McCarthyism Before McCarthy: Vincent Hartnett in the 1940s

American Senator Joseph McCarthy remains well known due to his Communist witch-hunts in 1950s America. But others were giving similar messages a decade earlier. Here, Alex Reid explains how Vincent Hartnett was discussing the rise of Communism and its threat to America in the 1940s.

A colorised image of Joseph McCarthy, a man much more famous for his anti-Communism than Vincent Hartnett. Available here.

McCarthy and the 1950s

The 1950s for the United States proved to be a time in which it could flex some of its muscle as a new world superpower after the conclusion of the Second World War. Consumerism was flourishing amongst citizens and Rock n’ Roll was hitting the mainstream. However, the same decade in which Elvis Presley was swinging his hips on the new media platform of television is synonymous with Communist anxiety. No one better personifies this anxiety, arguably, than Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin during the 1950s who reached a level of infamy that few can claim to have without leaving behind a body count. His ascent into notoriety as well as fear mongering began with a speech he delivered in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9, 1950. As we know, the speech mostly consisted of McCarthy ranting that he held a list of known Communists that had infiltrated the State Department. The ensuing panic gave McCarthy his own “ism” and the early 1950s became known as the McCarthy era.

It is no secret that McCarthy was not the first person to spread fears of an impending Communist takeover, he does get the most attention though. He also wasn’t the only one to do so using religious overtones due to his strong Catholic upbringing. During the 1940s, before McCarthy was the face of anti-Communism, a writer named Vincent Hartnett was polluting the air with Communist fears. Hartnett would obtain some notoriety himself in the Faulk v. AWARE Inc. court case. Hartnett was one of the founders of AWARE Inc. in 1953 which was one of the organizations responsible for the blacklisting of celebrities during the 1950s due to possible Communist affiliations.[i] In 1962 Hartnett was being sued by actor John Henry Faulk for lost wages and libel. Faulk was fired from his job as a radio host due to the publications by AWARE Inc. labeling him as a Communist. Hartnett’s publications during the two decades before the court case show that he was no stranger to condemning people for what he saw as the downfall of the country.

Hartnett’s Fears During the 1940s

Hartnett wrote numerous articles for America Press Inc, the subjects of which ranged from book reviews to critiques on society. The former usually turned into the latter, however. One of his favorite themes was the impending collapse of western civilization due to the rise of naturalism and society’s shift away from religion. In an article Hartnett published in 1941, he discussed the dire need for Catholic leadership against expanding paganism in the United States.[ii] He stated in the article that “At the present day, when the powers of hell are attacking the Mystical Body of Christ with almost unparalleled violence” not referring to anyone specifically but bringing attention to what he believed was a crisis. Hartnett wasted no time in placing blame for the destruction of religious values. He traced the causes back to English desists, French Encyclopedists and the Illuminati in Germany. Scientists and patent offices also received their own share of the blame for bringing too much comfort and convenience to our everyday lives.

Like McCarthy, Vincent Hartnett was a staunch Catholic. Both were obsessed with what seemed like an unseen nemesis to the American way of life. Harnett even went as far as to call naturalism an “invisible toxin” that was poisoning Catholics. According to Hartnett, Western civilization was almost beyond the point of saving. In another article he wrote for America Press in October 1941, he cited a census taken in 1926 that stated less than half American citizens attended any church regularly.[iii]Hartnett excelled at using religious rhetoric to stir up fear and anxiety in the community. However, after the United States became directly involved in the Second World War his writing shifted in attempts to disfigure the causes and meaning of the war.

Communism and Soviet Attacks on Faith

Hartnett published an article in 1942 titled “Wanted: More Saint Justins in the Church’s Serious Crisis” that heavily discussed the book Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson published in 1907.[iv] Immediately Hartnett points out that the novel is set at the end of the world in a time of universal Socialism.  He praises Benson for his far-sightedness but stated that he did not predict the rise of Communism or Nazism. Once again Hartnett tries to convince readers that Christianity is facing a time of absolute crisis. According to Hartnett, the true evil of Nazism and Communism is not the Holocaust or the Great Purge by Stalin, it was their attacks on spiritual values. In fact, he makes no mention of Nazi or Communist actions outside of religious perspectives. Hartnett goes as far to say that Nazism and Communism are nothing but the tip of the iceberg hiding the true enemy, naturalism.

Even though Nazism and Communism were discussed, Hartnett condemns the latter more so. The root of his condemnation was that “Communists have been more forthright in their abjuration of religion than have the Nazi leaders.” Death tolls did not seem to be a problem for Hartnett but what he believed was a Communist attempt at building a Utopia without God was. He argued that not only does Communism attempt to destroy religion, Communism is a logical reaction of the rejection of God. Without God, Hartnett argued, the United States would fall into a totalitarian government. The spread of Communism meant the spread of paganism which meant the downfall of the United States.

Hartnett proposed this supposed war on faith was being waged on the United States by the Soviet Bezbozhniki, or Union of Militant Godless.[v] Not only was this Soviet group attacking Christianity, it was attacking the American democratic way of life. He sincerely believed this group had been slowly poisoning the United States. The article culminated in a call to arms of all Catholics especially writers and journalists. He was charging these writers with the task of stopping the expansion of paganism through Communism in the United States. It should be noted that he mentioned that action must be taken quickly because America might already be losing to Communist despotism. Hartnett drew on emotion by relating the story of Saint Justin in which he became a martyr and wrote one last Christian message with his own blood. He stated that the United States needed more people like Saint Justin.

Harnett turned the Second World War into a religious battle between Christianity and Atheism. He believed a victory in the war without faith was no victory. Communist ideals would bring about the end of Western civilization. Hartnett’s constant crisis rhetoric as well his anxieties about Communist subversion serve as a precursor to McCarthyism. Although Hartnett has not obtained the infamy or notoriety that McCarthy has, his goals were the same. Hartnett continued his fear mongering from the 1940s into the 1950s. More broadly, there is a lack of current writing on Vincent Hartnett and this lack has led to a weak spot in the historiography of McCarthyism.

What do you think of Vincent Hartnett? Let us know below.

[i] Doherty, Thomas. Cold War, Cool Medium. New York: Columbia University Press. 2003. 

[ii] Hartnett, Vincent. “Accent on Catholic in Catholic Action.” America Vol. 65, Issue 9 (1941): 233-234. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[iii] Hartnett, Vincent. “Tertiarism: Sanctity with Action.” America Vol. 66, Issue 1 (1941): 7-9. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[iv] Hartnett, Vincent. “Wanted: More Saint Justins in the Church’s Serious Crisis.” America Vol. 66, Issue 16 (1942): 430-432. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/

[v] Ibid. Pg. 431. 

Soviet Spies in 1950s Cold War America: The Strange Story of Rudolf Abel

Following the finding of the spies who shared American atomic secrets with the Soviet Union (read more here), the “Red Scare” was sweeping over 1950s Cold War America. And Cold War espionage was not going away. Here Scott Rose explains how Rudolf Abel’s New York-based Soviet spy ring was discovered in 1957.

A Soviet stamp from 1990 commemorating Rudolf Abel.

The United States broke the Soviet atomic spy ring in the early 1950s, after the USSR had already accomplished its goal of acquiring the American information its scientists needed to build an atomic weapon. However, this was not the end of Cold War espionage between the two superpowers; in fact, it was barely the beginning. Both countries used every available method to find out each other’s plans and secrets, and in the process, many participants in this game either died, were sent to prison, or were ruined personally and politically.

When atomic spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried, convicted and executed, they never admitted guilt or gave up any of their contacts. One of their contemporaries in New York was running a Soviet spy ring of his own, which he built for seven years after the Rosenbergs were arrested.

An Espionage Artist

In 1948, an artist and photographer named Emil Goldfus rented a small studio in Brooklyn. While his artistic talents were average at best, Goldfus had a talent for espionage that was anything but average. Mr. Goldfus was actually a Soviet KGB colonel named Rudolf Abel, and he had been one of the Soviet Union’s greatest spies during World War II. Proficient in Russian, English, Polish, German, and Yiddish, Abel was a uniquely versatile spy. He had perfectly impersonated a German military officer and was able to give the Red Army valuable information on German troop movements.

Abel came to New York in 1948, and he quickly built a spy network in America. In addition to his new espionage contacts, he made friends among other artists, who never had any reason to suspect him as being anyone other than who he said he was. Abel would sometimes leave town for weeks at a time, which his friends attributed to his eccentric, bohemian personality. 

By 1954, Abel had built a large spying operation, and his methods of transmitting coded messages included placing microfilm inside of hollowed-out bolts, coins, and pencils. The Soviets decided Abel needed an assistant, to which he objected. Nevertheless, the Soviets sent an agent named Reimo Hayhanen to help Abel in New York. Abel quickly found his assistant to be completely incompetent, but tried his best to make an effective spy out of Hayhanen. A year later the KGB was concerned that Abel was becoming exhausted, and recalled him to the USSR for six months of vacation. When Abel returned to Brooklyn, he found his operation in shambles. Hayhanen had been extremely careless, and had spent much of the network’s finances on alcohol and prostitutes. By 1957, Abel had had enough, and demanded that his assistant be recalled to the Soviet Union. Hayhanen received his recall orders, and panicked, fearing he would be executed upon arriving in Moscow. He made it as far as Paris, where he walked into the American embassy, telling his story and pleading for asylum. At first, the CIA suspected Hayhanen was drunk, and he may very well have been. However, they decided to verify the information he had given them, and realized he was telling the truth.

When Hayhanen didn’t arrive in Moscow, the Soviets knew right away that he had defected. Abel was recalled, but didn’t make it out of the United States. Just before he was scheduled to leave, the FBI arrested him at a hotel in New York. He knew he was caught when an FBI agent addressed him as “Colonel.” Ever the professional, Abel didn’t say a word when he was arrested, simply staring ahead. However, Abel had not disposed of the evidence in his studio before he attempted to leave the United States, a surprising error for a spy as seasoned as Abel. When the studio was raided, the FBI realized it had found a goldmine of information. All sorts of spying and transmission equipment were found in the studio, but most importantly, there were photos of Soviet agents in the USA, along with lists of their names. Within weeks, Abel’s entire network of spies was shut down.

The Client Nobody Wanted to Represent

Abel was charged with espionage, and his next predicament was that there were hardly any defense attorneys in America that wanted to represent him. In the late 1950s, the United States was dealing with the lingering effects of the Rosenberg case as well as the “Red Scare” that had been whipped up by Senator Joseph McCarthy, who had had ruined many careers by accusing people in all parts of American government and culture of having communist leanings. Not many lawyers, especially ones with political ambitions, could afford to be seen defending a KGB colonel in court. Eventually, the US government found an attorney willing to take on the case. James Donovan, who had previously worked for the American OSS (the precursor to the CIA), agreed to represent Abel. This would seem quite ironic, but Donovan actually did everything he could to defend his client.

When the case went to trial, it probably would not have mattered who his lawyer was, as the evidence against Rudolf Abel was massive and undeniable. In essence, Donovan knew Abel was probably going to be convicted. His main objective at this point was to keep Abel from getting the death penalty, as the Rosenbergs had. He succeeded in this; when the court found Abel guilty, his life was spared in favor of a 30-year prison sentence. Donovan was not finished though, appealing the case to the US Supreme Court. He argued that the evidence from the studio, by which Abel was convicted, had been obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upheld Abel’s conviction, and he was sent to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta to begin his sentence.

While in prison, Abel kept himself busy with intellectual activities, such as painting and playing chess. Some days, he even passed the time by writing out tables of mathematical logarithms. Abel befriended several other convicted spies, including the Rosenbergs’ former accomplice, Morton Sobell. A couple of years after beginning his sentence, events on the other side of the globe would begin to work in Abel’s favor.

The FBI mugshot of Rudolf Abel after his arrest in 1957.

Gary Powers and the U-2 Incident

In 1960, the Soviets claimed to have shot down an American U-2 spy plane that was performing reconnaissance over the USSR. The pilot, Gary Powers, had ejected and survived, but was captured and brought to trial. The trial was designed to be a major propaganda victory, but it turned into an embarrassment for the Soviets. Powers admitted piloting a spy plane, adding that he had been flying reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union for the past four years. He also told the court that his plane was not shot down at all; the U-2 had suffered a flame-out that had forced him to eject.  When the trial ended in August 1960, Powers was sentenced to ten years in a Soviet prison.

James Donovan, who had represented Rudolf Abel at his trial, recognized the opportunity to free both Abel and Powers. He orchestrated a prisoner exchange with the Soviets, who were eager to get Abel back. In February of 1962, Abel was released to the Soviet Union after serving only four years of his sentence. Likewise, Gary Powers was returned to the United States, where after retiring from the Air Force, he became a test pilot, as well as a helicopter traffic reporter for a Los Angeles television station. The prisoner exchange took place on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin. As part of the swap, an American student named Frederic Pryor was released from the custody of the East Berlin police. In August of 1961, Pryor had been arrested and held by the East Germans, on the false suspicion that he was a spy for the CIA.

The Soviets treated Abel well when he returned, as he had been a valuable Cold War operative before being brought down by a bumbling assistant. He continued working for the KGB, even giving speeches to Soviet schoolchildren about intelligence operations. Just as Morris and Lona Cohen (two of the American atomic spies) were commemorated on Soviet postage stamps, Abel was honored on a stamp in 1990, one year before the fall of the Soviet Union. However, Abel’s luck had run out long before; after a lifetime of chain smoking, he died of lung cancer in 1971.

The story of the prisoner exchange was portrayed in the 2015 film Bridge of Spies.Frederic Pryor, who is still alive, went to see the film and claimed to have enjoyed it, while considering it to be over-dramatized. Pryor told a fellow moviegoer that the film had many inaccuracies, and the other person replied by asking Pryor, “How do you know that?” Pryor answered, “I’m Frederic Pryor.”

What do you think of the article? Let us know below.

REFERENCES

Chester B. Hearn, Spies & Espionage: A Directory, Thunder Bay Press, 2006

James B. Donovan, Strangers On A Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel, Atheneum House, 2015

Ryan Dougherty, “Economist Frederic Pryor Recounts Life as a ‘Spy’”, Swarthmore College News & Events, October 21, 2015

Giles Whittell, Bridge of Spies: A True Story of the Cold War, Broadway Books, 2010