The Nazi Spy Ring in America: Hitler's Agents, the FBI, and the Case That Stirred the Nation

by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones

In the mid-1930s just as the United States was embarking on a policy of neutrality, Nazi Germany launched a program of espionage against the unwary nation. The Nazi Spy Ring in America tells the story of Hitler's attempts to interfere in American affairs by spreading anti-Semitic propaganda, stealing military technology, and mapping US defenses.

This fast-paced history provides essential insight into the role of espionage in shaping American perceptions of Germany in the years leading up to US entry into World War II. Fascinating and thoroughly researched, The Nazi Spy Ring in America sheds light on a now-forgotten but significant episode in the history of international relations and the development of the FBI.

Using recently declassified documents, prize-winning historian Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones narrates this little-known chapter in US history. He shows how Germany's foreign intelligence service, the Abwehr, was able to steal top secret US technology such as a prototype codebreaking machine and data about the latest fighter planes.

At the center of the story is Leon Turrou, the FBI agent who helped bring down the Nazi spy ring in a case that quickly transformed into a national sensation. The arrest and prosecution of four members of the ring was a high-profile case with all the trappings of fiction: fast cars, louche liaisons, a murder plot, a Manhattan socialite, and a ringleader codenamed Agent Sex. Part of the story of breaking the Nazi spy ring is also the rise and fall of Turrou, whose talent was matched only by his penchant for publicity, which eventually caused him to run afoul of J. Edgar Hoover's strict codes of conduct.

--Hugh Wilford, author of The Mighty Wurlitzer and America's Great Game

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Audiobook, War, Politics, Espionage

256 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2020

About the author

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones was born in Wales and grew up in the ancient town of Harlech. He attended the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, then the Universities of Michigan, Harvard and Cambridge, where he obtained his PhD. He was active in anti-apartheid, anti-Bomb, anti-Vietnam War and pro-civil liberties campaigns and aimed at a career in politics, but then settled down to family life and scholarly pursuits. He was a Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh, where he is now emeritus. He played rugby in Wales, England and America, and remains a keen fan, his other interests being opera, vegetable gardening, and snooker.
Rhodri’s latest book, published in different formats in the United States and the UK, tells the story of how FBI detective Leon Turrou hunted down a German spy ring in 1938 and then conducted an effective propaganda campaign against the Nazis. He is currently writing a history of the CIA, and researching the Glasgow background of the private detective Allan Pinkerton.
For further information:
“Learning the Scholar’s Craft" (2020): https://hdiplo.org/to/E221
Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodri_...

Reviews

[Hugh Heinsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

More interesting than exciting. A bit academic in style. Worth reading, however, for its view into the politics of the era, how the German spy networks operated, and into the mind of J Edgar Hoover.

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would describe this as a well written and solid book. It does a very good job with the details and people involved and the prose is effective. The author is never able to make a case that the cases are significant in a larger scheme.

[Scharenjo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative but dryly written. At times, the author is very hard to follow.I would hardly categorize this as "a page turner."

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a detailed history of persons and events around the Rumrich spy case. In 1938, eighteen individuals in the United States were indicted on charges of spying for Nazi Germany. The case resulted in four criminal convictions. The case was named after Guenther Gustave Maria Rumrich, a United States Army sergeant turned deserter who pleaded guilty to espionage and agreed to testify on behalf of the US government. All four individuals served time in prison, with sentences ranging from two to six years. The book includes backgrounds on all key figures and what happened after the trial and even after serving their terms. In The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide, the case is called "the first major prewar espionage case". Intelligence was gathered by FBI detective Leon Turrou, who wrote articles about his experiences as a detective. These articles became the book Nazi Spies in America, in turn, became the movie Confessions of a Nazi Spy .

While reading this Havana syndrome which I previously doubted appears to be getting legs. This book is about pre-war espionage when Nazism was even esteemed in some quarters and isolationism reigned in others. Are we in a pre-war period now with Putinist support embedded and quiet espionage afoot? Is some Turrou even known at work only to be known later?

You can support my reviews with purchases made on Amazon through this link.

[Paul Vogelzang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my work for Smithsonian Associates, the book was provided to me by the publisher. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will interview author, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, which I'm excited about!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of the pre-war efforts by the Germans to recruit and build a spy network inside the United States.

[Linda]

Recommended by The Economist August 15, 2020 issue:

https://www.economist.com/books-and-a...