Milton Schwartz (spy)

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Milton Schwartz was an American who worked for Soviet Military Intelligence GRU during World War II. A 1943 message, later decrypted by the Army Signals Intelligence Corp, revealed Schwartz's activity on behalf of the GRU to be of such value that a request was put in for $1200 to assist Schwartz in personal financial matters.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Schwartz's code name with the GRU, and deciphered by the Venona project is "Matvey".

The Venona project was a United States counterintelligence program initiated during World War II by the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service ; it ran from February 1, 1943, until October 1, 1980. It was intended to decrypt messages transmitted by the intelligence agencies of the Soviet Union. Initiated when the Soviet Union was an ally of the US, the program continued during the Cold War, when it was considered an enemy.

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