Harold M. Koch (1932 – August 15, 1995)
was an American
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
priest from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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who defected to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in 1966. His defection, which was included in a Soviet propaganda broadcast, was in protest to the
Vietnam war
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. However he decided to return to the United States three months later saying he wanted to get married. He did, to a Jeanette Neager. While in the Soviet Union he was provided an apartment in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
.
From 1958 to 1963 he served the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago
The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 an ...
, leaving when pushed out because of psychiatric problems.
["Defector Said Ex-Priest". '']St. Petersburg Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', 9/13/1966.
Koch died on August 15, 1995 due to
liver failure.
References
External links
Harold Koch on Defecting to Russia - HD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Harold M.
1932 births
American Roman Catholic priests
American defectors to the Soviet Union
Living people