The ‘Enemy Within’ Left-wing Soviet Displaced Persons in Australia Ebony Nilsson A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2020 Statement of Originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Ebony Nilsson 27 November 2020 Author Attribution Statement This thesis contains material published in Ebony Nilsson, “On the Left: The Russian Social Club in Early Cold War Sydney,” Australian Historical Studies 50, 1 (2019): 63-80. The research for this article was undertaken as part of the research for this thesis. I am the sole author of the article. Ebony Nilsson 27 November 2020 As supervisor for the candidature upon which this thesis is based, I can confirm that the authorship attribution statements above are correct. Sheila Fitzpatrick 27 November 2020 Abstract In the wake of the Second World War, Soviet displaced persons (DPs) from Europe and Russians displaced from China were resettled across Western nations. Their migration coincided with the escalating geopolitical tensions of the early Cold War, which in an Australian context turned migrants of Soviet origin into potential ‘enemy aliens.’ Soviet DPs have generally been considered virulently anti-communist, as indeed many were. Others developed their anti-communist narratives as they negotiated displacement, emphasising beliefs which were expedient and keeping quiet about those that were not. But despite the pressures of the early Cold War, a minority of Soviet DPs actively engaged with left-wing politics after arriving in Australia. These DPs’ political activities resisted the Australian government’s expectations of migration assimilation. Their convictions oriented them back toward a Soviet homeland and resulted in dual loyalties which appeared dangerous in Cold War Australia. Thus, left-wing DPs negotiated not only politics, but state suspicion regarding their loyalties and the surveillance of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). This dissertation reconstructs the political and social experiences of individual Soviet DPs throughout the processes of displacement and migration. Through biography and individual experience, it traces the development of politics across continents and the interactions with intelligence which resulted. I argue that despite the Australian state’s expectation that migrants would assimilate and develop loyalty (solely) to their new home, some DPs maintained their dual loyalties and orientation toward an ‘enemy’ homeland, co-existing with attitudes to Australia that ranged from alienation to acceptance. Table of Contents Acknowledgments i Abbreviations iii Illustrations v Note on Transliteration v Introduction 1 Overview 20 Chapter One 31 The Russian Social Club Chapter Two 57 Boris: ‘I am a Soviet citizen and so I will stay’ Chapter Three 80 Jerzy: ‘A bloody migrant who thinks he can run a union’ Chapter Four 105 Juris: The Latvian Repatriate Chapter Five 126 Sasha: A Friend to the Rezident Chapter Six 154 Natalia & Lydia: Harbin Women in Sydney Chapter Seven 181 Jacob: ‘A Jew first and foremost’ Chapter Eight 207 Spies & Informants Conclusion 242 Bibliography 254 Acknowledgments It seems that it takes a village to raise a new historian. I am incredibly grateful to have worked under the supervision of Sheila Fitzpatrick. Her generous intellectual guidance, curiosity, careful reading of my work, and advice have been invaluable in the completion of this thesis and my development as an historian. For her generosity with her time, knowledge, and encouragement, I am tremendously thankful. Glenda Sluga’s careful engagement with my work and incisive questions have also been crucial and I am grateful for her continual encouragement and willingness to answer emails at all kinds of hours. I am thankful for Sophie Loy-Wilson’s indefatigable excitement regarding my work, her advice, and for treating me as a budding expert from the very beginning. I have also benefited significantly from the encouragement and advice provided by members of the University of Sydney’s History Department, particularly David Brophy, Mark McKenna, and Chris Hilliard. Without their generous intellectual engagement this dissertation would not be what it is today. The research for this thesis was made possible by funding from a University of Sydney Postgraduate Award (which I owe Frances Clarke an immense debt in assisting me to obtain), a John Frazer Travelling Scholarship, the University of Sydney’s Postgraduate Research Support Scheme, and the Tempe Mann Travelling Scholarship provided by the NSW Association of Graduate Women. It has been a privilege to be in the orbit of an accomplished research team working on an ARC Discovery Project on ‘China Russians,’ and I am grateful for the assistance, advice, and friendship of Jayne Persian, Ruth Balint, Justine Greenwood, and Ekaterina Heath. They have answered my questions, assisted with sources, and included me in their work and community throughout. I am similarly thankful for the assistance of Mara Moustafine and Elena Govor, whose knowledge of the Russian community in Australia is unmatched. To other scholars who have answered my queries, and provided helpful feedback and general comradeship throughout, particularly Alexandra Dellios, Phillip Deery, Evan Smith, Jon Piccini, Claire Wright, Rhys Crawley, Max Kaiser, and Simone Battiston, my grateful thanks. Sections of this thesis have been presented at the Sydney ‘China Russians’ conference in 2019, the Australian Historical Association’s Conferences in 2018 and 2019, the Australasian Association for European History’s Conference in 2019, UNSW Canberra’s Conflict and Society Seminar in 2019, the ‘Biographies and Politics’ Conference at POLIN Museum in Warsaw, 2019, and the University of Sydney’s History on Wednesday Seminar in 2020. I am deeply grateful for i the comments and feedback I received at these conferences and seminars. I also could not have conducted this research without the assistance of staff at the National Archives of Australia, NSW State Archives, the State Library of NSW, the National Library of Australia, the Noel Butlin Archives Centre at ANU, and the Sydney Jewish Museum Archive. I was generously welcomed by an Australia-Pacific History Writing Group during 2020 and am grateful to Meg Foster, Jarrod Hore, Michelle Bootcov, James Keating, Genevieve Dashwood, and Liam Kane for their friendship, and helpful comments and discussion of my work. To others I have met during the PhD journey who have made it such a joyful experience, including Jamie Dunk, Hollie Pich, Marama Whyte, Dan Seaton, and Ryan Cropp, I am grateful. It is these kinds of friendships which keep one sane during the research journey. Particular thanks are due to Rohan Howitt, for reading my work and knowing exactly what I’m trying to convey, helping me navigate course coordination, and steadfast support and encouragement. And to Emma Kluge, for her relentless pomodoro-ing and encouragement, and constant willingness to listen, whether I needed to verbally process, vent, or celebrate. Alexandra Pyatetskaya’s perseverance in teaching me Russian has also been enduring and invaluable. And my nearest and dearest: thanks to Tayla Laing for her enduring support in all things, including visiting cemeteries to find particular Latvian graves. To Katie Smith, for sharing equally in excitement and stresses, and her incredible proof-reading. Rianna Bingham, for always being my personal cheer squad, and Emily Dunn, for always wanting to hear more stories from my work. To Brent Hutchin, for ringing me while walking home from work, just for a chat. Without my parents, Jo Burn and Tim Hutchin, I would never have made it this far. Thank you for always encouraging me, supporting me, and cheering me on. And finally, to Daniel – my partner in all things. Thank you for supporting me on this, and every journey. I’m excited to begin our next one. ii Abbreviations ALP Australian Labor Party ARU Australian Railways Union AWU Australian Workers’ Union BREM Glavnoe Biu͡ ro po delam rossiĭskikh ėmigrantov v Man’chzhurii Bureau of Russian Émigré Affairs in Manchukuo CER Chinese Eastern Railway CPA Communist Party of Australia CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research DLP Democratic Labor Party DP Displaced Person FIA Federated Ironworkers Association IRO International Refugee Organisation NCC New Citizens Council NTS Natsional’no͡ Trudovoĭ Soiuz͡ National Alliance of Russian Solidarists RFP Russian Fascist Party SMP Shanghai Municipal Police SPH Special Psychiatric Hospital SSM Soiuz͡ Sovetskoĭ Molodezhi Union of Soviet Youth TASS Telegrafnoe Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soiuza͡ Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union UNRRA United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration VOKS Vsesoiuznoe͡ Obshchestvo Kul’turnoĭ Sviazi͡ s zagranitseĭ͡ All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries WCC World Council of Churches ZPP Związek Patriotów Polskich Union of Polish Patriots iii In notes: DG Director General DDG Deputy Director General FO Field Officer LO Liaison Officer OIC Officer in Charge PSO Principal Section Officer SFO Senior Field Officer SLO Senior Liaison