AGENT SONYA Book Club Kit

AGENT SONYA B O O K C L U B K I T LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS A DOSSIER OF SPIES

COLD WAR COCKTAILS

TALK LIKE A SPY GLOSSARY

Dear Reader, I have long been fascinated by the story of Agent Sonya, a spy quite different from any I had come across before. I had hitherto written about spying largely from the male, Western perspective. Here was a female spy, Ursula, code-named Agent Sonya, who was a lifelong, utterly dedicated communist. This was a chance to look at espionage through the other end of the telescope, via a life that spanned almost the whole of the twentieth-century. In many ways, Ursula’s story is that of communism itself, from its tumultuous beginnings to its cataclysmic downfall. She was ten years old when the Bolshevik Revolution took place and eighty-two when the Berlin Wall came down. Her life spanned the whole of Soviet communism, in all its vastness and complexity.

Another interesting note: Spies tend to cover their tracks, but not Agent Sonya.

Setting out on this venture, I had no idea how much material would emerge: Ursula spent her life in secrets, but her own writings, published and private, are astonishingly candid and revealing, allowing me to delve deeply into her emotional and internal life. Together with an unexpurgated copy of her memoirs in the Stasi archives and the diaries, letters, and photographs kindly furnished by her family, these create a picture of an extraordinary and multifaceted woman.

Why did she do it? I look forward to hearing your thoughts. . .

Sincerely, Ben Macintyre Twitter.com/BenMacintyre1 #AgentSonya

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1 2 3 4

Before reading Agent Sonya, how much did you know about Ursula Kuczynski, communism, and the Cold War era? Which historical aspects of the book surprised you the most? Did you learn new details about this period in history?

Why do you think Ursula was drawn to and became a champion of the communist cause?

How does this story reflect the great ideological clash of the twentieth century—between communism, fascism, and Western democracy?

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What role did sexism play in potentially enabling Ursula to operate undetected throughout her career?

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Is there a scene (or scenes) in the book that will stay with you?

What will you remember most? Do you plan to read more about the Cold War?

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What role do the different settings play? Do you think similar events or espionage could have occurred in any other era?

What were your impressions of the author’s voice and style? What specific themes did Ben Macintyre emphasize most throughout the book?

Why do you think Ursula became and stayed a spy for so many years, despite all the risks and challenges? What was she drawn to most? Can you imagine ever doing what she did?

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What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn’t been discussed already?

What is Ursula’s most commendable quality? Her least? Is she someone you would want to have known?

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If this book were to be made into a movie, whom would you cast for the main roles?

There were many important supporting characters (and spies) in this book—who will you remember most and why?

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What other books by Ben Macintyre have you read? Which have you enjoyed most?

What did you think about Ursula’s husbands and lovers? How did they each support her? What did you think about their own life decisions?

URSULA KUCZYNSKI

A N ATO L I G R O M OV

Codename Sonya: a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer and spymaster extraordinaire whose “motherhood, pregnancy, and apparently humdrum domestic life together formed the perfect camouflage.”

Real name Gorski: Red Army intelligence officer codenamed Vadim

RUDOLF (RUDI) HAMBURGER Ursula’s first husband, an architect who later joined the covert communist cause: “Too honest a man, and too worthless a spy, to retain his secrets for long.”

Spanish Civil War fighter codename Jim, who later used the alias: Granatoff

L E N B E U R TO N Ursula’s second husband, whom she recruited into the Soviet military intelligence service

RICHARD SORGE

ALEXANDER “SANDOR” RADÓ

Codename Ramsay: Ursula’s recruiter, then lover

Codename Dora: an “obsessive cartographic scientist” and chief of a Soviet spy network in Switzerland that Himmler dubbed the Red Orchestra

COLONEL KARL RIMM Alias Paul: Sorge’s deputy

A DOSSIER OF SPIES

A L E X A N D E R A L L A N F O OT E

MAX CLAUSEN Chief shortwave radio operator whose deputy was Josef “Sepp” Weingarten, nicknamed “Sober” because he was usually drunk

HIRSCH HERZBERG Alias Grisha: photographer, copier of documents

I R E N E “ I S A” W I E D E M E Y E R Her bookshop was used as a dead drop site and rendezvous point

AG N E S S M E D L E Y Novelist and journalist: close friend to Ursula, who introduced her to espionage

J O H A N N PAT R A Cover name Ernest Schmidt: a rough-edge Baltic seaman, and Ursula’s lover

N I KO L A I V L A D I M I R OV I C H A P T E K A R Codename Iris: chauffeur and secretary to the air attaché at Soviet embassy in London

KLAUS FUCHS Codename Otto, later Rest, then Charles: a German theoretical physicist and Ursula’s foremost atomic spy who joined the Manhattan Project in the US and passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union

C O L O N E L S E M YO N DAV I D OV I C H K R E M E R Codename Barch: officer of Soviet Intelligence

M E L I TA N O RWO O D Codename Hola: the longest-serving Soviet agent in British soil

HARRY GOLD Codename Raymond: Ursula’s successor in America

JÜRGEN KUCZYNSKI Codename Karl: Ursula’s brother, standard-bearer of German anti-fascism in Britain and one of Moscow’s most brilliant and dangerous propagandists

Designates Sonya’s husbands and lovers

COLD WAR COCKTAILS BLACK RUSSIAN • 2 oz. vodka • 1 oz. Kahlúa • Glass: old-fashioned Preparation: Pour both ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir, and strain into an oldfashioned glass filled with fresh ice.

YORSH • 50 ml vodka • 300 ml beer

RED FINNISH • • • • •

1 oz. Finlandia vodka 1 oz. strawberry cream liqueur 1 oz. pomegranate juice ½ oz. lime juice 1 tsp. sugar

TALK LIKE A SPY GLOSSARY B A BY S I T T E R

NURSEMAID

SHOE

Bodyguard

Russian term for the security service officer who accompanies delegations to other countries to prevent anyone from defecting

A false passport or visa

COBBLER A spy who creates false passports, visas, diplomas, and other documents

PA R O L E S

DEAD DROP

Passwords that identify intelligence personnel to each other

A secret location where materials can be left for another party to retrieve

PIG

GHOUL An agent who searches obituaries and graveyards for names of the deceased for use as false identities

H O S P I TA L

POCKET LITTER

T H R OWAWAY

Items in a spy’s pocket (receipts, coins, theater tickets, etc.) that add authenticity to his or her identity

An agent considered expendable

M U S I C B OX

A male agent employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes

A spy operating without cover or backup

SWA L L OW

Russian intelligence term for traitor

R AV E N

NAKED

Agent living as an ordinary citizen in a foreign country; acts only when a hostile situation develops

A female agent employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes

Russian slang for prison

Slang for a clandestine radio

SLEEPER

ROLLED-UP When an operation goes bad and an agent is arrested

UNCLE Headquarters of any espionage service