◆ SpookStack

formerly associated with the British Mission at Los Alamos. One source related that he had been told by another member of the mission that Mrs. Peferls was a member of the British Communist Party. Question~- ing of this source disclosed that this information had been based on Mrs. Peierls' Russian birth and attitude toward Russia. This source had also known the Peierls prior to their association at Los Alamos. An American ecientist also interviewed by the FBI, who had been associated with the Peierls at Los Alamos and who had also known him since 1928, stated that when Peierls was in the U.S. he had been strongly in favor of agreement with Russia but had shown no other marked political sympathies, During a visit to their home in England in 1948, this scientist, then a leading figure in the U.S, atomic weapons program, stated that Mrs. Pelerls had done "quite a bit of baiting" and had called him a "war monger", It was also found that captured German documents consisting of original documents of the German Communist Party listed the name of "Comrade" Kannegiesser. It was not known whether this individual was identical with Mrs, Peierls, nee Kannegiesser. Investigation also disclosed that Mrs. Peierls had been publicly opposed to Britain's participation in World War IL until Russia entered the war. 1951 AEC Action in Connection with Declassification Conferences with the UK Dr. Peierls was selected by the UK to attend several U,S.-UK Declassifica-~ tion Conferences for which security assurances were furnished the AEC, Prior to the 1951 conference, the adverse information concerning Dr. Peierls and his wife wag presented to the British, and the UK response was: | s¢ , 1. Peferls was a close friend and associate of Klaus Fuchs and they roomed together at Los Alamos, The assocfation between them developed naturally as a result of scientific assignments and no "sinister implications" were drawn therefrom. 2, Mrs. Peierls was born in Russia. However, the allegation she was a member of the British Communist Party was “tinfounded". The British had no information which would connect Mrs, Peierls with "Comrade" Kanegiesser mentioned in the captured German documents, 3. The British do not consider the Atomic Scientists’ Associa- tion as a Communist front. 4, Dr, Peierls did not teach in Russia, The AEC approved Dr, Peierls‘ attendance at the Conference. One of the prime considerations was that he would have no additional access to classi- fied information other than he already had,