Michał Goleniewski | The Rise and Fall of the CIA's Most Valuable Cold War Spy

Listen to this episode from True Life Spy Stories on Spotify. Ways to support the podcast:Buy Me a Coffee: ☕ https://bmc.link/philipthompsonDonate via PayPal: 💸 paypal.me/PhilipT284When a man calling himself “HECKENSCHÜTZE”, or “Sniper” in German wrote a letter to the US Embassy in Bern in April 1958, the West had no idea of the scale and magnitude of the revelations that would soon follow.The mysterious writer insisted that he would deal only with Director of the FBI J Edgar Hoover. From the outset, the relationship between spy and spy master was built on a lie. The CIA took over the running of the operation, all the while masquerading as the Bureau.The Agency soon realised that their informant was not just another spy. They deduced that he was a senior member of Polish intelligence with access to an unprecedented level of top secret Soviet information. As time went on, Agent Sniper became arguably the most valuable asset the West had during the early to mid-phase of the Cold War. Agent Sniper exposed 1,693 communist spies, agents and informants operating covertly within the apparatus of Western intelligence. Behind the mask of 'Agent Sniper' was Colonel Michal nzGoleniewski. He was a complex figure and an expert at compartmentalising his multiple identities. His story is however not just one of daring espionage; it's also a tale of deception, paranoia, and a bizarre descent into delusion. The country he risked everything to help exploited his flaws, the CIA driving him so far down the rabbit hole that he ultimately lost his mind. This is the tale of Michał Goleniewski, the spy who was left out in the cFurther reading:📕 Agent Sniper: The Cold War Superagent and the Ruthless Head of the CIA, Tim Tate - https://amzn.to/4ishMrA📕 The Spy Who Would Be Tsar: The Mystery of Michal Goleniewski and the Far-Right Underground, Kevin Coogan - https://amzn.to/4ishMrA#philipthompson #truelifespystories #agentsniper