A CONVERSATION WITH NATHALIA HOLT How did you discover the true tale of these groundbreaking female spies? What was your first reaction to their story? I learned of these women during an interview in 2017 when a woman told me a shocking story about a Nazi war criminal and a shadowy American woman. It took me years to track down this elusive spy, but when I did, I found that she was not alone. She was one of a group of women who worked as intelligence officers during WWII and then proved essential to forming the CIA. These women were spies, but nothing like the stereotypical femmes fatales of so many books and movies. I knew I had to learn more. And so, a random encounter at an author reading led me to spend the next five years obsessed with a group of women whose lives had long remained secret. What kind of research was required for Wise Gals? To research this book, I used a mix of archival materials; personal items like diaries, letters, photos, and datebooks; and as many firsthand interviews as I could get. I used the Freedom of Information Act to gain access and cooperation from the CIA and am very grateful for the historians and staff members who helped me track down information and clear up inaccuracies. I worked with a plethora of other archives and libraries, from the National Archives to the State Historical Society of Missouri, relying on their dedicated staff. I also was able to tap into retired intelligence officer organizations, where I gained interviews directly from the Wise Gals’ colleagues and coworkers. Lastly, I spent months on the phone tracking down every last relative I could find and sorting my way through a web of hundreds of friends and colleagues. I knew there were stories hidden there and I was desperate to find them. The result is a book that is not only accurate historically but gives a real sense of what these women’s lives
were like and how much they sacrificed for this country. During their CIA careers, were the Wise Gals aware that they were trailblazers? The Wise Gals knew they were trailblazers. This is why they started the Petticoat Panel in 1953, an indepth look at gender equity in the agency. Panels like this were unheard of in the 1950s, but this group of officers knew that the only way to bring more women into the CIA and effectively promote them was to investigate their status and make high-level recommendations on how to shift the balance of power. The Wise Gals fought to gain recognition not just for themselves but for the next generation of women. These efforts were essential in paving the way for what we see at the CIA today: an agency in which more than half of its officers are women. “Although it took decades for full fruition,” reads a 2003 agency report, “the seeds of today’s diversity were first nurtured by this 1953 panel.” What qualities did the Wise Gals bring to intelligence work that were different from what men brought? In Wise Gals, I speak to the fact that a diverse group of CIA officers best serves the interests of the United States. Increased homogeneity weakens operations and makes officers more easily spotted in the field. The Wise Gals brought a wealth of experience to their careers. One story I love is that of Liz Sudmeier, who was stationed in Baghdad for more than a decade. She developed her own network of agents in the region using women she recruited from a hair salon and a tailor shop. These were resources that no man at her station had access to and she used them to great advantage, obtaining blueprints to top secret Soviet fighter planes. AUTHOR PHOTO © NATHALIA HOLT 2021
The Wise Gals came from different backgrounds and from all over the US. Did you detect any common personality traits among them? The Wise Gals could not be more different in their personalities, and yet what binds them together is their absolute love of country. These are women who traveled the globe, renounced romantic attachments, and even sacrificed their lives, all without financial incentive or even hope of career promotion. How did you tap into the treasure trove of personal artifacts—diaries, photographs, scrapbooks, and more—from the families of the Wise Gals? I was fortunate that the families of the Wise Gals wanted their relatives to be portrayed accurately and were willing to share these materials with me. There is nothing quite like learning about someone’s life from their own words, and these materials were essential in constructing the details of their private lives in addition to their professional careers. What in those materials did you find most surprising? I was shocked that despite a mountain of evidence proving that Jane Burrell was killed while serving her country on January 7, 1948, that she has still not been awarded a star on the CIA’s memorial wall. Her death in 1948 makes her the first CIA officer killed in service. This is a woman who sacrificed her life for her country and her absence on that memorial is an oversight that is long overdue to correct. What did you learn about the relationships between the Wise Gals? In the early 1950s, the Wise Gals were spread across the globe, working in male-dominated environments in France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, and Washington, D.C. Then, in 1953, one event brought them together: the Petticoat Panel. As part of the panel, the women spent long hours together, sharing their experiences as female officers in the agency. The Petticoat Panel was maddening for the women; they struggled to gain the recognition they deserved, and so they leaned on one another, forming deep friendships. The bonds formed from that experience ended up being critical to the future of women in American intelligence.
You interviewed retired and active CIA officers for the book. Given the secrecy required in the agency, how did you have to handle the sensitive nature of this information? There are so many stories I wish I could tell! I feel extremely fortunate that I was able to gain the trust of intelligence professionals who shared intimate tales of their careers and personal lives. I made certain that every person I interviewed could rely on my discretion, whether around operations they did not want described, their own role in espionage, or, of course, their identities. I was struck by the humility of the CIA officers I spoke with. Almost every individual I interviewed was intent on minimizing their own contributions to national security, no matter how great. What do you think is the most powerful effect that the Wise Gals had on the intelligence world? On the country? Histories of the CIA have focused on the top administrators of the agency. We tend to credit these men with the successes of the agency as well as the errors. Yet this ignores the officers on the ground, the ones doing the actual work. Through quiet, unheralded Cold War operations, ones that most people have never heard of, the Wise Gals were able to repeatedly prevent war in an era of extreme danger between the Soviet Union and the United States. Their actions not only kept us safe but present key lessons for our treacherous modern era. Wise Gals was published in September 2022, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the CIA. Was that planned or a remarkable coincidence? An anniversary presents an opportunity to look back at our history and consider how far we’ve come as a society and how much we have left to accomplish. I hope that readers will be surprised at the feminist history inherent in American intelligence and the achievements that this one group of women were able to accomplish. While it’s a coincidence that Wise Gals happens to come out on the 75th anniversary of the CIA, it’s my hope that while commemorating the work of the agency over the decades, we also take a moment to highlight the careers of women whose recognition is long overdue.
Your last two books, The Queens of Animation and Rise of the Rocket Girls, also focused on female trailblazers in disparate fields. Do you seek out these stories or do they find you? My goal is to tell the histories that we don’t hear, but whose narrative lends us a new perspective on historical events. By nature, this happens to highlight women whose roles in our world have frequently been overlooked. Every book I write is connected to the last, even if the string is not always easy to find. In my research I’ve been fortunate to learn the remarkable histories of many women, far more than I could ever hope to write about in my lifetime, although I’ll certainly try!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Wise Gals tells the story of a small group of women who strove to create equality within the workplace during and after World War II. Though their story is set in the past, did you relate to any of the hardships these women, and others at the CIA, had to face? If so, how did you handle it? 2. If Adelaide Hawkins, Mary Hutchison, Eloise Page, and Elizabeth Sudmeier hadn’t helped create the CIA, do you think the organization would be different today? Why or why not? 3. Which of the Wise Gals’ stories in the field were your favorite to learn about? 4. Do you have a favorite Wise Gal? If so, who and why? Is there one Wise Gal you relate to most, and if so, who and why? 5. Although Adelaide Hawkins was a founding member of the Office of Strategic Services, later known as the CIA, everyone outside her profession thought she was merely a clerk. If you were Adelaide Hawkins, would it have been difficult to keep this secret? Why or why not? 6. Jane Burrell received a letter in July 1943 stating she would be transferred overseas,
even though she had requested to travel only occasionally when she joined the OSS. If you were Jane, would you have accepted the overseas position? Why or why not? How did this one decision change Jane’s life and the country’s trajectory? 7. Were you surprised by Elizabeth Sudmeier’s decision when she was forced to choose between the love of her life and the career of her dreams? What would you have done if you were in Liz’s shoes? 8. It has been proven that women’s contributions to major events in history have been hidden from the public, some even lost in time. Why do you think it’s important to tell these little-known stories and bring women’s achievements to the forefront? 9. What do you think was special about the Wise Gals’ friendships and connections with one another? What did it give them the power to do—and if they hadn’t connected, do you think their lives would have gone down different paths? 10. If there was one thing to take away from the Wise Gals’ stories, what would it be?