Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-11-25
How the FB1 Crippled Nazi Sabotage
Before 1t Could Gain a Foothold Here
BY William A. Millen

Despite elaborate preparations, thl
German, high command, in sending
saboteurs to the United States with
orders to cripple Americas efficient.
gigantic war machine, made four major
mistakes:
I. Failed to evaluate properly the hu-
man factor, which sent one of the sabo-
teurs, former resident of the United
States and CT of prewar days, to give
out the whole plot to the Federal Blu
reau of Investigation.
2. Permitted foreign markings includ-
ing japanese characters, to remain on
the bills given the saboteurs to buy their
way into the United States.
8. Gave their agents, landed from
U-boats. the old-fashioned United
States gold notes to pass-gold bills that
have been scarcer over here than the
proverbial hens teeth for many years
in the Land of the Free and the Home
of the Brave.
4. Neglected to provide assistance to
the saboteurs when they landed in the
United States.
The Sub Ran Aground.
But if the school for saboteurs made
mistakes, SO did the United States.
For, in the opinion of interested Gov
eminent officials, had the military au-
thorities acted promptly, not only could
the four saboteurs that landed on Long
Island have been rounded up that night
but the German submarine that brought
them here could have been taken. For
the big undersea craft was fouled on a
sand bar for some time, easy prey to
alert mariners, that dark June night on
the lonely Long Island coast.
Further, had the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, used to acting with dis
patch in setting up road blocks and
conducting searches, been informed of
the true situation, speedily, officials say
that the saboteurs would not have been
given time to wander to New York and
Washington and elsewhere and permit
ted to exercise their ingenuity.
Turned States Evidence
But the God in whom the United
States trusts was benign and two of
the men who had lived in this good
land before going to the school for
saboteurs In the fatherland turned
States evidence, when they came to
these shores. Little wonder that their
lives were spared and, doubtless, when
the rancor of war has run its course and
the great World War II has receded
farther into history, these two men will
receive parole or official pardon.
Consider the automatic German thor
oughness with which the Nazis went
about training these men for the only
foreign invasion of World War II into
the United States" For while there
were rumors of japanese setting foot
upon this soil, no soldier, sailor or ma
rine of Emperor Hirohito invaded the
United States, from plane, from subma-
rine-or otherwise.
Only Two Groups Landed.
Only two groups of Germans, one on
Long Island and one on Florida, landed
on these well-guarded shores. On the
night of June ID, 1912, one group of four
saboteurs landed on the beach at
Amagansett Long Island. A few miles
below Jacksonville, Fla, on June II, 1912,
another group of four men landed from
a submarine of Germany, bent upon
destruction
The interruption of production at
aluminium and magnesium plants
needed in military aircraft production
was the special mission of these two
groups of saboteurs.
BY June n, 1912, all men of both
groups were in Federal custody, al
though they had dispersed to various
parts of the Nation. Soon thereafter
came the electrocution at District Jail,
August 8, dealing death to the invader
in this very city of Washington. And
the six were buried in Potter's Field at
Blue Plains, D. C.
Now it Can Be Told
Behind this climax lies an engaging
story
1t. Walter Kappe, attached to Abwehr
2 Intelligence D of the German high
command and in charge of German
sabotage in the United States, recruited
the saboteurs. Kappe was an official in
the Ausland Institute at Stuttgart, Ger
many, engaged in organizing into the
Nazi party Germans living abroad
1t Is interesting to note that not only
Kappe, but the saboteurs themselves,
had spent part of their lives in the
United States. Kappe resided here from
1925 to 1887. He aided in organizing
the first Nazi group in this country at
Chicago. 1t was called Teutonia. He
became a leader in the Friends of New
Germany, which later became the Ger
man-American Bund.
Seen Near Alexandria, Va.
In the bund Kappe was press agent
propaganda chief and editor of the off,
clal paper. Due to inner politics Fritz
Kuhn, notorious leader of the bund, re-
Gently deported, ousted Kappe from the
organization here. Kappe then returned
to Germany. Although Kappe was re-
ported seen near the Alexandria Va)
Naval Torpedo Station, he never came
back to the United States.
Germans who formerly resided in the
United States were interviewed by
Kappe, one of the officials in charge of
the meetings of this group-called Com
radeship U. S. A, Several of the sabo-
teurs were recruited from this organ
ization. Kappe, drawing upon the Ger
man Army, was able to secure the trans
fer of some of IFS members for sohotaoe