Witness Characters & Character Analysis

Witness Important People

Whittaker Chambers

Whittaker Chambers is one of the main characters of the book. The book is his story of what happened during the years he was a Communist. He functions as a link in a Soviet espionage network, where he is known as "Bob" or "Carl". Chambers, born in Philadelphia on April 1, 1901, grows up on Long Island, in the town of Lynbrook, where his family moves when he is two or three. He attends Columbia College, after working for a while, and travels to Germany. He becomes concerned with the crisis the world is in after World War I, while traveling in Germany. This leads him to search for answers, which he finds in Communism. He joins the Party in 1929. He works at the Daily Worker and The New Masses. His work with the underground apparatus begins in 1932. He is a part of the Ware Group and part...
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