Excerpt from The American Homefront During WWII
Blackouts, Ration Books and Rosie the Riveter

Chapter 8: Spies and Saboteurs

Page 144

Well before Pearl Harbor, Germany maintained a spy ring in place in the US. If it hadn’t been for the actions of a naturalized German American, the spies could have wreaked untold damage to the US war efforts. His name was William Sebold. On a trip back to Germany in 1939 he was approached by the Nazi spy master, Major Nickolaus Ritter, of the German Secret Service and told he should become a spy for Germany when he returned to the United States. He was informed that if he did not do so his family in Germany might suffer. So angered, he contacted the American Embassy and began a role as a double agent.

Upon his return to the US in 1940 he made contact with the members of the spy ring, led by Frederick “Fritz” Joubert Duquesne. He convinced them that he should be the communication channel between them and German headquarters. The FBI monitored all Sebold’s contacts.

Once the FBI had enough information to pinpoint the members of the ring and enough evidence for an airtight case, the thirty-three spies were arrested. The New York Daily News on June 30, 1941, headlined “Nazi Spy Ring Broken.” Nineteen quickly pled guilty. The remaining fourteen spies were brought to trial in Brooklyn and found guilty on September 3, 1941.