Leontine Teresa Cohen(Petke; operational pseudonym - Helen Kroger; January 11, 1913, Adams, Massachusetts, USA - December 23, 1992, Moscow) - Soviet illegal intelligence officer of American origin, Hero of the Russian Federation (the title was awarded posthumously in 1996).
Biography
In her youth she was a trade union activist, a member of the Communist Party of the USA. She met her future husband Morris Cohen in New York at an anti-fascist rally in 1939 after his return from Spain. In the early 1940s, she was recruited by the intelligence of the USSR, following her husband.
During World War II, she was used as a liaison agent for the Foreign Intelligence Station in New York. In accordance with instructions from Moscow, she mined uranium samples in Canada in three months. In August 1945, he moved to the city of Albuquerque, located near the secret US atomic laboratory at Los Alamos, where he met with a Soviet foreign intelligence informant in Los Alamos and transferred to Moscow a number of valuable materials on the Manhattan Project. In 1949, together with her husband, she worked as a liaison for the Soviet intelligence officer Rudolf Abel. In 1950 they were forced to flee to the USSR.
In 1954, the family couple was sent as communicators-radio operators of the illegal residency of Konon Molodoy to the UK, where during their work they transferred to the "center" a large number of important secret materials, including on missile weapons, which were highly appreciated by specialists.
As a result of the betrayal of the head of the operational equipment department of Polish intelligence, Golenevsky, who was recruited by the CIA, British counterintelligence MI-5 became aware that Soviet agents were working in the country. On January 7, 1961, Conon the Young was arrested while receiving information in the area of Waterloo Station. After some time, MI5 "figured out" and arrested the Cohens, who were in contact with the intelligence officer. At the trial, Konon took all the charges upon himself, denying the involvement of the family couple in intelligence activities, but despite the fact that the court failed to prove the involvement of the Kroger couple in working for Soviet intelligence, British justice, to which the American side informed the facts known to it in this regard sentenced Peter to 25 years and Helen to 20 years in prison.
In August 1969, the British authorities agreed to the exchange of the Coen spouses for Gerald Brooke, an MI5 agent arrested in the USSR, in October the exchange took place. The couple settled in Moscow, received Soviet citizenship. Leontina Teresa Cohen continued to work in the illegal intelligence department until the last days of her life. Carried out special tasks. She traveled to various European countries to organize meetings with illegal intelligence agents.
On December 23, 1992, Leontine Cohen passed away. She was buried at the Novo-Kuntsevo cemetery in Moscow.
Awards
- On June 15, 1996, by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Leontine Cohen was (posthumously) awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation for the successful completion of special tasks to ensure state security in conditions associated with a risk to life, the heroism and courage shown at the same time.
- For great services in ensuring the state security of the USSR, she was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner and Friendship of Peoples.
Bibliography
- Antonov V.S., Karpov V.N. Secret informants of the Kremlin. Women in Intelligence. - M.: Geya iterum, 2002. - 320 p. - (Declassified Lives). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-85589-011-2.
You are not a slave!
Closed educational course for children of the elite: "The true arrangement of the world."
http://noslave.org
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Leontine Teresa Cohen(Petke; operational pseudonym - Helen Kroger; January 11 ( 19130111 ) , Adams, Massachusetts, USA - December 23, Moscow) - Soviet intelligence officer - an illegal immigrant of American origin, Hero of the Russian Federation (the title was awarded posthumously in 1996).
Biography
In her youth, she was a trade union activist and a member of the Communist Party USA. She met her future husband Morris Cohen in New York at an anti-fascist rally in 1939 after his return from Spain. In the early 1940s, she was recruited by the intelligence of the USSR, following her husband.
Excerpt characterizing Cohen, Leontine Teresa
“But why didn’t I need to “cleanse” anything? I was surprised. - Anna is still a child, she does not have too much worldly "dirt", does she?– She will have to absorb too much into herself, comprehend the whole infinity ... And you will never return there. You don't need to forget anything "old" Isidora... I'm sorry.
“So I will never see my daughter again…?” I asked in a whisper.
- You'll see. I will help you. And now do you want to say goodbye to the Magi, Isidora? This is your only opportunity, don't miss it.
Well, of course, I wanted to see them, the Lords of this Wise World! My father told me so much about them, and I myself dreamed for so long! Only I could not imagine then how sad our meeting would be for me ...
Sever raised his palms and the rock, shimmering, disappeared. We found ourselves in a very high, round hall, which at the same time seemed either a forest, or a meadow, or a fairy-tale castle, or simply “nothing” ... No matter how hard I tried, I could not see its walls, nor what was happening around. The air flickered and shimmered with thousands of brilliant "drops" similar to human tears... Having overcome the excitement, I breathed in... The "rainy" air was amazingly fresh, clean and light! From him, spilling life-giving power, the thinnest living threads of "golden" heat ran all over his body. The feeling was wonderful!
“Come in, Isidora, the Fathers are waiting for you,” Severus whispered.
I stepped further - the quivering air “parted” ... The Magi stood right in front of me ...
- I came to say goodbye, prophetic. Peace be with you…” I said softly, not knowing how I should greet them.
Never in my life have I felt such a complete, all-encompassing, Great POWER!.. They did not move, but it seemed that the whole hall was swaying with warm waves of some kind of unprecedented power for me... It was real LIFE!!! I didn't know what other words to call it. I was shocked!.. I wanted to embrace it with myself!.. Absorb it into myself... Or just fall to my knees!.. Feelings overwhelmed me with a stunning avalanche, hot tears flowed down my cheeks...
- Hello, Isidora. one of them sounded warm. – We pity you. You are the daughter of the Magus, you will share his path... The Force will not leave you. Go with FAITH, my dear...
My soul aspired to them with the cry of a dying bird!.. My wounded heart rushed to them, breaking against an evil fate... But I knew that it was too late - they slinged me... and pitied me. Never before have I "heard" how deep the meaning of these marvelous words is. And now the joy of their marvelous, new sounding surged, filling me, not letting me breathe from the feelings that overwhelmed my wounded soul...
In these words there lived a quiet, bright sadness, and a sharp pain of loss, the beauty of the life that I had to live, and a huge wave of Love, coming from somewhere far away and, merging with the Earth, flooding my soul and body... Life swept by in a whirlwind , catching every "edge" of my nature, leaving no cell that would not be touched by the warmth of love. I was afraid that I would not be able to leave ... And, probably because of the same fear, I immediately woke up from a wonderful “farewell”, seeing people next to me who were amazing in their inner strength and beauty. Around me stood tall old men and young men dressed in dazzling white robes that looked like long tunics. Some of them were girdled with red, and for two it was a patterned wide "belt" embroidered with gold and silver.
Oh look! - my impatient girlfriend Stella suddenly interrupted the wonderful moment. - They are very similar to your "star friends", as you showed them to me! .. Look, is it really them, what do you think ?! Well, tell me!!!
To be honest, even when we saw the Holy City, it seemed very familiar to me. And similar thoughts came to me as soon as I saw the Magi. But I immediately drove them away, not wanting to have vain “high hopes” ... It was too important and too serious, and I just waved my hand to Stella, as if saying that we would talk later when we were alone. I understood that Stella would be upset, because, as always, she wanted an immediate answer to her question. But at the moment, in my opinion, it was far from being as important as the wonderful story told by Isidora, and I mentally asked Stella to wait. I smiled guiltily at Isidora, and she answered with her wonderful smile and continued...
My gaze was riveted by a powerful tall old man, who had something subtly similar to my beloved father, who suffered in the cellars of Karaffa. For some reason, I immediately understood that this was Vladyka... The Great White Magus. His amazing, piercing, imperious gray eyes looked at me with deep sadness and warmth, as if he was saying the last “Goodbye!” to me ...
– Come, Child of Light, we forgive you...
A wondrous, joyful white Light suddenly came from him, which, enveloping everything around with a soft radiance, enclosed me in an affectionate embrace, penetrating into the most hidden corners of my pain-torn Soul... The Light penetrated every cell, leaving only goodness and peace in it, “ washing away the pain and sadness, and all the bitterness that has accumulated over the years. I soared in a magical radiance, forgetting everything “earthly cruel”, everything “evil and false”, feeling only the wondrous touch of Eternal Being ... The feeling was amazing!!! And I mentally begged - if only it would not end ... But, according to the capricious desire of fate, everything beautiful always ends faster than we would like ...
Leontina (Lona) Teresa Petke was born in 1913 in Massachusetts, in a family of Jewish emigrants from Poland. Her youth fell on the years of the Great Depression, and the girl became interested in the ideas of socialism. She became a trade union activist, at the age of eighteen she joined the US Communist Party. In 1939, while participating in an anti-war rally, Lona met a young man named Morris Cohen. He was also born into a Jewish family that emigrated to the US from Russia, was three years older than Lona. Morris was a good rugby player, earning him a scholarship to Columbia University. After graduation, he briefly worked as a history teacher, but in 1937 he volunteered for Spain. There, Cohen's collaboration with Soviet intelligence began. After being wounded, he returned to the US as a liaison officer. Morris did not hide his views from his girlfriend for long, and Lona also agreed to become an agent of Soviet intelligence. They began to work together, and in 1941 they got married. The Center highly appreciated Leontina Cohen, noting her resourcefulness, courage, ability to inspire the trust of the interlocutor.
In 1942, Morris Cohen was drafted into the army and fought valiantly against the Nazis. Leontina continued to work alone. She managed to get and transfer to the USSR drawings of American military aircraft. However, these data were not of particular value, since soon the corresponding equipment was included in the scope of Lend-Lease deliveries. But Lona's trip to Albuquerque, ostensibly for treatment, made it possible to obtain materials on ongoing nuclear developments in the United States, in addition, she delivered samples of uranium ore from Canada.
In 1945, Morris Cohen was demobilized and expressed his readiness to continue his intelligence activities. However, due to the strengthening of the anti-Soviet orientation of the post-war leadership of the United States, caused by the betrayal of several residents, the Center temporarily froze the activities of the Cohens, leaving them as contacts for Rudolf Abel. In 1950, agent Fuchs, who personally knew Lona, failed, and she and her husband were hastily taken to Moscow. There, Leontina underwent additional training as a radio coder, and in 1954 she took a direct part in a new large-scale operation of Soviet intelligence.
First, the Coens were taken to Paris, where they received New Zealand passports in the name of the Kroger spouses and pseudonyms "Summer Residents". After that, they crossed to London, where they became part of the reconnaissance group. It was led by Ben (Conon the Young), working under the name of successful entrepreneur Gordon Lonsdale. True, unlike the hero of Dead Season, he collected information not about the developments of Nazi doctors, but about the new weapons of the British Navy and American military bases located in England.
The Coens bought a house in the outskirts of London, not far from a military airfield, and opened a second-hand bookshop. A radio transmitter was installed in the basement of the house, with the help of which Lona conducted communication sessions with the Center at night. She passed on the information that Young collected through an employee of the naval base in Portland, Harry Haunton (who, by the way, believed that he was working for the Americans). With the direct participation of Leontina, the most important materials on the secret developments of the British and US navies, including new missile weapons, were sent to Moscow. According to experts, this operation was one of the greatest successes of Soviet foreign intelligence, and as the British counterintelligence officers themselves admitted, "there was not a single secret left in the Admiralty."
The failure of the residency occurred after one of the leaders of Polish intelligence Golenevsky went over to the side of the United States. He reported on the recruitment of Haunton, who was prone to alcoholism, and on the arrival of information to Moscow from the Royal Navy base. After that, the MI5 service (British counterintelligence) quickly got on the trail of Ben and the Coens, and in January 1961 they were arrested. Young took the blame, there was practically no evidence against the Coens until the FBI handed over their dossier to the investigation. Morris and Leontina were sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, they were released much earlier, as a result of an exchange for Gerald Brooke, an MI5 officer arrested in Moscow in 1969. Young had been released a few years earlier and exchanged for Penkovsky's liaison Greville Vin (the exchange scene, which was not too true to reality, was one of the best episodes of Dead Season).
Upon returning to Moscow, Morris and Leontina, however, were in trouble. Their invaluable experience was necessary for Soviet intelligence, but for employment, the spouses needed to obtain USSR citizenship. An obstacle to this was the position of M. A. Suslov, who called the Cohens failed agents who are not worthy of being citizens of a great power. Despite the fact that it was very dangerous to object to the all-powerful ideologue of the CPSU, Andropov raised the issue of citizenship of intelligence officers at the Politburo, and enlisted the support of Brezhnev. Moreover, the Coens were awarded the Order of the Red Banner (later - the Friendship of Peoples).
Leontina took up teaching work, from time to time went on business trips abroad. An outstanding intelligence officer died in 1992, and was buried at the Novo-Kuntsevo cemetery of the capital. Her services to the state were already recognized posthumously - in 1996, by presidential decree, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. The expiration of the statute of limitations allowed some to lift the veil of secrecy over the intelligence operations of past years, and in 1998 the image of Leontine Cohen even appeared on a postage stamp.
She was awarded the Orders of the Red Banner, Friendship of Peoples.
Ranks
Positions
employee of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the USSR
Biography
Cohen Leontina Teresa (operational pseudonym - Kroger Helen) - an employee of the State Security Committee under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
Born January 11, 1913 in Massachusetts (USA). Jewess, daughter of a native of Poland, Vladislav Petke. Received higher education. A committed communist, she joined the US Communist Party at the age of 18. Actively participated in the trade union movement.
In 1941, she married Morris Cohen, also known for his leftist views and who fought in the Spanish Civil War. He fully shared the convictions of his wife, although he was not a communist. However, when Morris informed her a few months later that he had been working for Soviet intelligence for several years, Leontina went through a difficult choice before agreeing to help him.
Together with her husband she was a liaison agent. When Morris was drafted into the army and sent to the front in Western Europe, she took over the communication of Soviet residents (primarily A.A. Yatskov) with agents, including agents in the atomic sphere. Moreover, she herself successfully carried out complex reconnaissance operations. For example, during one of them, samples of enriched uranium were obtained through Canada, urgently transported to Moscow. In August 1945, she played a large role in the penetration of Soviet intelligence into the second US atomic center in Albuquerque, near the main center in Los Alamos. After Anatoly Yatskov left for Europe, the connection was soon lost. It was revived in 1948 by the legendary Soviet intelligence officer William Fisher (known to the whole world as Colonel Rudolf Abel). She successfully worked in his illegal residency, but in 1950, due to the threat of failure, she was transferred to Moscow with her husband.
From 1950 to 1954 she worked in the Department of Illegal Intelligence of the MGB, later - the KGB of the SSR. In 1954, together with her husband, under the name of the spouses from New Zealand, Peter and Helen Kroger, they were transported to the UK. For several years we have been successfully working on transferring secret information on rocket technology to Moscow. However, in January 1961, Morris was betrayed by M. Golenevsky, a traitor from Polish intelligence, and the couple were arrested. All the information necessary for the arrest and sentencing of the British was reported by the CIA of the United States. As a result, already in March 1961, Morris Cohen was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and Leontina Cohen to 20 years in prison (although, unlike her husband, her involvement in working for Soviet intelligence was not proven at all).
After difficult lengthy negotiations in August 1969, Morris and Leontina Cohen were exchanged for a British intelligence agent arrested in the USSR and returned to the USSR. Their experience and knowledge were needed by Soviet intelligence, they were invited to work in Directorate "C" (illegal intelligence) of the First Main Directorate (foreign intelligence) of the KGB of the USSR. To work there, you needed Soviet citizenship. The documents were drawn up quickly, but when the turn came to put the last and most important signature - Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU M.A. Suslova - he sharply objected. Not wanting to delve into the details of the long and dangerous work of the Coen spouses for the good of the USSR, not understanding the full value of the information they obtained, Suslov said that they were failed agents and were unworthy of being Soviet citizens. There was a long hitch, as the leadership of the Soviet foreign intelligence was afraid to argue with the all-powerful main ideologist of the CPSU. However, there were decent people who reported the incident to the Chairman of the KGB, Yu.A. Andropov. By the way, he himself was afraid to conflict with Suslov, but in this matter he literally went ahead. Andropov raised the issue at the next meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, categorically demanding that the Coens be accepted into Soviet citizenship. At the same time, he stated that they brought more benefits to the Soviet Union than many high-ranking party workers. Brezhnev supported Andropov without hesitation and demanded an immediate positive solution to the issue. The instruction of the General Secretary was carried out, and soon Andropov achieved the awarding of the Coen spouses and Soviet orders.
Until the end of her life, Leontina Cohen worked in teaching and analytical work in the KGB of the USSR and in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. She went on short business trips abroad several more times, but information about their goals and results is not disclosed - 30 years ago in intelligence is not a deadline.
She lived in the hero city of Moscow. She passed away on December 23, 1992. She was buried in Moscow at the Kuntsevo cemetery.
By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 15, 1996, "for the courage and heroism shown in the performance of a special assignment," Cohen Leontine Teresa was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.
She was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the medal "For Valiant Labor. In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of V.I. Lenin" (1970).
In 1998, a postage stamp with a portrait of Hero of Russia Leontina Cohen was issued in the Russian Federation.
Biography provided by Anton Bocharov (Novosibirsk city)
Biography provided by Kirill Osovik
Sources Heroes of the atomic project. - Sarov, 2005 Kolpakidi A., Prokhorov D. Foreign intelligence of Russia. SPb-Moscow, 2001.
The Cohens. The most famous and most successful pair of Soviet intelligence officers. For many years they worked for the Soviet foreign intelligence residency. They have dozens of successful intelligence operations on their account.
It was they who extracted samples of uranium and biological weapons from the laboratories of Western countries. It was they who in 1943 delivered the American developments of the atomic bomb to the USSR.
If not for the Coens, perhaps the history of our country would be completely different. And the Soviet Union, which won the Second World War, would have had to survive the atomic bombings, like the Japanese.
30s of the twentieth century. Civil war begins in Spain. An international brigade is sent from the United States to support the Spanish Republicans. Among the volunteers is 26-year-old Morris Cohen, a member of the US Communist Party, a high school teacher.
The brave American quickly comes to the attention of Soviet foreign intelligence. After a conversation with the NKVD resident, he agrees to cooperate. He returns to the USA as a Soviet intelligence agent under the pseudonym "Louis". And he attracts his wife Leontina to work. She will go down in intelligence history under the pseudonym "Leslie".
Morris and Leontine Coen
1942 USA. Nuclear Center at Los Alamos. Here, in an atmosphere of strict secrecy, the famous physicist Robert Oppenheimer and a group of scientists are working on the creation of the first atomic bomb. Soon, the Soviet residency reports to Moscow about these secret developments. Get the secret of the atomic bomb instruct the Soviet intelligence officers: Morris and Leontine Coen.
Even before the United States entered the war with Germany, Morris Cohen managed to recruit a scientist from the Los Alamos laboratory, who passed secret research data to intelligence officers. When Morris was drafted into the army, his wife Leontina was sent alone to meet with the informant.
In order for Leslie to be able to get close to the secret facility and obtain information about the developments to create atomic weapons in the United States, the Center comes up with a whole legend. In a city where almost every centimeter is under the supervision of American intelligence agencies, a scout arrives with a certificate that she has a serious lung disease that requires treatment exclusively in the climate of Los Alamos.
Three times the scientist did not come on dates. But when the meeting did take place, Leontine Cohen received a complete technical description of the atomic bomb!
After that, she had only one thing to do: take the train and leave the dangerous place. But at the station, Leontina came across a police cordon. FBI officers checked the documents and luggage of all passengers of the outgoing train.
A policeman approached her. Lona pretended to be confused and could not find a ticket. She began to nervously get things out of her suitcase, and gave the package of documents, which seemed to interfere with her, to the policeman. Another policeman also said, “You are exactly like my daughter. She's just as uncollected." When the ticket was found, she went to the carriage. And the documents, imagine!, remained in the hands of the policeman. But Lona's calculation was justified - the policeman caught up with her and shouted: "Mrs. Cohen, take your purse!"
Morris Cohen
Soon the secret of the atomic bomb was in Moscow.
Already in 1949, the Soviet Union conducted the first tests of an atomic bomb.
After that, the US intelligence services understand: in such a short time, the USSR could not independently develop its own bomb. So, secret drawings were stolen from American laboratories!
At Los Alamos, checks begin, special services are looking for a traitor. To avoid failure, Morris and Leontina are urgently taken to Moscow.
In 1955, Morris and Leontine Coen were given a new assignment by management. With passports in the name of the Kroger spouses, under the operational pseudonyms Peter and Helen, the scouts leave for the UK. According to legend, the Krogers are New Zealand businessmen who came to Britain to start their own business. Under this cover, Leontina and Morris work as signalmen for the resident of the Soviet intelligence Konon the Young, known as Ben.
The task of the scouts is to penetrate the secrets of a secret laboratory for the creation of biological weapons and obtain information about a deadly virus, two hundred grams of which would be enough to destroy all people on Earth.
October 17, 1960 Leontina and Morris receive a container with samples of a dangerous virus. The intelligence officers do not yet know: from the very beginning of this special operation, British counterintelligence established round-the-clock surveillance over them.
Around 6 pm there was a knock on the door. I opened the door, there was a man unknown to me. I immediately understood - this man from the special services. It was written on his forehead. We were told that we were under arrest, ordered to get dressed, and taken to prison. The shock was terrible. We knew what we would have to go through.
Morris Cohen
Even by the strictest standards, the verdict of the court was very harsh. Conon the Young received 25 years. Morris and Leontine Coen, their guilt was never proved - 20 years in prison each.
For older people, such terms were tantamount to a death sentence. However, 3 years later, the British authorities exchanged Konon Molodoy for an agent of the British special services, who was arrested in Moscow. The hope of being freed again appeared among the Coens.
It took the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs nine whole years to release Morris and Leontina. In exchange for the Coens, Moscow released the British intelligence officer Gerald Brooke.
Morris and Leontina Cohen received the title of Hero of Russia only after their death. Such was the degree of secrecy in what they had been doing all their lives. Their work is forever included in intelligence textbooks. And their love and loyalty to each other is an eternal example for all of us.
