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Moscow, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, and East Germany

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Abstract

After leaving RAND, Dr. Cole and his colleague Mr. Sergei Zamascikov organized access and conducted research in the KGB archives located in the former Soviet republics of Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia, and Ukraine , the KGB and Soviet military intelligence (GRU ) archives located in Moscow , and archives of the former German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany), including the Stasi, the East German secret police.

Archive research and interviews provided evidence that American deserters and POWs had been transferred to East Germany and elsewhere in the Soviet bloc during the Korean War and Cold War era.

A project task required an examination of the accusation that over 23,000 American POWs had been transferred to the Soviet Gulag after World War II. Evidence produced by this project and by other scholars thoroughly discredited this accusation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    “Prepared Statement By Mr. Alan C. Ptak To The Asia-Pacific Subcommittee Of The House Foreign Affairs Committee,” July 1, 1992, Toon Mission to Moscow, op. cit., p. 44.

  2. 2.

    Marshal Shaposhnikov subsequently became the Commander in Chief of the CIS Armed Forces.

  3. 3.

    The source of these claims was never considered to be particularly credible. Some of the newspaper accounts that linked American POW /MIAs to the GDR were written by the same person who claimed, and subsequently proven wrong, that American POW/MIAs had been “abandoned” in a graveyard in Odessa, Ukraine . Task Force Russia concluded that these assertions, regardless of their dubious credibility, had to be investigated. See Mark Sauter , “Documents point to U.S. POWs in East Germany,” Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune, December 5, 1992.

  4. 4.

    POW/MIA Issues: Volume 1, World War II and the Early Cold War, op. cit., passim.

  5. 5.

    POW/MIA Archive Research Project: Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Berlin, Executive Summary, Paul M. Cole, (Washington , DC: Defense Forecasts International Inc., December 1994, Revised February 1995), pp. 2–3.

  6. 6.

    Report of the Senate Select Committee on POW / MIA Affairs, http://www.miafacts.org/SSC%20Report/sec%2029.htm

  7. 7.

    “Reflections on the late 1980s and Early 1990s: An Opinion,” Küllo Arjakas, in Estonia: Identity and Independence, edited by Jean-Jacques Subrenat, (Rodopi, 2004), p. 248.

  8. 8.

    −25.6° Celsius.

  9. 9.

    −13° Celsius.

  10. 10.

    There are no diacritical marks on the Swedish inscription.

  11. 11.

    Large sample theory basically states that if the sample size is large enough, anything’s possible.

  12. 12.

    At the beginning of the battle of Stalingrad, over 75,000 women had completed military training. Soviet commander General Chuikov recognized the important role played by women in the Red Army, both in the rear and at the front.

  13. 13.

    “Lithuania : A Problem of Disclosure,” Tomas Skucas , Demokratizatsiya. https://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/demokratizatsiya%20archive/GWASHU_DEMO_12_3/71TQUU2R0U717417/71TQUU2R0U717417.pdf

  14. 14.

    Dr. Romuald Misiunis , who was one of our most valuable consultants on KGB archives, eventually became Lithuania ’s ambassador to Israel .

  15. 15.

    https://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/demokratizatsiya%20archive/GWASHU_DEMO_12_3/71TQUU2R0U717417/71TQUU2R0U717417.pdf

  16. 16.

    www.wanderant.com

  17. 17.

    http://coldwarsites.net/country/lithuania/the-kgb-building-prison-and-memorials-vilnius/

  18. 18.

    http://www.comtourist.com/travel/baltics/photos-vilnius-kgb-hq/

  19. 19.

    “Lithuania : A Problem of Disclosure,” by Tomas Skucas , Demokratizatsiya. https://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/demokratizatsiya%20archive/GWASHU_DEMO_12_3/71TQUU2R0U717417/71TQUU2R0U717417.pdf

  20. 20.

    “Lithuania : A Problem of Disclosure,” op. cit.

  21. 21.

    Memorandum For: Chief, SR Division From: ◼◼◼◼ Chief, SR/2 Subject: Termination of Project AEROOT SECRET March 2, 1960. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0064.pdf

  22. 22.

    “Soviet Russia – REDBIRD /REDSOX ,” Globalsecurity.org (undated). http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/ops/ussr-redsox.htm

  23. 23.

    Memorandum for: SSR/COP, via CSR/2 From: ◼◼◼◼ Subject: Plan for AEBASIN/REDSOX Spring 1954 Operation SECRET December 28, 1953. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0016.pdf

  24. 24.

    https://www.geni.com/people/Kalju-Kukk/6000000025696370333

  25. 25.

    War in the Woods: Estonia’s Struggle for Survival, 1944–1956, Mart Laar (Washington, DC, Compass Press, 1992). Image 40 (no page number) includes images of “maps, money, and radio equipment” taken from the “alleged CIA agent Kalju Kukk .” Image 41 includes images of espionage equipment taken from the “alleged CIA agent Hans Toomla .”

  26. 26.

    The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook, Edited by Karl Maria Michael de Leeuw, Jan Bergstra (Elsevier 2007), “Eavesdroppers of the Kremlin: KGB Sigint During the Cold War,” by Matthew M. Aid, p. 510.

  27. 27.

    Project Outline Cryptonym AEROOT Area of Operations: Estonian SSR and vicinity TOP SECRET April 14, 1955. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0020.pdf

  28. 28.

    Memorandum for the Record From: ◼◼◼◼ Estonian Section Subject: Cancellation of Planned SR/2 AEROOT REDSOX 1956 Mission SECRET February 27, 1956. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0026.pdf

  29. 29.

    Twilight Warriors: Covert Air Operations Against the USSR, Peebles, Curtis (Naval Trust Press, June 11, 2013), “The Baltic Deception Exposed,” no page number. https://books.google.com/books/about/Twilight_Warriors.html?id=OV7XanBoZqwC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q=Baltic&f=false

  30. 30.

    Project Outline Cryptonym AEROOT Area of Operations: Estonian SSR and vicinity TOP SECRET April 14, 1955. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0020.pdf

  31. 31.

    The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook, Edited by Karl Maria Michael de Leeuw, Jan Bergstra (Elsevier 2007), “Eavesdroppers of the Kremlin: KGB Sigint During the Cold War,” by Matthew M. Aid, p. 510.

  32. 32.

    Headquarters Case Officer ◼◼◼◼ Cryptonym: AEBASIN FI/1 Project Outline for Estonian SSR and Vicinity TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION May 26, 1953, p. 5, and Part II, p. 1. (“◼◼◼◼” indicates redacted material). https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0013.pdf

  33. 33.

    Headquarters Case Officer ◼◼◼◼ Cryptonym: AEBASIN FI/1 Project Outline for Estonian SSR and Vicinity TOP SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION May 26, 1953, p. 5, and Part II, p. 9. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0013.pdf

  34. 34.

    Memorandum For: Chief of Operations, DD/P From: ◼◼◼◼ Foreign Intelligence Subject: Project AEROOT (Renewal) June 17, 1955. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AEROOT%20AEBASIN_0022.pdf

  35. 35.

    “Status of POW/MIA Negotiations With North Korea,” Military Personnel Subcommittee of the Committee on National Security, House of Representatives, June 20, 1996 , p. 50.

  36. 36.

    “Taking Lyon on the Ninth Day?” edited by Vojtech Mastny, Petr Lunák, Anna Locher, and Christian Nuenlist, Parallel History Project on NATO and the Warsaw Pack (PHP), May 2000, p. 3. This document was originally in the Russian language. http://www.php.isn.ethz.ch/lory1.ethz.ch/collections/colltopic647e.html?lng=en&id=14944

  37. 37.

    Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police, by John O. Koehler (Denver, CO: Westview Press, 1999), https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/k/koehler-stasi.html. Hoensbroech was related to Queen Fabiola of Belgium. The Stasi originally demanded $1 million but settled for $450,000.

  38. 38.

    Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police, op. cit.

  39. 39.

    Ambassador Maretzki described his experience in his memoir, Kimismus in Nordkorea: Analyse des Letzten DDR-Botschafters in Pjoengjang, (Kim-ism in North Korea: Analysis of the Last GDR Ambassador to Pyongyang) (Böblingen, Germany: Anita Tykve Verlag, 1991).

  40. 40.

    Central Intelligence Agency Information Report Subject: American POW’s in Hamhung SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION March 12, 1953. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00810A000400690006-9.pdf

  41. 41.

    Central Intelligence Agency Information Report Subject: 1. German POW Jet Plane Pilots in Manchuria, 2. Air Activities in Communist China CONFIDENTIAL / CONTROL – U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY August 28, 1951. https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP82-00457R008500130002-6.pdf

  42. 42.

    The condition of remains representing a minimum number of individuals (MNI) in the hundred was described, with photographs made public for the first time, in a monograph by Dr. Thomas D. Holland published by the RAND Corporation that was incorporated with proper attribution into Volume 1: The Korean War, op. cit.

  43. 43.

    Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police, op. cit.

  44. 44.

    Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police, op. cit.

  45. 45.

    “Shocking New Research: Stasi Had Thousands of Spies in West Germany,” Spiegel Online, Gunther Latsch and Udo Ludwig, November 24, 2011. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/shocking-new-research-stasi-had-thousands-of-spies-in-west-germany-a-799335.html

  46. 46.

    “Code Name ‘Kid’: American Stasi Spy Tells His Story,” Jürgen Dahlkamp, Der Spiegel Online, August 14, 2013. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/american-stasi-agent-describes-his-experiences-in-new-book-a-916374.html

  47. 47.

    The entire report is included as Appendix 22 in ​Volume 3: Appendices, op. cit . Wechsler ’s profile appears on page 284.

  48. 48.

    “The Korean War Prisoner Who Never Came Home,” Brendan McNally, New Yorker, December 9, 2013. The AP photograph of the Turncoats appears in this article. http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-korean-war-prisoner-who-never-came-home

  49. 49.

    “The Korean War Prisoner Who Never Came Home,” op. cit.

  50. 50.

    “Catching an Air Force Spy,” National Museum of the Air Force, June 1, 2015. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/197642/catching-an-air-force-spy/

  51. 51.

    “The lonely American: Speaking with a US defector to East Germany ,” The Local, November 3, 2009. http://www.thelocal.de/20091103/23003

  52. 52.

    Hearings On Cold War, Korea and WWII POWS, Hearings before the Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, U.S. Senate, November 10 and 11, 1992, p. 491–2.

  53. 53.

    “Grad Reflects on Glory Days Behind Iron Curtain,” Zhenzhen Lu, Harvard Crimson, April 18, 2003. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/4/18/grad-reflects-on-glory-days-behind/?page=2

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Cole, P.M. (2018). Moscow, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, and East Germany. In: POW/MIA Accounting. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7128-7_13

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