Great Spies of the 20th Century

enough. He seems to have denied any relationship with Chambers, which would make the headlines, while at the same time was not completely sure whether he recognised him or not. However, everything seemed to go well for him. He made a very good impression during his hearing and even the president of the commission, Karl Mundt, congratulated him on his cooperation. The majority of the press seemed to take his side and various editorials strongly attacked the methods of the committee, although these cooled somewhat later, after they feared that they had portrayed the committee in a bad light. One of the representatives, Herbert, suggested that the case be handed over to the Justice Department. Only Richard Nixon found that Hiss was not quite clear enough in his denial and wanted to continue the interrogation. He finally got the consent of the commission, who like him, knew that their fate depended on the credibility of Chambers.

At this stage of the proceedings there was one crucial question: did Hiss know Chambers or not? During a new hearing, Chambers provided relatively detailed information about Alger Hiss, his wife, his house, his lifestyle. Ultimately, Hiss’ personal details amounted for little and he was not the only one that Chambers was accusing. However, he was the only one that Chambers declared he knew personally.Therefore, if the prosecutors could prove that he was telling the truth about this, then all his other allegations would be taken seriously and the idea of a genuine communist conspiracy would be strengthened. Hence the fury of their pursuit, especially as Hiss was seen as a symbol and representative of the arrogant and favoured social class from the East Coast who had run the country for so long. On the other side was Nixon; a Republican from the West Coast, the son of a modest tram driver, who represented the figure of the forgotten working-class American who believed in old-fashioned values.

In this regard, Nixon immediately understood the advantages that might result from the case. For him, it became a launch pad for election, while Hiss' defenders were too caught up in the course of events to notice.

Hiss had already begun to make a retreat. During a new hearing, he claimed that he may have known Chambers, but under a different name, which was why he couldn't immediately identify him. Then, when he was presented with photographs, he made no comment. Nixon, who increasingly appeared to be the strongman of the commission, decided to set up a confrontation between Hiss and Chambers. To escape the pack of journalists, the meeting would take place discreetly in a hotel room. On this occasion, Hiss finally recognised Chambers, saying they had met in 1935 and that he had rented an apartment from him, which he had never actually paid for. Ignoring the rest of the statement, this confession made a very bad impression. It would now appear that Alger Hiss had lied at least once, so could the committee in all good faith believe him when he denied being a communist?

Hiss committed another mistake a little later on when he attacked Chambers for libel. This put his opponents against the ropes. To defend himself, Chambers had to provide proof, otherwise he risked being sentenced for false testimony and perjury. Suddenly, the case now had a whole new dimension. Pushed by his rearguard who were operating at full speed, Chambers now declared that not only was Alger Hiss a communist, but he was also a spy. This new declaration caused a sensation as the informant continued to reveal that he had documents that would undoubtedly prove that Hiss was involved in espionage. These new accusations were serious and even if the allegations against Hiss were made up, the case once more took on a whole new dimension.

If Chambers did indeed have evidence that Hiss was a spy, why did he not mention this earlier? As for the documents he spoke of and had kept hidden for so long (microfilm and handwritten notes by Hiss on State Department paper), why were these only suddenly presented at the exact moment they were needed?

What is even more amazing is where these documents had supposedly been hidden all this time: the first batch were hidden in a dumb-waiter at the house of Chambers' nephew, while the second batch were hidden in a hollowed-out pumpkin in Chambers' garden. This is why the papers have gone down in history as the ‘pumpkin papers', a name that the press, especially those opposed to Chambers, could not fail to laugh at. Beyond this, nothing more was known about the documents. As they were supposedly ‘secret', they could not be revealed to the public and only certain elements were extracted from them. What is important is that they existed and not what was in them exactly, which only reinforces the idea that they could have been fabricated. Moreover, one of the microfilms was analysed by a Kodak expert, who claimed that the wire used was manufactured after the war. However, having demonstrated this deception, the man was quickly returned to his post.

It is tempting to see the hand of the FBI behind these latest developments in the case. It was a service that had the means to fabricate documents, as well as being able to put any necessary pressure on witnesses. Having said that, there is no evidence that the case was tampered with in any way. The only disturbing fact is that the FBI mobilised hundreds of agents during the case, which meant that Hoover was really committed to getting rid of Alger Hiss and forcing him to appear in court.

Finally, it was time for Hiss to be judged and in fact, the trial was conducted in two stages. At the end of the first trial in 1949, the jury was unable to come to a decision and Hiss was able to relax. However, after the second trial a few months later, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison.