Collection Summary
John J. Walsh Papers
1933-2004
(bulk 1944-2000)
1933-2004
(bulk 1944-2000)
MSS85232
Walsh, John J. (John
Joseph), 1916-
3,000
items
10 containers
4 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Federal Bureau of
Investigation agent. Correspondence, writings, and research material relating
to Walsh’s career as a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and as an
investigator for congressional committees and executive branch agencies.
Includes Walsh’s unpublished memoir and research files relating to the Venona
project and to Matthew Silverman, a figure in the Alger Hiss case.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Hiss, Alger.
Silverman, Matthew.
Walsh, John J. (John Joseph), 1916-2009.
Organizations
Soviet Union. Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti.
United States. Army. Signal Intelligence Service.
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Subjects
Communists--United States.
Foreign agents--Australia.
Foreign agents--California--San Francisco.
Foreign agents--Mexico.
Foreign agents--New York (State)--New York.
Foreign agents--Russia--Moscow.
Foreign agents--South America.
Foreign agents--Washington (D.C.)
Government investigators--United States.
Governmental investigations--United States.
Intelligence service--Soviet Union.
World War, 1939-1945--Cryptography.
World War, 1939-1945--Military intelligence--United States.
World War, 1939-1945--Soviet Union.
Places
Soviet Union--Foreign relations--1917-1945.
Soviet Union--Foreign relations--1945-1991.
Occupations
FBI agents.
Provenance
The papers of John J. Walsh, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent,
were given to the Library of Congress by Walsh in 2005.
Transfers
A videotape has been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting,
and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the John J.
Walsh Papers.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of John J. Walsh
Papers is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of John J. Walsh are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, John J. Walsh Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1916, Oct.9
Born, Des Moines, Iowa
1938
Appointed to Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington,
D.C.
1940
1941
Special agent training, Washington, D.C., and Quantico,
Va.
1941
1943
Agent, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Baltimore, Md.
1943
1944
Agent, Special Intelligence Service, Medellin,
Columbia
1944
1945
Agent, Philadelphia, Pa.
1946
Agent, Special Intelligence Service, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1946
1952
Agent, Chicago, Ill., and Washington, D.C.
1948
1950
Assigned with three other agents to Alger Hiss case
1951
1953
Agent, Division Five, Federal Bureau of Investigation
headquarters, Washington, D.C., investigating Communists in the United
States
1953
1958
Assistant to the vice president, Bendix Radio Factory,
Baltimore, Md.
1958
1963
Radio Corporation of America
1963
1976
Investigator, Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate
Committee on Government Operations
1976
1977
Director, Office of Investigations, Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare
1977
1979
Investigator, Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate
Committee on Government Operations
1979
Retired from federal government
1979
1986
Investigator, congressional committees and executive branch
agencies
Scope and Content Note
The papers of John J. Walsh (1916- ) span the years 1933-2004, with
the bulk of the material dating from 1944 to 2000. A majority of the collection
consists of Walsh’s research files and writings relating to the Venona project,
a secret program started in 1943 by the Signal Intelligence Service of the
United States Army to examine encrypted Soviet diplomatic communications. The
research files are largely comprised of photocopies of Venona project documents
released by the National Security Agency from 1995 to 1997. These documents are
translations of messages sent among Komitet gosudarstvennoĭ bezopasnosti (KGB)
agents and operatives in Moscow, New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco,
Mexico, South America, and Australia during the 1940s and 1950s. There are also
research files for an unpublished article on Matthew Silverman, a figure in the
Alger Hiss case.
The writings include Walsh’s unpublished memoir entitled “The Story
of a Special Agent” detailing his years of service with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and as an investigator for congressional committees and executive
branch agencies. Also of interest are his “write-ups” of short summaries on
communists operating in the United States, including their cover names and
supporting Venona project documents.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material or
topic.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm2005085232]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence
1
Miscellaneous,
1996-2004, n.d
1996-2004, n.d
1
Schechter, Jerrold,
1999, undated
1999, undated
(2
folders)
1
Notes,
undated
undated
1
Subject file
1
Clippings,
1999-2002, undated
1999-2002, undated
1
Federal Bureau of
Investigation
1
Miscellany,
1946, 1999
1946, 1999
1
Special Intelligence Service,
1997-2003, undated
1997-2003, undated
1
Venona documents,
1950-1957
1950-1957
1
Gellhorn, Walter,
1936-2000
1936-2000
(1
folder)
2
(1
folder)
2
Hitler, Adolf
2
Correspondence,
2002-2003
2002-2003
2
File no. 65-53615, circa
1944-circa 1955
1944-circa 1955
(2
folders)
2
Miscellaneous documents,
1942, 2001, undated
1942, 2001, undated
2
Hoover Institution on War,
Revolution, and Peace, Stanford, Calif.,
1998-1999, undated
1998-1999, undated
2
Venona project
2
Communications
2
Buenos Aires, Argentina-New
York, N.Y.,
1941-1943
1941-1943
2
Mexico City, Mexico-Moscow,
USSR,
1944-1945
1944-1945
pp.
3-150
3
pp.151-326
3
Cover names
3
Artur,
1942-1944
1942-1944
3
“A-T” miscellaneous,
1944, undated
1944, undated
(2
folders)
3
Indexes of KGB cover names in
communications,
undated
undated
3
New York, N.Y.-Moscow,
USSR
3
San Francisco, Calif.-Moscow,
USSR
3
Unidentified, New York,
N.Y.-Moscow, USSR
3
Washington, D.C.-Moscow,
USSR
3
Lists,
undated
undated
3
Documents
3
Chronological
3
1942-1944
(3 folders)
4
1945
4
Undated notes
4
Miscellaneous,
1943-1945, undated
1943-1945, undated
4
Printed matter
1995-1999
1995-1999
(4
folders)
5
Write-ups
5
Indexes, undated
5
No. 1, Judith Coplon,
2000
2000
5
No. 2, Harry Dexter White,
2000
2000
5
No. 3, Laurence Duggan,
2000
2000
5
No. 4, Lauchlin B. Currie,
2000
2000
5
No. 5, R,
2000
2000
5
No. 6, Joseph Milton Bernstein
and Thomas Arthur Bisson,
undated
undated
5
No. 7, Jacob M. Golos and
Elizabeth Bentley,
2000
2000
5
No. 8, Office of Strategic
Services,
2000, undated
2000, undated
(2
folders)
5
No. 9, Earl Browder, 2000
2000
2000
6
No. 10, Julius Rosenberg and
Ethel Rosenberg,
2000, undated
2000, undated
(2
folders)
6
No. 11, Nathan Gregory
Silvermaster,
2000, undated
2000, undated
(2
folders)
6
No. 12, Joseph Katz and Bernard
Schuster,
2000, undated
2000, undated
(2
folders)
6
No. 13, Emil Julius Klaus Fuchs
and Harry Gold,
2000
2000
6
No. 14, Lona Cohen,
2000
2000
7
No. 15, Theodore Alvin Hall and
Saville Sax,
2000
2000
7
No. 16, Robert Owen Menaker,
2000
2000
7
No. 17, Michael Burd,
2000
2000
7
No. 18, Soviet Economic
Directorate (KhU),
2000, undated
2000, undated
(4
folders)
7
No. 18A, Gaik Badalovich
Ovakimian,
2000-2003, undated
2000-2003, undated
7
No. 19, Perlo Group,
2000
2000
8
No. 20, Vladimir Pravdin and
Samuel Krafsur,
2000, undated
2000, undated
(2
folders)
8
No. 21, Iskhak A. Akmerov,
2000
2000
8
No. 22, Donald Duart Maclean,
2000
2000
8
No. 23, Anatoli Borisovich
Gromov,
2000
2000
8
No. 24, Vasili Zubilin and
Elizabeth Zubilin,
2000
2000
8
No. 25, Amadeo Sabatini and
Jones Orin York,
undated
undated
9
Writings
9
“Matthew Silverman: The Other
Silverman” (unpublished)
9
Correspondence and memoranda,
1999-2004, undated
1999-2004, undated
9
Documents,
1944-1973
1944-1973
(8
folders)
10
Exhibits
10
Nos. 1-7,
1948-1956, 1964, 2000, undated
1948-1956, 1964, 2000, undated
10
Nos. I-V,
1933-1955, 1988
1933-1955, 1988
(2
folders)
10
Miscellaneous research
material,
1999-2003, undated
1999-2003, undated
(2
folders)
10
Peters, Jay,
undated
undated
10
Silverman, Sylvan Robert,
1951-1956
1951-1956
10
“The Story of a Special Agent”
(unpublished),
circa 2000
circa 2000