WWII Espionage

[MelissaAnne]

Hi all -

I need to start doing research on WWII espionage for an upcoming project of mine. I have quite a few books on the OSS, but I'm looking for more information about agents who might have infiltrated Germany between the years of 1939-1943.

Also - any basic books on espionage from the British perspective or other European nations during WWII would be appreciated, as well. I've found a few, but I'd really like to get your opinions!

Thanks in advance...

Melissa

 

[J.B.Saxon]

I spy 4 U

Hi Melissa,

you are always on special and interresting researches! Let´s see what we can do for you this time. I sure will have an eye on that subject.

Semper Fi

J.B.

 

[MelissaAnne]

J.B. - Thanks for keeping your eyes open!

This is probably going to be quite the project, but I'm really excited about it.

 

[Cobden]

Whilst I'm afraid I cannot direct you to a paticular fact boook about the question, I can infrom you that the British Equlivalent of OSS was SOE (special operations executive); who took over all espionage activities from MI6 (now called the Secret Intelligence Service) in 1939 IIRC, due to penetration fears. SOE was lagrely comprised of women, (due to the fact that most men had been drafted into the military) whom effectively held the rank of an officer (for reasons of interrogation), traditionally in FANY although in WWII WAAF was more common. A fascinating piece of British history...

 

[Story]

Richard Harris Smith notes in his book that the OSS had the devil of a time setting up anything in Germany, to the same extent they did in France.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592287298/002-8725866-3749660?v=glance&n=283155

You might want to dig into what Germany's erstwhile friend the Soviet Union was up to during the period in question.

 

[MelissaAnne]

Here's what I'm wondering. According to the book, Piercing the Reich by Joseph Persico, the OSS wasn't successful in penetrating Nazi Germany until 1944. Does this mean that there were absolutely NO American agents in Germany until then? I'm inclined to think that there had to be some. Am I way off base on this?

 

[MelissaAnne]

Cobden - You've piqued my interest. I'll have to try and find out some info on British espionage, as well. Thanks so much.

 

[MrBern]

npr

NPR had somethign on lady spyz a few years ago


http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/apr/spies/


and this book is out:
http://thedropzone.org/oss/default.asp

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Hard to say.

Here's what I'm wondering. According to the book, Piercing the Reich by Joseph Persico, the OSS wasn't successful in penetrating Nazi Germany until 1944. Does this mean that there were absolutely NO American agents in Germany until then? I'm inclined to think that there had to be some. Am I way off base on this?

But Americans have always seemed to be ,.... well, more concerned with America and our own culture than with the rest of the world. I think that there were just not very many Americans that could convincingly blend into German society at that time.
On the other hand, many Germans lived in this country for years and learned American popular culture well enough to pose as American GIs during The Battle of the Bulge. There was even a sabotage attempt by German agents that snuck ashore from a U-boat!

 

[MelissaAnne]

Mr. Bern - I have the OSS book on my shelf - didn't know about the Web site, though, or the NPR interview. Thanks for the tips!

Maj. Nick - Had no idea about the Battle of the Bulge fake American soldiers. Wow. I'd like to read more about that, too.

From the bit of research I've done so far, America really wasn't equipped with an intelligence agency at the outbreak of the war. I guess the whole "isolationism" policy might have had something to do with that.

It surprises me that we waited so long (nearly two years into the war) to penetrate Germany. I'm hoping to find some evidence that there were American agents in Germany before this.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

MelissaAnne, do some research on Otto Skorzeny. He was involved in that Battle of the Bulge incident, among many others. Kind of an Austrian James Bond.

 

[Story]

http://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol49no4/Female_Spy_8.htm

 

[MelissaAnne]

Great article, Story! I just printed it out. Thanks.

 

[BellyTank]

If you haven't read "The Ultra Secret", (by Fredrick William Winterbotham)
it would be a good source.

British intelligence in WW2, decrypting German coded messages, etc.

I have read it recently-

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440190614/102-2772516-6144923?v=glance&n=283155



B
T

 

[MelissaAnne]

Excellent, BellyTank! Thanks. And at a cost of only .01 plus shipping, I can have a used one.

 

[BellyTank]

Excellent!

That book was written by the old phart who was a king pin, working at Bletchley Park- he wrote a good few years after the fact, due to the constraints of the official secrets act, or some such- so it's straight(a little later) from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Enjoy!

B
T

 

[Twitch]

In postwar times of the late 1940s 50% of the OSS-cum-CIA operatives were ex-Nazis. Many had their backgrounds cleansed under Operation Paperclip.

If it is to be believed, Allen Dulles, under the cover of covert plans called Operation Sunrise, Overcast, and Paperclip, actually brought SS intelligence officers to the US as early as 1943 for the purpose of collaboration on the advanced technology and to bolster US intelligence ops.[huh]

 

[mikepara]

Heres one..

...that normally gets missed off the book lists. Moondrop To Gascony by Anne-Marie Walters. and as it states on the front: 20 year old girl tells of her adventures as a secret agent. Macmillan & Co 1946.

 

[mikepara]

The women who..

...Lived for Danger. The Women Agents of SOE in the second World War. By Marcus Binney. 2002 Coronet .

Nancy Wake The Story of a very brave woman. By Russell Braddon. 1956, Cassell

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I suppose everyone's already read "A Man Called Intrepid" by William Stevenson. It came out in the late 1970s when a lot of what happened at Bletchley was being declassified. It was quite controversial and may not be entirely accurate, but it's a good read.