Melita Norwood, born Sirnis (* 25. March 1912 in Pokesdown, Dorset; "† 2 June 2005) was a British secretary of the British research association for non-ferrous metals, more than 40 years for the NKWD, the GPU, which spied MGB (Soviet Ministry for public security) and the KGB.

Norwood was born as a daughter of a lettischen father and a British nut/mother. The father reprinted articles of Lenin and Trotzki in the newspaper The Southern Worker and labour and Socialist journal published by him and distributed her to local of members of the communist party, so that its house admits soon as Russian colony was. After the Itchen Secondary School studied it in Southampton one year latin and logic, before she went to London, in order to accept a work.

Into the 1930er it joined years the Independent labour party. When this divided 1936, she joined the British communist party, without which this admits ever became. 1935 were recommended it by Andrew Rothstein, to one the founder of the communist party, the NKWD, the forerunner organization of the KGB. At this time she worked already 5 years at the research association as a secretary. In the same year, 1935 married it her married man Hilary, a mathematics teacher and functionary of the teacher trade union. 1937 bought it with it the simple double house half in Bexleyheath, to a southern suburb of London, where she led a completely life, in its garden herumwerkelte, apples cultivated and jam cooked.

At the beginning of belonged it an espionage ring in the Woolwich arsenal on, by which three members were arrested however in January 1938 and condemned to three months prison. MI5 had however missed to evaluate a ring binder of the director/conductor of the espionage ring Percy Glading. When by the cleaning waves in Moscow the NKWD could not lead it temporarily any longer, she took over the GPU, the military secret service of the Soviet Union. On many discreet ways it conveyed documents of extreme security classification for British atom bomb research, at that time as tube Alloys designation, which went over its desk as a secretary of the director of institute. The documents made possible for the Soviet Union to copy a copy of the British bomb within a yearly and to catch up their technological arrears within two years. It was led in the course of its long agent activity under different pseudonyms, last "Hola ". 1965 identified it the British Security service, did however to cross-examine it in order not to uncover its methods of investigation. 1972 went it into pension. 1979 were it for the last time in the Soviet Union. 1986 died their married man, who disapproved its betrayal, but had been silent time life over it. Nobody had otherwise ever received from it, not even its daughter.

1992 changed the former chief archivist of the KGB Wassili Mitrochin the sides and brought a long list of Soviet agents in the west also. On their was also Melita Norwood, which was however never sued by the MI5 or a public prosecutor, because one decided itself after longer discussion not to stir up the case again. Norwood regarded itself not as a spy, possessed no guilty knowledge, since she held the point of view, who was Soviet Union a recent experiment, which operates nutrition, education and health care for its citizens and from the USA and Great Britain is threatened by the atomic and hydrogen bomb. It only wanted to help to manufacture their equalness. Their motives, its political convictions and its life-style differed strongly from Cambridge Five. It refused to last accepting agent wages. Excellently with the red banner, the highest KGB medal, it was one of the most valuable agents of the KGB during the cold war.

See also

Anthony Blunt, Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, John Cairncross, George Blake, Profumo affair

Related links

• Melita Norwood: A secret life - BBC news 1999 (in English)
• A Portrait "the Time "of Melita Norwood (in English)
• Report of the Frontpage of magazine (in English)

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