1 00:00:15,430 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Joseph Schmidt drops a spoonful of baking soda into 2 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:33,100 Speaker 1: a glass of water and stirs until the powder dissolves. 3 00:00:35,380 --> 00:00:39,950 Speaker 1: He takes a swinge and draws up some of the solution. 4 00:00:41,170 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: Then he pulls down his pants... and carefully injects the 5 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:52,300 Speaker 1: baking soda into the tip of his penis. Desperate times 6 00:00:52,580 --> 00:00:59,860 Speaker 1: call for desperate measures, and Joseph Schmidt is desperate. Schmidt's 7 00:00:59,940 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: in his early 30s. He's six feet tall, fit and strong. 8 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,180 Speaker 1: He's got blonde hair and blue eyes, which helps in 9 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:14,820 Speaker 1: Germany in 1942. Schmidt is German. though he spent years 10 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: in Canada, living on his wits as a hunter, trapper 11 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,280 Speaker 1: and trader. Then he ran into trouble and had to 12 00:01:22,300 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: flee the country. It was hard to travel with the 13 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,070 Speaker 1: war on, but he made it back via Mexico and Japan. 14 00:01:30,910 --> 00:01:33,290 Speaker 1: No sooner had he got back to Germany than he 15 00:01:33,330 --> 00:01:37,050 Speaker 1: got a tap on the shoulder from an agent of 16 00:01:37,090 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: the Abwehr, the Military Intelligence Service. I'm putting together a 17 00:01:42,790 --> 00:01:47,210 Speaker 1: crack team of operatives to go undercover in the United States. 18 00:01:47,890 --> 00:01:51,700 Speaker 1: The agent told him, I'm recruiting Germans who've lived in 19 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:54,500 Speaker 1: North America and who'll be able to blend back in. 20 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:59,860 Speaker 1: You'll get a fake identity. Are you interested? Schmidt was interested. 21 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:07,200 Speaker 1: Schmidt was sent to a farm near Brandenburg. Over weeks 22 00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:12,300 Speaker 1: of intensive training, he and eight other hand-picked operatives were 23 00:02:12,620 --> 00:02:16,550 Speaker 1: learned how to use explosives and timing devices. They learned 24 00:02:16,590 --> 00:02:20,110 Speaker 1: where to plant those explosives to cause maximum damage to 25 00:02:20,150 --> 00:02:25,050 Speaker 1: the US economy, blowing up railroads, canal locks and aluminium plants. 26 00:02:25,830 --> 00:02:29,270 Speaker 1: They learned to make invisible ink from laxative pills so 27 00:02:29,310 --> 00:02:34,190 Speaker 1: they could send each other secret messages. Joseph Schmidt learned 28 00:02:34,250 --> 00:02:39,380 Speaker 1: something else, too. He learned that the other eight hand-picked 29 00:02:39,780 --> 00:02:47,670 Speaker 1: crack operatives were... largely idiots. Just look at what had 30 00:02:47,770 --> 00:02:52,810 Speaker 1: happened since they'd completed their training and travelled through Nazi-occupied France, 31 00:02:53,190 --> 00:02:56,210 Speaker 1: accompanied by a naval officer who was arranging for U-boats 32 00:02:56,270 --> 00:02:59,130 Speaker 1: to take them from a French port to the US coast. 33 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,540 Speaker 1: In Paris, one of the eight got roaring drunk and 34 00:03:03,620 --> 00:03:06,380 Speaker 1: told everyone in the bar that he was a secret agent. 35 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 1: Another woke half the hotel by getting into an argument 36 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,550 Speaker 1: with a prostitute, When she demanded payment, he was confused 37 00:03:14,670 --> 00:03:18,930 Speaker 1: twice over. He didn't understand French, and he hadn't realised 38 00:03:19,020 --> 00:03:23,500 Speaker 1: she was a prostitute. Then there was George Dash, the 39 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:27,980 Speaker 1: man who'd been inexplicably chosen to lead them. Dash was 40 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,370 Speaker 1: the biggest idiot of all. He'd been a waiter in 41 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:36,090 Speaker 1: America for 20 years, and at least his English was good. Mostly. 42 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:40,330 Speaker 1: It did have a few quirks. For instance, he'd over-generalised 43 00:03:40,370 --> 00:03:44,330 Speaker 1: from the phrase... Use your noodle, and thought that noodle 44 00:03:44,390 --> 00:03:47,070 Speaker 1: was an all-purpose synonym for brain. 45 00:03:48,310 --> 00:03:50,050 Speaker 2: I could not put it all in my noodle. 46 00:03:51,650 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: Dash struggled to pay attention in training. Then, when they 47 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: got to France... Scheiße! 48 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 2: I left my papers on the train. 49 00:04:01,220 --> 00:04:04,860 Speaker 1: He lost the carefully falsified papers he'd need to establish 50 00:04:04,900 --> 00:04:08,300 Speaker 1: his fake identity in the US. When he realized this, 51 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:12,340 Speaker 1: Dash dashed to the station. But the train had left. 52 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,930 Speaker 1: He tried to explain his predicament to the station staff, 53 00:04:16,010 --> 00:04:19,790 Speaker 1: but made them so suspicious that they called the local Gestapo. 54 00:04:20,730 --> 00:04:24,070 Speaker 1: Only with difficulty were the local Gestapo persuaded that this 55 00:04:24,610 --> 00:04:28,390 Speaker 1: evident idiot really was about to lead a team of 56 00:04:28,550 --> 00:04:35,100 Speaker 1: train saboteurs on a top-secret mission. These idiots, thought Joseph Schmidt, 57 00:04:35,980 --> 00:04:39,750 Speaker 1: are going to get me killed. It was clear to 58 00:04:39,810 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: him what he had to do. Inject baking soda into 59 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:49,660 Speaker 1: his penis. Schmidt knocks on the door of the naval 60 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:55,220 Speaker 1: officer in charge of arranging the U-boats. Captain Leutnant, says Schmidt. 61 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,420 Speaker 1: I think I've picked up a disease from a brothel 62 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:04,340 Speaker 1: in Paris. Show me, says the officer. Schmidt pulls down 63 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:09,300 Speaker 1: his pants. The officer looks at the gunky foam oozing 64 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:13,280 Speaker 1: from the tip of Schmidt's penis. He says, you're not 65 00:05:13,300 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: getting on one of my U-boats with that. Schmidt was 66 00:05:18,220 --> 00:05:23,570 Speaker 1: out of Operation Pastorius. George Dash would have to lead 67 00:05:23,590 --> 00:05:29,830 Speaker 1: the remaining crack operatives without him. I'm Tim Harford, and 68 00:05:29,850 --> 00:06:02,220 Speaker 1: you're listening to Cautionary Tales. George Dash did not enjoy 69 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,460 Speaker 1: his journey on the U-boat. It wasn't too bad when 70 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:10,680 Speaker 1: the submarine was actually underwater. The electric engines hummed gently 71 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,140 Speaker 1: and their progress felt serene. But it was also slow. 72 00:06:15,820 --> 00:06:19,780 Speaker 1: Those electric motors weren't very powerful. To travel more quickly, 73 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:22,890 Speaker 1: they had to rise to the surface, fire up the 74 00:06:22,970 --> 00:06:27,970 Speaker 1: noisy diesel engines, and keep a constant watch for Allied airplanes, 75 00:06:28,350 --> 00:06:33,250 Speaker 1: ready to dive at a moment's notice. The U-boat rocked 76 00:06:33,510 --> 00:06:37,660 Speaker 1: and lurched with the waves. Dash curled up in his bunk, 77 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:45,940 Speaker 1: feeling horribly seasick. The journey took 17 days. Still, it 78 00:06:45,980 --> 00:06:50,130 Speaker 1: could be worse. Dash was headed to Long Island, along 79 00:06:50,150 --> 00:06:53,790 Speaker 1: with three of the other operatives. The remaining four members 80 00:06:53,850 --> 00:06:58,510 Speaker 1: of Operation Pastorius were on another U-boat bound for Florida. 81 00:06:59,230 --> 00:07:02,820 Speaker 1: They'd still be at sea for four more days. The 82 00:07:02,940 --> 00:07:08,600 Speaker 1: eight would reconvene in Cincinnati on a symbolic date, July 83 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: the 4th, to plan which bit of critical wartime infrastructure 84 00:07:13,780 --> 00:07:18,890 Speaker 1: to attack first. It was nearly midnight on Friday, June 85 00:07:18,910 --> 00:07:22,470 Speaker 1: the 12th, when the captain of Dash's U-boat said they 86 00:07:22,490 --> 00:07:27,170 Speaker 1: could land. They were somewhere near East Hampton. It was 87 00:07:27,290 --> 00:07:30,450 Speaker 1: hard to be sure exactly where because the fog was thick. 88 00:07:31,690 --> 00:07:36,690 Speaker 1: The captain drifted his U-boat gently into the sand. Two 89 00:07:36,770 --> 00:07:40,530 Speaker 1: sailors vetted a dinghy to row the four saboteurs to shore. 90 00:07:41,510 --> 00:07:43,550 Speaker 1: They tied a rope to the U-boat to find their 91 00:07:43,610 --> 00:07:47,110 Speaker 1: way back. Into the dinghy went a big bag of 92 00:07:47,210 --> 00:07:52,350 Speaker 1: cash and four crates packed with explosives. The saboteurs would 93 00:07:52,450 --> 00:07:54,770 Speaker 1: bury the crates on the beach and come back for 94 00:07:54,810 --> 00:07:59,470 Speaker 1: them later. Also into the dinghy went four sets of 95 00:07:59,610 --> 00:08:03,950 Speaker 1: civilian clothes to change into. The saboteurs were dressed in 96 00:08:04,190 --> 00:08:09,150 Speaker 1: military uniforms. That mattered. If they happened to be captured 97 00:08:09,190 --> 00:08:13,330 Speaker 1: while landing, they'd be treated as prisoners of war under 98 00:08:13,350 --> 00:08:18,850 Speaker 1: the Geneva Conventions. The sailors began to row, but which 99 00:08:18,910 --> 00:08:23,030 Speaker 1: way was the shore? The fog was thick. They could 100 00:08:23,070 --> 00:08:26,100 Speaker 1: only listen out for the breaking of the waves, which 101 00:08:26,180 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: seemed to be coming from the left. No, the right. 102 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,820 Speaker 1: A wave broke over the dinghy, drenching everyone. They made 103 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: it to the beach and unloaded the cargo. Then Dash 104 00:08:40,890 --> 00:08:42,330 Speaker 1: heard a voice through the fog. 105 00:08:42,970 --> 00:08:43,610 Speaker 2: Who are you? 106 00:08:44,570 --> 00:08:48,120 Speaker 1: A coastguard. He must have landed near a Coast Guard station. 107 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:49,840 Speaker 1: Dash called back. 108 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:55,660 Speaker 2: Fishermen! We ran aground in the fog. Where are we? 109 00:08:56,670 --> 00:08:57,380 Speaker 1: I'm a ganset. 110 00:08:58,410 --> 00:09:01,330 Speaker 2: Come and shelter in the station for the night. All right. 111 00:09:02,610 --> 00:09:05,090 Speaker 1: They'd discussed what to do if they met a lone 112 00:09:05,210 --> 00:09:10,310 Speaker 1: Coast Guard on patrol. Overpower him. Now that they'd actually 113 00:09:10,450 --> 00:09:14,830 Speaker 1: met one, well, Dash made his way through the fog 114 00:09:15,350 --> 00:09:17,750 Speaker 1: till he was face to face with the Coast Guard. 115 00:09:18,690 --> 00:09:22,110 Speaker 1: The man was young. Dash lowered his voice. 116 00:09:23,340 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 2: I wouldn't want to have to kill you. You don't 117 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:28,100 Speaker 2: know what this is about. 118 00:09:29,180 --> 00:09:32,260 Speaker 1: Dash pulled a wad of dollar bills out of his pocket. 119 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 2: Take this and forget you ever saw us. I don't 120 00:09:37,420 --> 00:09:38,000 Speaker 2: want your money. 121 00:09:39,500 --> 00:09:42,210 Speaker 1: Another figure appeared from the fog and said something to 122 00:09:42,270 --> 00:09:46,530 Speaker 1: Dash in German. In German! In German! What an idiot! 123 00:09:47,190 --> 00:09:48,490 Speaker 1: Dash snapped at him. 124 00:09:48,870 --> 00:09:51,170 Speaker 2: Shut up and go back to the others. 125 00:09:51,870 --> 00:09:56,010 Speaker 1: The young Coast Guard grabbed the money, turned and ran 126 00:09:56,080 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: off into the fog. In Amagansett Lifeboat Station, the young 127 00:10:06,980 --> 00:10:10,470 Speaker 1: Coast Guard's boss was sleeping. when he burst through the doors. 128 00:10:11,810 --> 00:10:14,010 Speaker 2: Germans! There were Germans on the beach! 129 00:10:14,390 --> 00:10:17,510 Speaker 1: Germans? What do you mean, Germans? There can't be. They 130 00:10:17,570 --> 00:10:18,710 Speaker 1: tried to bribe me. 131 00:10:19,110 --> 00:10:19,370 Speaker 2: Look! 132 00:10:19,950 --> 00:10:25,460 Speaker 1: The young Coast Guard thrust the money at his boss. 133 00:10:25,460 --> 00:10:26,620 Speaker 2: $ 260. 134 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:30,100 Speaker 1: Several thousand in today's terms. OK, said the boss. I 135 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,020 Speaker 1: believe you. He woke the other nightguards and gave them rifles. 136 00:10:34,580 --> 00:10:37,080 Speaker 1: Not that they'd ever been trained in how to use them. 137 00:10:37,580 --> 00:10:40,350 Speaker 1: No one had really expected Germans to land on a 138 00:10:40,450 --> 00:10:44,070 Speaker 1: beach in the Hamptons. They followed the young coastguard through 139 00:10:44,110 --> 00:10:47,910 Speaker 1: the fog to where he'd encountered the men. The men 140 00:10:48,610 --> 00:10:52,790 Speaker 1: weren't there. But they could hear the roar of engines 141 00:10:53,050 --> 00:10:58,410 Speaker 1: and smell diesel fumes. The fog briefly eased, revealing a long, 142 00:10:58,790 --> 00:10:59,630 Speaker 1: dark shape. 143 00:11:00,450 --> 00:11:00,810 Speaker 2: A Yuba. 144 00:11:03,460 --> 00:11:07,340 Speaker 1: On the U-boat, the captain desperately revved his diesel engines. 145 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: There was no use. He was stuck in the sand, 146 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:14,200 Speaker 1: and the tide wouldn't turn for another hour. The fog 147 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,500 Speaker 1: briefly eased, and he saw with horror how close he 148 00:11:18,570 --> 00:11:21,930 Speaker 1: was to the Coast Guard station. He ordered his men 149 00:11:22,070 --> 00:11:26,210 Speaker 1: to prepare to surrender. They placed explosives around the boat. 150 00:11:26,810 --> 00:11:32,230 Speaker 1: At all costs, the Allies mustn't capture their top-secret Enigma codebooks. 151 00:11:33,890 --> 00:11:37,340 Speaker 1: But it was odd. The Coast Guards must have seen him, 152 00:11:37,900 --> 00:11:40,460 Speaker 1: or heard his engines as he tried to get away. 153 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:48,060 Speaker 1: Yet they weren't firing on him. Why? Back on the beach, 154 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,460 Speaker 1: the Coast Guards had ducked behind a fence with the 155 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,970 Speaker 1: rifles they weren't sure how to use. They were afraid 156 00:11:55,030 --> 00:11:58,710 Speaker 1: the U-boat would fire on them. They made their way 157 00:11:58,930 --> 00:12:03,010 Speaker 1: carefully back to the station. and radioed their superiors, who 158 00:12:03,250 --> 00:12:07,790 Speaker 1: radioed Navy intelligence, who said, Someone thinks they've seen a 159 00:12:07,930 --> 00:12:09,130 Speaker 1: U-boat in the Hamptons. 160 00:12:10,110 --> 00:12:10,340 Speaker 2: Yes, yes. 161 00:12:10,370 --> 00:12:13,210 Speaker 1: We get calls like that from nutters all the time. 162 00:12:16,110 --> 00:12:24,890 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales will be back after the break. Herbie Haupt 163 00:12:25,310 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 1: was just a child when his family moved from Germany 164 00:12:28,460 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: to Chicago. By 1941, Haupt was 21 years old and 165 00:12:34,780 --> 00:12:39,300 Speaker 1: an American citizen. That posed a problem. He'd have to 166 00:12:39,380 --> 00:12:43,380 Speaker 1: register for the draft. And he had an even bigger problem. 167 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,510 Speaker 1: He'd got his girlfriend pregnant. This was all far more 168 00:12:48,570 --> 00:12:52,890 Speaker 1: responsibility than young Herbie Haupt was ready for. He told 169 00:12:52,930 --> 00:12:57,430 Speaker 1: his mum he was going on vacation and instead skipped 170 00:12:57,510 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: the country. He figured he could get a job in Mexico. 171 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:07,660 Speaker 1: But no, he'd need a work permit. Haupt burned through 172 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: his money. He heard that Germans could work in Japan, 173 00:13:12,020 --> 00:13:15,140 Speaker 1: so he got on a ship. He didn't like the 174 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: work in Japan, so he got on another ship to 175 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:22,730 Speaker 1: Nazi-occupied France. He decided to visit his grandparents in Germany. 176 00:13:23,630 --> 00:13:26,430 Speaker 1: Maybe he could join the Luftwaffe. That would be cool. 177 00:13:27,510 --> 00:13:30,290 Speaker 1: But no, he'd need a permit to get any kind 178 00:13:30,330 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: of job in Germany, and the Gestapo weren't inclined to 179 00:13:33,940 --> 00:13:38,080 Speaker 1: give him one. They found his story hard to believe. 180 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:44,780 Speaker 1: What kind of idiot drifts aimlessly around the world in 181 00:13:44,820 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: the middle of a war? The Abwehr, the military intelligence service, 182 00:13:52,020 --> 00:13:56,710 Speaker 1: had no such concerns. Haupt got a tap on the shoulder. 183 00:13:57,670 --> 00:14:02,410 Speaker 1: Would he like to join a crack team of undercover operatives? 184 00:14:03,910 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: Haupt decided that, yes, he did quite fancy a free 185 00:14:07,970 --> 00:14:10,560 Speaker 1: journey back to the United States, thank you very much. 186 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 1: He was missing his mum and, despite everything, his girlfriend. Also, 187 00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:20,420 Speaker 1: there was rationing in wartime Germany. He could only get 188 00:14:20,560 --> 00:14:25,830 Speaker 1: two cigarettes a day. Haupt was sent to a farm 189 00:14:25,890 --> 00:14:30,910 Speaker 1: near Brandenburg. for weeks of intensive training. They learned things 190 00:14:30,990 --> 00:14:35,750 Speaker 1: like how to assemble collapsible boats. But when Haupt took 191 00:14:35,830 --> 00:14:39,830 Speaker 1: his out on a lake, it collapsed. He was wearing 192 00:14:39,930 --> 00:14:45,030 Speaker 1: heavy boots, nearly drowned. The training over, they had a 193 00:14:45,070 --> 00:14:49,390 Speaker 1: weekend off in Paris. Haupt met a girl and took 194 00:14:49,430 --> 00:14:52,470 Speaker 1: her back to the hotel. She seemed to like him, 195 00:14:53,030 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: but later she started yelling at him. Strange. Herbie Haupt 196 00:15:00,540 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: was put on a U-boat bound for Florida with three 197 00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:09,050 Speaker 1: other saboteurs. They were given crates of explosives. And money. 198 00:15:10,050 --> 00:15:13,810 Speaker 1: Really quite a lot of money. Haupt alone was entrusted 199 00:15:13,850 --> 00:15:18,430 Speaker 1: with $ 14, 000, something like a quarter of a million in 200 00:15:18,470 --> 00:15:23,550 Speaker 1: today's terms. They were given Nazi military caps. For some 201 00:15:23,610 --> 00:15:27,050 Speaker 1: reason it was important to wear them while landing. The 202 00:15:27,070 --> 00:15:31,930 Speaker 1: journey across the Atlantic was long. What an adventure he'd had. 203 00:15:32,810 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: But Herbie Haupt was looking forward to getting home. Off 204 00:15:40,300 --> 00:15:44,060 Speaker 1: the beach in Amagansett, in the dark and the fog, 205 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:50,400 Speaker 1: the U-boat captain waited, feeling more and more puzzled. The 206 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:58,330 Speaker 1: Americans must have seen them. Why weren't they attacking? Slowly, slowly, 207 00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:03,860 Speaker 1: tide inched in. The captain tried once more with the 208 00:16:03,950 --> 00:16:09,850 Speaker 1: diesel engines, one forward, one reverse. This time the U-boat 209 00:16:10,150 --> 00:16:15,900 Speaker 1: lurched off the sand and chugged towards deeper water, then 210 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:32,620 Speaker 1: dived to safety. the first light of dawn crept along 211 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:38,220 Speaker 1: the beach. The Coast Guards quickly found discarded German uniforms 212 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:42,060 Speaker 1: and four crates which the men must have tried hurriedly 213 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: to bury in the sand. The crates turned out to 214 00:16:45,570 --> 00:16:51,330 Speaker 1: be full of explosives. None of the Coast Guards, it seems, 215 00:16:51,570 --> 00:16:56,490 Speaker 1: stopped to wonder where had the Germans gone? If the 216 00:16:56,530 --> 00:17:01,180 Speaker 1: Coast Guards had wondered that, They might have reasoned perhaps 217 00:17:01,260 --> 00:17:04,940 Speaker 1: the Germans walked inland till they got to the train tracks, 218 00:17:05,860 --> 00:17:09,250 Speaker 1: then followed the tracks till they got to a station. 219 00:17:10,390 --> 00:17:13,890 Speaker 1: The Coast Guards might then have thought, let's check out 220 00:17:14,210 --> 00:17:19,470 Speaker 1: Amagansett Rail Station. If they had, they would have found 221 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:25,540 Speaker 1: four damp, bedraggled, frazzled-looking men with a large bag of 222 00:17:25,620 --> 00:17:30,050 Speaker 1: cash waiting anxiously for the first train to New York, 223 00:17:30,630 --> 00:17:35,900 Speaker 1: which wasn't due till nearly seven o'clock. But nobody thought 224 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:40,460 Speaker 1: to check out Amagansett Rail Station. George Dash and his 225 00:17:40,540 --> 00:17:50,300 Speaker 1: three companions got on the train. The seas off Florida 226 00:17:50,580 --> 00:17:55,490 Speaker 1: were warm in mid-June. Herbie Haupt and his three colleagues 227 00:17:55,570 --> 00:17:59,090 Speaker 1: wore only bathing suits to make their landing and the 228 00:17:59,130 --> 00:18:02,870 Speaker 1: military caps to mark them out as lawful combatants in 229 00:18:02,910 --> 00:18:08,550 Speaker 1: case they were captured. They weren't. Nobody saw them. They 230 00:18:08,620 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: buried their crates of explosives carefully in the sand and 231 00:18:12,780 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: discarded their Nazi caps. Now in civilian clothes, behind enemy lines... 232 00:18:21,210 --> 00:18:24,070 Speaker 1: They were no longer protected by the laws of war. 233 00:18:24,630 --> 00:18:29,550 Speaker 1: They were unlawful combatants. If they were captured, they could 234 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:36,360 Speaker 1: be executed. Faced with this mortal peril, the top priority 235 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: was a spot of shopping. They were, of course, supposed 236 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,710 Speaker 1: to use the cash they'd been given for sabotage activities. 237 00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:50,210 Speaker 1: But naturally, they'd need new clothes and shoes and suitcases. 238 00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:56,770 Speaker 1: Herbie Haupt treated himself to a flashy gold wristwatch. What next? 239 00:18:57,890 --> 00:19:00,230 Speaker 1: They had more than a fortnight before they all had 240 00:19:00,270 --> 00:19:03,750 Speaker 1: to meet in Cincinnati, so they went their separate ways. 241 00:19:05,010 --> 00:19:08,070 Speaker 1: One was eager to resume his love life. He went 242 00:19:08,150 --> 00:19:12,810 Speaker 1: off to meet his mistress, then his wife. Herbie Haupt 243 00:19:12,990 --> 00:19:16,630 Speaker 1: took the train back home to Chicago. His parents were 244 00:19:16,670 --> 00:19:19,770 Speaker 1: surprised to see him. and even more surprised to see 245 00:19:19,830 --> 00:19:23,790 Speaker 1: his bag full of money. I've been in Germany, he said. 246 00:19:24,430 --> 00:19:28,810 Speaker 1: I'm involved in matters of great importance. Granny and Grandpa 247 00:19:28,890 --> 00:19:34,670 Speaker 1: say hello. Haupt went to the local car dealership and 248 00:19:34,710 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: bought a black six-cylinder Pontiac Coupé. He went to see 249 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: his old girlfriend. She said, Where have you been? Our 250 00:19:47,340 --> 00:20:00,090 Speaker 1: baby died. He said, marry me? George Dash as team leader, 251 00:20:00,530 --> 00:20:04,150 Speaker 1: had been given even more cash than the others, well 252 00:20:04,190 --> 00:20:07,890 Speaker 1: over a million in today's money. Once the train from 253 00:20:08,050 --> 00:20:12,570 Speaker 1: Amagansett had got him safely to New York, Dash checked 254 00:20:12,620 --> 00:20:17,190 Speaker 1: himself into a fancy hotel, went shopping at Macy's, and 255 00:20:17,210 --> 00:20:21,230 Speaker 1: then took another of the saboteurs out for dinner. Rare 256 00:20:21,290 --> 00:20:25,130 Speaker 1: steaks and fine wine. You couldn't get this kind of 257 00:20:25,190 --> 00:20:32,190 Speaker 1: meal in wartime Germany. Dash had chosen his meal companion carefully. 258 00:20:33,230 --> 00:20:37,850 Speaker 1: He wanted to learn more about Peter Berger's past. At 259 00:20:37,870 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 1: the training camp, the other saboteurs had been suspicious of Berger. 260 00:20:42,250 --> 00:20:46,020 Speaker 1: They knew he'd been in trouble with the Gestapo. Dash 261 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:52,360 Speaker 1: asked him, What happened? Peter Berger told Dasch his life story. 262 00:20:53,380 --> 00:20:58,080 Speaker 1: As a teenager, he'd been one of Hitler's earliest supporters. 263 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: He'd taken part in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, the Nazis' 264 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 1: first attempt to seize power. It failed. Hitler went to prison. 265 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: Berger emigrated to the States. When Hitler took charge, Berger 266 00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:19,380 Speaker 1: moved back to Germany, But the Nazi party was riven 267 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,300 Speaker 1: with factions, and Berger's old friends fell out of favour. 268 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:28,080 Speaker 1: The Gestapo had him arrested. He got out in the end, 269 00:21:28,340 --> 00:21:31,310 Speaker 1: but his wife had been so shaken up, she had 270 00:21:31,350 --> 00:21:38,030 Speaker 1: a miscarriage. Berger clearly despised the Gestapo. There was no 271 00:21:38,110 --> 00:21:41,090 Speaker 1: barrier to getting a tap on the shoulder from the Abwehr. 272 00:21:41,530 --> 00:21:44,750 Speaker 1: In the Nazi infighting, they didn't much like the Gestapo either. 273 00:21:45,590 --> 00:21:48,730 Speaker 1: But what did Berger's bitterness mean for his commitment to 274 00:21:48,770 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: their mission? The next morning, Dash invited Berger to his 275 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,620 Speaker 1: hotel room. As Berger later told the story, we continued 276 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:03,340 Speaker 1: our conversation of the night before. Dash's account was much 277 00:22:03,420 --> 00:22:04,100 Speaker 1: more dramatic. 278 00:22:05,100 --> 00:22:08,710 Speaker 2: I locked the door. I opened the window. 279 00:22:09,770 --> 00:22:12,130 Speaker 1: They were on the 13th floor. 280 00:22:13,410 --> 00:22:17,040 Speaker 2: I said to Berger... We're going to talk, and if 281 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,340 Speaker 2: we disagree, only one of us will leave this room 282 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:25,360 Speaker 2: by the door. The other will leave by the window. 283 00:22:28,790 --> 00:22:37,210 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales will be back in a moment. In the 284 00:22:37,250 --> 00:22:41,050 Speaker 1: hotel room on the 13th floor, Peter Berger said to 285 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:46,470 Speaker 1: George Dash, I think we understand each other. I don't 286 00:22:46,510 --> 00:22:49,670 Speaker 1: want to go through with any sabotage. And I don't 287 00:22:49,710 --> 00:22:53,410 Speaker 1: think you do either. I noticed in the training camp 288 00:22:53,430 --> 00:22:58,470 Speaker 1: that you never paid attention. George Dash and Peter Berger 289 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: now agreed to betray the mission. Had they always secretly 290 00:23:04,740 --> 00:23:08,360 Speaker 1: intended this, as they now insisted? Or had they been 291 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: spooked by their near-miss with the Coast Guard and decided 292 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:17,170 Speaker 1: to give up before they were caught? Either way, Berger 293 00:23:17,290 --> 00:23:20,170 Speaker 1: picked up the telephone directory and looked up the number 294 00:23:20,210 --> 00:23:24,850 Speaker 1: of the FBI's New York office. They left the hotel 295 00:23:25,650 --> 00:23:29,330 Speaker 1: and found a payphone. Dash made the call. 296 00:23:30,810 --> 00:23:34,590 Speaker 2: I have very important information. I need to speak to J. 297 00:23:34,650 --> 00:23:38,570 Speaker 2: Edgar Hoover personally. Please inform Mr. Hoover that I will 298 00:23:38,610 --> 00:23:45,050 Speaker 2: come to Washington to see him on Thursday. Or maybe Friday. 299 00:23:45,070 --> 00:23:51,620 Speaker 1: Okay. Yes, yes, thought the call handler. Another nutter. We 300 00:23:51,640 --> 00:24:00,370 Speaker 1: get them all the time. It was now Sunday evening. 301 00:24:01,450 --> 00:24:05,030 Speaker 1: Why did Dash want to wait till Thursday or Friday 302 00:24:05,090 --> 00:24:08,410 Speaker 1: before travelling to Washington and risk one of the other 303 00:24:08,470 --> 00:24:13,330 Speaker 1: saboteurs giving him up first? There was something he wanted 304 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:21,460 Speaker 1: to do. Play Pinnacle. his favourite card game. On Monday evening, 305 00:24:21,740 --> 00:24:25,980 Speaker 1: Dash went to an old haunt, the Waiters' Club. He 306 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:30,050 Speaker 1: knew everyone there, and they knew him as a frustrated 307 00:24:30,130 --> 00:24:33,330 Speaker 1: waiter who'd always seemed to think he was cut out 308 00:24:33,430 --> 00:24:38,090 Speaker 1: for grander things. He'd talked a lot about politics, but 309 00:24:38,150 --> 00:24:41,270 Speaker 1: was he a Nazi or a communist? They were never sure. 310 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:47,240 Speaker 1: It disappeared mysteriously, and now he was back in expensive 311 00:24:47,340 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: new clothes. Where have you been? they asked. 312 00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,990 Speaker 2: Boys, don't ask me anything. I couldn't tell you the 313 00:24:56,070 --> 00:24:57,010 Speaker 2: truth anyway. 314 00:24:58,370 --> 00:25:01,230 Speaker 1: Dash took a seat at the pinnacle table and pulled 315 00:25:01,330 --> 00:25:03,460 Speaker 1: out a bunch of high-value notes. 316 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 2: Thank God I don't have to work as a waiter anymore. 317 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,820 Speaker 1: Dash played Pinnacle all through Monday night and all through 318 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:19,260 Speaker 1: Tuesday and all through Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning, he 319 00:25:19,340 --> 00:25:23,140 Speaker 1: paid the bills of everyone in the club, dispensed some 320 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:28,120 Speaker 1: handsome tips, took a taxi back to the hotel and slept. 321 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:35,120 Speaker 1: On Thursday, he went to Washington. On Friday, he finally 322 00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:39,970 Speaker 1: turned up at the F.B.I. By now, the FBI had 323 00:25:40,050 --> 00:25:43,590 Speaker 1: heard all about the Germans on the beach at Amagansett. 324 00:25:44,450 --> 00:25:46,670 Speaker 1: The young Coast Guard had given them a description of 325 00:25:46,730 --> 00:25:50,570 Speaker 1: the man he'd met. That description looked very much like 326 00:25:50,620 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: the man who was now telling an agent, I've. 327 00:25:53,740 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 2: Got a long story to tell. I want to tell 328 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 2: it in my own way. And I want to tell 329 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 2: it to J. Edgar Hoover. He should be expecting me. 330 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:10,460 Speaker 1: Mr. Hoover, alas, was not available. But please, said the agent, 331 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:16,940 Speaker 1: tell your story. Dash began to ramble about how it 332 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,350 Speaker 1: worked as a waiter and never liked the Nazis. He 333 00:26:20,370 --> 00:26:22,870 Speaker 1: went to Germany to visit his mother and got a 334 00:26:22,930 --> 00:26:26,090 Speaker 1: tap on the shoulder from the Abwehr. He listened to 335 00:26:26,110 --> 00:26:30,530 Speaker 1: the propaganda that America was broadcasting into Germany. It's terrible, 336 00:26:30,930 --> 00:26:33,370 Speaker 1: Dash complained. You should put me in charge. 337 00:26:34,230 --> 00:26:37,300 Speaker 2: I'll rally millions of Germans to the Allied Corpses. 338 00:26:38,220 --> 00:26:43,120 Speaker 1: The FBI agent tried to keep him focused. Where are 339 00:26:43,350 --> 00:26:51,290 Speaker 1: the other seven saboteurs? After rambling for 13 hours, Dash 340 00:26:51,670 --> 00:26:55,490 Speaker 1: finally mentioned at which New York hotel they could find 341 00:26:55,710 --> 00:26:59,510 Speaker 1: Peter Berger. He'd told Berger to keep tabs on the 342 00:26:59,630 --> 00:27:04,030 Speaker 1: other two who'd landed in Amagansett. And what about the 343 00:27:04,140 --> 00:27:10,010 Speaker 1: four from Florida? Ah, said Dash. He couldn't remember all 344 00:27:10,050 --> 00:27:12,990 Speaker 1: the details, but not to worry. It was all written 345 00:27:13,050 --> 00:27:17,030 Speaker 1: down in invisible ink on this handkerchief. To reveal the ink, 346 00:27:17,110 --> 00:27:25,320 Speaker 1: he said, you simply have to use some chemical. Which chemical, 347 00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 1: said the agent. 348 00:27:28,820 --> 00:27:30,880 Speaker 2: If I'd known you boys were going to ask all 349 00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:34,420 Speaker 2: these questions about it, I would have learned it. 350 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,370 Speaker 1: In his New York hotel room, Peter Berger got a 351 00:27:42,430 --> 00:27:49,550 Speaker 1: knock on the door. FBI, open up. Thank goodness, said Berger. 352 00:27:50,770 --> 00:27:56,910 Speaker 1: What took you so long? Back in Washington, George Dash 353 00:27:57,030 --> 00:27:59,210 Speaker 1: was still racking his noodle. 354 00:28:00,050 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 2: Ammonia! You need ammonia to read The Invisible Ink. 355 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: With his flashy new watch on his wrist, young Herbie 356 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:17,580 Speaker 1: Haupt was driving his Pontiac Coupé when men in suits 357 00:28:17,950 --> 00:28:25,210 Speaker 1: in a Hudson sedan pulled him over. FBI, they said. 358 00:28:26,530 --> 00:28:32,750 Speaker 1: We understand you're part of Operation Pastorius. Ah, yes, said 359 00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:37,650 Speaker 1: Herbie Haupt. I was going to tell you. Really, said 360 00:28:37,690 --> 00:28:45,210 Speaker 1: the G-men. When? Haupt explained what he'd been planning. See 361 00:28:45,250 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 1: his parents, buy a car, propose to his girlfriend. Then 362 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,140 Speaker 1: come clean about Operation Pastorious and then go on honeymoon. 363 00:28:54,620 --> 00:28:59,660 Speaker 1: The government men were incredulous. You thought we'd let you 364 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:05,540 Speaker 1: go on honeymoon? Haupt did indeed think that. After all, 365 00:29:06,420 --> 00:29:10,500 Speaker 1: he hadn't actually done any sabotage. So what was he 366 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: guilty of? They explained to him about the laws of war. 367 00:29:15,940 --> 00:29:21,570 Speaker 1: You landed in a U-boat with crates of explosives. You're 368 00:29:21,590 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 1: an unlawful combatant. You could be executed. One by one, 369 00:29:32,140 --> 00:29:36,920 Speaker 1: the FBI picked up the members of Operation Pastorius. They 370 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,250 Speaker 1: all told similar stories. In Germany, said one, I always 371 00:29:42,330 --> 00:29:44,970 Speaker 1: hoped something would come up to prevent me from going. 372 00:29:46,310 --> 00:29:51,180 Speaker 1: They were called furtive, guarded conversations. with one another. What 373 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:55,770 Speaker 1: do you think of our leader? Not much. Hmm. Perhaps 374 00:29:55,810 --> 00:30:00,230 Speaker 1: there'll be a way out. One saboteur said he always 375 00:30:00,310 --> 00:30:04,530 Speaker 1: knew they were doomed because Dash was an egomaniac and 376 00:30:04,570 --> 00:30:08,050 Speaker 1: a crackpot. He'd been hoping to see his mistress and 377 00:30:08,070 --> 00:30:14,270 Speaker 1: his wife again, then abscond to Argentina. The eight were 378 00:30:14,330 --> 00:30:20,290 Speaker 1: tried by a secret military tribunal. Journalists were allowed in 379 00:30:20,470 --> 00:30:25,210 Speaker 1: briefly to look at the saboteurs. That was disappointing, reported 380 00:30:25,230 --> 00:30:31,590 Speaker 1: the New York Times. They'd expected burly-booted stormtroopers or brutal 381 00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:38,970 Speaker 1: U-boat captains, but these individuals were inconspicuous, most ordinary looking. 382 00:30:40,990 --> 00:30:43,750 Speaker 1: The tribunal heard the statements the eight had given to 383 00:30:43,790 --> 00:30:50,620 Speaker 1: the FBI. The one from George Dash ran to 254 pages. 384 00:30:51,820 --> 00:30:55,620 Speaker 1: On the witness stand, Dash rambled off on so many 385 00:30:55,700 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: tangents the prosecutor despaired. We'll be here for a week 386 00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: if this goes on. I've never heard evidence like this 387 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:07,320 Speaker 1: in my life. Luckily, Peter Berger was much more succinct 388 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,380 Speaker 1: and just as keen to tell them everything that might 389 00:31:11,460 --> 00:31:15,470 Speaker 1: be useful. He told them about a ninth member of 390 00:31:15,500 --> 00:31:22,910 Speaker 1: their group who hadn't travelled at the last moment, Joseph Schmidt. Schmidt, 391 00:31:23,410 --> 00:31:30,480 Speaker 1: said Berger, was cool and deliberate, an excellent shot, big, 392 00:31:30,900 --> 00:31:37,870 Speaker 1: strong and self-reliant, a very intelligent individual. Perhaps this Schmidt 393 00:31:38,130 --> 00:31:41,630 Speaker 1: might be sent over later with another group of saboteurs. 394 00:31:42,510 --> 00:31:51,840 Speaker 1: The FBI put up wanted posters. The account that emerged 395 00:31:51,860 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: of the saboteurs' training was surprisingly impressive. In the crates 396 00:31:58,900 --> 00:32:03,380 Speaker 1: they'd buried in the sand, for instance, they'd been given explosives... 397 00:32:03,090 --> 00:32:07,400 Speaker 1: disguised as lumps of coal, an ingenious way to blow 398 00:32:07,470 --> 00:32:12,820 Speaker 1: up a coal-fired engine. They'd been given intricate timer devices 399 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:18,080 Speaker 1: disguised as fountain pens. The FBI's explosives expert was impressed. 400 00:32:19,580 --> 00:32:22,960 Speaker 1: One of their targets was a cryolite plant in Pennsylvania. 401 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: That puzzled the US government until they realised that their 402 00:32:27,980 --> 00:32:33,030 Speaker 1: entire aluminium industry depended on it. The Nazis had understood 403 00:32:33,090 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: their supply chain vulnerabilities better than they had themselves. Which 404 00:32:39,660 --> 00:32:44,800 Speaker 1: made it all the stranger that Operation Pastorius had been 405 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:52,670 Speaker 1: entrusted to such evidently inadequate individuals. The crackpot egomaniac, the 406 00:32:52,750 --> 00:32:57,950 Speaker 1: embittered Gestapo hater, the naive, impulsive kid, and we haven't 407 00:32:57,970 --> 00:33:00,850 Speaker 1: even got to the talkative drunk or the nervous wreck, 408 00:33:04,130 --> 00:33:08,030 Speaker 1: At the military tribunal, the defence lawyer said, isn't it 409 00:33:08,090 --> 00:33:10,670 Speaker 1: enough to lock them up? None of them have actually 410 00:33:10,730 --> 00:33:14,710 Speaker 1: done any sabotage and look at them, they probably never 411 00:33:14,750 --> 00:33:21,580 Speaker 1: would have. The prosecutor responded with sarcasm. Can it really 412 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:26,520 Speaker 1: be true that the Abwehr agent who recruited them was 413 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:31,490 Speaker 1: a dumbbell who chose eight morons? He demanded the death 414 00:33:31,550 --> 00:33:42,450 Speaker 1: penalty for them all. Operation Pastorius can surely tell us 415 00:33:42,510 --> 00:33:47,770 Speaker 1: something about the importance of good recruitment. But it also 416 00:33:47,830 --> 00:33:50,850 Speaker 1: reminds me of a classic study we've met before on 417 00:33:50,970 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales. The experiment of the smoke-filled room. Experimenters asked 418 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:00,760 Speaker 1: a subject to sit in a room, on their own, 419 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:05,380 Speaker 1: and fill out a form. Smoke began to pour in 420 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,900 Speaker 1: from a vent in the wall. Most subjects... as you'd expect, 421 00:34:10,580 --> 00:34:15,640 Speaker 1: got up and left. Then the experimenters varied the setup. 422 00:34:16,420 --> 00:34:19,330 Speaker 1: They put two actors in the room and told them 423 00:34:19,390 --> 00:34:24,190 Speaker 1: to ignore the smoke and carry on filling out their forms. Now, 424 00:34:24,470 --> 00:34:29,270 Speaker 1: when faced with the thickening smoke, the experimental subjects also 425 00:34:29,350 --> 00:34:32,390 Speaker 1: saw that the people sitting next to them were calmly 426 00:34:32,530 --> 00:34:37,710 Speaker 1: soldiering on, In that situation, just one in ten people 427 00:34:37,830 --> 00:34:41,510 Speaker 1: had the gumption to get up and leave. The others thought, 428 00:34:42,490 --> 00:34:47,570 Speaker 1: nobody else is leaving. Maybe this is fine? They kept 429 00:34:47,750 --> 00:34:51,910 Speaker 1: on filling their forms while rubbing their eyes and coughing. 430 00:34:53,850 --> 00:34:58,700 Speaker 1: The lesson. If you perceive danger, but others around you 431 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:02,920 Speaker 1: aren't taking action, don't assume you're the one who's wrong. 432 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:10,710 Speaker 1: There were nine people in the training camp for Operation Pastorius. 433 00:35:11,390 --> 00:35:14,410 Speaker 1: They had weeks to form a judgment of the competence 434 00:35:14,470 --> 00:35:18,570 Speaker 1: of their comrades and their leader and what that suggested 435 00:35:18,610 --> 00:35:23,590 Speaker 1: about their prospects of survival. Yet only one in nine 436 00:35:24,190 --> 00:35:29,430 Speaker 1: had the gumption and resourcefulness to extricate himself from the situation. 437 00:35:30,310 --> 00:35:36,850 Speaker 1: Joseph Schmidt. By injecting his penis with baking soda, Schmidt 438 00:35:37,290 --> 00:35:43,460 Speaker 1: saved himself. The tribunal sentenced all the saboteurs to death. 439 00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:49,260 Speaker 1: But two had their sentences commuted. George Dash and Peter 440 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:53,630 Speaker 1: Berger were held in prison. Dash was appalled. 441 00:35:54,750 --> 00:35:57,290 Speaker 2: I had all reason to believe that I would be 442 00:35:57,330 --> 00:36:00,710 Speaker 2: greeted with open arms, befriended as an ally. 443 00:36:01,910 --> 00:36:05,290 Speaker 1: Dash had fully expected to be put in charge of 444 00:36:05,490 --> 00:36:12,590 Speaker 1: US propaganda. Before his execution, naive young Herbie Haupt wrote 445 00:36:12,630 --> 00:36:15,790 Speaker 1: a letter to his mum. I did not know what 446 00:36:15,830 --> 00:36:18,210 Speaker 1: a grave offence it is to come here the way 447 00:36:18,270 --> 00:36:24,400 Speaker 1: I did in wartime. But what happened to Joseph Schmidt? 448 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:29,150 Speaker 1: I wish I could tell you. The last trace of 449 00:36:29,230 --> 00:36:32,130 Speaker 1: Schmidt in the historical record is the source of the 450 00:36:32,210 --> 00:36:36,140 Speaker 1: story with which I started this tale. The Kapitan Leutnant, 451 00:36:36,410 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 1: who had inspected Schmidt's frothy penis and banned him from 452 00:36:40,020 --> 00:36:44,620 Speaker 1: the U-boat, later bumped into him. They bonded over their 453 00:36:44,660 --> 00:36:51,710 Speaker 1: memories of the eight saboteurs. So incompetent, said the Kapitan Leutnant. 454 00:36:52,650 --> 00:36:57,810 Speaker 1: What a bunch of idiots. Anyway, did your... health problem 455 00:36:57,890 --> 00:37:03,350 Speaker 1: clear up? Schmidt grinned and told him about the baking soda. 456 00:37:04,330 --> 00:37:11,340 Speaker 1: After that, nothing. No mention of what Joseph Schmidt did next. 457 00:37:12,460 --> 00:37:16,870 Speaker 1: As a storyteller, that's disappointing. I'd have liked to end 458 00:37:16,910 --> 00:37:22,770 Speaker 1: this tale with his fate, but it's not surprising. Joseph 459 00:37:22,810 --> 00:37:29,530 Speaker 1: Schmidt was was the smartest person in Operation Pastorius. Once 460 00:37:29,590 --> 00:37:34,560 Speaker 1: the wanted posters went up, of course, he was never 461 00:37:34,660 --> 00:37:50,300 Speaker 1: heard from again. Sources for this episode include Saboteurs! The 462 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:55,240 Speaker 1: Nazi Raid on America by Michael Dobbs And They Came 463 00:37:55,340 --> 00:37:59,540 Speaker 1: to Kill, the story of eight Nazi saboteurs in America 464 00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:03,560 Speaker 1: by Eugene Rackliss. For a full list of our sources, 465 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:10,620 Speaker 1: see the show notes at timharford.com. Cautionary Tales is written 466 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,710 Speaker 1: by me, Tim Harford, with Andrew Wright, Alice Fiennes and 467 00:38:14,770 --> 00:38:18,950 Speaker 1: Ryan Dilley. It's produced by Georgia Mills and Marilyn Rust. 468 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:22,480 Speaker 1: The sound design and original music are the work of 469 00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:28,520 Speaker 1: Pascal Wise. Ben-Nadav Hafri edited the scripts. It features the 470 00:38:28,540 --> 00:38:33,990 Speaker 1: voice talents of Melanie Guttridge, Genevieve Gaunt, Stella Harford, Masaya Munro, 471 00:38:34,550 --> 00:38:39,330 Speaker 1: Jamal Westman and Rufus Wright. The show also wouldn't have 472 00:38:39,350 --> 00:38:42,710 Speaker 1: been possible without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Greta Cohn, 473 00:38:43,210 --> 00:38:49,530 Speaker 1: Eric Sandler, Carrie Brody, Christina Sullivan, Keira Posey and Owen Miller. 474 00:38:50,730 --> 00:38:54,550 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you 475 00:38:54,590 --> 00:38:58,570 Speaker 1: like the show, please remember to share, rate and review. 476 00:38:58,590 --> 00:39:02,080 Speaker 1: It really does make a difference to us. And if 477 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:04,920 Speaker 1: you want to hear it ad free and receive a 478 00:39:05,020 --> 00:39:10,660 Speaker 1: bonus audio episode, video episode and members only newsletter every month, 479 00:39:11,580 --> 00:39:15,520 Speaker 1: why not join the Cautionary Club? To sign up, head 480 00:39:15,580 --> 00:39:23,170 Speaker 1: to patreon.com slash cautionary club. That's patreon, P-A-T-R-E-O-N dot com 481 00:39:23,730 --> 00:39:25,690 Speaker 1: slash cautionary club.