Hidden History Revealed!

In Episodes 1 and 2 of the "Hidden #History Revealed" podcast, I unraveled the story of how U.S. military intelligence (and later, the CIA) recruited, armed, funded, trained, and protected former German and Ukrainian #Nazis during the #ColdWar. These truths were kept secret from the American people for more than half a century. Although a few stories had leaked out over the years, historians were unable to conclusively confirm how extensive the Nazi connection was until Congress passed the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act in 1998, which allowed declassification and release of the files. In Episode 3, I'll tell you about the efforts of one man -- a Department of Justice whistleblower -- whose 20 year crusade to expose the facts helped make that law possible and brought the truth to light at last. His name is John Loftus. As a former prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department's Nazi-hunting unit, he had unprecedented access to top-secret #CIA and #NATO archive in the 1970s and 80s. Now a retired attorney, Loftushas written several books about his discoveries in those underground vaults where the government buries its secrets. His classic works include "The Belarus Secret," "The Witness Tree," "The Secret War Against The #Jews" and "America's Nazi Secret." Prepare yourself for a new episode full of shocking revelations! Premiers tonight at 9 Eastern.

As we mark the two-year anniversary of the #Russia-#Ukraine war, now seems like a perfect time to explore its origins. On Episode 2 of "Hidden History Revealed," we will discover the recently uncovered truth through a declassified document trail which shows -- beyond any doubt -- that the current U.S.-backed proxy war in Ukraine didn't just start in February 2002; or even in 2014. The war was started more than 75 years ago by the CIA, using Ukrainian nationalist "freedom fighters" to destabilize the #USSR, with the ultimate goal of effecting regime change in Soviet Russia. Here's a handy thread to read as you follow along with the podcast, with images of key documents and links to more in the U.S. National Archives. https://twitter.com/RealLoriSpencer/status/1613064660437139457?s=20 More on the CIA's PROJECT AERODYNAMIC can be found here: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AERODYNAMIC%20%20%20VOL.%209%20%20(DEVELOPMENT%20AND%20PLANS)_0001.pdf And here: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/AERODYNAMIC%20%20%20VOL.%2035%20%20%28OPERATIONS%29_0039.pdf Don't miss Episode 2 of "Hidden History Revealed:" learn about the #ColdWar #CIA network of Ukrainian nationalist spies and their Nazi war criminal allies all over the world, from #Canada to #Germany, #Egypt, #Syria, #Iraq, and #Palestine. Premieres Sunday, Feb. 25 at 9 P.M. Eastern. (Viewer discretion is advised.)

As the two-year anniversary of the war between #Russia and #Ukraine approaches this month, I've created a new "Hidden History" podcast series about the Central Intelligence Agency's collaboration with #NazisInUkraine. Last week Russian president Vladimir #Putin told Tucker Carlson that the CIA was behind the 2014 Maidan coup, secretly colluding with radical neo-Nazi elements in the country to overthrow the elected government. Putin declined to go into the details, because it's a very long story. He could have said more --much more -- about this collaboration which was kept secret from the American public for more than half a century. Documents declassified under the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act of 1998 finally revealed the truth: that the CIA began recruiting Ukrainian nationalists as anti-Soviet sabotage forces at the beginning of the Cold War in the late 1940s, with the ultimate goal of regime change in the Soviet Union. On Episode 1, I'll tell you the incredible story of how CIA Director Allen Dulles personally brought Mykola Lebed -- a high-ranking Ukrainian Nazi war criminal and convicted murderer -- to the United States, and gave him a job at the CIA. Despite efforts by a few intrepid journalists to expose Lebed, and Department of Justice Nazi-hunters to prosecute him, the U.S. government protected Lebed until his death in 1998. Who was Mykola Lebed? Depends on who you ask. By various accounts, he was an assassin, a freedom fighter, a terrorist, a hero, a villain, a prisoner, a refugee, a Nazi collaborator, a genocidal maniac, and a ruthless war criminal. To the Central Intelligence Agency, which bankrolled his activities for close to half a century, he was known as “Uncle Louie.” In 1934 Lebed was sentenced to death for the murder of Polish official Bronisław Pieracki. The sentence was commuted in 1936 to lifetime imprisonment, and Lebed managed to escape prison during the the German invasion of Poland in 1939. In 1940, The OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) split into two factions: the OUN-B for loyalists ofStepan Bandera, and the OUN-M for followers of Andrei Melnik. Lebed was a leader of the #Bandera group. The #Nazis sent Bandera to Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1942 after he declared Ukraine an independent state. Lebed then became the de facto leader of the Bandera faction, which largely controlled the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), through the end of the war. Over the following few years, the UPA was responsible for tens of thousands of murders. After the end of World War II, Western intelligence agencies sought to acquire OUN members as informants and infiltrators. The OUN was avowedly anti-#Communist, and it already had a network of trained guerilla fighters at the ready for an anticipated Soviet offensive. The United Kingdom’s MI6, their analogue to the CIA, opted to work with the Bandera, who later died under mysterious circumstances, allegedly murdered by the #KGB. The #CIA chose to work with #Lebed, then the Foreign Minister of the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (UHVR). Lebed still had considerable influence among Ukrainian nationalists. In the 1950s the Agency put Lebed to work in a propaganda operation called PROJECT AERODYNAMIC, setting him up with offices in New York City where he created Ukrainian language, anti-Soviet radio programs, pamphlets, and books to be distributed in the #USSR. Later, the CIA shielded Lebed from allegations and deportation because he was too valuable of an asset and any publicity could compromise the entire project. Don't miss the premiere of "Hidden History: Nazis in Ukraine" Episode 1 Feb. 13th at 9 PM Eastern.