Nathan Gregory Silvermaster
Nathan Gregory Silvermaster | |
|---|---|
Silvermaster giving testimony before the US Senate Internal Security Subcommittee | |
| Born | November 27, 1898 |
| Died | October 7, 1964 (aged 65) |
| Known for | Silvermaster spy ring |
| Spouse | Elena Witte aka Helen P. Silvermaster |
Nathan Gregory Silvermaster (November 27, 1898 – October 7, 1964) was an economist with the United States War Production Board (WPB) during World War II, was the head of a large ring of Communist spies in the U.S. government. It is from him that the FBI Silvermaster File, documenting the Bureau's investigation into Communist Party USA penetration of the U.S. federal government during the 1930s and 1940s, takes its name. His wife Helen and stepson Anatole Volkov were members of his ring.
Silvermaster was identified as a Soviet agent in the WPB operating under the code names Pel, Pal, and "Paul", in the Venona decrypts; and as "Robert" both in Venona, and independently by defecting Soviet intelligence courier Elizabeth Bentley.