Allen Dulles: superb master spy

Spokesman Magazine, July, 2006 by Dennis Casey

As Germany, Japan and Italy pursued imperialistic policies, Donovan continued his campaign in the United States. In June 1941, President Roosevelt met with Donovan and ordered officials in the Bureau of the Budget to set up the Office of Coordinator of Information and fund it internally with $100 million in secret funds. From this base, the Office of Strategic Services would spring into life.

The attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941 prompted Donovan to drop his campaign and get the soon to be OSS into full operational capacity. Dulles was selected for the OSS office in New York City. His contacts in the business and academic communities were extensive and was needed to get a jump start.

For overseas intelligence gathering, Dulles first contacted prominent Germans he had befriended while he served on the Peace Commission at the end of World War I and those he knew as a lawyer. When the OSS became official in 1942, it was already functioning at nearly full capacity.

Based upon his past experiences, Donovan selected Switzerland to be the base from which agents could be sent into Nazi Germany. Shortly after, London, Bern and Madrid became the main stations for the OSS. Both Spain and Switzerland were neutral, and American intelligence at the outset of the war was closely tied to British intelligence. In time, the OSS would become less dependent on the British, but in its first year, the tie was a close one.

It soon became evident Switzerland was the only place belligerents could meet in one location. Switzerland quickly became a hot bed of intelligence activities.

Dulles, accordingly, set up OSS operations in Bern. He felt this would place him close to the center of action. His living quarters acquired the reputation of a place to collect information about the war. Not only were German agents watching the site, but the British were as well.

From this apartment, Dulles built a strong relationship with Swiss intelligence officials who helped him make contacts in Europe. Swiss neutrality provided Dulles ample latitude in carrying out his spy activities.

During this period Dulles began two distinct resistance organizations in France. American funds helped pay for spying and espionage activities. His support of a "maquis" cell paid handsome dividends on D-Day and immediately afterwards.

Resistance participants tied to Dulles pinpointed German locations, sabotaged German transportation, attacked road emplacements and undertook tasks to help the allies.

Before long, the communications traffic coming out of Bern to the U.S. State Department under Dulles's signature attracted attention. As many as 150 items per day arrived in Washington, and most contained multiple entries.

Overall, these messages represented a timely and comprehensive overview of intelligence activities in Europe and within the Third Reich.

Even though the Gestapo deciphered much of the State Department traffic, it was still of considerable value as the intelligence was not yet known in the United States.