La spia tedesca

by Erich Gimpel

The autobiography of one of the only Nazi spies to reach the USA. During 9/44 Germany is burning at both ends. The Reich is crumbling. Word has reached Berlin that the Americans are testing a secret weapon of unbelievable destruction, a weapon that will win the war. The Fuhrer himself calls upon Agent 146 in a last ditch effort to sabotage America's atomic program. Two months later, a German U-boat surfaces off Maine's coast. Agent 146 & an American turncoat named William Collepaugh sneak ashore. Down the coast they go, ending up in New York. Once there, a fascinating game of cat & mouse begins as the FBI attempts to close in on the elusive Nazi spy.
Previously unpublished in the USA, Agent 146 is a tale of espionage under the Reich. Within are accounts of the Nazis' plans to sabotage the Allies--from sending in commandos to capture Gibraltar to blowing up the Panama Canal. Agent 146 is a must read memoir for WWII history buffs.
Foreword
My Career as a Spy Begins
Fighting a War in Dinner Jackets
Training as a Spy in Germany
Spain-& My First Missions
A Plan to Blow up the Panama Canal
The Start of a Grim Adventure
To America by Submarine
The Landing in America
Tricked by Billy in New York
I Work Out my Own Salvation
Billy Betrays me to the F.B.I.
Love--& Then Arrest
Grilled by the F.B.I.
In the Shadow of the Scaffold
Sentenced to Death
Sized up by the Hangman
Germany's Capitulation Saves my Life
My Years in Alcatraz
Promoted from Convict to Mister

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Espionage, World War II, Military Fiction, Memoir, Biography

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[D. Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chanced on this slender pageturner and found it quite compelling. ("Nazi spy" is a bit sensationalist, by the way; Gimpel was not a party member.)

I was impressed with Gimpel's economy of phrase and dramatic control -- quite an achievement for a man who, though clearly well-educated, is not a writer by trade. He has a terrific eye for detail and the whole book has a certain droll air that makes you feel like you're hearing a master storyteller spin his web over cocktails. He spends some time incarcerated (I won't say when or how) which is also well-described in that same elegant prose. He deftly moves between important moments of action and emotion, swinging the focus of the text from narrow to wide as best befits the book.

I can't give it five stars because there are a few details of his motivations and the final disposition of a certain key character that are painfully left missing from the narrative.

[Sophie Schiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gimpel's book is a page turner. From his initial training in Berlin, where he's shown pictures of executed German spies and told about the risks he's going to take, to his crossing over the Atlantic via U-boat and attempts to blend into American society. Along the way, there are numerous mistakes and miscalculations, such as wearing the wrong clothes and shopping at the same news stand. There is also a romance and a few G-men on his tail. Never at any time does Gimpel lose his humanity even as he's about to lose his life. The final chapters deal with his Orwellian nightmare in America's labyrinthine penal system and his growing respect for American society and culture. Gimpel's experience is an extraordinary look at the enemy within and the inevitable consequences of their actions.

[Samantha Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating true story of a Nazi spy who came ashore in Hancock Point at the tail end of the war, ended up caught in NYC, well written and I am not at all a big history or WW2 buff but found this very readable! Highly recommend especially for my fellow Hancock Pointers!!

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erich Gimpel, has written a fascinating account of what it must be like to spy in an enemy country during wartime. Gimpel, who spoke almost perfect American English after having lived in the States before the war, was dropped off near Ellsworth, Maine in 1944. Eventually captured, he came close to being hanged, but was paroled in the early fifties and published this memoir in 1957.

He came close to being caught moments after his landing. It was at night and snowing. He was wearing a trench coat and carrying a suitcase with money and a radio and charged with the task of learning just how far the Americans had come to developing an atom bomb. Walking along a road, he was seen by a fifteen-year-old Boy Scout. He noted the suitcase, the lack of hat and inappropriate dress. By this time of the war everyone was blase about spies in the U.S. -- except for children. The observant young man, followed the footprints in the snow to the beach and he realized that the man he saw must have been delivered by a boat or submarine. His report to the police caused amusement so he went to the FBI who complimented him on his reporting, and in inimitable patriarchal FBI style that apparently has not changed since, sent him on his way. Gimbel was picked up by a off-duty taxi driver who swallowed his story about a car accident and drove him to Bangor. A riveting story.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superb book. I found it by chance in the library. Forget James Bond. This guy is the real deal. The book had everything. Intrigue, drama and a dash of romance even, with a bit of 'Brief Encounter' thrown in. I think also that it was so much better that it was written in the first person.

The bit about the merchant ship being sunk and trying to blame it on him was a bit strong. As evidence, surely it would have been irrelevant, and further, having looking at what I believe is a reliable website, the ship's company were Canadian rather than American.

I read also on-line that the author died in Brazil, aged 100. He really did have luck on his side. In the end.

[Martin Lember · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great spy book about Nazi spy in America. How he became a spy and how he developed so he was sent to US in the end of the war by U-boat. How he acted and improvised and was eventually caught. And how sometimes fate is something you can't change - he lived and waited for the death sentence to be carried out, but as US president Roosevelt passed away and after that war ended, his life was spared. He ended up various prisons (inc. Alcatraz) and made it back to Germany eventually. Really good and interesting book for history and spy fans.

[Osvald Nigola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agent 146 by Erich Gimpel

The book is an autobiographical story about the author’s career as a Nazi spy during the Second World War, his subsequent capture and imprisonment in the United States.

The story starts in 1935. Back then Gimpel was a 25 year old German radio engineer recently sent to South America, as Germany was trying to strengthen herself militarily there at the time. His employer there took a liking to Erich and gave him a task of befriending a girl and getting invited to her family dinner. While no one took the task too seriously, he still managed to do it quite well and was given other tasks, similar in nature. The secret service in Germany had taken a notice of him, so when he returned to Germany he wasn’t immediately sent to the fronts, but instead offered a job as a spy. He was then taught espionage and given several missions, none of which he failed (which would have most likely resulted in his execution).

Some time later he was given a mission to go to the United States, get information on the development of the nuclear bomb and sabotage it. He knew that almost every other spy in the US was caught and executed, but Erich hoped he might just make it.

He travelled across the ocean in a U-boat with an American deserter called Billy. On the way they nearly died several times, but in the end made made it to American soil. Under the alias of Edward Green, he went to New York with his assistant and stayed in a hotel for a few days. One morning, while he was still asleep, Billy stole his suitcases which had hundreds of thousands of dollars, diamonds and everything needed for the mission in it and tried to leave New York by train. Once Gimpel found out, he tried to find him from the train station as that was the most likely place he might have gone. Erich found their suitcases there and as he still had the keys, was able to prove to the staff they were his and took them with him. Billy, who was out eating at the time and waiting for the train, found them missing when he got back and in panic, went to a friend’s place. He immediately went to get drunk and once back at his friend’s, he mindlessly told him the whole story, who then reported Billy to the FBI. There the man told everything he knew and thus again betrayed Gimpel.

Meanwhile, Erich had gathered quite a bit of information about the Manhattan project and lived in a friends apartment he had accidentally met at the train station. He sent all the information back to Germany and started with the plan to blow up several factories and buildings associated with the project, but before long, he was caught by the FBI thanks to Billy’s description of him.

Gimpel was treated very well and questioned for weeks, but didn’t betray any information. After being imprisoned for months, the spy was prosecuted and sentenced to death by hanging. In the morning he was supposed to be executed though, news arrived that Roosevelt, the president of the United States at the time, had died. That meant a four week mourning period, where no one would be executed. Erich sent a letter of plea to the new president, which was accepted and his death sentence was reduced to life long imprisonment. He spent over ten years in different prisons before he was conditionally set free and could finally, after years, return home to Germany.

I enjoyed reading the book quite a lot! It was well written, very rarely had it boring sections. The author expressed his emotions well during different events and the fact that the story is not a work of fiction but rather an actual story of a man’s life, made it even more engaging.

The book also gives you a picture of how life in the US back then was, how difficult the work and life of a spy is and how much betrayal really hurts (there are quite several instances of it in the book). A few events seem too unlikely to happen, which makes reading about them and knowing that they actually did happen, even better. Everything you needed to know in order to understand the events was explained so you weren’t really left with any questions. Any that Gimpel himself didn’t have anyway.

I’d recommend the book to anyone who likes spy stories (and who doesn’t) or wants to expand their knowledge a bit about the Second World War. Worth the reading for almost anyone and it isn’t too long either.

Overall a great book, four out of five stars!

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting tale of Erich Gimpel's time as a spy and how he became one during WWII. It tells of some of his exploits, his capture, and prison time.

I liked him. Too bad he was on the opposing side. At times I felt like I was in an action-adventure novel. Enjoyable and fascinating.

[Dario Castagnoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting true story

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible read, Nazis, the A bomb, spies and it was all real. Erich Gimpel was, at least to the Americans at the time, an enigmatic character who had an interesting career in espionage, from Berlin to South America to North America, the book is a collection of biography, spy story and factual history, it's not too long and the story moves along at a good pace. If you want a real life John le Carré novel this is one to get.

[Nick Full · Rating 4 out of 5]

agent 146 is a true story about Erich Gimple. he shares his thrilling life as a Nazi spy, and how he became one. then one day Adolf Hitler called him to go to the east coast to sabotage the Manhattan project. then the FBI where trying to get him and he struggles to complete the objective.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never thought about what it would be like to be a spy in a foreign country with which you are at war. Erich Gimpel had this experience, and he described it in close detail. He was good at his trade: Probably he would not have been captured had not his companion, Billy Colepaugh, told the FBI about him. Gimpel and Colepaugh were both convicted and sentenced to death, but they survived because the war was ending and Harry Truman commuted their sentences.

This is one of the most interesting WW-II stories I have read in the past few years.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book if you want to understand how crummy a spy's life really is. Fascinating for the subject matter alone - a Nazi spy delivered to the U.S. on a u-boat - the book takes you in directions you wouldn't anticipate, making you hope the author eventually returned to some sort of a normal life, for pity's sake.

[Johanna Gail Tongco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erich Gimpel's account on his journey as a Nazi spy is truly fascinating. We would learn a lot about history and also about his journey and insights towards the issues that were prevalent at his period.

[Tom Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing, and true, WWII espionage story that you really never hear about.

[Jason Andrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool story.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO cool!! Who doesn't love spies? And the real life story of a spy sent to sabatoge America....xD I loved when his contact told him that he should learn baseball

[Pabloslist]

Autobiography of one of the only Nazi spies to reach American soil. Sept. 1944. insight on schemes underway then

[Melissa Rice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing account. Author was pompous . This could have been a great read if told by a skilled author.

[Emilio]

Very good book, found out a lot of thing I did not know about WW2.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book,hard to put down,very Well written really feels like you are there too