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Nazis on the Potomac: The Top-Secret Intelligence Operation that Helped Win World War II
Now a green open space enjoyed by residents, Fort Hunt, Virginia, about 15 miles south of Washington, DC. was the site of one of the highest-level, clandestine operations during World War II.
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, the US military realized that it had to work on exploiting any advantages it might gain on the Axis Powers. One part of these endeavors was to establish a secret facility not too close, but also not too far from the Pentagon which would interrogate and eavesdrop on the highest-level Nazi prisoners and also translate and analyze captured German war documents.
That complex was established at Fort Hunt, known by the code name: PO Box 1142. The American servicemen who interrogated German prisoners or translated captured German documents were young, bright, hardworking, and absolutely dedicated to their work. Many of them were Jews, who had escaped Nazi Germany as children—some had come to America with their parents, others had escaped alone, but their experiences and those they had been forced to leave behind meant they all had personal motivation to do whatever they could to defeat Nazi Germany. They were perfect for the difficult and complex job at hand. They never used corporal punishment in interrogations of German soldiers but developed and deployed dozens of tricks to gain information.
The Allies won the war against Hitler for a host of reasons, discussed in hundreds of volumes. This is the first book to describe the intelligence operations at PO Box 1142 and their part in that success. It will never be known how many American lives were spared, or whether the war ended sooner with the programs at Fort Hunt, but they doubtless did make a difference. Moreover these programs gave the young Jewish men stationed there the chance to combat the evil that had befallen them and their families.
Shortly after the United States entered World War II, the US military realized that it had to work on exploiting any advantages it might gain on the Axis Powers. One part of these endeavors was to establish a secret facility not too close, but also not too far from the Pentagon which would interrogate and eavesdrop on the highest-level Nazi prisoners and also translate and analyze captured German war documents.
That complex was established at Fort Hunt, known by the code name: PO Box 1142. The American servicemen who interrogated German prisoners or translated captured German documents were young, bright, hardworking, and absolutely dedicated to their work. Many of them were Jews, who had escaped Nazi Germany as children—some had come to America with their parents, others had escaped alone, but their experiences and those they had been forced to leave behind meant they all had personal motivation to do whatever they could to defeat Nazi Germany. They were perfect for the difficult and complex job at hand. They never used corporal punishment in interrogations of German soldiers but developed and deployed dozens of tricks to gain information.
The Allies won the war against Hitler for a host of reasons, discussed in hundreds of volumes. This is the first book to describe the intelligence operations at PO Box 1142 and their part in that success. It will never be known how many American lives were spared, or whether the war ended sooner with the programs at Fort Hunt, but they doubtless did make a difference. Moreover these programs gave the young Jewish men stationed there the chance to combat the evil that had befallen them and their families.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2021
15 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Robert K. Sutton
11 books11 followersRobert K. Sutton retired as Chief Historian of the National Park Service in 2016, after having served in the position for nearly nine years. He came to this position following his tenure as the Superintendent of Manassas National Battlefield Park for the previous 12 ½ years. From 1986 to 1990, he directed the Historic Preservation and Historical Administration public history programs at Arizona State University. He has published a number of books, articles and reviews on various public history topics. One of his primary interests as Chief Historian and as Superintendent at Manassas Battlefield was leading the emphasis on expanding the interpretation of the Civil War for the Sesquicentennial. As part of that effort, he encouraged Civil War battlefields to expand their interpretive programs to focus more attention to the social, economic, and political issues during the Civil War Era.
Dr. Sutton is currently serving as a consultant to the American Battle Monuments Commission, assisting commission staff in developing interpretive programs to commemorate the Centennial of World War I. In that program, he is editing a collection of essays by leading World War I historians that will be available in April 2017.
Dr. Sutton also has written a book on the Civil War Era in Kansas, that will be published by Skyhorse Publishing in August 2017. The book will explore the efforts of abolitionists to ensure that the Territory of Kansas would become a free state, focusing on the support of Amos Lawrence, a wealthy businessman in Boston, to the town that bore his name in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Sutton tells the story from the perspective of the major players. The book is titled: Stark Mad Abolitionists: Lawrence, Kansas and the Battle Over Slavery in the Civil War Era.
A blurb for the book is attached here: http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/....
Dr. Sutton is currently serving as a consultant to the American Battle Monuments Commission, assisting commission staff in developing interpretive programs to commemorate the Centennial of World War I. In that program, he is editing a collection of essays by leading World War I historians that will be available in April 2017.
Dr. Sutton also has written a book on the Civil War Era in Kansas, that will be published by Skyhorse Publishing in August 2017. The book will explore the efforts of abolitionists to ensure that the Territory of Kansas would become a free state, focusing on the support of Amos Lawrence, a wealthy businessman in Boston, to the town that bore his name in Lawrence, Kansas. Dr. Sutton tells the story from the perspective of the major players. The book is titled: Stark Mad Abolitionists: Lawrence, Kansas and the Battle Over Slavery in the Civil War Era.
A blurb for the book is attached here: http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/....
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 26, 2023
I was born, as they say, a stone's throw from PO Box 1142/Ft Hunt and never knew it existed in history. When I met this author at a show (AUSA I think) and talked to him and got the book (autographed), I had no idea what I was in for. It was a fascinating look at an intelligence program that took place right in Northern Viriginia at Ft Hunt which is now a park.
At this secret facility, prisoner taken in World War 2 were brought for questioning. While there were Japanes, Italians, and others, the vast majority were Germans. And a majority of those doing the interviews and gleaning data for the war effort were displaced European Jews. The juxtaposition was amazing. Jews interviewing Nazis and reporting their finds up the chain to Allied leadership.
Their methods were humane. Interesting in light of Gitmo and waterboarding (which by the way the survining members of this group all denounce). They would play chess and other games, engage in conversations, build trust, glean bit and pieces of information. Others would scour over captured documents. They built the Red Book (Order of Battle of the German Army) with an outline of all German units, their movements, hisotry, commanders, etc. This infomration enabled interrogators to ask more pointed questions and even take prisoners off guard. Even records of bordellos and girls visited would be brought up in conversation amazing the the Germans with the breadth of knowledge the American already had.
The activites at Ft Hunt remained classified for decades. It's people sworn to secrecy. Only in the last 15 years or so has the information been declassified and surviving members started being interviewed. The organization played a very large and unknown part in the war on both sides of the world.
It was not only well worth the read, but I got an extra special chuckle out of what one of them did in Nuremburg. When many were called upon as translators to the war crimes trials, one came across the rabid anti-semite Julius Striecher. As a Jewish man whose family had suffered, he had a grudge to bear. He wanted to kill him on the spot. But he didn't. He knew he'd be court-martialed for it. But what he did was about as degrading as he could have probably gotten away with. He made the ardent hate monger to strip down. Then he held a gun pointed at him, told him not to move or he'd shoot him, and proceeded to urinate all over him. I can only imagine the disgust, hate, humiliation, and other negative emotions and thoughts running through Streichers head as someone he considered to be nothing more than a rat to be killed turned the tables on him in such manner. Of course, Streicher was found guilty and executed. But this one little act of revenge seemed to speak to me as a reader. I am sure they all knew he would be executed for war crimes. There couldn't have been any doubt. But sending him to his grave with this humiliation was an interesting touch.
Now, I need to get out to Ft Hunt and explore -- see the gun emplacements and the plaque that is there now commemorating the service of the soldiers and civilians who helped us win the war within the shadows of espionage.
At this secret facility, prisoner taken in World War 2 were brought for questioning. While there were Japanes, Italians, and others, the vast majority were Germans. And a majority of those doing the interviews and gleaning data for the war effort were displaced European Jews. The juxtaposition was amazing. Jews interviewing Nazis and reporting their finds up the chain to Allied leadership.
Their methods were humane. Interesting in light of Gitmo and waterboarding (which by the way the survining members of this group all denounce). They would play chess and other games, engage in conversations, build trust, glean bit and pieces of information. Others would scour over captured documents. They built the Red Book (Order of Battle of the German Army) with an outline of all German units, their movements, hisotry, commanders, etc. This infomration enabled interrogators to ask more pointed questions and even take prisoners off guard. Even records of bordellos and girls visited would be brought up in conversation amazing the the Germans with the breadth of knowledge the American already had.
The activites at Ft Hunt remained classified for decades. It's people sworn to secrecy. Only in the last 15 years or so has the information been declassified and surviving members started being interviewed. The organization played a very large and unknown part in the war on both sides of the world.
It was not only well worth the read, but I got an extra special chuckle out of what one of them did in Nuremburg. When many were called upon as translators to the war crimes trials, one came across the rabid anti-semite Julius Striecher. As a Jewish man whose family had suffered, he had a grudge to bear. He wanted to kill him on the spot. But he didn't. He knew he'd be court-martialed for it. But what he did was about as degrading as he could have probably gotten away with. He made the ardent hate monger to strip down. Then he held a gun pointed at him, told him not to move or he'd shoot him, and proceeded to urinate all over him. I can only imagine the disgust, hate, humiliation, and other negative emotions and thoughts running through Streichers head as someone he considered to be nothing more than a rat to be killed turned the tables on him in such manner. Of course, Streicher was found guilty and executed. But this one little act of revenge seemed to speak to me as a reader. I am sure they all knew he would be executed for war crimes. There couldn't have been any doubt. But sending him to his grave with this humiliation was an interesting touch.
Now, I need to get out to Ft Hunt and explore -- see the gun emplacements and the plaque that is there now commemorating the service of the soldiers and civilians who helped us win the war within the shadows of espionage.
March 20, 2023
As chief historian of the National Park Service Robert Sutton has drawn together the work of a team who had been gathering the testimony of Fort Hunt veterans between the declassification of their work in World War II and the inevitable loss of their evidence to time and mortality.
Some - the largest group - interrogated prisoners of war. Some translated captured documents. Some prepared escape and evasion kits and training for US servicemen in case of capture, and set up covert communication with those unfortunate enough to be caught.
There is a fair amount of public domain material covering this area but Sutton does a good job of integrating it and clarifying the relationship between Fort Hunt, Pine Grove Furnace and Camp Ritchie. A special strength, derived from the oral history work behind the book, is the biographical insights into many of the former staff.
There are some unforced errors which are however tangential to the narrative. For example he seems to think that Britain formed its interrogation service (MI19a) only in 1940, whereas the first batch of 'guests' (the crew of U39) arrived at the Tower of London on 17th September 1939. He also has a tendency to refer to U-boats as 'captured' when they were either sunk in combat or surrendered after the end of European hostilities. He claims that a report on Peenemünde 'did not reach the right people in time', when an MI19 intercept led to a heavy RAF raid that considerably set back the V-weapon programme.
He cites the excellent Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing, and Dying by Neitzen and Welzer. If he had also consulted Helen Fry's The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II or even my own Castaways in Question: A story of British naval interrogators from WW1 to denazification he might have avoided these minor trips.
Coverage of the post-war recruitment of German scientists and technicians is useful and might have been developed a bit more.
There is an interesting plate section, well reproduced, with several images that I for one had not seen before.
It would have been useful to have a little more technical detail on the eavesdropping equipment in use. From the photos it looks like the RCA kit originally bought by the British and later replaced by an in-house developed system.
So, a worthwhile but not pivotal addition to the literature on an important intelligence strand.
Some - the largest group - interrogated prisoners of war. Some translated captured documents. Some prepared escape and evasion kits and training for US servicemen in case of capture, and set up covert communication with those unfortunate enough to be caught.
There is a fair amount of public domain material covering this area but Sutton does a good job of integrating it and clarifying the relationship between Fort Hunt, Pine Grove Furnace and Camp Ritchie. A special strength, derived from the oral history work behind the book, is the biographical insights into many of the former staff.
There are some unforced errors which are however tangential to the narrative. For example he seems to think that Britain formed its interrogation service (MI19a) only in 1940, whereas the first batch of 'guests' (the crew of U39) arrived at the Tower of London on 17th September 1939. He also has a tendency to refer to U-boats as 'captured' when they were either sunk in combat or surrendered after the end of European hostilities. He claims that a report on Peenemünde 'did not reach the right people in time', when an MI19 intercept led to a heavy RAF raid that considerably set back the V-weapon programme.
He cites the excellent Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing, and Dying by Neitzen and Welzer. If he had also consulted Helen Fry's The Walls Have Ears: The Greatest Intelligence Operation of World War II or even my own Castaways in Question: A story of British naval interrogators from WW1 to denazification he might have avoided these minor trips.
Coverage of the post-war recruitment of German scientists and technicians is useful and might have been developed a bit more.
There is an interesting plate section, well reproduced, with several images that I for one had not seen before.
It would have been useful to have a little more technical detail on the eavesdropping equipment in use. From the photos it looks like the RCA kit originally bought by the British and later replaced by an in-house developed system.
So, a worthwhile but not pivotal addition to the literature on an important intelligence strand.
December 13, 2024
This is a very interesting look at PO Box 1142, the secret military intelligence camp at Fort Hunt, just south of Alexandria, VA, the Pentagon, and Washington, DC during WW2. I found it particularly interesting since my friends and I grew up in that area and frequented Fort Hunt park before this was all declassified. When we hung out there in high school we had no idea that 35 years before Fort Hunt Park was a camp for debriefing Nazis. It was declassified about 20 years ago, just in time for the men who had served there to give oral histories before they passed away. This book builds on that and other research to tell us about the people who were interrogated there, but more importantly, the people who did the interrogations. Many of the men interrogating the Nazis were young Jewish men in the US Army who had escaped Nazi Germany during Hitler's rise to power. Despite the obvious temptation, they were never physically abusive and kept their goal of getting the prisoners to talk freely. The back stories of many of the interrogators, as well as their post war lives, are presented here which is really valuable and moving.
These men had lead extraordinary lives by the time they were 20. Born Jewish in Europe, escaping the Nazis as boys or young teens, coming to America, and being selected by the Army to interrogate Nazis. And then they had to keep that secret for over 50 years until the existence of PO Box 1142 was declassified.
Fascinating book.
These men had lead extraordinary lives by the time they were 20. Born Jewish in Europe, escaping the Nazis as boys or young teens, coming to America, and being selected by the Army to interrogate Nazis. And then they had to keep that secret for over 50 years until the existence of PO Box 1142 was declassified.
Fascinating book.
January 25, 2025
An interesting and quick read. If youre looking to hear interesting stories about howpersecuted Jewish Germans helped the Allied war effort by pulling informatoon out of German POW minds by using their wits, you will not be disappointed. Fascinating book.
Author gives props to a dubious and sensationalist popular "history" author (Annie Jacobsen) late in the book that hurt his credibility. And the book is quite repetitive, at times.
It's worth a read.
Author gives props to a dubious and sensationalist popular "history" author (Annie Jacobsen) late in the book that hurt his credibility. And the book is quite repetitive, at times.
It's worth a read.
May 3, 2022
Fort Hunt has always been one of my favorite place in the area - to the point our wedding reception was there. It’s bizarre to realize the thousands of German POWs came through there, the information collected, the creation of items for American POWS that parallel Hogan’s Heroes. Recommend to history favs but certainly those in the area.
November 21, 2022
Interesting look at how using Jewish soldiers obtained critical intelligence during WW-II. The only flaw I find is a bit of lingering criticism of CIA operations during the War on Terror. Comparing the operations of the two efforts is one thing, but you criticism men and women working currently in the arena gets it off the focus I think it needs.
December 30, 2022
While some of this book seemed like padding which gave general history, when it was focused in its topic, this was an interesting read about WWII interrogators.
February 13, 2023
Wonderful
What fascinating men they helped win the war and get back at the Nazis! Also what great post war careers.
What fascinating men they helped win the war and get back at the Nazis! Also what great post war careers.
May 18, 2023
I enjoyed this book and learning about the intelligence gathering operations it discusses. The book veneers around Ft. Hunt, known during the war only as P.O. Box 1142. Many Jewish German immigrants played a role in the various programs’ success and made valuable contributions to the U.S. war effort. (*cue Hamilton soundtrack: “Immigrants, we get the job done!”*)
It was also interesting to learn about the programs linking POW’s in Europe with intelligence networks and evasion support.
The book was detailed but not dense. The author also provides follow up on the men’s post war lives and experiences.
Overall an interesting read. I’m adding Fort Hunt to my places to visit next time I’m near D.C.
It was also interesting to learn about the programs linking POW’s in Europe with intelligence networks and evasion support.
The book was detailed but not dense. The author also provides follow up on the men’s post war lives and experiences.
Overall an interesting read. I’m adding Fort Hunt to my places to visit next time I’m near D.C.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews