Daniel Zaret Explained

Daniel Zaret
Birth Date:	11 April 1891
Birth Place:	Simferopol, Crimea, Russian Empire
Birth Name:	Daniel Abraham Zaretsky
Allegiance:	Saint Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Serviceyears:	1917 – 1919
Battles:	World War I World War II
Laterwork:	Jewelry merchant and munitions plant worker (World War II)

Daniel Abraham Zaret (11 April 1891 – 13 October 1984)^[1] was a Russian-born, naturalized American citizen and spy.^[2]

War experience

Zaret registered for the World War II draft on April 27, 1942. At that time, he was living in rural Cecil County, Maryland and was employed by Triumph Explosives in Elkton, Maryland.^[3] Up to August 1943, Zaret was employed by various explosives factories, including a job as assistant director at a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1943. He later took a position as production safety inspector in the Explosives Division of the War Department in Chicago.

Venona

Zaret is referenced in the following Venona project decrypt:

Venona 1325 GRU New York to Moscow, 11 August 1943.

Background

Zaret was born Daniel Abraham Zaretsky on April 11, 1891 in Simferopol, Crimea, then part of the Russian Empire to Abraham Zaretsky.^[4] He immigrated to the United States via Liverpool, England in April 1906. Zaret claimed to have lived in Arkansas, Illinois, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York between 1906 and 1921. He became a naturalized citizen on November 12, 1917.^[5]

During World War I, Zaret served in the United States Army, November 18, 1917 to January 27, 1919; he was living in Wilmington, Delaware when he registered for the draft.^[6] In 1921, Zaret was living in Brooklyn, New York and was employed as a jewelry merchant.

Zaret died 13 October 1984 in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Bibliography

Book: Haynes, John Earl. Harvey Klehr . Venona: Decoding Soviet Espionage in America. 1999. Yale University Press. New Haven, Conn.. 180–181, 292. 0-300-07771-8.

Notes and References

Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2011.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C. Index to Naturalization Petitions for the U.S. Circuit Court, 1795-1911, and District Court, 1795-1928, for the District of Delaware Microfilm Serial: M1649; Microfilm Roll: 1.
NARA, Washington, D.C. U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
NARA, Washington D.C. Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, Collection Number: ARC Identifier 583830 / MLR Number A1 534; NARA Series: M1490; Roll#: 1749. Zaret noted in his 1921 US Passport Application that, "With reference to the difference in names of my father as stated as stated in my application 'Zaretsky' and 'Zaret', this was done in Liverpool, England before migrating to the United States in order to facilitate the pronunciation of this name." Zaret's year of birth is noted as 1893 on this document. See US Passport application, September 29, 1921.
See US Passport application, September 29, 1921.
U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2011.