Edith Tudor-Hart (''née'' Suschitzky; 28 August 1908 – 12 May 1973) was an Austrian-British photographer and spy for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Brought up in a family of socialists, she trained in photography at

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

, and carried her political ideals through her art. Through her connections with

Arnold Deutsch Arnold Deutsch (1903–1942?), variously described as Austrian, Czech or Hungarian, was an academic who worked in London as a Soviet spy, best known for having recruited Kim Philby. Much of his life remains unknown or disputed. Early life H ...

, Tudor-Hart was instrumental in the recruiting of the

Cambridge Spy ring The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the Cold War and was active from the 1930s until at least the early 1950s. None of the known members were e ...

which damaged British intelligence from

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

until the security services discovered all their identities by the mid-1960s. She recommended Litzi Friedmann and

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secr ...

for recruitment by the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

and acted as an intermediary for

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University ...

and Bob Stewart when the ''

rezidentura A resident spy in the world of espionage is an agent operating within a foreign country for extended periods of time. A base of operations within a foreign country with which a resident spy may liaise is known as a "station" in English and a (, 'r ...

'' at the Soviet Embassy in London suspended its operations in February 1940.The Guardian", 21 August 2015, ''How MI5 failed to expose matriarch of Cambridge spy ring'' by Ian Cobain
/ref>

Early life and education

Her father, Wilhelm Suschitzky (1877–1934), was a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

who was born into the Jewish community in Vienna, but had renounced Judaism and become an atheist. He opened the first

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

bookshop in Vienna (later to become a publishers). Tudor-Hart's brother, a filmmaker and a photographer like his sister,

Wolfgang Suschitzky Wolfgang Suschitzky, BSC (29 August 1912 – 7 October 2016), was an Austrian-born British documentary photographer, as well as a cinematographer perhaps best known for his collaboration with Paul Rotha in the 1940s and his work on Mike Hodge ...

described their father as "a great man. I realised that later on in life, not so much when I saw him every day. But, I met interesting people, some of his authors who came and had lunch with us or met people who came to his shop." Suschitzky recalled boyhood memories of the family excitement that greeted the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

in 1917. She studied photography at the

in 1928 before working in Vienna, taking photographs of working class districts while a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

teacher. An

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activist and Communist, she saw photography as a tool for disseminating her political ideas. Her brother also became a well-known photographer and

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

in Britain. He cited his sister as an influence on his decision to pursue an artistic career over a scientific one. In 1933 she married medical doctor Alex Tudor-Hart, whom she had met in 1925. She was described "by those who knew her in her youth as immensely vivacious, amusing, curious, and gifted". The couple fled to London, England in 1933, so that she could avoid prosecution and persecution in Austria for her Communist activities and Jewish background.

South Wales

Following her marriage, she moved to

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

where her husband practised as a GP in the area of

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'la ...

, she began to produce photographs for '' The Listener'', ''

Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung ''Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung'' or ''AIZ'' (in English, ''The Workers Pictorial Newspaper'') was a German illustrated magazine published between 1924 and March 1933 in Berlin, and afterward in Prague and finally Paris until 1938. Anti-Fascism ...

'', ''

Der Kuckuck ''Der Kuckuck'' (German: ''The Cuckoo'') was a weekly leftist political magazine which was published in Vienna between 1929 and 1934. It was one of the publications affiliated with the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SDAP). The magazine is know ...

'', '' The Social Scene'' and '' Design Today'', dealing with issues such as refugees from the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

in the north-east of England. From the late 1930s, she concentrated more on social needs, such as housing policy and the care of disabled children. This change in work may have been because after separation from her husband who had just returned from the

, their son, Tommy, developed

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

Spying activities

Tudor-Hart was instrumental in recruiting members of the

, which damaged British intelligence from

through to its discovery in the late 1960s. While working as a photographer she also acted as a courier. Her rather unsubtle codename was "Edith". Tudor-Hart had met

in Vienna in 1926, and with him she worked in the OMS, the International Liaison Department of the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

. Tudor-Hart was placed under

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

after October 1931 when she was observed attending a demonstration in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

. Tudor-Hart was of interest because of her friendship with Litzi Friedmann, made when she moved to London. Arnold Deutsch discussed with Edith and Litzi the recruitment of Soviet spies. Litzi suggested her husband,

with whom she had arrived in London from Vienna in May 1934. Tudor-Hart had spotted him as a potential Communist agent during his stay in Vienna, where he was a sympathiser of the Social Democrats who waged a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

against the government of

Engelbert Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Federal State of Austria, Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and ...

. According to her report on Philby's file, through her own contacts with the Austrian underground Tudor Hart ran a swift check for the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and, when this proved positive introduced him to "Otto" (Deutsch's code name). Deutsch immediately recommended... "that he pre-empt the standard operating procedure by authorising a preliminary personal sounding out of Philby." She also helped to recruit Arthur Wynn in 1936. She acted as an intermediary for

and Bob Stewart when the ''rezidentura'' at the Soviet Embassy in London suspended its operations in February 1940. In 1938–39 Burgess used her to contact Russian intelligence in Paris.

Later life

She separated from her husband and had a breakdown. After the Second World War, she opened an antique shop in Brighton. She died of stomach cancer in Brighton on 12 May 1973.

Bibliography

* * Catalogue for an exhibition in Edinburgh, Vienna, and Berlin * * *

Exhibitions

* 1987: ''Edith Tudor Hart. A Retrospective (1930–1952)'', Liverpool * 2013: ''Edith Tudor-Hart. In the Shadow of Tyranny'',

National Galleries Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

, Edinburgh * 2020: ''Edith Tudor-Hart. Moving & Growing'', FOTOHOF>ARCHIV, Salzburg * 2024: ''Edith Tudor-Hart. A Steady Eye in Turbulent Times''. Curated by Stefanie Pirker. FOTOHOF, Salzburg

Documentary film

*''Tracking Edith'' (2016), written and directed by

Peter Stephan Jungk Peter Stephan Jungk (born December 19, 1952, in Santa Monica, California) is an American German-speaking novelist. Life Jungk is the son of futurologist Robert Jungk. He grew up in the United States and after 1957 in Vienna. From 1968 to 1970 he ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tudor-Hart, Edith 1908 births 1973 deaths 20th-century British photographers 20th-century Austrian women artists 20th-century British women photographers Bauhaus alumni Austrian communists Austrian spies for the Soviet Union British spies for the Soviet Union World War II spies for the Soviet Union Austrian women photographers Jewish emigrants from Austria after the Anschluss to the United Kingdom Women spies 20th-century Austrian photographers