NZSIS releases declassified historical records

The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) has today released more than 100 declassified historical records that paint a fascinating insight into the national security concerns and social attitudes of the day.

The records cover two historical events; records of New Zealand-based Nazi Party sympathisers from the mid-1930s up until the Second World War, and records relating to Soviet KGB intelligence officer Vladislav Andreyev, who arrived in New Zealand in 1961 and was expelled the following year.

NZSIS Director-General Andrew Hampton said this is the first release from the declassification programme, set up by his predecessor Rebecca Kitteridge, that is systematically reviewing and publishing intelligence records held by the NZSIS spanning back more than 100 years.

The NZSIS holds the records of all the organisations that have been responsible for New Zealand’s security intelligence since 1919, except for a brief period over the Second World War. 

Specifically, the NZSIS holds the records of:

• New Zealand Police’s security intelligence records from 1919 to 1941, and 1946 to 1949
• the Security Intelligence Bureau’s (SIB) records from 1941 to 1945
• most of the New Zealand Police Special Branch records from 1949 to 1956
• New Zealand Security Service’s records from 1956 to 1969
• NZSIS records from 1969 to present.

“In their day these records were produced as top secret documents that were highly protected and not for public view, but the passage of time has meant the security considerations involved have receded enough to allow the lifting of most security caveats,” Mr Hampton said.

“These historical records would otherwise be inaccessible from public view but they reveal fascinating insights into what intelligence officers were interested in, as well as a providing a look at the social attitudes and standards expected of 1930s and 1960s New Zealand.” 

Mr Hampton said in recent years the New Zealand intelligence agencies have taken significant steps to be more open and transparent, and the public release of historic records is part of this line of effort. 

Over the years a small selection of NZSIS historical records have been periodically declassified and released, but there has not been a dedicated function to undertake this work. The first of these records to be released in 2008 were Special Branch files regarding the 1951 waterfront dispute. Since then, the NZSIS has released records regarding the Second World War and early Cold War period, including selected Bill Sutch papers and Ombudsman Sir Guy Powles’ Top Secret report, and papers related to the sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in 1985.

“Declassification consists of a line-by-line review to determine contemporary classification settings and the redaction of any information that remains protected, such as the identities of former staff members and intelligence sources, and some sensitive tradecraft secrets,” Mr Hampton said.

 ‘German’ Records

When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, it began implementing its political manifesto domestically, but also internationally through its foreign relations both official and unofficial. As international tensions rose and conflict seemed inevitable, the small New Zealand-based German community became of increasing interest to Police, which was then responsible for national security. Police intelligence was interested in Nazi Party membership and sympathies being expressed within New Zealand. 

Records to be released include 50 files relating to German clubs in Auckland and Wellington, the German Consulate, and pro-Nazi propaganda in New Zealand. The files date from the mid-1930s to the beginning of the Second World War, and contain news clippings, journals, Police reports and correspondence. A further 48 files are of documents seized from the German clubs, which are also being released.

Andreyev Records

During the Cold War the Soviet Union posted a number of intelligence officers to Wellington, who aggressively sought classified information regarding New Zealand’s foreign and defence policies. These officers attempted to recruit people in government with access to this material, and gather official documentation such as birth certificates and education records, to enable Soviet agents to travel to other countries under appropriated New Zealand identities.

Vladislav Sergeyevich Andreyev was an identified KGB intelligence officer who took up the position of Commercial Councillor at the Soviet Legation in Wellington in 1961. The NZSIS took an immediate interest in Andreyev, who ran recruited agents and attempted to recruit others in his 16 months in New Zealand. Andreyev was expelled from New Zealand in 1962. The release consists of four file tranches containing material dated from February 1961 to August 1986.