Nazi Saboteurs: Prologue–Part One

Cullen was a "beach pounder," and one of his duties was patrolling the three-mile stretch of desolate shoreline for any suspicious activity.

He also couldn't see the German submarine a quarter of a mile away from the shoreline. Or the Nazi saboteurs in a rubber boat filled with explosives bobbing in the water not twenty feet away from him.

His former employer described him as "a thoroughly wholesome, typically American boy" with a "modest demeanor."

By signing the treaty, Germany had accepted the blame for starting World War I and agreed to pay billions of dollars in reparations to other countries.

He didn't want to be a "rat" and renounce his German citizenship in a time of war.

But in Hitler's Germany, labor unions were outlawed, and neither communism nor socialism was tolerated even though the Nazi Party's full name was the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

At the same time, the Nazi Party considered democracy even worse, and was vehemently opposed to it.

Hitler was a charismatic and hypnotic speaker.

He also promised more jobs, which appealed to the unemployed working class—and would resonate strongly with Dasch.

Specifically, he was targeting people of the Jewish faith, but it also included Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholic priests, anyone with a physical or mental disability, Roma, black people, homosexuals, prostitutes, alcoholics, pacifists, vagrants, and criminals.

"We have a war. You shouldn't have done it."
Dasch tried to push aside any misgivings, but it was difficult to expel them from his mind in Nazi Germany.

He was an energetic but unscrupulous reporter, willing to take bribes to slant stories.

Kappe asked Dasch if he wanted to work for either the German foreign office or some other endeavor.

First, Kappe hinted that something was soon going to happen that would expedite a plan he and his office had been working on for some time.

Although Haupt was a dapper dresser, he was a big spender and flat broke.

Part of Dasch's job was to go through the files of prospective saboteurs and learn their personal histories.

Dasch possessed good manners and spoke eloquently, seemingly unaware that he often touched his nose or forehead with his index finger when he talked.

Although they had not been back to Germany, Hans had instilled in his only child a fervent passion for the Fatherland.

Despite being low on funds, it didn't dampen their spirits. To them, the hairier the situation became, the more exciting it was.

"I felt his return to Germany had been something of a boyish lark and he had ended up trapped...still there was something serious about him."

Dasch detected a shrewdness in Haupt, and street smarts.

"Wergin will be held in Germany," Kappe had said.
Wergin was Kappe's collateral, so Haupt wouldn't "double-cross this whole thing."

The farmer, along with his wife and children, lived in a one-story stone house on the farm. Nearby, their ducks waddled about and their chickens pecked the ground, searching for bits of food. At first glance, it looked like an idyllic pastoral setting—except there were guards in Nazi uniforms on the premises and a stone wall with a barbed-wire fence surrounding it.

But even the forest wasn't as idyllic as it seemed. Among the evergreen pine trees, Nazis had stealthily planted larch trees.

In the autumn, only the larch trees changed color, revealing a golden-yellow swastika in the center of the swath of green.

He informed them that they were going to be schooled in the use of explosives and incendiaries.

By inflaming feelings of bigotry and hate toward certain ethnic groups, other Americans would marginalize and stigmatize them, resulting in mutual animosity and distrust.

By inflaming feelings of bigotry and hate toward certain ethnic groups, other Americans would marginalize and stigmatize them, resulting in mutual animosity and distrust.

But they were to be careful not to kill or injure anyone, because that would create feelings of indignation toward Germany.

As an expert on American ways, Kappe ordered Dasch to take charge and help create plausible cover stories that would stand up under intense scrutiny.

Quirin had proved to be intelligent, audacious, and loyal to the Nazi Party.

Burger decided to be forthright with Dasch about his trouble with the Gestapo. But Dasch already knew and told Burger they could talk about it later.

Burger, who was better versed in the political intricacies of the Nazi regime than the others, explained the infighting among the organizations for power and dominance.

In fact, the Abwehr was in competition with the Gestapo. And there was so much animosity between the Abwehr and the Gestapo that they weren't allowed to frequent many of the same places because it would result in fights.

Despite Haupt's gregarious, life-of-the-party attitude, Burger saw something sinister in him.

Kerling didn't like Dasch's lackadaisical attitude toward their studies, and he hounded Dasch about learning the formulas.

In Berlin they toured the canal system and learned the best way to destroy a lock, which was integral to the raising and lowering of the water levels while transporting supplies.

Disclosing information about their secret mission was punishable by death.

The sabotage expedition was better equipped with sabotage apparatus and better trained than any other expedition.

Speaks English well with a penchant for slang.