Return to the Reich
Page 25
“Gauleiter Hofer’s behavior”: Albert Kesselring, The Memoirs of Field-Marshal Kesselring, (Novato, CA: Presidio, 1989), 284.
he might be willing: “Greenup Debriefing Report,” OSS Records.
“I suggest you surrender”: Mayer interview, Shoah Foundation.
Hofer quickly assented: “Greenup Debriefing Report,” OSS Records.
“Am at present”: Ulmer, “The Gulliver Mission,” 71.
unlocking Freddy’s handcuffs: Güttner, “Treatment of Fred Maier,” OSS Records.
“with his life”: Persico, Piercing the Reich, 290–91.
there was no reason for alarm: “Absprung nach Tirol,” Das Fenster.
hauled to Reichenau: B. A. “Jimmy” James, Moonless Night: The Second World War Escape Epic (Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Military, 2001), 179.
announced a metal sign: Ibid., 178.
which of the Nazis: “Absprung nach Tirol,” Das Fenster.
hanged three Austrian resisters: James, Moonless Night, 181.
thought of himself: Mayer audio interview, Persico Papers. “I always had a feeling that at Reichenau they were . . . going to shoot me and ask no questions so there would be no witnesses,” Freddy said.
before giving up the fight: “Absprung nach Tirol,” Das Fenster.
“a last-ditch stand”: “Greenup Debriefing Report,” OSS Records.
“to save German”: Schwab, OSS Agents in Hitler’s Heartland, 150.
to surrender unconditionally”: Ulmer, “The Gulliver Mission,” 71.
begin his radio broadcast: Ibid.
his word “as an officer”: “Greenup Debriefing Report,” OSS Records.
not mentioning: Ibid.
told the major everything: Memo from Maj. Bland West, May 6, 1945, in support of commendation for Fred Mayer.
“Heil Hitler!”: Memo from 103rd Army Division, OSS Records.
inside Güttner’s wallet: Ulmer, “The Gulliver Mission,” 70.
“What do you think we are”: Mayer audio interview, Persico Papers.
EPILOGUE: AFTER THE FALL
“to arrange the surrender”: “Report on Mission to Innsbruck,” nomination of Frederick Mayer for officer’s commission, May 26, 1945, 2677th Regiment headquarters.
“by far the most successful”: Casey, The Secret War Against Hitler, 209.
“without a drop of blood”: Ibid., 210.
“the most productive”: Anthony Cave Brown, The Secret War Report of the OSS (New York: Brandt and Brandt, 1976), 557.
“destroy completely”: OSS memo from Col. Howard Chapin recommending award for Frederick Mayer, September 17, 1945, OSS Records.
“The front died”: “U.S. Tactical Air Power in Europe,” Impact 3, no. 5 (May 1945): 62–66.
“severe” cuts: Description of medical examination conducted in Salz-burg, Austria, on May 14, 1945, included in OSS citation nominating Mayer for Purple Heart award on July 26, 1945, OSS Records.
“outstanding performance”: Memo to 2677th Regiment/OSS, May 26, 1945, from Lt. Col. William P. Maddox, OSS Records.
shined shoes: Mayer interview, Shoah Foundation.
You look as though: Ulmer audio interview, Persico Papers.
“actual conflict”: Memo from Army Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee, April 8, 1946, rejecting recommendation for Medal of Honor, OSS Records.
“one of the great unsung heroes”: Lichtblau, “Frederick Mayer, Jew Who Spied on Nazis After Fleeing Germany, Dies at 94,” New York Times, April 20, 2016.
“supports the original decision”: Army Board for Correction of Military Records, record of proceedings in case of Frederick Mayer, May 9, 2013, Schwab Papers.
“the residue of human misery”: Mayer interview, Shoah Foundation.
“wasted so much time”: Ibid.
He would like to see that: Ibid.
“not suitable for staff”: “Theater Service Report” on Mayer written by Ulmer, November 16, 1945, OSS Records.
“Torture Endured by Brooklynite”: New York Times, October 5, 1945.
beaming with pride: Mayer interview, Shoah Foundation.
a pair of silk stockings: Mayer intervew, Schwab Papers.
salvaged two paintings: Wynberg emails, from Hans Wynberg to Marjorie Bingham, July 30, 2009.
seized the family bike-tire factory: Hans said that he and his brother, Luke, were able to regain ownership of the family factory after the war and sold it in about 1950 to pay for tuition at Cornell University. Wynberg interview, Schwab Papers; author interview with Luke Wijnberg.
Your parents and their son”: Letter from the Red Cross in the Netherlands to Hans Wynberg, dated August 15, 1985. Translated from Dutch. The letter apparently confirmed details Hans had received years earlier from the Red Cross and other sources.
“this part of your life”: Wynberg interview, Een Leven Lang.
never willing to move: Author interview with Luke Wynberg.
“Never forget”: Wynberg emails, from Hans Wynberg to Marjorie Bingham, July 30, 2009, regarding what he might say at a Holocaust memorial.
He placed a gravestone: Wynberg interview, Een Leven Lang.
tried to teach his children: Author interview with Audrey Wijnberg.
one of the many books: Ibid.
“Too much about that past”: Wynberg interview, Een Leven Lang.
“I just tagged along”: Author interview with Jeffrey Wijnberg.
Annie made her wedding dress: Franz and Annie Weber interview, Persico Papers.
“a great problem”: Weber interview, Persico Papers.
“under duress”: Ulmer interview, Persico Papers.
as a “respected businessman”: “German Catholic Organ Identified Nazi Who Killed 300,000 Jews,” Daily News Bulletin (Jewish Telegraphic Agency), March 30, 1965. The figure in the headline appears to be a typo; the item itself said that Hofer was accused of ordering the murders of 30,000 Jews.
charges were dropped: Schwab, OSS Agents in Hitler’s Heartland, 159.
“Chutzpah!”: Mayer interview, Shoah Foundation.
Photo Credits
FREDDY “FRITZ” MAYER, AGE ELEVEN: © Shoah Foundation; FREDDY AND FAMILY: © Shoah Foundation; HANS WYNBERG AND TWIN BROTHER LUKE: Audrey Wijnberg; WILLIAM “WILD BILL” DONOVAN: Courtesy of The OSS Society, Inc.; FREDDY AT OSS TRAINING: Audrey Wijnberg; HANS AND FREDDY: Audrey Wijnberg; AMBERGER HÜTTE: Risch-Lau Collection, Vorarlberg State Archive; NAZI FLAG: Anton Simon; NAZI WORKERS’ BARRACKS: Daniel Jarosch; FREDDY IN NAZI UNIFORM: Audrey Wijnberg; FRANZ WEBER: National Archives, OSS files, Greenup mission (RG 226—E124, folder 204); FRANZ HOFER: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images; AMERICAN MILITARY REPORT: National Archives, OSS files, Greenup mission (RG 226—E124, folder 204); FRANZ WEBER, HANS WYNBERG, FREDDY MAYER: National Archives, Signal Corps photographs of 103rd Army postwar military activity in Tyrol (RG 111 SC 267458); “MAMA NIEDERKIRCHER,” MARIA HORTNAGL: National Archives, OSS files, Greenup mission (RG 226—E124, folder 204); AMERICAN SOLDIERS: National Archives, Signal Corps photographs of 103rd Army postwar military activity in Tyrol (RG 111 SC 267458); FREDDY MAYER WITH WAR MEDALS: Courtesy of the author
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Abenthung, Alois
allies of, 139, 144, 146, 152, 157, 164
Freddy’s approach of, 130–32, 206
Freddy’s meetings with, 169
Freddy’s team helped by, 132–36, 146, 157
as Nazi opponent, 130, 176
thanked by Freddy’s team, 224
Alabama, basic training in, 29–30
Algeria, 66–69
Algiers, Algeria, 67
Allies of World War II
advances of, 157, 213
base in Algeria, 66
Berlin bombed by, 142–43, 149
D-day and control of Normandy, 58, 67, 71, 75
Freiburg bombed by, 230–31
&n
bsp; Hitler’s last stand and, 64, 152, 174
Innsbruck bombed by, 123–24, 154–55, 181, 184, 203, 204
Nazi resistance to defeat by, 83
pilots, 91 (See also Billings, John)
POW Camp 209, 61–63, 78–79, 82
railway bridge bombings attempted by, 159
“Schwalbe” as secret weapon against, 166–68
supply routes blocked by, 168
territory in Italy, 92, 96–97, 107
Alpine fortress/redoubt, 64–65, 76, 82, 83, 212, 214, 228
Alps, Austrian
aerial photos of, 91, 95–96
airborne over, 1–2, 89–90
as Nazi stronghold, 77, 90, 94
Weber’s knowledge of, 64, 83–84
windstorms in, 99–100
Amberger Hütte, 114–17
“America First” isolationism, 26, 36
American Forces Network, 155
Annie (Franz’s fiancée)
Alois’s message to, 133
brother of, 262 n145
courtship with Franz, 133–34
Franz’s location unknown to, 124, 129
Freddy and Hans’s reminiscences with, 236–37
Gestapo agents at hotel and, 206
Mama Niederkircher and, 144, 169
marriage to Franz, 234
Anschluss, 127, 130, 223–24
anti-Semitism
in Austria, 128, 212
in Germany, 7, 12–14, 49
in the United States, 15, 23, 26–27
Anton (disabled child killed by Nazis), 129
Arbeitsamt, 164–65
Area F, 41–43, 46, 57, 58–59, 66, 70
Arendt, Hannah, 7
Arizona, military training in, 30, 31–33, 41, 57
Auschwitz concentration camp, 58, 74, 232–33, 237
Austria. See also specific Austrian place names
after war, 234–35
agents dropped behind enemy lines in, 70, 71–72
Freddy and Hans’s trip back to, 236–37
Hofer tried for war crimes in, 236
Jewish flight from, 21
Nazi invasion and occupation of, 21–22, 63, 91
Nazi opponents in (See resisters, anti-Nazi)
Nazi strongholds in, 58, 77, 90, 94, 175
OSS mission in (See Gulliver mission)
automobiles, Freddy’s passion for, 9, 13, 20, 22, 23, 26
Axis of World War II, 27
B
B-24s
fighter plane with supplies for resisters, 181, 184
Liberator and crew, 1, 89–91, 97–101, 105, 109, 236
Baden, Germany, 6, 7
Balkans, 58, 72, 81
Baltics, 62
Baltimore, Maryland, 56
Bari, Italy, OSS base at
anti-Nazi resisters and, 176–77, 181
Billings’s flight crew and, 110
communication expected by, 115, 120, 135, 215–16
counterfeiters in, 118, 145
Freddy and Hans at, 72–82, 198
Freddy and Hans joined by Franz at, 82–87
Freddy’s plan to take Innsbruck and, 178–80, 181, 182–83
German aircraft production and, 164, 166
Gulliver mission planning and, 76–87, 93–94, 103, 112
Gulliver mission success and, 227–28
Güttner’s arrest and, 225
Hans’s newspaper project and, 157
Matull and, 200, 202
messages exchanged with Gulliver team (See messages between Gulliver team and OSS)
secrecy required for spies of, 198–200
bar mitzvahs, 12, 55
Basel, Switzerland, 11
Battle of the Bulge, 83
Bavaria, Germany, 64
BBC, 74, 155, 157, 174
Belgium, 53
Bell, Marcus, 32–33
Berg, Moe, 46
Berlin, Germany
Allied bombing runs over, 149
American ambassador in, 15
American doctor tortured in, 191
game-hunting tournament in, 17
Hitler’s headquarters/bunker in, 142–43, 147–49, 151, 154, 212, 219
Hitler’s rise to power in, 10, 12
Jandorf’s department store in, 7
Olympic Games in, 13, 21
Russian forces in, 213, 214
Billings, John, 90–102, 110, 121, 196, 236, 258 n100
Birkenau concentration camp, 58
Black Chamber, 36
Black Forest, Germany, 6, 20, 71, 73, 230
Boehler Werke electrical plant, 165
Bolsheviks, 214, 220
Bradley, Omar, 64
Braun, Eva, 219
Braun, Wernher von, 167
Brenner Pass, 76, 158–63, 211
bridges, movable, 159
Britain
appeasement toward Hitler, 16–17
declaration of war on Nazis, 26
Donovan in, 37
emigration to Palestine stopped by, 14–15
mystery plane over Tyrol, 183, 185, 267 n185
Nazism and, 52
Royal Air Force, 90
Brooklyn, New York
Freddy’s life and family in, 20, 22–24, 26, 182, 184, 231
Hans’s life in, 44–45, 49, 51
Brooklyn Dodgers, 22, 44
brown offs, 72
Busch, Friedrich, 191, 194, 198
C
Cailliau, Marie-Agnès, 263 n154
California, 56–57
Camp 209, 61–63, 78–79, 82
Camp Horn, Arizona, 31–33
cars. See automobiles, Freddy’s passion for
Casbah in Algiers, 67
Caserta, Italy, OSS base in, 70–72, 136
Casey, William, 178, 228
Catholics and Catholic Church, 82, 125–26, 144, 212
Central Intelligence Agency, 229
Chamberlain, Neville, 17, 52
Chapin, Howard, 70–72, 73, 178, 229–30
Churchill, Winston, 4, 37, 94, 218
Clausen, Henry, 39
Colby, William, 46
Cold War, 214, 233
Communists, 13, 62, 212
“compass runs,” 41–42
concentration camps, 25, 80, 126, 191, 212. See also specific concentration camp names
Congressional Country Club, 41–42, 47
Congressional Medal of Honor, 229–30
Crawford, Joan, 45
cutouts, 144, 153, 155, 178, 181, 186. See also Hortnagl, Maria
Czechoslovakia, 17
D
Dachau concentration camp, 73–74, 76, 175, 217–18, 219, 230
Daladier, Édouard, 263 n154
Dania (OSS mission), 254 n69, 263 n153
Davis, Bette, 45
D-day, 58–59, 67, 71
Deadwood mission, 200
Dearborn Independent, 26
de Gaulle, Charles, sister of, 154, 263 n154
Delta Force, 41
de-Nazification of Europe, 230
Der Bund, 186
deserters/defectors, Nazi, 62, 81, 129, 175–76, 263 n153. See also Matull, Hermann “Max”; Weber, Franz
deserter volunteers (DVs), 77–79, 199
desertion, by Freddy and Hans, 70–72
Diane (one-legged agent), 152–53, 262–63 n152
Dillon III (OSS mission), 254 n59
Dodd, William, 15, 17
Dönitz, Karl, 219, 220
Donovan, William
Billings and, 90
as confidant to Roosevelt, 36–39, 65
D-day and, 58
“The Exciting Adventures of ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan,” 38
French resistance fighters and, 69
Legion of Merit awarded to Freddy by, 229
as OSS head, 39–42, 46–48, 57, 149, 228–29
warnings about US intelligence, 38–39
Drancy internment camp, 232
Dulles, Allen, 65, 219
Duroch
er, Leo, 44
Dutch Americans, 47, 48–49
DVs (deserter volunteers), 77–79, 199
E
Ebbets Field, 22, 44
Einstein, Albert, 7
Eisenhower, Dwight D.
Alpine fortress and, 64, 214
OSS and, 58, 71–72, 78, 136, 174, 255 n78
Elly (Hans’s girlfriend), 45, 75, 86, 182, 233
enemy aliens, 28–29
espionage, 33, 36. See also OSS (Office of Strategic Services)
“The Exciting Adventures of ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan,” 38
F
fascism, 2, 49–50
Fernande (French-Spanish woman), 68
Feuchtwanger, Lion, 7
15th Air Force, 161–63
Fifth Column, 28–29, 47
Finder, Esther Toporek, 237
Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn, 22
Florida, military training in, 30
foehns, 99–100
Ford, Henry, 26–27, 36
Ford, John, 46
Ford Motor Company, 13, 23, 26
Fort Rucker, Alabama, 29–30
France. See also French resistance fighters/allies; French Vichy forces