Flora Wovschin

Flora Wovschin
Born
Flora Don Wovschin

(1923-02-20)February 20, 1923
New York City, U.S.
Disappeared20 September 1945(1945-09-20) (aged 22)
StatusMissing for 80 years, 7 months and 9 days
MotherMaria Wicher

Flora Don Wovschin (born 20 February 1923, disappeared 20 September 1945) was a suspected Soviet spy[1][2][3] who later renounced her American citizenship.

Biography

Wovschin was born in New York City. Her mother was Maria Wicher and her stepfather was Enos Regnet Wicher.[2] She attended Barnard College and the University of Wisconsin–Madison. At Barnard, she was active in the American Students Union.[1] She attended Barnard College with Marion Berdecio and Judith Coplon, both of whom Wovschin later recruited into service for the NKVD.[2]

From 9 September 1943 to 20 February 1945, she worked in the Office of War Information, then transferred to the Department of State. She resigned from the State Department on 20 September 1945. Wovschin acted as courier between Coplon and Soviet intelligence. Wovschin transmitted to the Soviet Union information that the Americans had somehow become aware of NKVD internal codenames for various American institutions, including CLUB, HOUSE, BANK and CABARET, as used in the NKVD's most secret communications.

After the war, she renounced her American citizenship and travelled to the Soviet Union in 1946 or 1947 where she married an engineer. An FBI counterintelligence report on Wovschin has a hand-written note in the margin stating she may have died serving as a nurse in North Korea. The Venona project dedicated to US counterintelligence states her code name in Soviet intelligence was "Zora".[1]

See also

  • List of people who disappeared mysteriously: 1910–1990

References

  1. ^ a b c "HISTORY Flora Wovschin — Codename ZORA — Was The Most Active Soviet Spy But Not The Most Valuable Agent of Influence at WWII Voice of America – BBG and USAGM Watch". Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  2. ^ a b c Curator. "A Stalin Peace Prize Laureate Still Waiting for Acknowledgement of His Soviet Agent of Influence Role at Voice of America – Cold War Radio Museum". Retrieved 2025-06-13.
  3. ^ Curator. "Voice of America Freelancer Who Promoted Stalin's Propaganda Lie on Katyn Massacre – Cold War Radio Museum". Retrieved 2025-06-13.
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