CASE FILE

The CIA’s Dark History Of

Employing Former Nazis

Not long after the end of World War II, the fledgling CIA was scrambling to develop solid intelligence about the U.S.S.R. and its activities throughout former Nazi strongholds in eastern Europe. Some of the easiest (and earliest) “assets” to be recruited were former high-ranking German officials and sympathizers, many of whom knew the inner-workings of the Soviet Union and thus were at risk of being kidnapped or assassinated by the Russians. One of these was a German citizen named Gustav Hilger who, among many positions, served as chief interpreter for Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, in the secret negotiations leading to the Nazi–Soviet concord. As author Scott Anderson writes in this article in CrimeReads, Hilger was just one of many former Nazis the CIA plucked out of harm’s way by playing dumb, “to avoid learning those unpleasant details of a person’s life that might undermine the concept of plausible deniability.”

Print Unit Sales Rose 4.3% Last Week

Unit sales of print books rose 4.3% last week vs. the week ended August 29, based on information reported to NPD BookScan. According to Publishers Weekly, the increase was led by the juvenile fiction segment, where units rose 20.1% due in large part to the release of Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man: Grime and Punishment and Ann M. Martin’s Logan Likes Mary Anne! Young adult fiction sales rose 11.4% over last week, driven by Cassandra Clare’s The Lost Book of the White, Volume 2, Shelby Mahurin’s Blood & Honey, and Katherine McGee’s American Royals II: Majesty. The adult fiction category had a 3.2% sales gain in the week, led by Louise Penny’s All The Devils Are Here. Total print unit sales were up 5.9% over 2019 year-to-date at outlets that report to BookScan.

Education Department Crackdown

Targets Internal Book Clubs, Training

In an internal email this week, the Education Department warned it will target a wide range of employee activities—including book clubs— to root out topics such as “critical race theory” or “white privilege,” or materials that suggest that the U.S. is an inherently racist country. The email, obtained by Politico, also ordered a review of agency contracts for diversity training and "internal employee activities" as the department implements a government-wide directive the White House has issued to stop what it called “un-American propaganda training sessions" about race. The new guidance singles out any material that "teaches, trains or suggests the following: (1) virtually all white people contribute to racism or benefit from racism, (2) critical race theory, (3) white privilege, (4) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country, (5) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil, and (6) anti-American propaganda.”

Walter Mosley To Receive NBF Medal

The National Book Foundation last week announced it will award Walter Mosley the 2020 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. No stranger to mystery fans, Mosley has written more than sixty critically acclaimed books across subject, genre, and category. His 1990 debut novel Devil in a Blue Dress was the first in the bestselling series featuring detective Easy Rawlins, and launched Mosley into literary prominence. Since then his books have been translated into twenty-five languages, and he has won numerous awards, including an Edgar Award (for Down the River Unto the Sea), an O. Henry Award, the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, a Grammy®, and several NAACP Image awards. “Mosley is a master of craft and narrative, and through his incredibly vibrant and diverse body of work, our literary heritage has truly been enriched,” David Steinberger, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Book Foundation, said in a statement.

CASE FILE

How a Soviet Triple Agent

Recruited New Spies in the West

Just as the CIA recruited a number of Nazi sympathizers following WW II (see story, above), the Soviet Union tapped a number of anti-Hitler nationalists to assist in Cold War intel gathering and analysis. Case in point: In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hans Adolf Baumgarten (most likely a pseudonym) served as an adviser in the foreign affairs department of the office of the Austrian president. Initially, Soviet agents attempted to recruit him “on a material basis,” meaning that they simply offered him money in return for information. Baumgarten refused to cooperate, so Moscow tried a different approach by humoring him in his belief that democracy could help West Germany achieve primacy in the world, and Austria therefore should rejoin it to enhance this prospect. This article in The Daily Beast reveals how an old KGB manual, published in English for the first time, confirms that Soviet spies infiltrated Western governments in an elaborate labyrinth of double, and even triple, identities —a game that continues up to this day.

AMPAS Releases New Diversity Guidelines

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences last week unveiled new guidelines designed to promote diversity and inclusion both in front of and behind the camera. Beginning in 2024, in order for a film to be qualify in the “Best Picture” category, it will need to reach minimum diversity statistics—measured through the presence of staff who are women, LGBTQ, disabled, or of an underrepresented racial minority—in two of four categories. These categories are: 1) “On-screen representation, themes, and narratives,” which covers the actors who appear in the film itself; 2) “Creative leadership and project team,” which concerns those at the head of the production team and on the crew; 3) “Industry access and opportunities,” which encourages making apprenticeships and internships available to underrepresented minorities; and 4) “Audience development,” which aims at diversifying marketing, publicity, and distribution teams.

John Wick 2: Lifeless And One-Dimensional

This past week I finally got around to watching John Wick: Chapter 2, starring Keanu Reeves as the most lifeless, one-dimension hired killer the world has ever seen. I’d seen “Chapter 1” when it arrived in theaters in 2014, and was so underwhelmed that it took me six long years to even bother with the sequel, despite glowing reviews from some critics and many theatergoers. Now, I’m a big fan of action films and thrillers that demand the viewer suspend belief from time to time, but JW:2 is little more than a live-action cartoon whose script couldn’t have required more than 20 pages. The plot (no spoiler alert needed): Wick kills people. Lots of people. Hundreds of people. Gets a bit scratched up, moans and groans as he dusts off his Kevlar threads, then kills more people. He does it in subways, in catacombs, in bathrooms, in stylish galleries, and in car chases. And then – here’s a real twist – he kills more people. All of which causes me to ask one question: How can anyone who seems to be recognized on-sight by dozens (hundreds) of fellow assassins not draw the attention of even one cop?

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—Foreword Reviews