I have previously written about Operations
Cornflakes, a psychological warfare campaign waged by the United States Office of
Strategic Services (OSS) Morale Operations (MO) section in Rome during WWII. Operations
Cornflakes was designed to drop German mail sacks containing subversive material in
carefully addressed envelopes inside the Reich near shot-up enemy trains. The same people
in the 2677th Regiment of the OSS (Provisional) who were involved in the Cornflakes
operation were also preparing propaganda for use in Operation Sauerkraut, a plan to use
captured German prisoners of war to distribute Allied propaganda behind enemy lines. In
fact, many of the leaflets that I have depicted in the Cornflakes article were also used
in the Sauerkraut campaign. The data below is from a large number of official Sauerkraut
documents in my possession and from personal interviews with some members of the Rome OSS
team.
Morale Operations Field Manual - Strategic Services
First a brief description of OSS Morale Operations for those that
did not live through WWII as I did.
The classified “Secret” 58-page 1943 Morale Operations Field
Manual - Strategic Services defines The term Morale Operations as all
measures of subversion other than physical used to create confusion and
division, and to undermine the morale and the political unity of the enemy
through any means operating within or purporting to operate within enemy
countries and enemy occupied or controlled countries, and from bases within
other areas, including neutral areas, where action or counteraction may be
effective against the enemy.
The objectives of Morale Operations are within the enemy's country
to incite and spread dissension, confusion, and disorder; to promote
subversive activities against his government by encouraging underground
groups, and to depress the morale of his people. To discredit
collaborationists, to encourage and assist in the promotion of resistance
and revolt against Axis control by the people of these territories, and to
raise their morale and will to resist.
The Morale Operations Branch, in cooperation with other agencies of
OSS, will employ the following implements for the accomplishment of the
above objectives:
Contacts with and manipulation of individuals and underground
groups; Agents provocateurs; Bribery and blackmail; Rumors; Forgery, to
include the writing of poison-pen letters, forging of misleading
intelligence documents, falsification of enemy documents and periodicals,
and the printing of false orders to the enemy, regulations, and
proclamations; False leaflets, pamphlets, and graphics, to be used for
subversive deception within enemy and enemy-occupied countries and not
identifiable with any official or semi-official United Nations agency.
FALSE LEAFLETS,
PAMPHLETS, AND GRAPHICS
This type of implement refers to printed, mimeographed or written
literature and graphics distributed secretly in enemy territory and under
concealed sponsorship. This includes chain, and other anonymous letters,
chalking symbols, and messages on walls. The false pamphlet sponsored by a
belligerent nation attempts to convey the impression that it is a bona fide
message from the people's own fellow countrymen who are sharing the same
risks as the rest of the population and have similar aspirations, aims, and
goals.
Any kind of written communication can be forged. The following are
common types: Propaganda documents, ostensibly designed to increase the
morale of the enemy or improve his relations with an enemy ally, but
actually written in such a way that an opposite effect will be achieved;
Periodicals, which imitate enemy periodicals and convey misleading or
morale-disturbing information; Business documents, using letterheads, or
other business forms of either enemy, Allied or neutral firms, and filled
out with misleading information; Cables, either Allied or enemy.
The Schools and Training Branch of the OSS printed a booklet in
June 1945 titled, OFFICE OF STRATEGIC SERVICES ORGANIZATION AND
FUNCTIONS.
The booklet was designed to supplement the lectures on OSS
organization. The booklet was classified and bore the warning:
Special security precautions must be taken by each student not only
to safeguard the information contained herein from unauthorized persons, but
also to protect the book itself against loss or damage.
The Morale Operations Branch, according to OSS General Order No. 9,
"is responsible for the conduct of subversion other than physical," its
mission is to create internal dissension between groups, distrust between
allies, and to unify and strengthen dissident groups so that the enemy's
fighting capacity is impaired. Some of the MO tactics are:
Black Radio Campaigns--Posing as "freedom stations" of a resistance
group within an enemy-occupied country; or as clandestine organ of dissident
group in enemy country; or as actual enemy station.
Word-of-Mouth Rumors--Planted by agents in an appropriate
situation, and sufficiently plausible to retain their credibility.
Forgeries--(Commercial Documents, Military Documents, Business
Stationery) -- Used to intimidate collaborationists, implicate enemy
officials, and harass the enemy's secret police.
Poison Pen Letters--Disguised as letters from actual business
firms, soldiers, or other individuals, and containing incriminating
information.
Bribery--Inducing enemy officials to perform acts favorable to our
cause.
The Official OSS “Story of the Sauerkrauts”
The OSS regularly produced these booklets for visiting Congressmen and those that
held the purse-strings in Washington D.C. Another such “publicity booklet” is
“The Story of Cornflakes, Pig Iron and Sheet Iron,” all Rome Morale Operations
campaigns. Some of these booklets were found in wartime OSS housing in Rome after the end
of WWII.
The Sauerkraut story begins on 20 July 1944 when the German generals attempted
to assassinate their Fuehrer, Adolf Hitler. Just hours after the first reports of the
attempted coup, MO Rome was busy devising ways to capitalize on the news from Germany. The
OSS identified the situation:
The attempted assassination of Hitler provided an unusual psychological
moment to attack the morale of the German Army if appropriate propaganda could be
circulated without delay.
Ordinary methods of infiltration via aircraft drops were not considered speedy
enough. Several members of the OSS staff had been meeting with “friendly,
trustworthy” German prisoners over a period of several months attempting to determine
their political views. The implementation of the program was defined:
Passing agents directly through the front lines to distribute
freshly-conceived rumors, leaflets, fake orders and ‘official’ proclamations, as
well as longer-ranged arousers of homesickness such as fake Germans women’s
‘lonely hearts clubs’.”
The 2677th Regiment OSS (Provisional)
The Regiment was not activated until July 1944. Headquarters of the
2677th Regiment OSS (Provisional) was originally established at the former
Fifth Army Detachment base in the palace at San Leucio, near Caserta, with
complete responsibility for all OSS operations from the Mediterranean into
France, Italy, the Balkans, and the Middle East. It was authorized 476
officers and 1,498 enlisted men. Under the new 2677th Regiment, activities
were channeled into three main efforts - to southern France, up the Italian
mainland, and toward the Balkans. Four OSS Companies, A, B, C and D, were
established. For better communication with OSS Bern, a Swiss Desk was
established at Regiment headquarters in July 1944. At the time of the
Sauerkraut operation the Regiment was headquartered in Rome.
We know that the Morale Operations Sauerkraut unit was part of Company D of the
2677 Provisional OSS Regiment based near Siena, Italy. We know there were 3 officers, one
enlisted man and three civilians. All used code-names that were very close to their real
names, sometimes just a letter or two different. The team members came and went so it is
impossible to say with any accuracy who they were but reading secret coded reports seems
to imply that the officers were; First Lieutenant Jack Daniels; a Major Dewart; Captain
Erik Anderson, and finally First Lieutenant Arthur Tritsch who seems to have commanded the
unit at some point.
The enlisted person is more difficult. We know that Private Barbara Lauwers of
the Woman’s Army Corps was a member, but they may have put her in a different
category as a female WAC member. We know there were a Sergeant Alfio Durso who also acted
as a printer and a Corporal Glass who also acted as a driver. A Sergeant Ring is also
mentioned in one report so at least three of the four people we mention here are obviously
the enlisted personnel of the team.
I only found three civilians so these names could be accurate. We know Eddie
Lindner for sure, and a George Carpenter and Broch de Rotherman are also mentioned. We
assume these were the three.
The Morale Operation seems to not have been well-supported. Documents show
that Edward Warner, the Chief of MO complained about his inability to get
people transferred to his unit and to get them promoted once transferred. He
found that several of the people sent to him were temperamental and a
constant source of worry over their complaints and “prima donna” attitudes.
He complains that since his organization was formed, they had received none
of the supplies they requested. Included in the requests was radios (he had
none), miniature printing presses, and electrolytes. He actually tells
higher headquarters:
It is urgently requested that Washington keeps closer touch with such
requests as mentioned above and see that the requirements of the field are
taken care of and taken care of promptly, or else that reasons are stated
for the failure to fill such requests.
Perhaps we should take a moment to talk about Morale Operations in general. The
concept of Morale Operations is mentioned in Ann Todd’s book: OSS Operation Black
Mail – One woman’s covert War against the Imperial Japanese Army, Naval
Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2017. The author tells us about the people involved and
the expectations of their propaganda:
They were not elite soldiers poached from the regular armed forces or movie stars
who flocked to OSS in search of adventure and the chance to make a difference. MO brought
in a wave of artists, journalists, and people who were deeply familiar with the languages
and cultures of far-flung parts of the globe. Creative types. Professionals, many too old
to enlist but eager to join the war, preferably “over there.” They would learn
the art of black propaganda. Their job was to bend all their creative energies to
destroying the morale of the Japanese soldier, as well as his family back home, infecting
both with defeatism and a burning desire to end the war. The goal was to deceive and trick
the enemy into surrendering, thereby saving many lives on both sides.
MO had its own unique requirements, first and foremost a willingness to toil at
something for which there would be no rewards, not even intangible ones. The battle to
demoralize the enemy never concluded with clear victory or defeat, and rarely was there
any indication an operation had achieved a desired result. Additionally, the practice of
deception was viewed askance by everyone else involved in the war effort. MO was unsavory
in the eyes of the military, government, and Allies, but none of this mattered because it
was valued by one person: William J. Donovan.
The Prisoner-of-War camp at Averso
Within two days after the assassination attempt, on 22 July 1943, Major Dewart and
Corporal Lauwers departed for the prison camp at Aversa, near Naples. They recruited
sixteen agents within 24 hours.
The prisoners on their way to Siena, Dewart and Lauwers behind in an
automobile
The 16 POWs were released into OSS custody and placed on trucks for Siena. Less than
four days after the plan was first thought up, on 25 July, three teams of agents were sent
behind enemy lines.
The German agents started out as a small group and grew as more agents were
needed and some were removed because of various security worries. Linder mentions 20
German agents in his final report but that does not mean that they all saw action.
A 19 December 1944 report mentions the equipment that each team member carried.
I note:
Proper identification and passes
Berretta pistols and German rifles.
Forty rounds of ammo each.
American compasses.
Italian and Swiss watches.
3000 pieces of printed Morale Operations propaganda.
2300 to 7800 lire in all denominations.
German steel helmets, uniforms and field equipment.
Italian cigarettes, matches and stationery.
First aid packets.
The Lonely Hearts Club leaflet designed by Corporal Barbara
Lauwers
Note the badge at lower left to be cut off and stuck on a soldier’s glass
Eight faked field post letters in the German language were produced by the OSS
in Italy. They were printed in Rome between the summer of 1944 and the spring of 1945. The
total number of forged field post letters that were printed in Rome is indicated in an OSS
production report. 287,000 copies were produced in the period between 15 July 1944 and the
end of the war. Of these, 257,232 copies were reportedly distributed, an average of 32,000
copies of each letter. This “lonely hearts club” leaflet is in the form of a
field post folded letter.
This letter allegedly originates from the Verein Einsamer Kriegerfrauen, (VEK)
(“The League of Lonely War Women”). This message attempts to destroy the morale
of the soldier in the field by making him believe that his wife, girlfriend or sister was
having “patriotic” casual sex while he was fighting at the front. The text is:
Summer 1944
Dear frontline soldier!
When will you have leave again?
When will you be able to forget your arduous soldier’s duties for a
while, for a few days of joy, happiness and love? We at home know of your heroic struggle.
We understand that even the bravest gets tired sometime and need a soft pillow, tenderness
and healthy enjoyment.
We are waiting for you:
For you who must spend your leave in a foreign town; for you whom the war
has deprived of a home; for you who is alone in the world without a wife, fiancée or a
flirt.
We are waiting for you:
Cut our symbol from this letter. In every coffee shop, in every bar near a
railway station, place it on your glass so that it can be clearly seen. A member of our
VEK will soon contact you. The dreams you had at the front, and the longings of your
lonely nights, will be fulfilled... We want you, not your money. Therefore, you should
always show our membership card (to anyone who may approach you). There are members
everywhere, because we women understand our duties to the homeland and to its defenders.
We are, of course, are selfish too – we have been separated from our
men for many years. With all those foreigners around us, we would like once more to press
a real German youth to our bosom. No inhibitions now: Your wife, sister, or lover is one
of us as well.
We think of you and Germany’s future. Which rests – rusts.
League of Lonely War Women.
The League of Lonely War Women was the creation of Women's Army Corps (WAC) and
OSS Morale Operations agent Corporal Barbara Lauwers. The operation was so successful that
the Washington Post was fooled and ran a story on 10 October 1944 entitled,
“German soldiers on leave from the Italian front have only to pin an entwined heart
of their lapel during furloughs home to find a girl friend.” The newspaper got the
story from a circular that was captured on the Eighth Army front. The circular had been
written by Lauwers and carried behind German lines by the Sauerkraut agents. The Central
Intelligence Agency website says about this operation:
Lauwers was the only woman on the staff and was credited with inventing the
“League of Lonely War Women” campaign, which sought to demoralize German
soldiers with the belief that any soldier on leave could get a girlfriend by wearing a
paper heart pinned to his lapel. The heart was the League’s symbol that appeared on a
leaflet distributed to the Axis troops. If a soldier wore the heart symbol, a member of
the League would approach him and offer her companionship. The goal of the campaign was to
undermine Axis morale by insinuating that the soldiers’ wives or girlfriends were
being promiscuous or unfaithful to them.
Corporal Barbara Lauwers
(OSS Morale Operations Italy)
Barbara was a native of Czechoslovakia and spoke a number of languages
fluently. Her code name was Zuzka. She graduated from the Masaryk University in
Brno with a doctor of law degree. In 1941, she came to the United States and served for
eighteen months in the Czechoslovak press relations office. On 1 June 1943, Lauwers became
an American citizen. A few hours later, she joined the U.S. Army and was sent to Florida
to begin training. After completing basic training, she was sent to the Women’s Army
Corps officers’ school in Georgia. It was there that she was singled out for special
service. Lauwers and two other women left immediately for Washington, D.C. Only upon
arrival [in Washington] they were told that they were assigned to the OSS. Immediately she
went through intensive indoctrination and was told:
Work and keep quiet about it, mind your own business and don’t ask
questions, be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Lauwers is awarded the bronze Star
Lauwers’ first overseas station was in Algiers, Algeria. She later served
in Rome for the duration of the war. Corporal Barbara Lauwers was decorated with the
Bronze Star for her black operations work for the OSS.
While assigned to interrogate prisoners a German sergeant bragged about the
great number of Czechs and Slovaks that were assigned the worst missions in the German
Army. She prepared leaflets in both languages which said in part:
Shed this German yoke of shame, cross over to the partisans.
The message was distributed via leaflets and a BBC broadcast to Northern Italy.
It worked. Six hundred Czechoslovak soldiers crossed the lines to the Allies, many of them
carrying Lauwers’ leaflets in their pockets. The success of this operation earned
Lauwers a Bronze Star, which was presented to her on April 6, 1945 by the MO chief in
Rome. Lauwers said about her award:
I was told to put on my uniform and a little bit of lipstick and when we
marched out, I was called to step forward. Chills still run down my spine when I think
about it.
In the Summer 2002 issue
of the OSS Society Newsletter Lauwers mentioned meeting OSS Director
“Wild Bill” Donovan (edited for brevity):
The Regimental Headquarters in
Algiers was blessed by an unexpected visit of its supreme commander, General
William “Wild Bill” Donovan. In his honor our Colonel Eddy organized a
social. Since there were not enough ladies in the area, he sent a sergeant
to our billets and summoned all the OSS/WACs to the gate where he picked
five of us. He ordered us to re-don our uniforms, shine our shoes, and be in
the truck PDQ!
We were dropped off at the
Colonel’s villa (known as Foxhole One) and joined the party. I stepped out
on the terrace where several handsome OSS officers were milling around our
distinguished guest.There he was in
uniform with a pistol in his hand aiming at a target across the ravine
beneath the terrace. Bang! Bang! But the target, a metal ring shape,
remained silent. Suddenly the General looked in my direction, stepped
forward, handed me the pistol and half invited, half ordered me with a
twinkle in his eyes:
“Try your luck, Soldier!”
Well, why not! I took the .45
pistol and turned my feeble eyes haltingly in the direction of the target.
Slowly, I pulled the trigger and what do you know? The target responded.
Bull’s Eye! I was not the only one surprised, amazed, and much impressed. I
swallowed hard, returned the pistol to the General, and quickly made a
perfect about-face. For a while thereafter my buddies called me
“Sharpshooter.”
In 2006, Barbara Lauwers wrote a brief explanation of the
Morale Operations mission for the OSS Society Newsletter.
In 2010, some of the data in this section on Barbara Lauwers was used in the
production of a Department of Defense sponsored TV broadcast by the American Forces Radio
and Television Service entitled “American Heritage: American Patriots.” Her last
married name was Barbara Podoski.
OSS print shop displaying examples of their black propaganda
According to the Shadow War against Hitler, Christof Mauch, Columbia
University Press, NY, 1999:
The plan that Company D hatched the night of July 21, 1944 was surprisingly
simple and seemed to solve all outstanding problems at a single stroke. As agents for the
covert actions, it would not be OSS or military people who would be recruited, but rather
German prisoners of war. An idea concocted by the philosopher Frederick Burkhardt and the
Austrian aristocrat Oliver von Schneditz [code name Oliver Rockhill], two Research and
Development agents working in Italy. It did not take long to come up with a name for the
new OSS project. We wanted to give the operation a title name that would be very German
and at the same time widely understood. I think it was Eddie Lindner's idea. "How
about Sauerkraut? The Germans are called Krauts anyway." Sauerkraut seemed absolutely
appropriate for the operation.
The OSS print shop prepares leaflets and gummed stickers
Now was the time to strike. While two members of the team departed to the
prison camp at Aversa, near Naples, to select candidates, other members were hard at work
producing a series of tactical leaflets to take advantage of the situation. The first was
a special order of the day declaring that Field Marshall Walther Von Brauchitsch had taken
control of Germany. Other leaflets called on German troops to take revolutionary actions,
and a special edition of the Allied black newspaper Das Neue Deutschland was
printed.
Das Neue Deutschland
Meanwhile, Captain William T. Dewart and Corporal Barbara Lauwers had recruited
sixteen German prisoners who volunteered to act as American agents.
The concept of secretly sending Americans behind the wire in prisoner-of-war
camps was apparently not that uncommon. In 2011, I was contacted by the family of
Technical Sergeant (T3) Werner A. Bloch, who they believed was in the OSS during the war.
Bloch was a German-Jewish refugee who arrived in the US in 1939 and was drafted into the
US Army in 1940. He was fluent in French and Belgian and his native language was German so
he was assigned to Intelligence duties. His record shows that he was assigned in both
Sicily and Rome with the military occupational specialty of Intelligence non-commissioned
officer (631). He told his family that during the war:
I was often dressed in a German uniform and placed in a stockade of recently
captured prisoners where my mission was to strike up conversations to establish which ones
were candidates for coming over to our side. Once they were selected and volunteered, I
identified myself and interrogated them to glean more information.
German Equipment Room of the OSS Clothing and Equipment Office
We have no pictures of the equipment room in Italy where these soldiers were
dressed, but we do have one from the equipment room in London. I assume they
were similar. This is the German Equipment Room of the OSS Clothing and
Equipment Office. It contains a small but complete stock of enemy clothing
and weapons. All clothing is fitted to the individual agent to eliminate any
possible cause for suspicion. During the last 6 months of 1944 they equipped
314 agents.
Special Documents Prepared to Substantiate the Agent’s Cover
Stories
Back at Operation Sauerkraut, another OSS officer named Ed Lindner prepared
fake credentials and gathered uniforms and weapons for the agents. The German prisoners
were driven to Rome, and by the time they arrived on 23 July, the propaganda literature
and leaflets were prepared and waiting. The teams were moved close to the front lines at
Sienna. While the men were issued their uniforms and weapons, Ed Lindner schooled them on
their cover stories and supplied them with documents and currency. The teams were well
equipped with uniforms, credentials, weapons, compasses, matches, and miscellaneous items.
They were issued money, Italian cigarettes, matches, stationery, and first aid kits. Each
POW carried from 2300 lire to 7800 lire in mixed denominations. Three teams of three men
each were scheduled to cross the lines at the Arno River and then be on their own. They
were to penetrate as deeply as possible, placing leaflets and proclamations on trees,
buildings, into trucks, and scattering them on the streets.
Author John Lisle who has studied the OSS told me about the forging
of documents in the London OSS office. Although I doubt the Sauerkraut crew
did quite as many documents, they certainly did those that were required to
keep their agents alive if questioned:
Among the documents that they most often forged were passports,
discharge forms, ration tickets, railway passes, driver’s licenses, and
travel papers. Each document had to look completely authentic, down to every
minute detail, from the hue of an ink to the texture of the paper. Even the
photographs had to match specific style of their supposed country of origin.
For example, the German Army had a rule that photographs on identity
documents couldn’t show a person’s right ear. Arthur Velleman, a Documents
Division worker with an exceedingly sharp eye, wrote to someone who
submitted pictures in the wrong style, “If you want us to use these pictures
we will do so on your responsibility.”
Passports were among the most difficult documents to forge. For the
best results, the workers in the Documents Division took an authentic
passport—usually obtained from a prisoner of war or scavenged from a dead
body—removed the writing and filled in the blanks with fake information. But
even that was a cumbersome process. To remove the writing, they first
blotted the passport with a mixture of potassium permanganate and sulfuric
acid. Once it turned brown, they treated it with a solution of weak oxalic
acid until the writing disappeared. The blank passport was now ready for new
writing. If the workers used an ink that was too opaque, they would have to
repeat the entire process.
OSS Counterfeit Nazi Party Dues Stamps
Notice at the far right of the photograph above some stamps are depicted. The OSS in
Rome was forging Nazi Party dues stamps to be placed on their Party membership cards.
Having one or more of the Sauerkraut agents being a card-carrying member of the Nazi Party
can only have helped their efforts to be accepted by any German military Police they ran
across.
At the Front Eddie Linder prepares documents using improvised
implements.
We see the forged Soldiers ID book, fake NAZI rubber stamps, etc.
The charcoal sketches in this story were prepared by German Sauerkraut agent
Willy Haseneier. Haseneier was captured 4 June 1944. He was in the Wehrmacht for 22
months, stationed in Denmark and later Italy where he made maps for the German High
Command. He spoke English quite well and was interested in motion pictures. He claimed to
have never been a NAZI and while in Denmark he actually helped the underground with
propaganda posters and stickers.
Self-portrait by Will Haseneier
An artist and graduate of the Düsseldorf Art Academy, we was used by his OSS handlers
to forge identity papers, passes, credentials and signatures. On his own he kept a
pictorial record of all the Sauerkraut team and various actions that occurred before and
during a mission. At the end of the war he worked for the Allies producing visual aids for
the Nurnberg trials. He immigrated to Hollywood after the war and found fame as "Will
Williams," illustrating book covers, comic books, movie posters, and portraits of
actors. Ironically, some of his drawings were called "the secret agent series,"
a subject he was very familiar with.
Eddie Linder (Eddie Zinder)
Declassified documents show that Edmund Friedrich Linder was an Austrian born
in Vienna 11 May 1908. His father was an American citizen working for Republic Steel in
Cleveland, Ohio. After the Germans entered Austria, Linder first went to Switzerland and
later Belgium while awaiting papers to allow him to enter the United States. He tried to
join the American military but was turned down as an alien. He was cleared to join the
British Pioneers. He eventually joined the American OSS assigned to the Algiers MO section
1 August 1943. An October 1944 letter to the Chief of Morale Operations describes Linder
using his code name and says in part:
Eddie Zinder, Austrian, is now applying for American citizenship...Eddie is
a remarkably versatile young man, having written many leaflets, the song “Wie Lange
Noch,” acted as a doctor at various times and is the supreme master of briefing,
preparation of documents and preparing prisoners of war for infiltration.
Wie Lange Noch – How Much Longer?
This Eddie Zinder leaflet depicts a hairy foreign worker in bed with the wife of a
German soldier at the front. The text is:
How much longer will these foreigners disgrace our women?
Readers might be confused by the various spelling of this agent’s name.
Understand that although he was born “Linder,” he adopted his father’s Paul
Americanized name “Lindner,” and the OSS used the code-name “Zinder.”
In all the correspondence I have seen the names are used interchangeably, so I have
followed that pattern and used the name that appears in a specific document when talking
about a specific campaign.
All the teams returned safely two days later. Some of the men had penetrated as
far as three miles behind the German lines. They reported that they had disseminated the
propaganda and German soldiers were eagerly reading the literature. They also brought back
intelligence about defensive positions and German military movements. As a result, the
Fifth Army G2 (Intelligence) requested that more teams be sent behind the lines.
The Story of the Sauerkrauts, an OSS booklet printed in Rome in May 1945
gives a brief description of the operation. Some of the comments are:
Unimpeachable credentials were vitally important. Special documents had to
be prepared to substantiate the agent’s cover stories. After the operation started,
the Germans made frequent changes in their documents and it was necessary to check and
duplicate these changes. Although the agents were accosted by German Military Police on
many occasions, there was only one instance in which their credentials were questioned. A
special department was set up so that the documentation could be completed in the field. A
wide variety of official rubber stamps were manufactured in Research and development in
Rome. Every conceivable kind of insignia had to be located. Uniforms were completed down
to the last detail. Hose of a wrong color might give a man away and destroy the entire
operation. Weapons had to be supplied.
In regard to the training of the men the report says:
Each man was interviewed thoroughly and tests of his character were made. As
each was accepted, a complete record of his past performances and his qualifications was
entered in the files. The men were trained in the use of the German light machine gun,
explosives, map reading, and the operations of American and German vehicles. They
practiced the dissemination of MO material and their cover stories.
The files on some of the men are interesting. Let’s look at one. Hans
Tappert was a 33-year old Protestant who spoke five languages. His family was persecuted
and his father was shot by the Nazis. His mother was placed in Bochum penitentiary for
anti-Nazi activities. She was later moved to Finsterwalde Concentration Camp where she
died and was cremated in 1937. Tappert was tried three times for anti-Nazi activities. He
was jailed for 18 months in 1934, but was still drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1940. He was
confined for 6 months that year and then was sent to Greece. In 1943 he was
court-martialed again and sentenced to 18 months. After six months he was let out and was
sent to the Italian front. He immediately deserted to the partisans and later surrendered
to the Americans. He took part in Sauerkraut missions 2 and 3.
Der Oesterreicher
Clayton D. Laurie mentions the black newspaper Der Oesterreicher in The
Propaganda Warriors, Clayton D. Laurie, University Press of Kansas, 1996. He says that
it was purported to represent a resistance group and sought to split Austria from Germany
by portraying the former country as a Nazi-occupied nation. The Sauerkraut teams also
carried Italian-language newspapers such as Voice of Italy and Voice of the
Patriot behind the lines.
We know that the Germans soon became aware of the American activities because
they began lighting their frontlines with flares. They had not done so previously.
The OSS semi-monthly report of 3 August 1944 says in part:
The bomb attack on Hitler was exploited as rapidly and extensively as
possible by MO.
Two bogus leaflets, printed on captured German Feldpost forms were prepared
and disseminated.
For the first time – it is believed – German deserters were used
for the infiltration of enemy lines. A group of 14 [there was fear of double-agents
among the group and some were returned to the prison camp] was recruited, briefed, and
given MO material, and headed for the front within 48 hours after the bomb assault.
Additional printed matter in the form of three more leaflets not yet off the
press was prepared and will be ready in a day or so.
Just as in Operation Cornflakes, the printing was done by Corporal Egidio
Clemente, a master printer who supervised the OSS presses.
Forged German military identification booklet
The sticker shows a broken swastika and says: Freedom! Peace!
The Office of Strategic Services offices in Rome produced hundreds of different
“pin-prick” gummed labels as part of their mission to destroy the morale of the
German people and military and to make the Nazis believe there was a vigorous underground
movement in their midst. In the past I made a collage of such leaflets (I have about 100
of them). Most of these labels had short messages, sometimes with an illustration, and
they were all meant to be stuck on tables, walls, mirrors, etc.; wherever the Germans
congregated so they were daily reminded of the folly of the war and the evils of the Nazi
regime. Some of the short messages on the gummed labels are:
Die for Hitler?; Freedom! Peace!; Nazis out; One people: Austria; one Empire:
Austria, No Leader!; Peace on Earth not peace under the Earth; Later is too late; Away
with the (Swastika image), Peace still today; The last cartridge for the
[swastika]-bigwigs; Hitler´s death – Germany´s life; Volkssturm = SOS of the SS:
[swastika] this is the enemy!: [burial cross] you?; [cross with helmet] you?; You are
fighting for the party, not for Germany!; Down with the [swastika]; Shit; End the war!;
and Germany 1939: “people without territory…” Germany 1945 territory
without people?
The Sauerkraut printed material was prepared in two qualities; very good or
very crude. There is a reason for this. The documents, hand-stamps, Nazi Party dues stamps
and identification papers that the agents carried behind the lines had to be perfect. They
had to pass inspection by the German military police. At the same time, the leaflets,
gummed labels, and posters had to look crude. The plan was for the German soldiers to
think that there was an underground anti-Nazi movement that existed all around them. If
the stickers on the wall were too good, it would be apparent that they were of Allied
origin. As a result, many of the leaflets had the appearance of crudely mimeographed
sheets that had been produced in a basement on a hand-cranked machine.
Some Sauerkraut Leaflets ready to be carried across enemy lines
Ten Commandments for Austrians
Notice that one of the leaflets in the collage is entitled Zehn Gebote für
Osterreicher (“Ten Commandments for Austrians”). This leaflet was also used
in the Cornflakes operation. The text of the leaflet is:
Ten Commandments for Austrians
1) YOU SHALL never forget that your home is Austria and not "Ostmark" or
Pan-Germany. ["Ostmark" was the name of Austria within the Third Reich].
2)YOU SHALL NOT make common cause with the Nazis, the traitors and oppressors of
Austria, the blasphemers and war profiteers.
3) YOU SHALL clearly be aware that you have only one enemy, the parasitic Germans of
Hitler’s Reich, and that everyone who fights against the Third Reich contributes to
the liberation of Austria and is, therefore, your friend.
4) YOU SHALL NOT prolong the suffering of our home by contributing to the
continuation of the senseless war which is already lost, be it through your combat service
in the Wehrmacht or through your work in an office or a factory.
5) YOU SHALL, contrarily, strive for shortening the murderous war with all your
strength: When you are in the army, avoid active service by simulating illness and
surrender at the first opportunity. The free Austria needs you as a living Austrian, not
as a dead "Ostmärker". When you are working, then escape work by letting your
boss know that you are sick and sabotage wherever you can the total murderous mission of
the Germans.
6) YOU SHALL NOT deny your wish for freedom and your love to your home in fear and
faintheartedness of the shameful hangman’s assistants of the Gestapo. Time has come
to proceed to action!
7) YOU SHALL prepare the day of the liberation by starting right now to write down
the names of Nazi criminals and exploiters from the Old Reich, to make clear who will be
fired and who will be hanged.
8) YOU SHALL NOT obey the orders of party functionaries or Nazi authorities. The
majority of these orders just lead to a further enslavement of our homeland and bring
death and misery to us Austrians.
9) YOU SHALL do everything you can to strengthen and disseminate the wish and will
for the liberation of Austria among your relatives and friends, and you shall join the
existing resistance groups or form such ones yourself.
10) YOU SHALL NOT say "Heil Hitler" but revive the good old Austrian
greeting "Grüss Gott" ["God be greeted"], and you shall always think
of Austria’s liberation and independence!
LONG LIVE AUSTRIA!
Sauerkraut mission ONE took place on 25 July 1944. Eight Germans crossed the lines in
three teams. Two teams returned on the 27th and reported completion of their mission. They
had witnessed enemy troops reading the MO material, including an 8-man SS patrol which
read the leaflets, discussed them and then put them in their pockets. One team could not
cross the lines because the German lit up the area with flares. There was some doubt on
behalf of the American forces about the use of POWs on spying and propaganda missions.
American intelligence suspected a spy among the group and three men were returned to the
prison camp and another three put under surveillance. There was also an alleged accidental
shooting of an American soldier. None of this is detailed in the reports but it was over
five weeks before another mission was sent across enemy lines.
Sauerkraut mission TWO took place on 7 September 1944 when seven German
agents in three teams were sent behind the lines northwest of Florence. Their mission was:
To disseminate specially prepared black propaganda material throughout their
itinerary, placing special emphasis on bivouac areas, installations and vehicles. Material
to be placed on the sides of buildings, fences, and trees when possible. Material to be
left lying on the floor in buildings likely to be used as headquarters and installations
by retreating front line troops. Material to be left lying on the ground and attached to
trees and bushes in any places likely to be seen by troops. If possible, material to be
posted in public places in any towns entered.
The teams all returned safely and reported on the German defenses in their
sector. This was published on 10 September as an intelligence bulletin and contained such
data as:
A battalion of the German 4th Parachute Division is ill-clad, poorly fed (no
rations in the past three days) and believed that the war was lost.
A German artillery unit in L’Isola has so little ammunition that they
can only fire after telephone permission from the Division Commander.
Two tiger tanks and three light tanks are hidden in a group of four houses
by crossroads L-712098.
At the same time, they reported leaving MO propaganda in a German medical
station. Other material was planted on the walls of the medical station, inside
officer’s quarters, in supply trucks, storage warehouses, and in six ambulances left
unattended. Some leaflets were placed in unguarded Tiger tanks, and in a mechanic’s
tool kit.
SS Officer reads the MO proclamation
Willy Haseneier gives his impression of the German’s officer’s reaction to the
propaganda
Sauerkraut mission THREE took place on 2 October near Florence. Three teams
were involved, now bearing the names, “Ada,” “Marie,” and
“Rosie.” This time the agents on their way to Bologna ran into German SS troops
while placing propaganda on a tree near Route 64. A German officer read the literature,
realized it was anti-Nazi and alerted his men. A firefight ensued and the
“Marie” team reported killing from three to seven of the enemy. MO took
advantage of this incident and prepared a leaflet that said, “Street fighting
provoked by SS men against troops of the Wehrmacht.” That leaflet was infiltrated on
8 October. MO also started a rumor to be carried by the agents that Hitler had been caught
at the Swiss border trying to flee Germany. In addition, other rumors were that Field
Marshall Albert Kesselring was either wounded or had tried to commit suicide, and that
maps found on a Russian pilot shot down near Vienna showed local areas suitable for massed
landings by airborne forces.
Once again, all items of MO material given to the team for distribution were
placed as directed. The success of this mission caused the Fifth Army to request that the
operation be broadened, and another twenty German prisoners were brought into the program.
Merkblatt fur kriegsgefangene deutsche Soldaten
Explanatory leaflet for captured German soldiers
(To put in the pay book!)
1.) Keep your soldier’s honor by behaving respectably in captivity and
strengthen thus the respect of the enemy for you and the German army!
2.) You must only tell your a) name b) military rank c) day and place of
birth d) home address. Nobody can force you to tell more!
3.) Answer to all further questions just with this sentence: "I do not
know this!"
4.) Consider always that every further statement is treason. And Treason is
murdering comrades!
By the end of October the German prisoners were being treated like honored
guests and a building was put aside for them in the Fifth Army sector. Reported problems
were clothing and operational enemy equipment. As the project grew there was need for more
uniforms and more military materiel. The OSS was also trying to open a “second
front” with another holding area for German prisoner-agents in the Eighth Army
sector. Lack of transportation seems to have been a major problem. The unit had few trucks
at its disposal.
By 15 November 1944 the MO section was feeling quite confident in their
Sauerkraut operation. The Fifth Army German holding area was complete. The area had its
own mess hall and rationing system, supply room, and administrative detachment. Agents had
been recruited, screened, and in some cases replaced. A German supply dump was found and
with it rifles, bayonets, mess-kits and helmets. Italian-language leaflets were delivered
for use against the Monte Rosa Division immediately after it had appeared in the front
lines in the Fifth Army’s sector. A “black list” leaflet of wanted war
criminals was printed and delivered. There is a printed comment from a partisan leader
that these "black lists" were very powerful tools and often kept the fascist
leaders insides their homes for weeks after the leaflets were placed in the center of
Italian towns.
A final briefing and study of the MO leaflets before the mission
The team gets to see the anti-NAZI propaganda they will be disseminating behind the lines
Sauerkraut mission FOUR was made up of 3-man teams “Sylvia,”
“Lou,” and “Texas.” They went behind the lines on the nights of 21, 22
and 23 November northwest of Florence. The teams were to split up and reconnoiter the
towns of Zocca, Vergato, Sestola, and Pievepelago.
Their instructions were to disseminate MO material among German troops, place
posters and leaflets wherever it might be suitable, in and around military installations,
bivouac areas, supply depots and in German vehicles. The teams returned to San Marcello on
26 November. They reported that the propaganda had been distributed along Route 12 in the
area of Abetone and along Route 64 near Bologna and Vergato. They gathered tactical
intelligence on mined areas, artillery emplacements, and identified an Alpine Division.
The Sauerkraut teams were rated successful since:
The teams proved thoroughly reliable as agents. Their equipment, provide by
Moral Operations, stood the test of an inspection of credentials by enemy military police.
MO Toilet Paper
The finder is told to wipe his butt with the Fuehrer: Use this side
Sauerkraut mission FIVE consisted of a three-man team code-named
“California.” It was to pass through the lines on 30 November, proceed through
Bologna, Vergato, Casatechio, Riale-Rivabello-Montepassore and Cereglio-Vergato. It would
disseminate MO material, carry out intelligence assignments, report on German morale, and
pass the following rumor:
Himmler found a “doppelganger” (double) for Hitler for the purpose
of presenting that man as Hitler himself. The Fuehrer has disappeared and it is possible
that he is dead, seriously ill, or that he fled to some foreign country like Switzerland
or Argentina.
The team returned safely on 3 December. Their after-action report states that
they left MO special toilet-paper in latrines and in bars on Route 9. The OSS produced a
number of different types of Hitler toilet paper, all showing the Führer in embarrassing
poses or with crude text attacking the Nazi Party.
MO Toilet Paper
There are several versions of the toilet paper, some with pictures, and some
with just text. This piece of paper has the German-language message:
Comrades! Stop this shit! We do not fight for Germany but only for Hitler
and Himmler. The NSDAP led us this damned way but now the bigwigs are only trying to save
their own skin. They let us die in the mud; they want us to hold out until the last
bullet. However, we need the last bullets to free Germany from this SS-shit. Enough!
Peace!
By 19 December the Sauerkraut teams were being used to check the
“exactness and accuracy of details to be employed in writing MO material.”
Sauerkraut mission SIX was made up of the two-man team “Utah” and
infiltrated on 23 December. The two German agents were armed with a Schmeisser submachine
gun, two Beretta pistols and a Mauser 98 rifle. Its mission was to spread propaganda
material among newly arrived troops, discover the morale of the German troops, and
determine the units of the troops. It distributed seven pounds of MO material around
Marzabotto Mission in cars, houses, trees and milestone markers. It reported on the
location of the 16th SS Division, the 267th Regiment of the 94th Division, and elements of
a parachute division. The parachute troops were reported to have low morale because they
were unhappy being attached to and commanded by infantry officers. The team returned
safely on 25 December.
Sauerkraut mission SEVEN was a two-man team called “Idaho.” It was
infiltrated by II Corps on the night of 23 February, and sent back a carrier pigeon with
the message that it had safely crossed the lines. The team’s route was Santa Maria,
Castel D’Aiano, Villa D’Aiano, Zocca, Vignola and Vergato. It identified German
units, artillery, hospitals, dumps, and defenses. MO material was spread along the route
and placed in empty farmhouses where German soldiers sleep. MO gummer sticks were placed
on trees and walls when the opportunity permitted. They were given a meal by a German
noncommissioned officer that consisted of noodles, tomatoes and donkey meat. It was so bad
they quietly threw it away.
Sauerkraut mission EIGHT was a three-man team called “Vonita,”
infiltrated on 25 February. It was to travel along highway 64 south of Vergato and proceed
to the town of Montese, spreading propaganda all the way. The team returned safely on 28
February.
Sauerkraut Agents enter the Swollen Arno River under fire
Sauerkraut mission NINE was a three-man team called “Ohio.” It
crossed the lines on 26 February, proceeded to the area of Zocca, and all but one man
returned safely on 1 March. The agents were armed with a Schmeisser submachinegun, Beretta
pistols and the Mauser 98 rifle. Besides their false documents they were issued 8600
Italian lira. The only admitted fatality of a Sauerkraut agent occurred during mission
nine. The team's cover story was that they were from the 232nd Infantry Division stationed
near Zocca. Upon their return, MO agent Gustav Preuss was missing. The team members
reported that he had been captured. A 2 May 1945 letter from Ed Lindner to the Chief of
the MO Branch on the subject of the agent's death says in part:
A recent report from Mr. Halama states that he interrogated a German
prisoner, Major Neubauer, who happened to be present at a German police station when our
agent was brought in by a patrol. Our agent was in possession of credentials which were
issued to him by us under the name of Gustav Schalk. His German soldbuch showed that he
belonged to one of the German units in Italy. The German MP telephoned the respective
German unit listed in the agent's soldbuch in order to check with the company commander.
The agent tried to escape and was wounded by a shot in the abdomen. Major
Neubauer does not believe that Preuss will live. However, he was evacuated to a German
field hospital in Modena.
A German document showed that the soldier who captured our agent, Candidate
Schmitz, 1st Company, 194 AT Battalion, was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class by Major
General Steinmetz, the Division Commander
There was a Sauerkraut mission ten but I have been unable to obtain any record
of the results.
Sauerkraut mission ELEVEN was a two-man team called "Pennsylvania."
Its mission was to cross the lines near highway 64 towards Vergato. As always the team
would spread MO material, check the morale of the enemy troops, identify the opposing
units, and discover and mark the location of gun emplacements and fortifications. It
infiltrated 18 March and returned on 21 March.
This team did exceptionally well. The agents met a pair of German soldiers who
wanted to defect but were not sure where the Americans were and were afraid to surrender
without a safe conduct pass. The Sauerkraut agents brought the two Germans back across the
lines and turned them over to the American prisoner-of-war authorities. The team
distributed their MO material as it traveled, posted flyers on walls and trees, put some
in an ox cart, and covered the back of a military bus that carried German troops from Tole
to Casalecchio. They were told that 90% of German Army transport in Italy consisted of
horses, oxen and mules.
They were told that German troops were being read a statement and ordered to
sign it. It was directly from Hitler and said:
Soldiers who are taken prisoner in other than large scale engagements will
be considered deserters, and their families will be held accountable.
There were two more Sauerkraut missions before the operation was cancelled. I
believe the last mission was number thirteen.
The story of the fate of the German agents does not reflect pride on the United
States Army. The agents were promised preferential treatment but were eventually returned
to the POW camp where they received no special treatment and were shunned by their fellow
prisoners because of their contact with the Americans.
Ed Lindner fought with the American headquarters about the German agents. He
wrote a report that pointed out that their status should have been "alien
civilians" and not prisoners of war since they had been released to the OSS. He tried
to get the agents paid for their services but was told, "Extra compensation for POWs
is not looked upon with favor by this headquarters." The Sauerkraut agents never
received any pay for their services. A request for an allowance for recreational purposes
was denied. When Lindner wanted them released as alien civilians he was told "No,
they are prisoners of war. Return them with men and adequate guard to Caserta." This
was a shameful act on the part of the American military forces. They used these men, put
them behind the lines at great personal risk, made promises to them about preferential
treatment, and then tossed them back into a POW camp when they were no longer needed.
Lindner stated, "None were put on his feet by OSS or even helped in his return into
civilian life. Something could and should have been done for these men, who did an
outstanding job for the OSS."
It is hard to determine if the Sauerkraut agents were better or worse off than
their comrades who stayed in the prison cages. It is true that they lived better in the
OSS compound, certainly ate better food, and apparently were able to have occasional sex
with local Italian girls. On one occasion, one POW smuggled a note out and managed to
sneak three local girls into the villa. The Americans were not amused. All of the
prisoners were punished by being sent back behind the wire. At the same time, they were in
a very unclear status. They were no longer considered prisoners of war, appeared on no
official records, and were not employees of the OSS or United States government. They
received no payment, not even the small stipend given to prisoners of war, and received no
mail or Red Cross parcels as did the most ardent pro-Nazi POW.
According to international law the holding power is responsible for the
protection and safety of prisoners of war and expressly forbidden to put them in danger.
It is illegal to send them into dangerous or life-threatening situations, so the OSS was
clearly in violation of the rules of warfare. The agents were all made to sign waivers
that stated clearly that they were volunteers and willing to go behind the lines. Military
lawyers thought that this would protect the United States from lawsuits should the
prisoners ever bring their case before an international court. All is fair in love and
war, and an Army will do what is needed to win, but the Sauerkraut agents were an OSS
embarrassment in 1945 and quietly returned to the prison camp and forgotten.
A group of MO propaganda gummed labels
The Office of Strategic Services offices in Rome produced hundreds of different
“pin-prick” gummed labels as part of their mission to destroy the morale of the
German people and military and to make the Nazis believe there was a vigorous underground
movement in their midst. In the past I made a collage of such leaflets (I have about 100
of them). Most of these labels had short messages, sometimes with an illustration, and
they were all meant to be stuck on tables, walls, mirrors, etc.; wherever the Germans
congregated so they were daily reminded of the folly of the war and the evils of the Nazi
regime. Some of the short messages on the gummed labels are:
Die for Hitler?; Freedom! Peace!; Nazis out; One people: Austria; one Empire:
Austria, No Leader!; Peace on Earth not peace under the Earth; Later is too late; Away
with the (Swastika image), Peace still today; The last cartridge for the
[swastika]-bigwigs; Hitler´s death – Germany´s life; Volkssturm = SOS of the SS:
[swastika] this is the enemy!: [burial cross] you?; [cross with helmet] you?; You are
fighting for the party, not for Germany!; Down with the [swastika]; Shit; End the war!;
and Germany 1939: “people without territory…” Germany 1945 territory
without people?
There is only one written record of a Sauerkraut agent being killed on a
mission. However, I interviewed an individual who was aware of a dead German being found
virtually unmarked on the side of an Italian road. He believed that the soldier had been
killed by the concussion from a nearby blast. In the German’s knapsack were a pile of
gummed stickers and propaganda labels that indicate that this was a Sauerkraut agent
carrying MO material behind the lines. Some of the crude stickers show a burial cross and
the word “Du?” (You?), or a gallows with the words “Hitler, Himmler an den
Galgen,” (“Hitler, Himmler at the gallows”). Others have such messages as
"Bigwigs in clover, Soldiers in the mud," "Later is too late,"
"Nazis out," "Home," "Piss off!," "Freedom!
“Peace!” and “Die for Hitler?” There were also postcards from the
“War Mothers Group” and faked bombing notification forms. In all, there were
several dozen different types of propaganda.
There is no official mention of this individual, but since it is expressly
forbidden to place prisoners-of-war in danger, the U.S.A. might have just decided that
this poor fellow never existed.
War Mothers Group Feldpost card
This propaganda Feldpost card is a good imitation of a genuine patriotic card
showing ME-109s on the front. The back is inscribed in facsimile handwriting in Gothic
script which was still frequently used in Germany during the war. At the bottom right
there is an emblem that represents the seal of the “Ring der Kriegermutter” (War
mother’s group). The OSS wanted the finders to believe that there was an organized
group of miserable, lonely mothers who asked their sons in the field to desert or
surrender. The poor handwriting is meant to convince the finder that a simple, uneducated
woman wrote the card. The message is:
At home, in the sixth winter of the war.
Dear sons in the field!
Now that Germany has become a battlefield, we mothers have joined together
to beg your help. After five years of struggle against overwhelming enemy power you have
done more than your duty. Today, the war is lost and the enemy is within our country! We
are abandoned and helpless – do not leave your mothers alone in the hour of danger!
Come home!!! The mother is your nearest!”
Volkssturm - Schwere Panzer Feldpost Postcard
Another black postcard is a parody attacking the elderly Volkssturm called to
service to protect the Reich in the last days of the war. There is no inscription on the
address side of this card. The reverse features a caricature of two obese women on roller
skates. Both wear armbands with a swastika, and little hats with a flower or a flag. The
lady at left carries a broom as a weapon; the lady behind her has an umbrella. The
inscription on top reads "Volkssturm" (People’s Resistance), and at the
bottom "Schwere Panzer" (Heavy tanks). The postcard ridicules the German attempt
of autumn 1944 to mobilize military power by conscripting children and elderly people. On
September 25, 1944, Hitler called all male individuals between the age of 16 and 60, who
did not already serve in the Wehrmacht, to arms.
OSS Artist Saul Steinberg with his colleague Barbara Lauwers
in the OSS Morale Operations office, Rome, 1944.
The Saul Steinberg Foundation
One of the artists who worked in the OSS Morale Office in Rome was Saul
Steinberg of The New Yorker fame. Steinberg drew the Schwere Panzer
postcard. In official papers such as the Semi-Monthly Report, M.O. Section, Period
15-31 July 1944 Steinberg was never given a code name or a duty. It simply said
“Lt. Saul Steinberg, USNR.” Steinberg did not go behind the lines or deal in
black operations so there was no need for a code name. He was a “floater” who
did illustrative work as needed such as flyers, postcards and covers for song sheets
allegedly from anti-Nazi organizations.
Artist Saul Steinberg’s drawing of the OSS Morale Operations
Leaflet Packing room,
from “Collection of Cartoons Produced by MO Artist Lt. (jg) Saul Steinberg.”
NARA, Washington, DC, RG226, E99, Box 40, folder 6.
Although Romanian by birth, Steinberg had escaped from wartime Italy in 1941. He had a
diploma from the Reggio Politecnico, but under Italy’s new anti-Semitic laws
he was identified as “Saul Steinberg, of the Hebrew race.” By 1942 he was
working for the Office of War Information and was soon commissioned an Ensign in the Naval
Reserve working for Intelligence in Washington, DC. In 1943 he was sent to Kunming, China,
and by December he was in Algeria. He was next sent to North Africa and finally to the OSS
in Allied-occupied Rome. In September, 1944, he was ordered back to Washington.
Christof Mauch concludes:
Sauerkraut agents discovered the 4th Parachute Division, found the site of
German “Tiger” tanks, and determined where infantry divisions were staying.
Colonel Kenneth Mann, who led the MO Branch since May 1944 reported that Operation
Sauerkraut had been a complete success and that those skeptics who warned that the German
prisoners of war would simply dispose of their propaganda material were proven wrong.
Barbara Lauwers recalls that “actually there was no security.” The
16 German prisoners of war recruited for Sauerkraut sat down with two OSS agents in the
loading space of a truck. “The sixteen guys could have overpowered those two MPs very
easily, sixteen against two, even though those two MPs had guns.” The agents,
however, proved “eager to cooperate.”
The Sauerkraut Interim Conclusion
I have
read an interim conclusion written 19 December 1944 after Sauerkraut missions I through
IV. It said in part:
The new techniques of infiltrating POW agents has proven successful in spite of
skepticism on the part of some OSS and Army officials…Over a period of three months
in which some 14 POW agents infiltrated into the lines…No instance of their acting as
double agents occurred; Their security was never blown; Instead of dumping their MO
propaganda material it was definitely proved that the POW agents took it deep into the
lines in some sections and planted it in proper places as evidenced by its appearance on
regular POWs and deserters.
The War Report – History of the OSS
Two volumes covering the history of the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II were produced in 1949
by the History Project, Strategic Services Unit, Office of the Assistant
Secretary of War, War Department, Washington, D. C. The formal title of the
report is War Report, Office of Strategic Services (OSS), it is also
known as OSS War Report, Washington Organization, and Operations in the
Field. These two volumes remained classified "Top Secret" for 53 years after
they were completed. Volume 1 covers the organization of the OSS. Volume 2
covers OSS coordinated operations in the field. Looking through the report I
see Sauerkraut mentioned several times:
An attempt was made on Hitler's life on 20 July while the rumor
campaign was in progress. The attempted assassination gave MO
unexpected opportunities. The "black" directive instructed the field to play
up in every way the rumor that Hitler had really been killed. Later, the
theme that Hitler was dead was abandoned, and Hitler's continued silence was
explained by alleging a growing schism within the Nazi Party (Himmler would
not allow Hitler to speak), Hitler's flight by submarine to Argentina or
Japan, and, finally, the proposal that Hitler was actually insane. These
rumors, launched or encouraged by "black" methods, were picked up by Allied
broadcasting stations, which gave them increased circulation by speculating
on their veracity. MO/ Cairo planted stories implicating Von Papen and other
Germans in Turkey in the anti-Hitler plot. MO Rome, through the SAUERKRAUT
operations, infiltrated German Prisoners-of-war to plant subversive material, and the
German commander in Italy, General Kesselring, was forced to deny authorship
of an "official proclamation" posted by these agents in his name.
MO improvised another effective way of reaching German soldiers in
each locality at a given moment. The SAUERKRAUT operations
utilized carefully screened POW's who were infiltrated in
German uniform behind enemy lines. This plan was first used following the
attempt of 20 July 1944 on Hitler's life, when MO wished to post a forged
military announcement by General Kesselring to the effect that he was
resigning his command, knowing that the "war is lost to
Germany", and that senseless slaughter would be the only result
of Hitler's Last Stand Order. The usual method of agent infiltration
by parachute drop was dismissed as too slow for this purpose, and the
SAUERKRAUT teams were quickly recruited, briefed, and dispatched. The
operation was highly successful, and Kesselring found it necessary on 13
September to deny authorship of the proclamation. Subsequent fakes were
equally effective and provoked strong German countermeasures.
None of the Prisoners-of-war used in these operations were captured by
the Germans nor, so far as is known, were any of them "turned" against MO.
In addition to their distribution of subversive material, the agents brought
back valuable tactical intelligence. A.C. of S., G-2, Fifth Army, recognized
the contribution, requesting that further operations of a like nature be
undertaken.
Kesselring was not the only General attacked. The OSS also faked a
letter from General Ludendorff:
The so-called Ludendorff Surrender Leaflet produced by Morale
Operations was conceived around General Ludendorff's justification for his
decision to escape to Sweden in the last hours of World War I, when he
stated that, “It is more important to save officer personnel for future wars
than to die in a battle that is already lost. Soldiers are easily found but
officers are a rarer commodity.” This pamphlet was part of a general program
designed to encourage the creation by German forces of soldiers' committees
to resist “last stand orders,” to cause disaffection between the SS and the
Wehrmacht, the SS and the Luftwaffe, and soldiers and officers. The leaflet
purported to be instructions to the officer corps from the German High
Command with a notation that it was to be read by officers only, as it
might, if read by the soldier, lead him to revolt. It was distributed along
the Western Front and was dropped on German troops sparingly (four copies by
each pilot) by the 9th Air Force in a routine operation, the effects of
which were “black,” since, in the confusion of retreat, the soldier was not
likely to realize that the pamphlet was faked.
