The secret behind this World Tourists “Passport”

Accidentally, I stumbled over this “Passport”.  I knew it wasn’t really a passport, but what was World Tourists Inc. I dug deeper and found this… World Tourists Passport Secret

World Tourists, Inc. World Tourists Passport Secret

In the shadows of 1927, an undercover agency, World Tourists, Inc.s, silently unrolled its mysterious banner. Initially conceived as a mere economic venture under the auspices of the Communist Party, little did the world know. This seemingly harmless travel agency would weave itself into the secret complexity of espionage. Becoming a covert link where propaganda tours to the Soviet Union were orchestrated with finesse.

Within the hidden corridors of World Tourists, Inc.s, a figure loomed in the shadows, poised at the heart of this enigmatic enterprise. Jacob Golos, a name yet to echo through the annals of secrecy, would later become intimately entwined with this covert agency on American soil.

Originally conceived as a financial arm to subsidize the Communist Party’s press, the agency evolved beyond its economic roots. It morphed into a covert channel, smoothing the passage for party officials and Soviet agents traveling between the USSR and the US, all concealed beneath the line of deceptive falsified documentation.

As the ink on these covert pages dried, World Tourists, Inc.s became a silent orchestrator, steering the course of propaganda and shadowy exchanges between nations, with Jacob Golos silently threading his way through the intricate dance of espionage.

Jacob Golos World Tourists Passport Secret

Originally named Yakov Naumovich Reizen, was a Ukrainian-born Bolshevik revolutionary turned intelligence operative in the United States, acting on behalf of the USSR. A pivotal figure in the founding of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), Golos immersed himself in the clandestine activities of Soviet intelligence agencies around 1930. His involvement extended to obtaining American passports through deceptive means and orchestrating the recruitment and coordination of a wide network of agents.

Head of World Tourists

Heading World Tourists, Golos made annual visits to the Soviet Union starting in 1932 to participate in commemorations of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. Serendipitously, this provided him with the chance to bring his Russian-born wife and American-born son to the Soviet Union in 1936, facilitating his son’s receipt of a “Soviet education.” Subsequently, in 1937, both his wife and son acquired Soviet citizenship.

The final visit occurred in 1937, coinciding with the peak of the Ezhovshchina, also known as the Great Purge—a massive campaign led by Stalin involving secret police terror. During this period, millions of Soviet citizens suspected of political disloyalty, espionage, or economic crimes were arrested, and hundreds of thousands were executed. Countless others were sent to the harsh labor camps of the Gulag. World Tourists Passport Secret

Upon returning to the United States in January 1938, Golos confirmed, during a session of the governing Political Committee of the American Communist Party, the existence of a large-scale secret police operation in the USSR. Despite these revelations, Golos appeared to maintain unwavering faith in the communist cause in the aftermath.

Espionage Activity

Starting in 1940, Golos fell under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Agent Registration Act. Although he continued his activities with the NKVD, he operated with the awareness that he was likely under FBI surveillance. Moscow, concerned about the possibility of his arrest, made efforts to persuade him to return to Russia.

Despite being fully cognizant of Stalin’s purges and haunted by the fear of facing the Gulag or execution upon returning to the Soviet Union, Golos not only declined to share his sources with other NKVD officers but also informed them that he had concealed a sealed envelope containing details of the USSR’s espionage operations in America. World Tourists Passport Secret

In 1941, Golos established a commercial forwarding enterprise named the U.S. Shipping and Service Corporation. He appointed Elizabeth Bentley, his assistant, courier, and lover, as one of its officers. The two occupied a suite in the Commodore Hotel in New York City, situated across the street from Amtorg (first trade representation of the Soviet Union in the United States).

Ernest Hemingway

According to Vassiliev’s notes, in the latter part of 1940, Golos enlisted the services of the author Ernest Hemingway, designating him with the code name “Argo.” Hemingway had volunteered to engage in clandestine work on behalf of the Soviets.

Manhattan Project World Tourists Passport Secret

In 1942, Golos transferred a Communist cell of engineers recruited by Julius Rosenberg into direct contact with Soviet intelligence operatives in New York. The cell provided information on the newest developments in electrical and radio engineering to the XY Line of the NKGB foreign intelligence. The XY Line accordingly began efforts to infiltrate the Manhattan Project, in an operation code-named ENORMOUS (ENORMOZ).

Death

Golos experienced a sequence of heart attacks in the early 1940s. His life ended on November 27, 1943, with a fatal heart attack while sleeping next to Elizabeth Bentley. After Golos’s death, Bentley sought a confidential file he kept as a safeguard against recall to Russia. She ultimately destroyed this file. With Golos’s demise, Bentley assumed control of his espionage operations.

The World Tourists “Passport” World Tourists Passport Secret

The document was listed on eBay with a starting price of $9.99 and fetched surprisingly $77.

Amtorg

was crucial for the USSR in negotiating contracts with major American companies. These included Ford Motor Company, General Electric, International Harvester, Albert Kahn, Inc., Hugh L. Cooper, Arthur G. McKee, Freyn Engineering, DuPont de Nemours, and Radio Corporation of America. Amtorg seized the opportunity presented by the dire state of the American economy during the Great Depression. Over a hundred other companies were also engaged during the first five-year plan.

The USSR passport of Sergei Chekhonin…

 

Tom Topol | Passport Historian & Author
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