Operation Pastorius: The History of the Nazi Intelligence Operation to Commit Sabotage in the United States during World War II
Written by Charles River Editors
Narrated by Daniel Houle
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Four days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war on America, almost casually and without seeming to consider the consequences. There was no diplomatic necessity for him to have done this and no obvious strategic reason. Germany’s military successes were so complete at that point that Hitler seemed to believe declaring war on one more country was a trifling matter.
In some ways, he was right, because in December 1941, the US Army was tiny and poorly equipped. In September 1939, the German army invading Poland comprised 100 infantry divisions and six panzer divisions. At that time, the whole US Army was comprised of just five divisions. Even two years later, the US Army was relatively small and ill-equipped. It was clear that, in strictly military terms, the United States was no threat to Nazi Germany when Hitler declared war in late 1941.
However, American industry had the capacity and power ahead of virtually any other country in the world, so if America posed a threat to Germany, it would be through its capacity to produce weapons, tanks, aircraft, and ships in vast numbers. At the same time, America was simply too far from any German-controlled airbases to make strategic bombing a possibility. Thus, if a direct attack on American industry was not feasible, the best alternative was to mount a campaign of subterfuge and sabotage.
The responsibility for mounting an attack on American industry was given to the German military secret intelligence service, the Abwehr, which devised a plan to land saboteurs in America to attack factories, railroads, and perhaps conduct a random bombing campaign against American civilians. The Nazi plan was given the codename of Operation Pastorius, and it was launched in June 1942, just six months after Germany had declared war on America. What followed was one of World War II’s most bizarre spy stories.
More audiobooks from Charles River Editors
Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Project MK-Ultra: The History of the CIA’s Controversial Human Experimentation Program Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The East India Company: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rape of Nanking: The History and Legacy of the Notorious Massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ur: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Sumerian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mossad: The History and Legacy of Israel’s National Intelligence Agency Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Arnold Rothstein and Meyer Lansky: The Lives and Legacies of the Gangsters Who Reformed Organized Crime in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNineveh: The History and Legacy of the Ancient Assyrian Capital Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mysteries of the South: Ghosts, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in Dixie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends of the West: Deadwood, South Dakota Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5J. Robert Oppenheimer: The Life and Legacy of the Father of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cambrian Period: The History and Legacy of the Start of Complex Life on Earth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Denisovans: The History of the Extinct Archaic Humans Who Spread Across Asia during the Paleolithic Era Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Pleistocene Era: The History of the Ice Age and the Dawn of Modern Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Madame de Pompadour: The Life and Legacy of French King Louis XV’s Chief Mistress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Medieval England: The History of England from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Tudor Dynasty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSigmund Freud and Carl Jung: The Pioneering Lives and Works of History’s Most Influential Psychologists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fermi Paradox: The History and Legacy of the Famous Debate over the Existence of Aliens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Midwest: Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena in America's Heartland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Operation Pastorius
Related audiobooks
German and Allied Air Forces in World War I: The History and Legacy of the Rivals in the Sky during the Great War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUranprojekt: The History and Legacy of Nazi Germany’s Nuclear Weapons Program during World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mechanized Death: The History and Legacy of the First Machine Guns Used in War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Race for Nuclear Weapons during World War II: The History and Legacy of Both Sides’ Efforts to Build an Atomic Bomb Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe End of World War II in Europe: The History of the Final Campaigns that Led to Nazi Germany’s Surrender Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFallschirm-Panzer Division 'Hermann Göring': A History of the Luftwaffe's Only Armoured Division 1933-1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCase White: The Invasion of Poland 1939 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzkrieg: From the Ground Up Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5France in World War II: The History of Nazi Germany’s Conquest of France and Its Liberation By the Allies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOperation Greif: The History of the Infamous Waffen-SS Commando Operation during the Battle of the Bulge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Countdown to D-Day: The German Perspective Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blitzkrieg: Myth, Reality, and Hitler's Lightning War: France 1940 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Instrument of War: The German Army 1914–18 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On a Knife's Edge: The Ukraine, November 1942-March 1943 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Great Patriotic War: The History of the Fighting Between the Soviets and Germans during World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHitler's Soldiers: The German Army in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Panzer General: Heinz Guderian and the Blitzkrieg Victories of WWII Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Case Red: The Collapse of France Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Flew for the Führer: The Memoirs of a Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No End Save Victory: Perspectives on World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Wars & Military For You
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of September 11, 2001 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/577 Days of February: Living and Dying in Ukraine, Told by the Nation’s Own Journalists Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You're Stepping on My Cloak and Dagger Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese American Spy Hunter, and the Untold Story of Pearl Harbor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Diary of Anne Frank Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kill Anything That Moves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I Come Home Again: 'A page-turning literary gem' THE TIMES, BEST BOOKS OF 2020 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Code Name: Lise: The True Story of the Woman Who Became WWII's Most Highly Decorated Spy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin - Book Summary: How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead And Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Strategy Masters: The Prince, The Art of War, and The Gallic Wars Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Saved: A War Reporter's Mission to Make It Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Founding Mothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Korean War: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Operation Pastorius
1 rating0 reviews