Lea Schiavi
Encyclopedia
Lea Schiavi was an Italian anti-fascist journalist. She was married to American war journalist Winston Burdett
. She died in the line of duty at the hands of Russian soldiers.
. While the murder was never solved it is believed to be, based on a story told by Burdett, that the murder was directly related to Burdett's no longer spying for the Soviet Union
due to his ongoing disillusionment with Communism
.
The story Burdett told was that his wife was working in South Persia, reporting from Kurdistan, when her vehicle was stopped by a truck full of Russian soldiers. The soldiers immediately started specifically asking if she was in the car. When they found out she was, she was killed instantly. Burdett believed she was killed because she had uncovered links between military training camps in Iran and an upcoming communist coup in Yugoslavia.
Schiavi's murder partly influenced Burdett to testify about his espionage
before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee.
Winston Burdett
Winston Burdett was an American broadcast journalist and correspondent for the CBS Radio Network during World War II and later for CBS television news. He was born in Buffalo, New York. From 1937-1942 he was involved with the Communist Party...
. She died in the line of duty at the hands of Russian soldiers.
The Murder
Schiavi was murdered by undetermined assailants in South Persia in 1942 while her husband was reporting in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. While the murder was never solved it is believed to be, based on a story told by Burdett, that the murder was directly related to Burdett's no longer spying for the Soviet Union
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....
due to his ongoing disillusionment with Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.
The story Burdett told was that his wife was working in South Persia, reporting from Kurdistan, when her vehicle was stopped by a truck full of Russian soldiers. The soldiers immediately started specifically asking if she was in the car. When they found out she was, she was killed instantly. Burdett believed she was killed because she had uncovered links between military training camps in Iran and an upcoming communist coup in Yugoslavia.
Schiavi's murder partly influenced Burdett to testify about his 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...
before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee.