FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era in the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation: History World War II and Postwar Era
Introduction to FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era
With the rise of fascist movements in Europe during the late 1930s and the continuing Great Depression in the United States, many policy makers feared the spread of fascism and Communism in the United States. In 1936 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with the cooperation of the State Department, secretly directed Hoover to investigate “subversive” movements in the United States. Three years later Roosevelt issued another secret directive giving the FBI the authority to investigate espionage, counterespionage, and related activities. The Smith Act of 1940, which outlawed the advocacy of the violent overthrow of the American government, also expanded the range of activities investigated by the FBI. During World War II (1939-1945), FBI agents tracked suspected spies, investigated sabotage, and pursued draft violators and military deserters. The FBI Laboratory cooperated with other federal agencies to decipher coded messages sent by enemy forces and governments abroad.
After the end of World War II, many American leaders believed that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and Communism posed the greatest threat to American interests. As the United States and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War, the FBI shifted its focus to domestic security, escalating its counterintelligence activities and its monitoring of Communist groups and sympathizers. It arrested many leaders of the U.S. Communist Party, who were then prosecuted under the Smith Act. The FBI investigated allegations of disloyalty among federal employees in response to executive orders from Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight Eisenhower. By leaking information in confidential FBI files, the agency also provided covert assistance to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) in the late 1940s and later to Senator Joseph McCarthy, who charged that Communists had infiltrated the U.S. government. Throughout this period, the FBI monitored suspected Soviet agents and worked to thwart their efforts to recruit Americans as spies. Its most famous spy case involved Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were arrested by the FBI in 1950 for espionage. The two were convicted of passing to the Soviet Union secret information about the design of atomic weapons, and they were executed in 1953.
Many critics believe the FBI’s heavy emphasis on counterintelligence operations during World War II and the Cold War came at the expense of criminal investigations. The FBI spent much of its time recovering stolen cars, apprehending military deserters, and chasing down minor government thieves so Hoover could show Congress that the agency was making a high number of arrests. At the same time, the FBI virtually ignored more serious threats, such as organized crime, corruption involving public officials, financial crime, and terrorism. Hoover shied away from undercover investigations and drug trafficking inquiries, fearing they might invite controversy. “Don’t embarrass the bureau” was his constant dictum and often led to cover-ups within the FBI.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
Guide to FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era
In this Section
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation Structure, FBI Jurisdiction and Investigative Responsibilities, FBI Agents, Law Enforcement Services, FBI Law Enforcement Services (including FBI Fingerprint Identification, FBI Laboratory, FBI Criminal Profiling, FBI Police Training, National Crime Information Center and Crime Statistics), FBI History (including FBI Early Years, Hoover Reforms, FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era, FBI Antiradical Activities, FBI Reform, Ruby Ridge, FBI Under Freeh and September 11 Attacks), FBI and the Patriot Act and National Lawyers Guild.