Portland spy ring

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/portland-spy-ring

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the espionage network?Portland spy ring
2. What is the operational period?1953-1961
3. Who were the main people in the ring?The ring had five members: Harry Houghton and Ethel Gee, who worked at the facility; Konon Molody, a KGB spy who pretended to be a Canadian named Gordon Lonsdale; and Lona and Morris Cohen, who were American communists living in the UK and used New Zealand passports.
4. What secret information were they trying to steal?They wanted to get details about underwater weapons and submarine technology that Britain was developing, so the Soviet Union could learn how to build better submarines.

Cold War: A period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies from the mid-20th century.
Deep Cover: A clandestine operation where an agent assumes a false identity and lives as if it were real for an extended period.
Counter-intelligence: Activities undertaken to detect, prevent, and neutralize hostile intelligence operations and espionage.
Geopolitical: Relating to politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical factors.