Hiss movie trial#

When Charles's brother John died suddenly at the age of 33, Charles assumed financial and emotional responsibility for his brother's widow and six children in addition to his own expanding family. He did well, becoming an executive and stockholder. Shortly after his marriage at age 24, Charles Hiss entered the business world and joined the dry goods importing firm Daniel Miller and Co.

Minnie Hughes had attended teacher's college and was active in Baltimore society. Hiss's paternal great-great-grandfather had emigrated from Germany in 1729, married well, and changed his surname from 'Hesse' to 'Hiss'.

Both parents came from substantial Baltimore families who could trace their roots to the middle of the eighteenth century. Hiss himself maintained his innocence until his death in 1996.Īlger Hiss was one of five children born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Mary 'Minnie' Lavinia (née Hughes) and Charles Alger Hiss. Author Anthony Summers argued in 2000 that since many relevant files continue to be unavailable, the Hiss controversy will continue to be debated, with political divisions marking belief in Hiss's innocence or guilt. In the 1990s, two former senior Soviet military officers responsible for the Soviet Union's military intelligence archives stated, following a search of those archives, that the 'Russian intelligence service has no documents proving that Alger Hiss cooperated with our service somewhere or anywhere,' and that Hiss 'never had any relationship with Soviet intelligence.' The 1995 Venona Papers provided evidence for the theory that Hiss was a Soviet spy. Since Hiss's conviction, statements by involved parties and newly exposed evidence have added to the dispute. After a mistrial due to a hung jury, Hiss was tried a second time, and in January 1950 he was found guilty and received two concurrent five-year sentences, of which he eventually served three and a half years.Īrguments about the case and the validity of the verdict took center stage in broader debates about the Cold War, McCarthyism, and the extent of Soviet espionage in the United States. A federal grand jury indicted Hiss on two counts of perjury. During the pretrial discovery process of the libel case, Chambers produced new evidence allegedly indicating that he and Hiss had been involved in espionage. Hiss categorically denied the charge and subsequently sued Chambers for libel. Communist Party member, testified under subpoena before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) that Hiss had secretly been a communist while in federal service. On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a former U.S. In later life, he worked as a lecturer and author.

Hiss movie trial#

Before the trial Hiss was involved in the establishment of the United Nations, both as a U.S. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in connection with this charge in 1950. Honorary degree from Johns Hopkins ( LL.D 1947) Īlger Hiss (Novem– November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Bosley Hiss, brother Donald Hiss, brother Anna Hiss, sister Mary Ann Hiss, sister