Jack Strong aka Ryszard KukliΕ„ski: Cold War traitor or hero?
In 1972, the US Embassy in West Germany received a letter in broken English from a Polish colonel. For the next 10 years, he worked as a secret agent code-named Jack Strong.
During the 1970s, the US and Soviet Union were engaged in the Cold War.
The US, along with other Western countries, was a member of Nato, while the Soviet Union joined forces with central and eastern European countries in the Warsaw Pact.
After becoming frustrated with the way the Soviets controlled his country, Ryszard KukliΕ„ski, a Polish colonel, wrote to the US Embassy in Bonn, West Germany.
For the next 10 years, he would feed the CIA tens of thousands of pages of classified military secrets.
Aris Pappas, a CIA agent who analysed Ryszard's intel, speaks to George Crafer about his memories of this forgotten hero.
(Photo: Jack Strong aka Ryszard KukliΕ„ski. Credit: AP)
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Fri 26 Jan 2024 08:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Fri 26 Jan 2024 12:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service
- Fri 26 Jan 2024 18:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Fri 26 Jan 2024 23:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 27 Jan 2024 03:50GMTΒι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
Podcast
-
Witness History
History as told by the people who were there