Today in History: Feb 3, 1950, Klaus Fuchs is arrested for passing atomic bomb information to Soviets

During World War II Fuchs worked on the Manhattan Project in the United States to build the Atomic Bomb and later worked on British nuclear projects.

Fuchs’ arrest in 1950 came after a routine security check of Fuchs’ father, who had moved to communist East Germany in 1949. While the check was underway, British authorities received information from the American Federal Bureau of Investigation that decoded Soviet messages in their possession indicated Fuchs was a Russian spy. On February 3, officers from Scotland Yard arrested Fuchs and charged him with violating the Official Secrets Act.

In 1950 he admitted spying for the Russians since 1942 and passing on details of British and American nuclear technology. The arrest of Fuchs led authorities to several other individuals involved in a spy ring, culminating with the arrest of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and their subsequent execution.

Sources: 1, 2