In Plain Sight: Felix A. Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico, 1908 to 1914 [Hardcover] [2012] (Author) Heribert von Feilitzsch

by Heribert von Feilitzsch

Felix A. Sommerfeld moved through the Mexican Revolution (1910 to 1920) like a wraith. Neither his contemporaries nor scholars throughout the past hundred years have been able to piece together a clandestine career that relegates the exploits of James Bond to mere child s play. Appearing on the scene in Mexico from obscurity, Sommerfeld became the personal confidante of Mexican President Francisco Madero in 1911. Unbeknownst to his peers, Sommerfeld had worked for the German secret service since 1908. German agents had maneuvered him close to the future president of Mexico. From that position, Sommerfeld managed to climb to become the highest placed German asset in the Mexican government. While working for President Madero, and most likely with his tacit approval, Sommerfeld acted as the intelligence liaison for the German ambassador in Mexico, Rear Admiral Paul von Hintze, and provided him with valuable intelligence on Mexico, Europe, and the United States. His clout helped focus German foreign policy towards Madero and his successor Huerta. Sommerfeld's organizational skills and the help of his contacts at the highest levels of the American Government produced a notorious network of agents along the Mexican-American border. When Mexican army general Victoriano Huerta usurped the presidency in February of 1913 and killed Madero in a bloody coup d'Etat Sommerfeld re-activated his secret service organization along the U.S. - Mexican border to join the battle against the usurper president Huerta. With the help of his connections in Germany and the United States, Sommerfeld became the linchpin in the revolutionary supply chain. His organization along the border smuggled arms and ammunition to the troops in amounts never before thought possible, while his contacts in the highest echelons of the American and German governments shut off credit and supplies for Huerta. Surprising to most but not illogical, the U.S. government fully cooperated with Sommerfeld and turned a blind eye to the blatant violations of U.S. laws.

Unknown Binding

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Heribert Feilitzsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I wrote the book, I will let three reviewers speak:

For years I have hoped that someone would disentangle Sommerfeld s role in the Mexican Revolution. You have done that and much more utilizing a most impressive range of archival sources. In Plain Sight is a splendid work. --Charles H. Harris III, Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University

You have a winner. Tying Sommerfeld to Hopkins is all new to me and linking the soldiers of fortune to Sommerfeld is also new. We know a bit about Flint and you have excellent detail on that relationship. --Louis R. Sadler, Professor Emeritus, New Mexico State University

This current work is not only a must-read for people interested in history but also highly recommended for those who like to get a glimpse into the causes and motives of human activity and historical events. In a brilliant style the author takes the reader on a trip back in time, where he illuminates the relationships between Mexico, the United States, and Germany in a new approach not seen until now. It is correct, as the author writes, This book is not designed to provide a complete recollection of the causes and course of the Mexican Revolution , but it does have the intention to describe, that there had been a man, whose name appears in almost every work on the Mexican Revolution , Felix A. Sommerfeld. Though minute correlation, and analysis of original archival sources, some of which had never been used before, the author succeeds in painting the picture of a man, who grew to become the most influential and most effective spymaster. He succeeded in tying together Mexican, German and US interests in an inimitable way. Previous publications on Sommerfeld came to the flawed conclusion that he was a double, even triple agent. Von Feilitzsch proves beyond doubt that Sommerfeld had much more complicated and peculiar character. He was conservative, yet had no ethical problems with giving information to Germany...his intelligence was instrumental in changing German attitudes and foreign policy. He traded information and favors, not loyalties. He thirsted for power and influence, collected information and used it according to his own discretion. He played in his own movie like a chess player with an ingenious strategy. He did nothing without intent and therefore worked alone. Consequently, he built Mexico s secret service, which was so effective that parts of the organization became absorbed into the American Bureau of Investigations. As a German agent working on behalf of the Mexican revolutionaries, his activities coincided with the interests of the US and German governments. Using this knowledge Sommerfeld succeeded in manipulating everyone around him. As a result it came as no surprise that Sommerfeld through the network of his connections in America, Germany and Mexico finally became the highest placed German agent in North of America. This short summary alone should create curiosity about reading the whole, over 300 page manuscript. Most impressive in addition to the story is the use of the sources. Rarely has it been possible to document motivation of secret agents in such detail and so accurately. This fact alone pays tribute to the author and makes this work so significant. --Guenter Koehler, Professor Emeritus, Humboldt Universitaet Berlin

[Sergio Muñoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Los primeros años de la Revolución Mexicana fueron un ensayo o preámbulo para las potencias que terminarían trabándose a gran escala en la Primera Guerra Mundial. El autor logra relatar el conflicto como un choque orgánico de intereses políticos y económicos en ambos lados de la frontera. El entronque de las ciudades de El Paso y Juárez, como muy elocuentemente señaló el autor, eran una versión prematura del Muro de Berlín, plagado de traficantes de armas, mercenarios, perseguidos y perseguidores políticos. Las intrigas que bailaron en el conflicto se describen entre hombres de carne y hueso, nada de héroes ni apóstoles ni centauros. Los dos hombres que sostienen los ejes de la historia, el operador Sommerfeld y el abogado Hopkins, son interesantísimos por sí mismos.

Lamentablemente, a mi parecer el personaje de Sommerfeld nunca termina de formarse y aprox. por los tres cuartos de la historia quien es el titular del libro resulta más un instrumento narrativo para avanzar el relato que un personaje dentro de ella, como una forma perezoza de resolver los nudos que le van saliendo a la trama, un robot que rueda de un lado al otro cuando es necesario reparar las cosas. Hay que reconocer que la brutal eficiencia que caracterizó a Sommerfeld hace que el relato de sus actos parezca demasiado mecánico y la ausencia de una personalidad vívida contribuye a ello. Esto no puede achacársele al autor puesto que muchos de los documentos que retrataban la verdadera personalidad de Sommerfeld, que de por sí se ve que era alguien reservado (sus contempóraneos escribían mal, una y otra vez, su nombre), se perdieron en las guerras posteriores. Sin embargo, la descripción que se hace de Sommerfeld en las últimas páginas del último capítulo es bonita y elocuente y en un solo párrafo lo retrata y lo dota de simpatía, lo que me hace preguntarme porqué la leí a esas alturas y no al principio cuando se presentó al personaje. Es para el crédito del autor que de un hombre tan misterioso y carente de vestigios haya realizado un relato tan substancioso e interesante en general.

En ninguna otra obra había visto yo una narración tan completa, detallada y a la vez atrapante del ascenso y caída de Francisco I. Madero. Al final, quedo con un satisfecho entendimiento de lo que hizo del gobierno Maderista un fracaso, que la Decena Trágica no fue un cataclismo que saltó de lo profundo del volcán Popocatépetl sino la consecuencia de decepciones, vicios y coyunturas perfectamente señaladas. Aplaudo su intención bien lograda de retratar la Revolución desde otra perspectiva histórica, la de los hombres tras bambalinas, de tener la audacia de oponerse a autores reconocidos como Katz con respecto a la interpretación de ciertos hechos y personajes y tener la investigación y el ingenio para sostener esas posturas.
El libro está bueno, pues.