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The Nazi spy ring in America : Hitler's agents, the FBI, and the case that stirred the nation / Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, 2020Description: x, 309 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781647120047
  • 1647120047
Subject(s):
Contents:
Lonkowski's Legacy -- Jessie Jordan -- Murder in the McAlpin -- Enter Leon Turrou -- Crown Identified -- Tales of Hofmann -- Avoiding a High Court Trial -- What Griebl Knew -- Miss Moog Says No -- A Season of Inquiry -- The Flight of the Spies -- Blame Games -- Dismissed with Prejudice -- Seeking the Evidence -- The Nazi Spy Trial -- Of Propaganda and Revenge -- Spy Sequels -- The Case Named for Duquesne -- Pfeiffer's Story.
Summary: "The Nazi Spy Ring in America explores the operations and downfall of spy networks of the German Abwehr that operated in New York between 1935 and 1938 to steal military technology and map American defenses. The arrest and prosecution of four members of the ring was a high-profile case that caused a national sensation because it had all the trappings of fiction such as fast cars, louche liaisons, a murder plot, a beautiful Manhattan socialite, and a ringleader improbably codenamed Agent Sex. This Nazi spy ring was busted in 1938 through the ingenious detective work of the FBI's leading special agent of the era, Leon Turrou, and a tipoff from Britain's MI5. Part of the story of breaking the Nazi spy ring is also the rise and fall of Turrou, who had worked previous high-profile cases like the Lindbergh-baby kidnapping. Turrou's talent was only matched by his penchant for publicity, and selling his account of the case to the New York Post and Hollywood caused him to run afoul of J. Edgar Hoover's strict codes of conduct. Jeffreys-Jones has done new archival research in the United States and Britain to provide new details about prewar Nazi espionage. This is a fast-paced history of spy intrigue, and an historically significant episode that contributed to awakening Americans to the looming Nazi threat"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 940.5487 J46 Available 33111010433098
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The first full account of Nazi spies in 1930s America and how they were exposed.


In the mid-1930s just as the United States was embarking on a policy of neutrality, Nazi Germany launched a program of espionage against the unwary nation. The Nazi Spy Ring in America tells the story of Hitler's attempts to interfere in American affairs by spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, stealing military technology, and mapping US defenses.

This fast-paced history provides essential insight into the role of espionage in shaping American perceptions of Germany in the years leading up to US entry into World War II. Fascinating and thoroughly researched, The Nazi Spy Ring in America sheds light on a now-forgotten but significant episode in the history of international relations and the development of the FBI.

Using recently declassified documents, prize-winning historian Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones narrates this little-known chapter in US history. He shows how Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Abwehr, was able to steal top secret US technology such as a prototype codebreaking machine and data about the latest fighter planes.

At the center of the story is Leon Turrou, the FBI agent who helped bring down the Nazi spy ring in a case that quickly transformed into a national sensation. The arrest and prosecution of four members of the ring was a high-profile case with all the trappings of fiction: fast cars, louche liaisons, a murder plot, a Manhattan socialite, and a ringleader codenamed Agent Sex. Part of the story of breaking the Nazi spy ring is also the rise and fall of Turrou, whose talent was matched only by his penchant for publicity, which eventually caused him to run afoul of J. Edgar Hoover's strict codes of conduct.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Lonkowski's Legacy -- Jessie Jordan -- Murder in the McAlpin -- Enter Leon Turrou -- Crown Identified -- Tales of Hofmann -- Avoiding a High Court Trial -- What Griebl Knew -- Miss Moog Says No -- A Season of Inquiry -- The Flight of the Spies -- Blame Games -- Dismissed with Prejudice -- Seeking the Evidence -- The Nazi Spy Trial -- Of Propaganda and Revenge -- Spy Sequels -- The Case Named for Duquesne -- Pfeiffer's Story.

"The Nazi Spy Ring in America explores the operations and downfall of spy networks of the German Abwehr that operated in New York between 1935 and 1938 to steal military technology and map American defenses. The arrest and prosecution of four members of the ring was a high-profile case that caused a national sensation because it had all the trappings of fiction such as fast cars, louche liaisons, a murder plot, a beautiful Manhattan socialite, and a ringleader improbably codenamed Agent Sex. This Nazi spy ring was busted in 1938 through the ingenious detective work of the FBI's leading special agent of the era, Leon Turrou, and a tipoff from Britain's MI5. Part of the story of breaking the Nazi spy ring is also the rise and fall of Turrou, who had worked previous high-profile cases like the Lindbergh-baby kidnapping. Turrou's talent was only matched by his penchant for publicity, and selling his account of the case to the New York Post and Hollywood caused him to run afoul of J. Edgar Hoover's strict codes of conduct. Jeffreys-Jones has done new archival research in the United States and Britain to provide new details about prewar Nazi espionage. This is a fast-paced history of spy intrigue, and an historically significant episode that contributed to awakening Americans to the looming Nazi threat"-- Provided by publisher.

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