Nazi Saboteurs: Part Two

But it was all the money Kappe could get his hands on, so after heated discussions, everyone finally relented.

They were told that Dasch and his team were war correspondents.

It became obvious to many on the small sub that Quirin and Heinck had formed an alliance that excluded Dasch and Burger. Heinck had grown dependent on Quirin, his friend and former coworker at Volkswagen. And as the U-boat inched closer to their landing spot, the rift continued to widen.

Heinck's growing fear and apprehension was obvious to others.

He wanted to unite his own team and have them view him as their esteemed leader, like the U-boat crew viewed their captain.

Burger, who, like the others, was wearing a bathing suit, shoved his uniform into the canvas bag along with Quirin's and Heinck's discarded navy fatigues.

Despite his fraying nerves, Dasch remembered the captain of the U-boat telling him the sailors had a flare in case they had trouble getting back to the submarine.

The men followed, and Dasch led them over a couple of sand dunes before coming upon a gulch.

In fact, in the mad rush, numerous items had been dropped or haphazardly buried by the saboteurs.

They received so many false reports of U-boat sightings that they dismissed this one as "dubious."

The floats were followed by a procession of tanks, soldiers, sailors, marines, industrial workers, and others who were protecting America's home front.

But the enemy agents weren't at the parade. Hitler's Nazi saboteurs were a half mile away from the grandstand in Herald Square, eating at the Horn & Hardart
 Automat.

It was an abundant contrast to the meager food rations in Nazi Germany.

It was a luxury hotel in the heart of New York City's garment district, where a plethora of Jewish-owned department stores sold their wares.

Slip-on loafer shoes were a bargain at $4.94 ($76.51 in today's dollars), and genuine pigskin wallets in black and brown were $1.98 ($30.66 in today's dollars).

The menu was diverse, offering everything from fried frog legs with tartar sauce to sautéed split jumbo squab (also known as pigeon) to charcoal-broiled sirloin steak and filet mignon.

Plus, there was a choice of buttered carrots, lima beans, french-fried onions, and potatoes au gratin.

When Burger finished, Dasch had more to say, which wasn't unusual for the loquacious leader of the group.

When George Dasch woke up in the swanky Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, he tried not to worry.

But Burger deftly handled the situation, smoothly spouting off some lies in an effort to calm them down.

But Dasch wouldn't divulge any details regarding the whereabouts of the other saboteurs.

A few floors above Traynor's office, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was receiving summarized reports on Traynor's interview with Dasch, who was described as a "temperamental individual."

Hoover thought Dasch was withholding information so that he would have leverage over the FBI and would be considered indispensable.

He tried to reassure them, telling them that he had been "schooled." But that didn't help assuage their fear.

That meant removing any barriers and using any psychological tools at his disposal, such as using nicknames to create a sense of friendship.

While Dasch was busy talking to Traynor, FBI agents were dispatched to Dasch's room at the Mayflower Hotel.

"I will not stand for what is going on," Quirin seethed.

But hidden underneath the tranquil surface was a maelstrom of fear and suspicion.

It was 4:30 p.m. when FBI agents apprehended him and shuttled him off in a car to FBI headquarters.

But the day before, on Sunday, June 21, Dasch suddenly remembered the name of the malodorous chemical.

And he was certain he had figured out a loophole. He was going to buy the car in his father's name so if he was arrested, his father could keep the car.

"And that I should tell the doctor that I had coronary thrombosis, rheumatic pains, swelling of my ankles, pain in my left upper arm, dizzy spells now and then, headaches every week, indigestion, pains in my chest, and pains in my back. According to Wernecke, no doctor in the world could tell whether my heart was bad or not."

Wernecke knew firsthand because he had received a draft deferment for a physical disability.

He had faked deafness, rheumatism, and heart trouble.

Haupt told him, "I had a fever in Mexico and had been taking quinine."

Before leaving, Haupt asked the doctor for a signed note to give his employer, advising against any physical exertion until a diagnosis was determined.

Before his examination, Haupt went outside and swallowed three nitroglycerin pills to make his heart beat rapidly.
"Bill [Wernecke] had told me that they should be taken about fifteen minutes before," Haupt said. So the palpitation would show up on the graph.

There was only one Nazi saboteur still at large, Hermann Neubauer. The FBI had no idea where he was.

They dashed from hotel to hotel, scanning the list of names in the registration book and looking for the name "Nicholas." It was a tedious task, and it wasn't until several tries that they finally found one where a "Nicholas" was registered.

The FBI slapped on the handcuffs and arrested the last Nazi saboteur.
Hitler's secret attack on America was thwarted.