The Cambridge Spies

The story of the group of men who became known as the Cambridge Spies is one of the most extended and most extensive cases of Western nationals spying on their own government in the twentieth century. The principal persons involved -- Guy Burgess (1910-63), Donald Maclean (1915-83), Anthony Blunt (1907-83), and "Kim" Philby (1912-88) -- worked on behalf of the Soviet Union throughout World War II and the early Cold War era. Their activities were only very gradually uncovered and the full story has been even more gradually revealed to the public. The opening of the KGB archives in Moscow after the fall of the Soviet Union seems to have brought the exposures to their conclusion -- but there is no saying whether further information might be revealed in years to come. Although a number of other persons were connected with this group's spying on Britain and, less directly, the United States these four had, as far as is known, the most significant roles of the men who were recruited by the Soviets in the 1930s. Soviet intelligence worked from a long-term plan to develop "moles" who would infiltrate Britain's intelligence, government, and diplomatic services. The extraordinary success of the spies (as, it seems, the Soviets intended) was predicated on their membership -- on the basis of birth and education -- in the nation's elite managing/ruling class. The shocks that accompanied their unveiling forced a fresh look at the relatively unquestioned assumptions that allowed suc

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et Union until they were exposed. Whether this was due to ideological commitment, love of deception, or the simple desire to avoid exposure the fact remained that, in their various capacities, all four men had seriously furthered the Soviet cause in the War and continued to undermine the position of Britain and the United States in many ways during the Cold War. The four men worked, according to plan, in whatever confidential positions they could achieve. Blunt's principal direct work as a spy was during his wartime service with MI5. In the postwar years he continued his chosen career, becoming one of the most eminent art historians in the world, director of the Courtauld Institute, and advisor to the Royal Family on their art collections. He was knighted in 1856 and even after his treachery was revealed, despite being stripped of honors and positions, he lived comfortably in England until his death. In MI5 Blunt's principal espionage function was the passing on of documents obtained while acting as commander of details assigned to protect the couriers of the Allied governments-in-exile, such as Poland, Holland, and Denmark, as well as those of neutral nations such as Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden. It was complex work th

Category: Government - T