How Dolls Became Part of WWII Espionage

2026-03-25

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One of the oddest cases of World War II espionage involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. How did she do it? By writing coded letters about dolls. Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger told this story in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to examine. In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss Dickinson’s remarkable story, how she was ultimately caught by the U.S.’s first female cryptanalyst and the Northwest’s unique role in international spy games throughout the 20th century....

One of the oddest cases of World War II espionage involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. How did she do it? By writing coded letters about dolls.

Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger told this story in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to examine.

In this episode of Mossback, Berger joins co-host Stephen Hegg to discuss Dickinson’s remarkable story, how she was ultimately caught by the U.S.’s first female cryptanalyst and the Northwest’s unique role in international spy games throughout the 20th century.

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today.

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Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Studio recording: Roger Basquette

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