Philadelphia Cold War Spy Harry Gold

Hour 2

REBROADCAST: Harry Gold, a low-key South Philadelphia industrial chemist, son of Russian Jewish immigrants, hand-delivered U.S. atomic bomb classified information to the Soviets between 1935 – 1950. He was so under the radar, his obituary wasn’t published until two years after his death. The FBI launched the biggest public manhunt for Gold, who wasn’t interested in Communism nor personal financial gain, but because of what he thought of their stand on anti-Semitism. Gold served 16 years of a 30 sentence at Lewisburg Penitentiary he became a valued resident respected by guards and fellow-inmates, working on chemistry projects. Our guest independent journalist, historian and Philadelphian ALLEN HORNBLUM asks, “How did such a gentle, apolitical person get caught up in the ‘crime of the century’?” Hornblum returned to Radio Times to tell Gold’s story. His recent book is, “The Invisible Harry Gold: The Man Who Gave the Soviets the Atom Bomb.”

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[audio: 120910_110630.mp3]