great Britain”
London-Based Soviet Spy and Klaus Fuchs Discuss Status of England’s Progress in Building Atomic Bomb, 1941
The following is a decrypted Top Secret message from the head of the London rezidentura to the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army General Staff on work in England to create an atomic bomb. The message provides information provided by Agent “Baron” (Simon Davidovich Kremer) regarding his meeting with German physicist-turned-spy Klaus Fuchs (covername “Fuka”)ContinueContinue reading “London-Based Soviet Spy and Klaus Fuchs Discuss Status of England’s Progress in Building Atomic Bomb, 1941”
Achilles Heel: The Stateside Soviet Spy and His Unknown Manhattan Project Source
Today we look at a March 1944 letter from the US-based GRU spy Arthur Adams, whose covername was “Akhill” (Achilles), to the Director of the GRU on American progress in efforts to create a nuclear weapon. This letter was sent via diplomatic mail, which in wartime conditions meant it would have to travel a circuitousContinueContinue reading “Achilles Heel: The Stateside Soviet Spy and His Unknown Manhattan Project Source”
Alarmed by Nuclear Lag, Soviet Ukrainian Physicist Requests Funding for US-Built Cyclotron (1944)
In early 1944, the President of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Science Akademik A.A. Bogomolets sent a Secret letter to then-Chair of the Council of the People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR Nikita Khrushchev, asking him to look into the possibility of not only procuring a cyclotron laboratory to hasten the Soviet Union’s lagging explorationContinueContinue reading “Alarmed by Nuclear Lag, Soviet Ukrainian Physicist Requests Funding for US-Built Cyclotron (1944)”
Freshly Declassified Documents from the Yalta Conference to be Unveiled on 4 February
The Information Center of the Government of Moscow reported today that the GRU will be handing over declassified documents concerning the Yalta Conference to the Victory Museum. The following is the translation of the Information Center’s press release: On Tuesday, February 4, the Victory Museum will host an official ceremony to hand over archival documentsContinueContinue reading “Freshly Declassified Documents from the Yalta Conference to be Unveiled on 4 February”
Declassified Top Secret Cable from Soviet Ambassador Litvinov to Stalin on Roosevelt Meeting the Day After Pearl Harbor Attack
On 8 December 1941, new Soviet Ambassador to the United States Maksim Maksimovich Litvinov met with US President Franklin Roosevelt to present same with his credentials and address the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The following is an English translation of the coded telegram penned by Litvinov that day (sent to Moscow on 10 December).ContinueContinue reading “Declassified Top Secret Cable from Soviet Ambassador Litvinov to Stalin on Roosevelt Meeting the Day After Pearl Harbor Attack”
Top Secret Message to Stalin Captures Chiang Kai-shek’s Emotional Response to Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
On 8 December 1941, the day after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s subsequent declaration of war, Soviet Ambassador to China Aleksandr Panyushkin was called to meet Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek and Minister of Foreign Affairs Guo Taiqi to receive a personal message to be conveyed to Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The message spellsContinueContinue reading “Top Secret Message to Stalin Captures Chiang Kai-shek’s Emotional Response to Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor”
Translating History 