1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: show that proves there's more than one way to make history. 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Luzier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: an unusual case of psychological warfare from the closing months 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: of World War II. The day was February fifth, nineteen 7 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: forty five. US forces began a secret operation to distribute 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: Allied propaganda through Germany's own postal service. It was dubbed 9 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: Operation Cornflakes because the German mail was typically delivered in 10 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: the early morning, when most people were sitting down to 11 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: their breakfast. By the early months of nineteen forty five, 12 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: Germany's defeat seemed all but inevitable, even to many of 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: its own military leaders. That said, in official surrender was 14 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,480 Speaker 1: still several months away, and in the meantime, American forces 15 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:15,399 Speaker 1: were sustaining heavy losses. This led Allied intelligence officers to 16 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: begin brainstorming ways to hasten the war's conclusion. Propaganda had 17 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: proven an effective tool for weakening German morale, and in 18 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: the final stages of the war, when most German civilians 19 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: had lost any hope of victory, there was even a 20 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: chance that the right propaganda might spark a rebellion against 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: the Nazis. The problem was how to get the message 22 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: into the hands of ordinary Germans. The usual method of 23 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:46,639 Speaker 1: distributing propaganda air dropping leaflets, was incredibly hit or miss. 24 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: Rain or wind could easily destroy the materials before anyone 25 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: had the chance to pick them up, and if the 26 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: leaflets landed in public spaces, many people would avoid picking 27 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,000 Speaker 1: them up altogether lest they be seen by their neighbors 28 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: and reported to the Gestapo. The Office of Strategic Services 29 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: or the OSS, had grappled with these concerns all through 30 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,679 Speaker 1: the war, but this time they hit upon a way 31 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: to remove the variables. By disguising the propaganda as regular mail, 32 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: they could trick the German postal service into delivering misinformation 33 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,360 Speaker 1: to its own citizens. That way, people could read the 34 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: material in the privacy of their own homes. In order 35 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 1: for the plan to succeed, OSS operatives first had to 36 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: learn all the ins and outs of the Third Reich's 37 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 1: mail service. Most of the pertinent info was gathered from 38 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:41,799 Speaker 1: German POWs and deserters who had once been postal workers themselves. 39 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: The operatives also studied samples of mail bags, envelopes, stamps, 40 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,960 Speaker 1: and postal markings so that their replicas would be as 41 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: faithful as possible. Two million German mailing addresses were collected 42 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 1: for the project, and real legitimate businesses were used for 43 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: the return addresses. The propaganda pieces were specially printed for 44 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,639 Speaker 1: the operation. One letter was from a fictitious group called 45 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: the Association of Lonely War Women. It was sent exclusively 46 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: to German soldiers and implied that their wives and girl 47 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: friends had taken new lovers while they were away. There 48 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: was also a whole made up newspaper which claimed to 49 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: be printed by an opposition group in Germany that wanted 50 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: the recipient to join the movement. Perhaps the most stirring 51 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: material produced, though, was a series of postcards from the 52 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: so called War Mothers Group. These hand written cards were 53 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: alleged to come from lonely mothers who wish their sons 54 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: would abandon their posts and come home. One such card, 55 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: translated from German, said quote, after five years of struggle 56 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: against overwhelming enemy power, you have done more than your duty. 57 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: To day, the war is lost and the enemy is 58 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: within our country. We are abandoned and helpless. Do not 59 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: leave your mothers alone in the hour of danger, come home. 60 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: A great deal of effort went into making the materials 61 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: look and sound convincing, but the most vital task was 62 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: reproducing the then current German stamps that were in circulation. 63 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: The operation required far more stamps than could be sourced legitimately, 64 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: so master forgers were tasked with replicating them down to 65 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: the smallest detail. The most common stamps of the era 66 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: featured a portrait of Hitler's face above the text deutschs 67 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: Reich or German Empire. Forgeries of that stamp were used 68 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 1: on the outside covers of the male but inside the 69 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:43,279 Speaker 1: envelopes operatives included extra stamps with two small but meaningful changes. 70 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: Hitler's face was modified to show his exposed skull, and 71 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: the text German Empire was changed to ruined Empire. Once 72 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:56,799 Speaker 1: all the materials were ready, it was time for Operation 73 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: corn Flakes to officially begin. The plan was to bomb 74 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: German mail trains and then drop bags of subversive mail 75 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,559 Speaker 1: into the wreckage. The hope was that the phony mail 76 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,240 Speaker 1: would blend in so well with the real deal that 77 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: German authorities wouldn't know the difference and would just deliver 78 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: it all as usual, The operation launched with its first 79 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: attack on February fifth, nineteen forty five. That morning, American 80 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: P thirty eight fighter planes dropped bombs on a German 81 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: mail train bound for Linz. Then a few minutes later, 82 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: a second wave of fighters dropped eight bags of mail 83 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: filled with nearly three thousand pieces of Allied propaganda. The 84 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: ruse worked perfectly, and over the next three months it 85 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:47,599 Speaker 1: was carried out again and again on nineteen subsequent missions. Unfortunately, 86 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: the whole scheme fell apart thanks to a typo. After 87 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,279 Speaker 1: the air raid of March sixteenth, a German clerk noticed 88 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,120 Speaker 1: a misspelling in one of the return addresses, and when 89 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,960 Speaker 1: the same error was found on set several other pieces 90 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: of mail, officials opened the envelopes and the jig was up. 91 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: In total, three hundred and twenty fake mail bags containing 92 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:13,719 Speaker 1: about ninety six thousand forged letters were dropped over southern 93 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: Germany and Austria. It's believe that the vast majority of 94 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: that mail made it into German homes, though it's difficult 95 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,599 Speaker 1: to say exactly how much impact it had on the 96 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: country's psyche. Once the war was over, about ten thousand 97 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: German POWs said they had been directly affected by OSS 98 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: propaganda at some point during the war, but it's unknown 99 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: how many of those cases were due to Operation corn 100 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: Flakes specifically. What we do know is that the missions 101 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: were a strategic success. The bombing of mail trains put 102 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: additional strain on German resources, forcing the repair of mail 103 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: routes and disrupting the already chaotic communications and transportation sectors. 104 00:06:57,480 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: As for the material that was dropped, most of the 105 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: forge stamps, envelopes, and the propaganda itself didn't survive the war. 106 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: The Post office destroyed much of it after the plot 107 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: was uncovered, and the rest was thrown away by the 108 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: people who received it. That said, a few of the 109 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 1: items did survive, and the ones that aren't in museums 110 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 1: now command a hefty price on the collector's market. In fact, 111 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: the Hitler skull stamps in particular, are so sought after 112 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: that some people have even started selling reproductions forgeries of 113 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: a forgery. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, 114 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: but I'm not so sure that stands when it's a 115 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: picture of your own rotting skull that's being imitated. I'm Gayblusier, 116 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,239 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 117 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can learn even more 118 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 119 00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: at TDI HC Show, and if you have any feedback 120 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,120 Speaker 1: to share, feel free to get in touch by writing 121 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler 122 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,560 Speaker 1: Mays for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 123 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 124 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: in history class.