Harold Glasser - Transfer To GRU

Transfer To GRU

Harold Glasser joined the United States Department of Treasury in 1936 and became its assistant director of the Division of Monetary Research by late 1938. In 1937, J. Peters transferred Glasser to the Soviet Main Intelligence Directorate (Glavnoe Razvedyvatel'noe Upravlenie) or GRU in order to report on Harry Dexter White's cooperation with Soviet intelligence (Soviet case officer Boris Bykov had pressured Whittaker Chambers on the subject of White's intelligence production). Glasser, the number two man in the division beneath White, reported back that as far as he could discern, White was providing everything of importance.

In 1940, Glasser was appointed Chief American economic adviser to Ecuador through a joint program of the Treasury and U.S. Department of State. In December 1941, the Secret Service forwarded a report to Harry Dexter White indicating that it had evidence Glasser was involved in Communist activities. White never acted on the report. Glasser continued to serve in Ecuador until 1942.

After America became involved in World War II, Glasser received appointments to higher-level positions, such as Vice-Chairman of the War Production Board, was dispatched to serve as economic adviser to American forces in North Africa, U.S. Treasury representative to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and Treasury representative to the Allied High Commission in Italy.