Jane Foster
Encyclopedia
Jane Foster Zlatovski allegedly engaged, with her husband, George Zlatovski, in covert activities on behalf of the Soviet Union
while employed in sensitive U.S. Government wartime agencies during World War II
. They were indicted in 1957. Their case was never tried and both Zlatovskis denied the accusations.
. Her father, Harry Emerson Foster, was the medical director of the Cutter Laboratories
. Her mother was Eve Cody Foster. Foster attended Mills College
in Oakland, California
, graduating in 1935.
Foster married Dutch
diplomat Alleendert Kamper in October of 1936. She and Kamper separated after 18 months. Foster, required to spend five months on Dutch soil in order to finalize the divorce, travelled to Bali
. She remained there until September of 1939, returning to the United States due to the British declaration of war on Germany
. She briefly joined the Communist Party in 1938.
Foster met and married Zlatovski in Washington, D.C. in 1943, then remarried him three years later. She was employed by the Board of Economic Warfare
ond the Office of Strategic Services
from late 1943 until early 1946 in the Indonesia
n section. Foster was one of the first OSS agents to reach Indonesia after the Japanese surrender in 1945, where she interviewed Sukarno
to discover whether he planned to align himself with Allied interests. Foster wrote in her autobiography that Soviet agent Charles Flato
was one of her closest friends at the Board.
espionage
in 1938 by Martha Dodd
, the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany
. In 1942 Foster rented a room from Henry Collins in Washington, D.C.
, who likewise was active in the secret apparatus.After World War II
she and her husband allegedly became members of the a Soviet espionage ring run by Jack Soble
. She is believed to be identified in Soviet intelligence and in the VENONA files with the code name SLANG, where she is referenced as engaged in transmitting information and in other espionage
tasks. According to Gregg Herken, SLANG is mentioned in two VENONA cables, one dated 21 June 1943 and the other dated 30 May 1944.
The Zlatovskis were indicted by a Federal grand jury on July 8, 1957, on charges of espionage. The couple was living in Paris at the time of their indictment, and denied the charges in a brief interview with the New York Times.
Time Magazine sensationally alleged in 1957 that the Zlatovskis became part of the Soble network in January 1940. At times they dealt directly with Soble, while on other occasions they are thought to have worked with Russian-born Hollywood producer Boris Morros
, who later defected to U.S. counterintelligence agents. According to Morros, Jane and George Zlatovski were useful espionage agents and served a crucial role in the Soble spy network. As reported in Time, "in covert meetings in the U.S. and a dozen European cities (including Moscow) the Zlatovskis turned over to Morros a file-load of valuable information that was passed to Soviet intelligence." Her husband George (alleged code name RECTOR) was not as active as his wife, gathering mostly information on refugees for Soviet intelligence. As a team, the two allegedly collected information on the "sexual and drinking habits" of U.S. personnel stationed in Austria, apparently to blackmail recruitment of new agents for espionage activity.
After revelations of the Soble network appeared in the press in 1957, both Jane and George Zlatovski denied Morros' allegations. They remained in exile in Paris, France, where Foster reconnected with Julia Child
and her husband, Paul
, both of whom had worked with Foster in the OSS. Although the U.S. government tried to extradite Foster and her husband, they were unable to do so. Although she continued to publically deny her involvement in espionage, it has been reported that she confessed to both French intelligence agents and to the Paris office of the FBI.
Her autobiography, An Un-American Lady, is a colorful account of an upper-class, expatriate socialite in the pre- and post-WWII era, and also recounts her involuntary detainment in the US, stalking by FBI and CIA agents, and description of McCarthy-era America.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
while employed in sensitive U.S. Government wartime agencies during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They were indicted in 1957. Their case was never tried and both Zlatovskis denied the accusations.
Early life
Jane Foster grew up in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Her father, Harry Emerson Foster, was the medical director of the Cutter Laboratories
Cutter Laboratories
Cutter Laboratories was a pharmaceutical company located in Berkeley, California. They were bought by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in the 1970s.-The Cutter incident:...
. Her mother was Eve Cody Foster. Foster attended Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, graduating in 1935.
Foster married Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
diplomat Alleendert Kamper in October of 1936. She and Kamper separated after 18 months. Foster, required to spend five months on Dutch soil in order to finalize the divorce, travelled to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
. She remained there until September of 1939, returning to the United States due to the British declaration of war on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. She briefly joined the Communist Party in 1938.
Foster met and married Zlatovski in Washington, D.C. in 1943, then remarried him three years later. She was employed by the Board of Economic Warfare
Board of Economic Warfare
The Office of Administrator of Export Control was established in the United States by Presidential Proclamation 2413, July 2, 1940, to administer export licensing provisions of the act of July 2, 1940 . Brigadier General Russell Lamont Maxwell, United States Army, headed up this military entity...
ond the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
from late 1943 until early 1946 in the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n section. Foster was one of the first OSS agents to reach Indonesia after the Japanese surrender in 1945, where she interviewed Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
to discover whether he planned to align himself with Allied interests. Foster wrote in her autobiography that Soviet agent Charles Flato
Charles Flato
Charles S. Flato was an American writer, American Communist Party member and a Soviet agent....
was one of her closest friends at the Board.
Allegations of espionage
Foster was allegedly recruited into Soviet intelligenceNKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
in 1938 by Martha Dodd
Martha Dodd
Martha Eccles Dodd and her husband spied for the Soviet Union against her native United States from before World War II until the height of the Cold War. She had lived in Berlin early in the Third Reich with her father, then United States Ambassador to Germany.-Biography:Martha Dodd was born in...
, the daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 1942 Foster rented a room from Henry Collins in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, who likewise was active in the secret apparatus.After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she and her husband allegedly became members of the a Soviet espionage ring run by Jack Soble
Jack Soble
Jack Soble Jack Soble (birth name:Abromas Sobolevicius, sometimes used Abraham Sobolevicius or Adolph Senin) Jack Soble (birth name:Abromas Sobolevicius, sometimes used Abraham Sobolevicius or Adolph Senin) (born May 15, 1903 in Vilkaviskis, Lithuania - ?, but possibly (1897-1974) was a Jewish...
. She is believed to be identified in Soviet intelligence and in the VENONA files with the code name SLANG, where she is referenced as engaged in transmitting information and in other espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
tasks. According to Gregg Herken, SLANG is mentioned in two VENONA cables, one dated 21 June 1943 and the other dated 30 May 1944.
The Zlatovskis were indicted by a Federal grand jury on July 8, 1957, on charges of espionage. The couple was living in Paris at the time of their indictment, and denied the charges in a brief interview with the New York Times.
Time Magazine sensationally alleged in 1957 that the Zlatovskis became part of the Soble network in January 1940. At times they dealt directly with Soble, while on other occasions they are thought to have worked with Russian-born Hollywood producer Boris Morros
Boris Morros
Boris Morros was an American Communist Party member, Paramount Studios producer, Soviet agent, and FBI double agent.Morros was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and emigrated with his family to America in 1922...
, who later defected to U.S. counterintelligence agents. According to Morros, Jane and George Zlatovski were useful espionage agents and served a crucial role in the Soble spy network. As reported in Time, "in covert meetings in the U.S. and a dozen European cities (including Moscow) the Zlatovskis turned over to Morros a file-load of valuable information that was passed to Soviet intelligence." Her husband George (alleged code name RECTOR) was not as active as his wife, gathering mostly information on refugees for Soviet intelligence. As a team, the two allegedly collected information on the "sexual and drinking habits" of U.S. personnel stationed in Austria, apparently to blackmail recruitment of new agents for espionage activity.
After revelations of the Soble network appeared in the press in 1957, both Jane and George Zlatovski denied Morros' allegations. They remained in exile in Paris, France, where Foster reconnected with Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
and her husband, Paul
Paul Cushing Child
Paul Cushing Child is best known as the husband of world-renowned celebrity chef, Julia Child.-Early life:Child was born in Montclair, NJ on January 15, 1902 to Bertha Cushing and Charles Triplet Child. His twin brother was named Charles...
, both of whom had worked with Foster in the OSS. Although the U.S. government tried to extradite Foster and her husband, they were unable to do so. Although she continued to publically deny her involvement in espionage, it has been reported that she confessed to both French intelligence agents and to the Paris office of the FBI.
Her autobiography, An Un-American Lady, is a colorful account of an upper-class, expatriate socialite in the pre- and post-WWII era, and also recounts her involuntary detainment in the US, stalking by FBI and CIA agents, and description of McCarthy-era America.