Trotsky (44 page)

take Lyova’s place: Deutscher III, 329–30.

penetrate Trotsky’s household: Volkogonov, 445.

Chapter Six: Prisoners and Provocateurs

twenty trained men: Van, 18–19. On Blumkin, see
Legacy,
111; Christopher Andrew and Oleg Gordievsky,
KGB: The Inside Story
(HarperPerennial, 1991), 155; Kolpakidi, 119; Andrew & Mitrokhin, 40; Poretsky, 146–47.

“hire an assassin for a few dollars”: Lyova to Trotsky and Natalia, December 7, 1936, TEP 4863.

“question of life and death”…“they use in American banks”: Lyova to Trotsky [January 1937], TEP 4870.

authorized selected local Trotskyists: Van, 105, 133; Broué, 848.

Bernard Wolfe: Alan Wald, “Bernard Wolfe (1915–1985),” Glotzer papers, box 40.

disassembling and then reassembling the Luger: Bernard Wolfe,
Memoirs of a Not Altogether Shy Pornographer
(Doubleday & Company, 1972), 33–35.

events in Spain: Craig II, 639–45; Antony Beevor,
The Spanish Civil War
(Peter Bedrick Books, 1983).

Stalin had a complicated political agenda: Kolpakidi, 130–41; Andy Durgan,
The Spanish Civil War
(Palgrave, 2007), 66–70, 91–92.

May Days, Barcelona: Beevor, 187–91; Durgan, 92–97.

Erwin Wolf: Trotsky to George Novack and Felix Morrow, September 25, 1937, TEP 9431;
Writings,
9:508–12.

George Mink: Mink profile in Solow papers, box 11, “Spies” FBI, 2:33–34; Vernon L. Pedersen, “George Mink, the Marine Workers Industrial Union, and the Comintern in America,”
Labor History,
Vol. 41, No. 3, 2000; Kern, 57;
Venona Secrets,
106–10; Broué, 926; Whittaker Chambers,
Witness
(Random House, 1952), 302–3; Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 4, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

Blue House was on high alert: Hansen to James Cannon, October 26, 1937, TC 23:3; Trotsky to Jack Weber, December 1, 1937, TEP 10800; Harry Milton to Trotsky, October 11, 1937, TEP 3161.

GPU defector Ignace Reiss: [Jan Frankel] to Friend, October 25, 1937, TC 23:3. Harry Milton: Trotsky to James Cannon, October 3, 1937, TEP 7510; Albert Glotzer to Trotsky, November 3, 1937, Glotzer papers, box 3. “Gosh! Are you hit?” George Orwell,
Homage to Catalonia
(Beacon Press, 1955), 185–86.

organizing a hunger strike: Milton to Martin Abern, May 19 and May 21, 1937, TEP 15057, 15058.

generous contribution to the legend:
Time,
May 2, 1938.

“gangsterist activity”: Trotsky to Milton, November 6, 1937, Glotzer papers, box 2.

preempted Milton’s appointment: Jan Frankel to Natalia Trotsky, November 15, 1937, TC 26:14; also James Cannon to Trotsky, November 10, 1937, TEP 489; Trotsky to Cannon, November 14, 1937, TEP 7514; Hansen to Cannon, November 14, 1937, TC 23:3; Jack Weber to Hansen, November 28, 1937, TEP 7166.

“the O.M. is extremely restive”: Harold Isaacs to Comrades, July 3, 1937, Hansen papers 69:64.

“Milton, Stone matter”: Trotsky to Jack Weber, December 1, 1937, TEP 10800.

the new man be an experienced driver: Jan Frankel to Harold Isaacs, June 30, 1937, attached to Isaacs to Comrades, July 3, 1937, Hansen papers, 69:64.

“Fifty million Americans drive autos”: Cannon to Bernard Wolfe, August 11, 1937, TEP 6237.

Cannon failed to understand: Trotsky to Sara Weber, August 17, 1937, TEP 10822.

Hansen was born in the farming town: Hansen bio online on Lubitz Trotskyana Net, http://www.trotskyana.net/Trotskyists/Bio-Bibliographies/bio-bibliographies.html; Sara Weber to Trotsky, August 25, 1937, TEP 5887.

The Dodge got a hearty reception: Hansen to Cannon, September 30, 1937, TC 23:3; Hansen, “With Trotsky in Coyoacan,” viii-ix.

the Old Man could be very difficult: Hansen to Flo, October 18, 1937, Hansen papers, 5:26.

towering historical figure…“friendly terms with a volcano”: Hansen to Sara and Jack Weber, October 21, 1937, TEP 12490.

Fernández family in the suburb of Tacuba…“He will never learn!”: Van, 116.

“gave me hell”…“The driver is good”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, October 11, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:5.

“hairskin shaves from death”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, June 27, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:12.

“She kept crying as we drove along”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, September 16, 1940, Hansen papers, 19:4.

Trotsky behaved like a revisionist: Hansen to Reba Hansen, October 1, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:4.

“I never heard him make a remark about the food”: Van, 16.

“To dress up, to eat”: Van, 61.

two types of meals…“lost somewhere in the clouds”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 23, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

“coldness, silence, oppression”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, November 8, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:5.

visit to the doctor: Hansen to Reba Hansen, January 21, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:7.

Trotsky’s friendly jesting: Van, 17; Hansen to Reba Hansen, January 21, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:7.

“no laughter but of mockery”: Eastman,
Heroes,
249.

“a good deal like a prison”: Hansen to Reba, January 21, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:7.

Natalia, who was high-strung: Hansen to Reba Hansen, February 6, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:8.

warmer climes of her native Tampico: Hansen to Reba Hansen, December 8, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:6.

incident involved Van’s wife: Van, 116–17; Hansen to Reba Hansen, December 8, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:6; Feferman, 151–53.

Fernández family in Tacuba…“Damn, can they dance”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, December 13, 1937; and May 17 and June 12, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:6, 18:11, 18:12.

“heavy, powerful, accurate, sure action”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, October 13, 1937, Hansen papers, 18:4.

barking and howling of the neighborhood dogs: Hansen to Reba Hansen, March 2, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:9.

recruitment of a full-time guard: Van to Jan Frankel, February 4, 1938, TC 23:4; Hansen to Cannon, February 5, 1938 (twice), TC 23:4; Rose Karsner to Hansen, February 8, 1938, TEP 6653; Cannon to Hansen, February 14, 1938, TEP 6211; Van to Jan Frankel, February 16, 1938, TC 23:4.

authorized the hiring of the new guard: Van to Jan Frankel, February 22, 1938, TC 23:4.

garrison of three comrades: Jan Frankel to Van, February 22, 1938, TC 23:4.

gas masks: Van to Jan Frankel, February 22, 1938, TC 23:4.

The “Trial of the 21”: Cohen,
Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution
, 372–81; Deutscher III, 332–33; Jean-Jacques Marie,
Trotsky: Révolutionnaire sans frontières
(Payot & Rivages, 2006), 506–8, 549.

war room: Hansen to Reba Hansen, March 2, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:9.

“It all seems like a delirious dream”:
Writings,
10:201.

Dewey himself now denounced:
The New York Times
, March 4, 1938.

“a too easy victory to the G.P.U.”: Trotsky to Margaret de Silver, March 31, 1938, TEP 7673.

Hank Stone, the first chief of the guard: “Henry Malter dit Hank Stone (1908–1986),”
Cahiers Léon Trotsky,
No. 28, December 1986; Cannon to Trotsky, November 10, 1937, TEP 489; Jan Frankel to Natalia, November 15, 1937, TC 26:14.

hammer and nails: Stone to Jan Frankel, April 7 and April 16, 1938, TC 23:5.

“cobwebs inside the barrel”…“buying bananas”: Stone to Jan Frankel, April 7, 1938, TC 23:5.

$100 per month: Stone to Jan Frankel, May 17, 1938, TC 23:5.

Minneapolis became a Trotskyist stronghold: Farrell Dobbs,
Teamster Rebellion
(Monad Press, 1972); Charles Rumford Walker,
American City: A Rank-and-File History
(Farrar & Rinehart, 1937).

“big meaty fellow”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 15, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

absence of six teeth: Hansen to Reba Hansen, March 30, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:9.

first indication of trouble: Stone to Jan Frankel, March 16, 1938, TC 23:5.

“women’s work”…“go jump in a lake”: Stone to Jan Frankel, April 8, 1938, TC 23:5.

bread without butter: Hansen to Rose Karsner, April 4, 1938, TEP 11764.

“potatoes and gravy”: Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 23, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

Edith offered to cook: Hansen to Reba Hansen, April 21 and 22, 1938, Hansen papers 18:10; Stone to Jan Frankel, May 17 and May 21, 1938, TC 23:5.

“The Mink”:
Time,
May 2, 1938. Mink’s photo: Van to Pearl Kluger, April 21, 1938, TC 23:5.

“une maison de bourgeois”:
Van to Jan Frankel, May 30, 1938, TC 23:5.

Trotsky would erupt: Van to Jan Frankel, May 2, 1938, TC 23:5.

Hank’s demoralization was now complete: Stone to Jan Frankel, May 17, 1938, TC 23:5.

the goodbye was sad…Chris Moustakis: Hansen to Reba Hansen, June 12, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:12.

elaborate alarm system: Stone to Jan Frankel, May 31, 1938, TC 23:5.

effect of the floodlights: Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 11, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

two cedars and a pine: Hansen to Reba Hansen, February 6, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:8.

more permanent structure made of bricks: Hansen to Reba Hansen, May 11, 1938, Hansen papers, 18:11.

“getting fed up with the entire matter”: Sara Weber to Rose Karsner, August 8, 1938, TC 23:6.

Rudolf Klement: Deutscher III, 330–31; Sara Weber to John G. Wright [Joseph Vanzler], July 17, 1938, TEP 12568; Hansen to Rose Karsner, July 21, 1938, TC 23:5;
Writings,
11:24–25, 137.

theft of Trotsky’s archives: Broué,
Léon Sedov,
172–74; Deutscher III, 283–85.

a tense meeting to sort the matter out: Volkogonov, 426; Poretsky, 250–54.

“I am sending you 103 letters”: Dmitri Volkogonov,
Trotskii: Politicheskii portret,
Vol. 2 (Novosti, 1994), 274–75.

Zborowski regularly supplied Moscow: Volkogonov, 358–61, 370–73, 378–80; Volkogonov papers, reel 2; Broué,
Léon Sedov,
210–11.

“we have dreamed about getting hold of it”: Volkogonov, 448.

September 6 in Reims, France: Étienne and Paulsen to International Secretariat, February 22, 1938, TEP 15642.

Trotsky was incensed at Sneevliet: Trotsky to International Secretariat, September 30, 1937, TEP 8052; Trotsky to Comrades, September 30, 1937, TC 12:18; Trotsky to Elsa Reiss [Poretsky], October 13, 1937, TEP 9783; Trotsky to Sneevliet, December 2, 1937, TEP 10422;
Writings,
9:448–51, 459–60, 492–95; 10:146–47, 150–52.

staff member at the Soviet embassy: Walter Krivitsky,
In Stalin’s Secret Service,
2nd ed. (Harper & Brothers, 1939), 253.

Sneevliet’s misgivings came to focus on Zborowski: Deutscher III, 316.

Walter Krivitsky: Kern, 147
et passim;
Poretsky, 220
et passim.

“There is a dangerous agent in your party”: Poretsky, 252–53.

Krivitsky was wary of the Trotskyists: Deutscher III, 317.

Trotsky, the man, was a formidable figure: Jan Frankel to Trotsky, July 12, 1939, TEP 1279.

Père Lachaise cemetery: Kern, 155–56.

He used his position as “Sonny’s” successor: Étienne and Paulsen to International Secretariat, February 22 and June 24, 1938, TEP 15642, 15643; Étienne and Paulsen to Trotsky, November 11, 1937, TEP 879; Deutscher III, 329–31.

outraged at the “slanderer”: Deutscher III, 329; Trotsky to International Secretariat, March 12, 1938, TEP 8058.

most devoted comrade: Étienne to Natalia [February 1938], TEP 13396.

“This is to your credit”: Volkogonov, 445.

“to get to the
OLD MAN
”: Volkogonov, 444; Volkogonov,
Trotskii,
307.

his letter to Van: Marie,
Trotsky,
503.

Trotsky received a letter: TEP 2321, TC 13:40.

helped confirm Sneevliet in his suspicion: Etienne and Paulsen to Trotsky, November 11, 1937, TEP, 879; Deutscher III, 330–31.

suspicions about Serge: Elsa Reiss [Poretsky] to Trotsky, November 7, 1938, TEP 4245.

“The sooner, the more decisively”: Trotsky to Dear Friends, December 2, 1938, TEP 7729.

a letter arrived at the Blue House: TEP 6137; TC 13:63; Deutscher III, 331–32.

“extremely confidential, extremely important”: TEP 8105; TC 12:25.

Alexander Orlov:
Deadly Illusions;
on the NKVD purges in Spain: Andrew & Mitrokhin, 73; Kolpakidi, 138;
Deadly Illusions,
268, 279–80, 287–89; Andrew and Gordievsky,
KGB: The Inside Story,
158–60.

The fatal summons:
Deadly Illusions,
301.

listed all the secrets he could reveal:
Deadly Illusions,
308–12, 430.

Trotsky published the ad:
Socialist Appeal,
January 14 and February 4, 1939.

mysterious correspondent was Krivitsky: Trotsky to Vanzler [John G. Wright], January 21, 1939, TEP 10927.

Cannon’s secretary was an informant for the GPU:
Venona
, 262–63.

“Long live Trotsky!”:
Legacy,
112.

Ramón Mercader: Kolpakidi, 156–57.

Chapter Seven: Fellow Travelers

“Looking as mischievous as an art student”: Van, 132.

Breton was the leader of Surrealism: Polizzotti,
Revolution of the Mind.

published a laudatory review…
Planet without a Visa:
Polizzotti, 245–47, 399–400; Broué, 898.

European branch of the Dewey Commission: Polizzotti, 435–36; Gérard Roche, “La rencontre de l’aigle et du lion: Trotsky, Breton et le manifeste de México,”
Cahiers Léon Trotsky,
No. 25, March 1986, 25 [hereafter: Roche].

Van arranged…Meyer Schapiro: Roche, 26; Van, 121.

He wrote extensively about literary fiction: Knei-Paz, 454–75; Deutscher I, 39–46; Deutscher, II, 150–168; Howe, 94–102.

“The novel is our daily bread”: Dugrand, 34.

“miracle of reincarnation”: Knei-Paz, 460.

a group called Proletcult: Edward J. Brown,
Russian Literature Since the Revolution
(Collier Books, 1969), 136–40; Knei-Paz, 289–96; Deutscher II, 139–42, 150–51.

“We Marxists have always lived in tradition”: Leon Trotsky,
Literature and Revolution
(Haymarket Books, 2005), 115; for this particular quotation I have used the translation in Deutscher III, 154.