I admit it, I research and read books and articles about the Nazis and the Third Reich. I recently read Wreckers: The Nazi Incursion into America by Michael Dobbs. It is a well researched and well written book. I was wondering how much information I could find on this topic on the internet if I wanted to write a research paper. A lot, that’s what I found. Warning: I read the book first, so I was knowledgeable on the subject. I’ll give you a list of what I found. I first Googled Nazi saboteurs and was amazed at the quality of the results. What I found:
Wikipedia—Pastoral Operation. This was the name of the failed plan of attacks on American infrastructure by Nazi saboteurs. I think there were one or two errors in this account, but the list of references is very valuable for research. Remember, Wikipedia can be edited by users, who may not always have good intentions.
Cornell University School of Law. The Wikipedia article led me to Cornell University for page 26 Former Quirin Supreme Court decision denying the spoilers’ request for a writ of habeas corpus. This is a primary source.
FBI—Famous Cases: George John Dasch and the Nazi Saboteurs. This is the FBI’s somewhat inaccurate account of the case they took all the credit for solving. There are photos of the wreckers and their equipment.
Library of Congress—Military Legal Resources: Trial of Nazi SaboteursWashington, DC, 1942. This is a brief account of the spoilers’ trial, including the Supreme Court decision.
University of Minnesota—the spoilers. The full transcript (2,967 pages) of the Nazi Spoilers Military Commission. A primary source, very valuable for a research work.
HistoryNet.com—World War II: German saboteurs invade America in 1942. This is a fairly accurate interpretation of his failure in America.
ezine.com—A place in Florida: Nazi saboteurs landed here. Gene Ingle wrote about the Nazi saboteurs who landed on Ponte Vedra Beach.
Jewish virtual library—White House statement on the sentencing of Nazi saboteurs, August 8, 1942. Another main source is FDR’s statement allowing the executions of the spoilers to take place.
JSTOR—The American Political Science Review, Flight. 36, no. 6 (December 1942), The case of the Nazi saboteurs, by Robert E. Cushman. This was a great find, but only the first page was on the website. It’s in JSTOR, an academic journal. I was able to retrieve the article from our public library’s JSTOR subscription on the library’s website.
I also found reviews of two books: Nazi Saboteurs on Trial: A Military Tribunal and American Lawby Louis Fisher, and Betrayal: The True Story of J. Edgar Hoover and the Nazi Saboteurs by David Alan Johnson.
You may have noticed that there is some controversy regarding President Roosevelt, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Supreme Court regarding the federal government’s handling of this case. Despite their extensive training in Germany, the Nazis were more like the Keystone Kops and botched everything they tried except buying new clothes, staying in expensive hotels, and eating in fancy restaurants.
There were four more sites that contained quality resources, including primary sources. If you want to use the Internet for research, first go to the library, read a good encyclopedia article or book on your subject. Check the source references and then google your topic. You may be rewarded with a cornucopia of riches, in this case quality research resources.
© Sandra July 2010
