WW1 German Spies Infiltrated America and Attempted to Start a Race War

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On January 30, 1918, a young man “with the appearance of a well-educated, debonair foreigner” arrived at the U.S. customs station in Nogales, Arizona, located on the border with Mexico. After politely informing the customs inspector that he had come to complete his draft registration questionnaire and meet a friend in San Francisco, he was approved to cross the border into the United States. Lothar Witzke, the most dangerous German agent in the western hemisphere had reached his destination. His assignment: launch a campaign of sabotage, insurrection, and murder to destabilize the American home front.

The terror campaign would be devastating - unless it could be stopped by U.S. counterintelligence.

The Witzke mission was the intelligence game played at its highest level - a plan for destruction on a massive scale, violent insurrection, and assassination, complete with master spies and double agents, diabolical sabotage devices, secret codes, and invisible ink.

To look at these forgotten elements of German sabotage and assassination plots in the United States during World War One is today’s guest, Bill Mills, author of “ Agents of the Iron Cross.”

Transcript

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0:00.0	Scott here with another episode of the History Unplugged Podcast.
0:08.0	On January 30th, 1918, a young man who is described as having the appearance of a well-educated debonair foreigner
0:14.1	arrived at the U.S. Custom Station in Nogales, Arizona, located on the border with Mexico.
0:18.4	After informing the Customs Inspector that he had come to complete his draft registration,
0:22.4	he was approved across the border into the United States.
0:25.0	But he was actually Lothar Wittsky, a German agent who was assigned to launch a campaign of sabotage,
0:30.3	Insurection, and murder toabilize the American Home Front.
0:33.2	Witski was one of many foreign spies in the United States along with Kurt Yanki,
0:37.9	an ex-US Marine who was an ethnic German and performed such espionage acts as
0:42.2	nearly sinking the world's largest cargo ship
0:44.4	and the 1916 attack on the Munitions Depot on Black Time Island in New York.
0:48.8	In today's episode, I'm speaking with Bill Mills, author of Agents of the Iron Cross, and we look at the level of German infiltration
0:54.9	in the United States up to and during World War I, how much of an effect they had on the war effort,
0:59.7	and what would have happened if their plans had succeeded?
1:02.3	Specifically, starting a race war in the United States,
1:05.0	and triggering an attack from Mexico on the southern border so widespread that it would have
1:08.9	prevented the American Expeditionary Force from coming to Europe at all.
1:12.1	Over a hundred years later, there's still much to learn about World War I,
1:15.0	such as German espionage and US counter-espionage.
1:18.0	Hope you enjoy this discussion with Bill Mills.
1:20.0	And one more thing before we get started with this episode, a quick break for word from our sponsors.
1:27.0	This episode is brought to you by Wise, the account that helps you manage your money all around the world.
	...

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