Accompanying her parents to Berlin in the 1930s Martha Dodd knew almost nothing about Adolf
Hitler or the Nazis. Yet almost overnight she stepped into the spotlight and found herself at
the over-heated centre of Hitler's 'New Germany' befriending and dating several high-ranking
Nazis including the then-head of the Gestapo. An affair with a dashing Russian diplomat saw
her recruited as a spy and so began a long and tumultuous career in both Berlin and America
including infiltrating First Lady Eleanor Rooevelt's inner circle and playing a key role in
Henry Wallace's disastrous 1948 presidential campaign. Betrayed by a
Hollywood-hustler-turned-double-agent Martha spent years under deep FBI surveillance -
escaping twice - and went to ground in Cold War Prague sad lonely rich and bored living out
her final decades in a Communist Sunset Boulevard. Largely forgotten Martha Dodd began
emerging as an iconic historical figure in the early 2000s. While her scandalous behaviour and
pro-Soviet leanings were never much in dispute the actual matter of her guilt remained
unresolved. Using recently released KGB archived information and FBI files in Traitor's
Odyssey author and journalist Brendan McNally corrects this telling the full epic of Martha
Dodd's life for the first time casting her in a new and bright light.
