by Jason Fagone
ancient Krupp cannon Ibid., 3.
under extreme pressure Ibid.
Waldo Frank toured Argentina Waldo Frank, South American Journey (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1943).
noticed “a spawn” Ibid., 76.
a pro-Nazi newspaper Ibid., 83–85, 128.
“a very uncertain grip” Ibid., 213.
before he could escape, five cops Ibid., 217.
263 only listening posts Utzinger interrogation, 4–5.
a small farm Arthur F. Carey, “Gustav Edward Utzinger, with Aliases, Espionage,” August 15, 1945, RG 65, Classification 64 (IWG), box 14.
code name “Boss” McGaha, “The Politics of Espionage,” 189.
on a Spanish ship Carey, “Gustav Edward Utzinger.”
he had brought an Enigma Utzinger interrogation, 5.
very sensitive information Ibid., 4.
264 a mythical radio organization Utzinger interrogation, enclosure no. 3.
Red, Green, and Blue “Camp 020 Interim Report on the Case of General Friedrich Wolf,” October 1945, RG 59, Entry 1088, box 26.
“seasoned collaborators” Argentina to Berlin, October 14, 1943, Serial CG3-2179, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 79, 3824, NARA.
“I am teaching my boys” Argentina to Berlin, January 20, 1943, Serial CG3-896, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
another useful channel Sommer interrogation, 38.
two Enigmas Utzinger interrogation, Sommer interrogation. Dietrich Niebuhr gave Utzinger one Enigma and Becker gave him at least one other before the Red Enigma arrived via the wolf courier system.
a Liliput “History of USCG Unit #387,” 212.
265 a cheerful progress update Argentina to Berlin, February 28, 1943, RG 38, Serial CG3-933, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“Old boy, now we are off” Berlin to Argentina, February 28, 1943, RG 38, Serial CG3-860, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
265 Nazi censors Earl R. Beck, Under the Bombs: The German Home Front, 1942–1945 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1986), 35.
difficult to find toothbrushes Ibid., 24.
patrons stealing glasses Ibid.
the Battle of Stalingrad Joseph Goebbels, “Nation, Rise Up, and Let the Storm Break Loose,” February 18, 1943, German Propaganda Archive, Calvin College, http://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/goeb36.htm.
a fourteen-year-old girlfriend Goñi, The Real Odessa, xxiii.
a secret lodge Ibid., 20–22.
266 a small notebook “Summary of Traces, BECKER Siegfried,” address book, July 11, 1945, KV2/89, TNA.
an alluring figure Utzinger interrogation, 8.
an informal deal Ibid., 2–5.
“Hitler’s struggle” Goñi, The Real Odessa, 22.
a stack of text The coast guard documented its solution of the Green Enigma in “History of USCG Unit #387,” 230–61. For an account of both the coast guard and British solutions for this machine, see Philip Marks, “Enigma Wiring Data: Interpreting Allied Conventions from World War II,” Cryptologia 39, no. 1 (2015): 25–65. DOI: 10.1080/01611194.2014.915263.
267 a unit called Intelligence Service Knox Hinsley and Simkins, British Intelligence, Vol. 4, 182.
at about the same time Marks, “Enigma Wiring Data;” see also “History of USCG Unit #387,” 262.
a G-model Enigma Ibid.
a “less superior Enigma” ESF interview with Clark.
“There was much celebration” ESF interview with Benson.
268 “enciphered with LILY” “History of USCG Unit #387,” 212.
somewhat more complex Marks, “Enigma Wiring Data.”
frequencies of certain juxtapositions “History of USCG Unit #387,” 212–15.
never solve the Blue Ibid., 262.
269 “We have antenna” Argentina to Berlin, January 18, 1943, Serial CG3-921, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
on the second floor ESF, “foreword to uncompleted work.”
“Our work was compartmented” George Bishop to Vanessa Friedman, September 22, 1981, box 12, folder 14, ESF Collection.
a few of the SPARS ESF Personal History Statement.
her home for tea WFF to Barbara Friedman, January 16, 1944, box 3, folder 24, ESF Collection.
269 “I think I was mesmerized” Waller, in discussion with the author, via e-mail, March 2015.
270 a personal diary of the trip WFF, “Bletchley Park Diary.”
at least fourteen letters ESF to WFF, May 31, 1943, box 2, folder 7, ESF Collection.
“a momentary return for you” Ibid., May 16, 1943.
271 a corsage of violets Ibid., April 27, 1943.
cigarettes in the evenings Ibid., May 9, 1943.
110 degrees ESF, “foreword to uncompleted work.”
rolled out extensive reforms “History of USCG Unit #387,” 156.
Nazi cryptographer, Fritz Menzer David P. Mowry, “Regierungs-Oberinspektor Fritz Menzer: Cryptographic Inventor Extraordinaire,” Cryptologic Quarterly 2, nos. 3 and 4 (1983–84): 21–36.
“Procedure 62” “History of USCG Unit #387,” 195–202.
“Procedure 40” Ibid., 203–6.
5-by-5 square of letters Ibid.
272 volume of traffic abruptly rose Utzinger interrogation.
fifteen different messages Sommer interrogation, 27.
“Roseman, Morgenthau and Frankfurter?” Berlin to Argentina, September 18, 20, 21, Serial CG3-1949, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 79, 3824/3, NARA.
“The Fisher Co.” Berlin to Argentina, November 21, 1943, Serial CG3-2477, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 79, 3824/3, NARA.
273 deposing the old regime McGaha, “The Politics of Espionage,” 269.
the Nazis called him “Godes” Argentina to Berlin, July 14, 1943, Serial CG3-1586, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
code name “Moreno” Argentina to Berlin, May 12, 1943, Serial CG3-1788, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“the interests of the Axis powers” Argentina to Berlin, July 24, 1943, Serial CG3-1582, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“ready in every respect” Argentina to Berlin, May 12, 1943, Serial CG3-1788, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“USA is considered greatest enemy” Argentina to Berlin, August 15, 1943, Serial CG3-1658, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
274 “V-men residing here” Argentina to Berlin, July 24, 1943.
“completely in our camp” Argentina to Berlin, February 28, 1943, Serial CG3-858, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
Bolivian minister of mines Utzinger interrogation, enclosure no. 5.
Elias Belmonte Utzinger interrogation, 8.
274 “Final objective” Argentina to Berlin, August 28, 1943, Serial CG3-1893, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
a secret weapons deal McGaha, “The Politics of Espionage,” 296–338.
275 “An agent will depart” Argentina to Berlin, July 14, 1943, Serial CG3-1608, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
anything quite this exciting “Interim Report on the Case of Osmar Alberto Hellmuth,” RG 65, 64-27116, NARA.
red mustache Ibid.
was “easy prey” Ibid.
an upscale neighborhood Goñi, The Real Odessa, xxiii.
spoke often, in secret Utzinger interrogation, 8. In the decrypts, Becker and others refer to Perón by name as well as his group, which they called “The Colonels Lodge.”
276 he would board a ship “Interim Report on the Case.”
“with good prospects” Ibid.
277 “lack of imagination” Argentina to Berlin, July 15, 1943, Serial CG3-1445, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“such an easy time!” Argentina to Berlin, May 12, 1943, Serial CG3-1702, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
it was almost time Utzinger interrogation, enclosure no. 4.
The Chilean’s descriptions Argentina to Berlin, December 11, 1943, Serial CG3-2
746, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, NARA.
278 sixty kilograms of gifts Argentina to Berlin, October 8, 1943, Serial CG3-2103, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
“HELLMUTH enjoys” Argentina to Berlin, October 7, 1943, Serial CG3-2125, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 80, 3824/4, NARA.
Osmar Hellmuth sailed “Interim Report on the Case.”
“Luna is probably Gustav Utzinger” Argentina to Berlin, June 13, 1944, Serial CG4-4991, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 79, 3826/2, NARA.
“bloc in South America” Argentina to Berlin, January 6, 1944, Serial CG4-2907, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
279 in the middle of the night “Interim Report on the Case.”
280 called Camp 020 Oliver Hoare, ed., Camp 020: MI5 and the Nazi Spies (Richmond, UK: Public Record Office, 2000).
Colonel Robin Stephens Gilbert King, “The Monocled World War II Interrogator,” Smithsonian.com, November 23, 2011, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-monocled-world-war-ii-interrogator-652794/.
prisoners told credible stories Ian Cobain, “How Britain tortured Nazi PoWs,” October 26, 2012, Daily Mail (UK), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223831/How-Britain-tortured-Nazi-PoWs-The-horrifying-interrogation-methods-belie-proud-boast-fought-clean-war.html.
280 “I am speaking with authority” “Interrogation of Hellmuth at Camp 020 by Lieut. Colonel Stephens,” November 17, 1943, RG 65, box 19, 64-27116, NARA.
281 “possessed, almost arrogant” Hoare, ed., Camp 020, 267.
“must necessarily deteriorate” “Interim Report on the Case.”
“Sargo,” he told his captors Ibid.
CHAPTER 5: THE DOLL LADY
283 wearing out from overuse “History of USCG Unit #387,” 215, 262.
“Enigma arrived via RED” Ibid., 262.
“birthday surprise for LUNA” Ibid.
a right-wing Bolivian general Richard L. McGaha, “The Politics of Espionage: Nazi Diplomats and Spies in Argentina, 1933–1945” (Ph.D. diss., Ohio University, 2009), 284–92.
284 had set the coup into motion Ibid.; Becker’s Bolivian friend, Elias Belmonte, was the link between the Nazi/Argentine group and the Bolivian coup plotters. See also the Berlin to Argentina and Argentina to Berlin decrypts sent between January and April 1944 in RG 38, CNSG Library, Box 79.
the “first fruit” Argentina to Berlin, January 17, 1944, Serial CG4-3174, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
“We extend hearty wishes” Argentina to Berlin, December 28, 1943, Serial CG4-2758, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
had discussed its delivery “History of USCG Unit #387,” 262.
decided to double the crypto Ibid., 263–66.
285 to write a punch-card program Ibid., 270.
able to hammer Argentina J. Lloyd Mecham, The United States and Inter-American Security, 1889–1960 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), 214–15.
sent a secret cable Washington to ISK, February 19, 1944, cable no. CXG204, HW 19, Records of the Government Code and Cypher School: ISOS Section and ISK Section, subseries 361, TNA.
286 transmitted the wiring details Washington to ISK, February 24, 1944, cable no. CXG228, HW 19/361, TNA.
they had just solved Red themselves ISK to Washington, February 20, 1944, telegram no. CXG636, HW 19/361, TNA.
“We urgently need reports” Argentina to Berlin, January 26, 1944, Serial CG4-3780, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
286 a new commander Sommer interrogation, 5.
“a leak in your courier organization” Berlin to Argentina, February 21, 1944, Serial CG4-3831, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/3, NARA.
“go on in full revolutions” Berlin to Argentina, January 26, 1944, Serial CG4-3780, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/3, NARA.
287 “Dear DARK EYE” Berlin to Argentina, March 2, 1944, Serial CG4-3736, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
“Here, life goes on” Berlin to Argentina, April 5, 1944, Serial CG4-4132, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/3, NARA.
vulnerability to chemical warfare Berlin to Argentina, February 4, 1944, Serial CG4-3785, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/3, NARA.
He wrote a story Sunday Express Correspondent, “Britain Smashes South America Spy Ring,” Sunday Express (London), January 30, 1944.
288 “Security Calypso” C. H. Carson to Mr. Ladd, memorandum, Subject: Osmar Alberto Hellmuth, February 27, 1945, with attached “Security Calypso” lyrics by Young Ziegfield, RG 65, box 20, 64-27116, NARA.
289 a peeved memo to Hoover U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, memorandum, re: Osmar Alberto Helmuth [sic], Memorandum for the Ambassador, D. M. Ladd to FBI Director, December 16, 1943, RG 65, box 18, 64-27116, NARA.
“The memorandum was written” Crosby to FBI Director, February 15, 1944; Crosby, “Memorandum to the Ambassador.”
290 to search their files FBI, memorandum, Memorandum No. 205, Series 1944, Memorandum for All Legal Attaches, John Edgar Hoover, September 30, 1944, RG 65, box 19, 64-27116, NARA.
291 direction-finding automobiles George E. Sterling, “The History of the Radio Intelligence Division Before and During World War II,” unpublished manuscript, PDF file, http://www.w3df.com, 91–92.
Becker assured him Utzinger interrogation, enclosure no. 4.
beneath a chicken coop Carey, “Gustav Edward Utzinger;” Rout and Bratzel, The Shadow War.
eardrum destroyed Argentina to Berlin, March 25, 1944, Serial CG4-3971, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
“He fell on February 19” Argentina to Berlin, March 22, 1944, Serial CG4-3945, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
292 die for National Socialism Argentina to Berlin, April 9, 1944, Serial CG4-4174, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
292 captured and hanged Sommer interrogation, 38.
sent him an ominous message Berlin to Argentina, February 8, 1944, Serial CG4-3535.
an intriguing piece of news Argentina to Berlin, March 22, 1944, Serial CG4-3890, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
Velvalee Dickinson whirled around John Jenkisson, “The FBI vs. New York Spies,” New York World Telegram, June 22, 1945.
293 five suspicious letters ESF to Edward C. Wallace (U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York), April 1, 1944, box 7, folder 1, ESF Collection.
she had fallen into debt Jenkisson, “The FBI vs. New York Spies.”
he called the supervisor R. A. Newby to D. M. Ladd, March 14, 1944.
294 “According to Mr. Wallace” Ibid.
“performed in this connection” Ibid.
“ADVISE AS TO SUBMISSION” U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, teletype, Kin. Velvalee Dickinson, New York to Director, March 18, 1944. Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from FBI; received December 2015.
“Concerning the project” U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, memorandum, Subject: Velvalee Dickinson, J. Edgar Hoover to SAC, New York, March 23, 1944. Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from FBI; received December 2015.
“My dear Mr. Wallace” ESF to Wallace.
295 an advantage, not a disadvantage Hoover to SAC, New York, March 23, 1944.
“the woman spy of this war” George Kennedy, “The War’s No. 1 Woman Spy,” West Sunday Star, August 20, 1944, box 7, folder 2, ESF Collection.
296 “Who are all these people?” “Doll Woman Enters Guilty Plea in Censor Case; Faces Ten Years,” New York Times, July 29, 1944.
“except that it’s larger” Kennedy, “The War’s No. 1 Woman Spy.”
“the frustration of childlessness” Ibid.
“one of the cleverest woman operators” J. Edgar Hoover, “Hitler’s Spying Sirens,” The American Magazine (December 1944): 40–41, 92–94.
297 “He is hidden” Argentina to Berlin, April 6, 1944, Serial CG4-4163, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3824/4, NARA.
“The enemy succeeded” Argentina to B
erlin, August 11, 1944, Serial CG4-5629, RG 38, CNSG Library, box 81, 3284/4, NARA.
arrested by the Argentine federal police Utzinger interrogation, enclosure no. 4.
Juan Perón himself appeared Ibid., 4.
297 “the final chapter” Sommer interrogation, 32.
298 “Technical advantages” Rout and Bratzel, The Shadow War, 454.
299 a seven-page story J. Edgar Hoover, “How the Nazi Spy Invasion Was Smashed,” The American Magazine (September 1944): 20–21, 94–100.
a fifteen-minute film “Battle of the United States,” Army-Navy Screen Magazine 42, Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1003973; see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdMTRjRvqGk for an uncut version.
director Frank Capra Mark Harris, Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War (New York: Penguin Books, 2014), 233.
300 the Friedman family Christmas card ESF and WFF, “B U L L E T I N ** 1944 ** F R I E D M A N,” box 4, folder 6, ESF Collection.
“Bill, Will, Billy” Ibid.
301 thirty thousand tons of bombs “1945, Summary of Air Operations, January,” in Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chronology and Index of the Second World War, 1938–1945 (1947; repr., London: Meckler, 1975), 317.
302 223 planes Randall Hansen, Fire and Fury: The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942–1945 (New York: NAL Caliber, 2008), 260.
found melted together Ibid., 263.
arrested in Buenos Aires U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, personal and confidential memorandum by special messenger, Subject: Johannes Siegfried Becker, Buenos Aires, John Edgar Hoover to Frederick B. Lyon (chief, Division of Foreign Activity Correlation, Department of State), April 21, 1945, RG 65, box 20, 64-27116, NARA.
confiscated an address book “Summary of Traces, BECKER Siegfried.”
He gave statements Utzinger interrogation, 14.
“delicacies and champagne” Ibid., 21.
303 hardly enjoyed Becker’s privileges Ibid., 12–14.
He no longer feared Ibid., enclosure no. 4.
war criminals into Argentina Uki Goñi, The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Perón’s Argentina (London: Granta, 2003), xxiii, 107.
an angry mob invaded United Press, “Rebels Slay President, Seize Power in Bolivia,” Washington Post, July 22, 1946.