1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: show that unmasks history one day at a time. I'm 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're looking at the 5 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: story behind Operation Pastorius, in ill fated German mission to 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: attack American infrastructure during World War II. The day was 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: June twenty seventh, nineteen forty two. The FBI announced the 8 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: capture of eight Nazi saboteurs who had infiltrated the United 9 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: States by submarine. At a press conference held that evening, 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: FBI Director j Edgar Hoover hailed the arrests as quote, 11 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: the detective work of the century. But that was just 12 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: a cover story, partly to win some good press for 13 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: the bureau, but primarily to hide the truth of what 14 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: had happened from Adolf Hitler. Earlier that year, at the 15 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,560 Speaker 1: behest of the Furer himself, a German military intelligence initiated 16 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: a program to sabotage American wartime production. The plan was 17 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: for several groups of trained saboteurs to infiltrate the United 18 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: States and destroy critical infrastructure, including industrial plants, bridges, railroads, 19 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 1: and water works. The goal was to cripple America's ability 20 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: to manufacture and transport vital supplies and equipment, while also 21 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: demoralizing the civilian population. About a dozen saboteurs were chosen 22 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,480 Speaker 1: for the job, but only two of them were actually 23 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: in the German Army. The rest were civilians, blue collar workers. Mostly. 24 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: All of the men had been born in Germany, but 25 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: each had lived in the United States for an extended 26 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: period before the war, and a few had even gained 27 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: American citizenship. German high command hoped the men's backgrounds would 28 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: help them blend in more easily in the States and 29 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: reduce the risk of them being captured before their mission 30 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: was completed. Once selected, the men spent several weeks at 31 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: a secret farm near Berlin, where they were given a 32 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: crash course in chemistry, explosives and spycraft. The trainees were 33 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: then given tours of German industrial plants and transportation hubs 34 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,079 Speaker 1: so that they could learn the vulnerabilities of the types 35 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,839 Speaker 1: of targets they were meant to attack. In late May 36 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,640 Speaker 1: of that year, the first two teams, made up of 37 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: four men each, departed by submarine from a German base 38 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: at Laurent, France. One sub was bound for New York 39 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: and the other for Florida, and each team would land 40 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: at a point along the Atlantic coast familiar to its leader. 41 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: The New York team was the first to reach the 42 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: American coast, arriving just before midnight on June twelfth, nineteen 43 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,640 Speaker 1: forty two. The team was led by George John Dash, 44 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: a thirty nine year old restaurant worker who had once 45 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: served in the U. S. Army Air Corps. He and 46 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,399 Speaker 1: his team of three other amateur agents left the safety 47 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: of their submarine and boarded an inflatable boat, which they 48 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: then rowed to shore through heavy flag. He and his 49 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: team of three other amateur agents left the safety of 50 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: their submarine and boarded an inflatable boat, which they then 51 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: rowed to shore through heavy fog. A short time later, 52 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: they landed on a beach near Amagansett, Long Island. The 53 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: whole group was dressed in German uniforms so that in 54 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,560 Speaker 1: case they were caught landing, they would be treated as 55 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: prisoners of war rather than as spies. Once they saw 56 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: the coast was clear, they discarded their uniforms and don 57 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: civilian clothing. Then they set to work burying all their 58 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: explosives primers and other sabotage material, which they planned to 59 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: retrieve later once they were settled. Everything was going according 60 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:05,440 Speaker 1: to plan that night, but then, just as they finished 61 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,800 Speaker 1: burying the contraband, the group was spotted by a US 62 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: coastguardsman who was out patrolling the shore. Dash tried to 63 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,359 Speaker 1: bribe the suspicious guardsman, John C. Cullen, and to his 64 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: great relief, Culin took the money and promised to keep quiet. However, 65 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: as soon as the guardsman was out of view, he 66 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: took off, running back to the Coastguard station and told 67 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,919 Speaker 1: his superiors everything that had happened. It didn't take long 68 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: for a search party to find the buried German supplies, 69 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:40,039 Speaker 1: but by that point the saboteers were long gone, having 70 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,960 Speaker 1: already boarded a train to New York City. The Coast 71 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: Guard informed the FBI of their discovery and a massive 72 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: man hunt was launched to find the German invaders. Meanwhile, 73 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: Dash and his team had no idea the FBI was 74 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: on their trail. As far as they knew, the bribe 75 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:02,640 Speaker 1: had worked and their secret was safe. But George Dash 76 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: was keeping a secret of his own. He had no 77 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: intention of carrying out Operation Pastorius. In fact, he hated 78 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: the Nazis and wanted nothing more than to escape their 79 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: control and resume his old life in America. The day 80 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: after their landing, Dash shared this secret with Ernst Peter Berger, 81 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,960 Speaker 1: the member of the team he trusted the most. It 82 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:28,680 Speaker 1: was a risky move, but it turned out that Berger 83 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,039 Speaker 1: wasn't a fan of the Nazi Party either. The two 84 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: men talked it over and decided to sell out their 85 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: colleagues by going to the FBI and revealing the operation 86 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: in exchange for leniency. Dash got the ball rolling by 87 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,159 Speaker 1: calling the FBI's New York office and telling them that 88 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: he was a German saboteur named Pastorius. His alias was 89 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,240 Speaker 1: a German surname meaning shepherd, but it was also the 90 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 1: code name of the mission, Operation Pastorius. Unfortunately, the person 91 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: and he spoke to didn't take the claim seriously and 92 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: actually hung up the phone, thinking the whole thing was 93 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: a prank. The FBI's chili reception put Dash on edge, 94 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: and he worried that the Nazis may have infiltrated the bureau, 95 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: as his leaders had often claimed, and that he may 96 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: have just outed himself as a turncoat over the phone. 97 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,920 Speaker 1: He reasoned that if that was the case, then he 98 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: and Berger's best bet now was to contact a loyal 99 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: FBI agent before the Nazi moles could retaliate, and so 100 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 1: a few days later, Dash traveled to Washington, d c. 101 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: Checked into a hotel, and called the FBI headquarters just 102 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: down the road. He referenced his prior call as pastorious 103 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:46,480 Speaker 1: and told him where he was staying in town and 104 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:50,039 Speaker 1: that he'd like to turn himself in. The direct approach 105 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: did the trick, and within the hour Dash was contacted 106 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: by federal agents and taken into custody. Over the next 107 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: several days, he was interrogated about one free aspect of 108 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: his mission. He told the FBI about the two landing 109 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:07,040 Speaker 1: parties and how the second four man team would have 110 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: just arrived in Florida a few days earlier. He also 111 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: revealed the identities of his fellow saboteurs and their possible whereabouts, 112 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: making sure to note that Burger had defected as well. 113 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: Thanks to Dash's intel, Burger and the rest of the 114 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: Long Island team were arrested in a matter of days. 115 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: Two members of the Florida team were picked up not 116 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: long after, and then on June twenty seventh, The last 117 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 1: two saboteurs were arrested in Chicago just two weeks after 118 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,320 Speaker 1: the first landing and Long Island. All eight men were 119 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: in custody, and the only thing any of them had 120 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 1: managed to sabotage was their own mission. Hoover rushed to 121 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: break the news to the press that very evening, but 122 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: was careful to leave out Dash's role in the capture. 123 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 1: It was in America's best interest for Hitler to think 124 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,520 Speaker 1: that his plan had been foiled by the brill and 125 00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: deficiency of the FBI, rather than by his own men's disloyalty. 126 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: That way, the Nazis might think twice about risking an 127 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: expensive submarine on another attempt at sabotage. To help protect 128 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: the FBI, Secret President Franklin D. Roosevelt commissioned a special 129 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: military tribunal to try the captured saboteurs. One month later, 130 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: in late July, all eight men were found guilty and 131 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: sentenced to death. Thanks to an appeal from Attorney General 132 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: Biddle and j Edgar Hoover, Dash and Burger later had 133 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: their sentences commuted, the former to a thirty year sentence, 134 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,839 Speaker 1: in the latter to life in prison. Both were ultimately 135 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: freed and returned to Germany in nineteen forty eight, but 136 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: their six co conspirators weren't so lucky. On August eighth, 137 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty two, all six of them were executed by 138 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: electric chair in Washington, d C. That was the end 139 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: of Operation Pastorious, but it wasn't the last time that 140 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:08,440 Speaker 1: German spies would try to infiltrate America by submarine. Nineteen 141 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: forty four, two more German agents tried to land on 142 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: the coast of Maine once again, though they were apprehended 143 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 1: by the FBI almost immediately, leading Hitler to abandon his 144 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:27,680 Speaker 1: dreams of sabotage for good. I'm gabeluesyay, and hopefully you 145 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 146 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you'd like to keep up with the show, 147 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 148 00:09:37,559 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 149 00:09:42,320 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: feel free to send them my way by writing to 150 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,640 Speaker 1: this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Kasby Bias 151 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 152 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 153 00:09:55,880 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: in History class. The pick the pos