But who is this Chamber, who acted as the trigger to this investigation? Outwardly he
has all the appearance of an untrustworthy man, with the head and look of a spy: fat, neglected and dowdy. In 1948 he was a journalist at Time Magazine, where he held an important role, that of being in charge of all communist related stories. What is more, this former militant left-wing extremist was well-placed to understand the movement. In any case, his thriving professional situation appeared to be inconsistent with his physical appearance. Chambers made everyone feel uneasy, even those who supported him and staunchly believed his accusations.
Whittaker Chambers also knew that he often behaved like a scoundrel, a confession that would hardly give weight to his allegations, especially against a man as distinguished as Alger Hiss. Chambers knew this and subtly played up to this sneaky aspect of his character. In the eyes of public opinion, he certainly embodied the image of a communist activist who had been betrayed and now showed a sincere repentance, even recanting and converting to Catholicism. In fact, general opinion was even more hostile towards Alger Hiss, who was hiding under his bourgeois appearance and therefore did not have the courage of his convictions.
Born into a modest family, Whittaker Chambers had lived a rather adventurous and questionable youth. He enrolled in the American Communist Party at a young age and in the mid 1920s, worked in the party's press office. In the early 1930s he was asked to go ‘underground' and thus break with the party. The order came from the highest authorities and according to Chambers, from the NKVD itself. He was even sent to Moscow to attend a spy training course. According to his confession, when he returned to the USA , he built up a proper intelligence network that primarily operated within the Democratic administration.
This statement seems implausible. While there may be no denying that the Soviets wanted to infiltrate the US government, is it possible to imagine that they would have entrusted such a task to a man like Chambers, who had no significant contacts? It is more likely that Chambers was recruited by the NKVD and acted as a liaison between Soviets and those who provided the real information to Moscow. At Chambers' level, it is easy to see how he could be misled. He could readily believe that the entire Roosevelt administration was a Soviet spy nest. In the world of intelligence it is all about taking your best shot at the right time over and over again. Anything that could ultimately weaken the US government was an opportunity that had to be taken, especially as the Soviet leaders had always preferred, paradoxically, to have conservative spokespeople, rather than progressive or even socialist ones. In France, for example, it was well-known that Moscow always voted to the right!
In 1937 or 1938, Chambers broke with the Communist Party and consequently with the Soviet intelligence services. After hiding out for a while, he later found a job as a journalist at Time. Very soon after, he met an aide of President Roosevelt, to whom he gave a list of officials he accused of being Soviet agents. This seems an odd place to submit your revelations. After all, if Roosevelt's administration had indeed been infiltrated, why would you confide in someone who was close to the president?
In 1948, Elizabeth Bentley appeared before the Un-American Activities Committee. Immediately afterwards it was Whittaker Chambers' turn to turn the screw. It was a young investigator on the Commission that pulled Chambers out of the hat, a young man close to Richard Nixon, who was a member of the same committee and who worked closely with the FBI. And so, J. Edgar Hoover, the immovable FBI boss who to begin with had paid little attention to Chambers' allegations, now changed his tune. Having supported the Democrats for so many years, he now began to move closer to the Republicans, who according to political scientists, would win the next presidential election. With such opportunism, Hoover decided to help young Senator Nixon, who appeared to have a big future.
Whittaker Chambers was called to testify before the commission. He immediately declared that several Democrat figures, including Alger Hiss, had formed a clandestine communist cell within the administration. However, he accused them of being militants, not spies. The difference is significant, even if there was such anti-communist sentiment at the time. Questioned in turn, Hiss vigorously protested before the committee and denied ever being a communist. He also swore that he had never met Whittaker Chambers, even when he was presented with photographs of him. His testimony made an excellent impression: between the sneaky Chambers and the civilised ‘spy' Alger Hiss, general opinion was divided. But the accusers were not about to stop there and would soon gain more support as they slowly ground Hiss down.
Marie-France Toinet
12
[In Hiss' words]
‘If that is a photograph of Mr Chambers, then he does not have a very exceptional appearance. He looks like many people ... I would not swear that I have never seen this man. I would like to see him in person then I think I would be better to say if I have already met him'According to the author, Alger Hiss had just created his own noose. His answer was not clear
