The Illegal: The Hunt for a Russian Spy in Post-War London by Gordon Corera

Author:Gordon Corera
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Biography, History
ISBN: 9781503957466
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Published: 2018-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

THE MYSTERIOUS KROGERS

The bungalow was owned by Peter and Helen Kroger, who ran an antiquarian book business. As MI5 and the police looked into the Krogers – whom they codenamed the KILLJOYS – what was strange was that there was not much sign of them before they arrived in London in 1954. They told neighbours they had come from Canada even though they had New Zealand passports. They, like Lonsdale, were not what they seemed. They were two illegals – acting as the support and communications officers to Lonsdale, just as Lonsdale had been to Abel in New York.

Morris Cohen was born in Harlem, New York, to a family that had originally come from Russia. He was an impressive football player, handsome with a broad physique and dark wavy hair. In the era of the Depression, he had been drawn to left-wing politics and joined the Communist Party. At one of the rallies he would meet Lona, from a Polish family, who would later become his wife. His convictions led him to put his life on the line by volunteering to fight in one of the international brigades in the Spanish Civil War. That brought him to the attention of recruiters for Soviet intelligence. At a special spy school in Barcelona he received his first induction. When he left in 1938 he was told he would be contacted when he was back in New York. Morris ended up in the Army but once activated, Lona would play a key role and she would often be seen as the dominant partner in their joint career. She had travelled to New Mexico under cover of getting treatment for tuberculosis. There, in August 1945, she picked up a thick wad of priceless documents about America’s atomic bomb programme from an agent, holding her nerve at a checkpoint by hiding them in a box of tissues which she handed to the police while they checked her bag. They had both worked with Rudolf Abel (a picture of them was found in his possession in 1957 when he was captured). In 1950 the couple had fled to Moscow after two other agents linked to the spy ring – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – had been arrested.xxiv

They had first met Konon Molody at a dacha on the outskirts of Moscow when he was training as an illegal.xxv Morris offered him a final polish on the English language. There were tiny nuances in the way words were used which the Americans pointed out. In return, Molody opened up a little. He also spoke about politics in a way the Cohens had not heard anyone do before – acknowledging that Stalin had made mistakes. Morris and Molody became particularly close, spending time at the opera and restaurants when Lona was away. They were told they would be working together in London.

The Cohens – now Peter and Helen Kroger – first lived in Catford and travelled extensively to establish their cover selling antiquarian books. Then they moved to 45 Cranley Drive.

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