Evening star., 1950-02-07
I Spied for StuIin-
fSirteenth OF a SeriesJ
Rv Hede Mossinq
As Told 10 Eugene lyons


Copyright. 1850, by Hede Massins)
NEW YORK, Feb. 7.-Ameri-
cans find it hard to understand
why Paul and I chose to put our
heads into the bears mouth by
going to Moscow for examination.
I do not blame them. In the
perspective of time, I find it
hard to understand myself. I can
only explain that the mental pro-
cesses of lifelong Communists. who
have been wandering in the maze
of the Soviet underground, don't
make sense to outsiders.
The one smart move we made
and it may we'll have spelled the
difference between life and death
was that we refused adamantiy
the false passports and journey
by a Soviet ship urged on us by
Helen. Instead, we Travelled legal
ly, through Intourist. as ordinary
American tourists.
In addition, we advertised ou1
trip as widely as possible. A NUM-
ber of friends agreed to write us
regularly and to raise an alarm if
We failed to reply. Helen Black.
Harry Freeman, Vera Caspary in
Hollywood and others did in fact
correspond with us during our
eight months in Russia. They
knew only, in general terms, that
we were in danger.
Deposition Left With Friend.
Paul took the further precaution
OF leaving long deposition in the
hands of a friend, with instruc-
tions to make it public if we were
to disappear" We saw to it
that Helen was apprised Of this
arrangement.
In Moscow, we were installed
In a commodious room at the
Metropole Hotel. Immediately we
phoned all the American and Ger
man friends whom we knew to be
in the capital. Others we looked
up. The strategy. of course was
to make it bit more difficult for
our official hosts to dispose of US
without the fact being known.
Our first walk in Moscow set
the tone for the entire exper.-
ence. On Kuznetsky Most, COM
ing towards us. we saw Russian
woman who had been our close
friend during my first sojourn
seven years before. The way her
features CONCEALED in horror for
warned us to show no recognition
Warned to Flee from Moscow.
She stopped at a shop window,
as If looking over it's display. We
also paused at the window. With
out moving a muscle and looking
In the other direction, the woman
whispered, What are you doing
here? Are you crazy? Get out,
for Gods sake. get out!" Then
she walked on.
We needed no more convincing
that we had been idiots to let
Helen maneuver us INTO her boooy
trap. Fear hung like a pail over
the city. Everywhere loud-speak-
ers beloved the news OF the purge
trials, barking out words like
traitor spy mad dogsl"
Russians who knew us from the
past looked through us. Even a
few foreign Communists SHE'D
away from us In fright.
i Space does not allow me toI
give more than an inkling of the
months of long and complex ques-
tioning to which we were sub
jected almost daily, often into the
small hours of the night. Thel
setting was our own hotel room,
with meals sent up from the dining
room. The interrogators werel
mainly Peter" and Helen Zubi- |
lin, with Spiegelglass. the assassin
OF Ludwig, taking charge on criti-
cal subjects. Now and then,
others, in uniform and plain
clothes, participated.
Friendliness Covered Danger.
Superflcially it was friendly
an attempt to learn all we knew
about Ludwig and others with
whom we had worked. But under
the proceedings lurked the un-
spoken menace. We were given
glimpses of it, deliberately, in a
harsh phrase or allusion-just
enough to keep us cooperative.
Every day seemed our last in
freedom. Convinced that the
room was wired for sound, Paul
and I talked in smothered whis-
pers, except when we wanted the
authorities to hear. The tricks
We had learned in eluding the
Gestapo in Berlin were proving
useful in Moscow.
The fact that a large part of
the American colony was watching
the slow cat-and-mouse game may
have been our salvation. Several
. foreign correspondents smelled a
story and kept tabs on our where
-