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Category Archives: History
Breaking the Enigma
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian The Enigma looked like a typewriter and was the Germans’ most prized cipher machine. Germany’s air force, army, navy, and secret services used it from 1928 to encipher and decipher sensitive communication. If Germany’s foes succeeded … Continue reading
The Spy Who Got Away
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian In the Pantheon of spies, George Blake deserves a special place. An SIS (British intelligence) officer recruited by the KGB in 1955, he provided Moscow with prodigious amounts of classified information at the height of the … Continue reading
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Who Killed Georgi Markov?
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian This week marks the 31st anniversary of the murder of Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident killed in 1978 in London. And even though Markov died over thirty years ago, questions about the circumstances of his death … Continue reading
The Spy Who Started a War
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian Seventy years ago, World War II began. Or, more precisely, a German spy created the pretext for Hitler’s premeditated invasion of Poland. To me, this story epitomizes not only the amorality of Nazi Germany; it also … Continue reading
A Strange Death in Washington
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian Espionage can be a dangerous business. Just consider the case of Soviet intelligence defector Walter Krivitsky. Born Samuel Ginsberg in Austria-Hungary in 1899, Krivitsky adopted his nom de guerre when he joined Soviet military intelligence … Continue reading
The Mata Hari Myth
Dr. Thomas Boghardt, Historian The world of intelligence is populated by intriguing, amazing, and occasionally outright bizarre characters. One of my favorites remains Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, aka Mata Hari. She fascinates me not so much because of her espionage career, … Continue reading
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Tagged Espionage, Exotic Dancer, Female Spies, Greta Garbo, Intelligence, Mata Hari, Seductress, Sisterhood of Spies, Spy, World War I
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Heroes and Villains
Thomas Boghardt, SPY Historian It is tempting to label historical figures either as heroes or villains. But when you are dealing with intelligence history, you’ll find a lot more shades of gray than charcoal black and ivory white. A good … Continue reading
Phoenix and the Birds of Prey
Doc Know’s first post. As you can imagine, he has a lot to say. Not many people will remember the date, but 45 years ago, on August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. This measure authorized President Lyndon … Continue reading