Prompt Cast
German Saboteurs in World War II: Failed Operations and Betrayal
TLDR During World War II, German saboteurs attempted to infiltrate the United States to carry out acts of terrorism, but their operations were unsuccessful due to their incompetence and betrayal by one of their own. The FBI, with the help of a saboteur turned informant, was able to track down and arrest the remaining members of the team, leading to their punishment.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
During World War II, the Japanese carried out bombing campaigns in Oregon, and Nazi saboteurs landed in Armagansett, New York and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, but their operations went poorly due to their incompetence.
05:25
During World War II, Hitler planned to send saboteurs into the United States to infiltrate and attack New York City, but the plan was ultimately scrapped.
10:47
During World War II, a group of German saboteurs were recruited for Operation Pistorius, with two teams of four men each, who were trained in hand-to-hand combat and selected for their ability to pass as American citizens.
16:00
Team Einst consisted of four men, including a machinist and a man who had previously been imprisoned and forced into the army, while Team Survive was led by a man named Edward Curling who seemed to be the most competent person in the mission.
21:35
Team Einst and Team Survive were sent to the Abwehr school for 18 days of training in Jiu Jitsu and explosive techniques, after which they were given their assignments to destroy hydroelectric plants, aluminum factories, locks on the Ohio River, railroads, and carry out acts of terrorism in order to cripple the wartime effort and instill fear in Americans.
27:00
Team Eintz, one of the German sabotage teams, landed on the shore of Long Island in German military uniforms but quickly changed clothes and began burying their munitions to be used later for acts of sabotage, but they were discovered by a Coast Guard member while in the process of changing.
32:09
After being discovered by a Coast Guard member, Dosh tries to bribe him with money, but the Coast Guard member refuses and Dosh gives him $260 before leaving; the Coast Guard member then gathers his fellow Coast Guardsmen and they find the buried explosives and German military uniforms, leading to the FBI launching a manhunt for the German saboteurs.
37:28
Dosh and Berger split up in Manhattan, with Dosh planning to betray the mission and meet with J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI, but instead he calls the FBI and reveals their plan.
42:38
Dosh arrives in Washington, D.C. and calls the FBI to meet with J. Edgar Hoover, eventually convincing them to listen to his story and leading to the arrest of the rest of Team Eintz.
47:24
The FBI, with the help of Dosh, was able to track down and arrest the remaining members of Team Spy, leading to Dosh's own arrest as well.
52:27
FDR formed a military tribunal to try the German saboteurs, seeking the death penalty, but when he received the transcript of the trial, it became clear that Hoover hadn't done anything and FDR kept it quiet, ultimately electrocuting six of the saboteurs, sentencing two to hard labor, and deporting the rest to Germany.
57:54
The episode ends with a cute audio clip of a two-year-old boy named Archer expressing his love for the podcast "Stuff You Should Know," and the hosts encourage listeners to share similar stories.
Categories:
Society & Culture
