Betrayal: The True Story of J. Edgar Hoover and the Nazi Saboteurs Captured During WWII

by David Alan Johnson

The true story behind the Nazi saboteurs captured on Long Island in 1942, their betrayal by J. Edgar Hoover, and the shameful secret behind the case the established the reputation of the FBI. At 4 AM on a foggy morning in 1942, Nazi submarines discharged eight men along the coasts of Long Island and Florida. A few days later, J. Edgar Hoover further burnished his reputation by announcing the swift capture of Nazi soldiers found prowling our shores, intent on sabotage. Omitted from the record (and still denied by the FBI) is the true story behind Hoover's greatest publicity the saboteurs' leader, George Dasch, betrayed his own country by turning himself in first to a disbelieving FBI. Hoover promised Dasch clemency and assurances that the jerry-rigged "military tribunal" created to try the men as "unlawful combatants" was merely a formality to protect loved ones from Nazi retribution. Using documentation from the FBI archives, interviews and memoirs, David Alan Johnson carefully recounts the mounting betrayals in this utterly engrossing saga.

Genres: History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 3, 2007

Reviews

[Carl Witte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This well researched book provides the true account of how FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover betrayed the man who turned in German saboteurs during WWII. Although the events took place 50 years ago, it is made relevant today given the current debate over how to best deal with prisoners from the Middle East, i.e. military tribunal vis-a-vis civilian court. Most importantly, however, it is a story of how one man...Hoover, managed to manipulate facts in favor of his own agenda, deceiving top military and civilian government officials--to include the Attorney General and the president. Lest history repeat itself. never again can Americans allow a high government official to sabotage the ideas we Americans fought so hard to gain and preserve.