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in the minds of all participants in the trial. These defendants had a fair trial, a thing of the past in the country they sought to befriend. How different this trial was from the treatment given in
Germany to persons accused of similar offenses against the German Reich. Here, an able, considerate and patient jury of men and women from every walk of life, representative of the finest ideals of our American commonwealth was carefully chosen by both sides. This jury heard the evidence and rendered a verdict after listening to lengthy summations and arguments ably presented by counsel.
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Marshal in safe and secure custody until the twenty-second day of
January, 1943; and on that day said defendants and each of them shall be by said Marshal, according to law, at some convenient place, within the Northern District of Illinois, there put to death by electrocution, that is, by causing to pass through the bodies of each of said defendants a current of electricity of sufficient intensity to cause death and the application and continuance of such current through the bodies of each of said defendants until each of said defendants be dead.
577:. Wernecke believed that Jews were un-American, and that blacks should not be citizens, and not allowed to vote or associate with white people. In July 1958, his wife left him, citing physical abuse. She also claimed that he'd bragged about bombing a Chicago department store and Jewish tombstones before the war. In 1959, Wernecke was sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison for hiring two individuals to bomb the home of his former business partner, albeit this conviction was overturned in 1960. Wernecke died of a heart ailment on March 29, 1965.
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exhaustive review of this abstract and of the transcript of the testimony herein. The Court feels that the verdict of the jury is well founded in the evidence. In pronouncing sentence upon these six men and women, this Court is constrained to give full consideration to the fact that our nation, and every man, woman and child in it, are engaged in a global death struggle against forces of tyranny and evil unprecedented in the history of mankind.
516:
Likewise the sentence must serve notice upon the enemy that the cunningly devised scheme for the use of
American citizens of German birth as pawns in the game of sabotage and espionage in this Country is doomed to failure. Citizens threatened with the torture of their relatives in Germany for failure to assist German agents in this Country must be impressed with the personal danger involved in yielding to such contemptible coercion.
524:
the millions of suffering mothers of boys who are fighting this war for us, and the mothers who toil in aluminum and powder plants or on production lines in constant danger from saboteurs — mothers who have equal rights to consideration with the prisoners here. These defendants by their acts have thus forfeited any right to consideration as mothers.
562:
plot. At the time of
Wernecke's arrest, the FBI found "large quantities of firearms, explosives, and dynamite" on his farm. His wife later claimed that he'd bragged about bombing a Chicago department store, Jewish cemeteries before the war. In June 1943, Wernecke was found guilty of two counts of violating the
528:
undoubtedly followed the leadership of her husband. This being true, the Court recognizes a distinction between the husbands' and wives' degree of guilt, although clearly no such distinction exists between the degree of guilt of the respective woman defendants. This is reflected in the sentences to follow.
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Also prosecuted, but not directly implicated in the plot, was
William Wernecke, a close friend of Haupt. Wernecke had given Haupt advice on dodging the draft, and allowed him to practice to become a stormtrooper on his farm. Haupt had contacted Wernecke after his return, albeit he did not mention the
523:
Counsel has urged mercy for the prisoners before the bar, particularly in the cases of the three women as mothers. There are no priorities on mercy. Like justice, it is the common hope of all. In weighing the mercy pleas for the women here involved, it also has been encumbent on the Court to consider
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It is, therefore, the judgment of this Court upon the verdict of the jury heretofore returned that the defendants Hans Max Haupt, Erna Emma Haupt, Walter Otto
Froehling, Lucille Froehling, Otto Richard Wergin and Kate Martha Wergin, and each of them, are guilty of the crime of treason as charged in
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A jury of their peers has held these three men and their respective wives guilty, and justice must be done them. Thus also will justice be done to the thousands of loyal German-Americans whose patriotism and devotion to the United States are beyond question. This Court does not for a moment believe
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Where offenders stand convicted of serious crimes against the United States, it is customary for the Court, in pronouncing sentence, to recapitulate rather fully the testimony offered during the trial. This Court will depart from that procedure for the reason that the testimony is still fresh
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Haupt's parents, Hans and Erna, were both convicted of treason and stripped of their citizenship for not informing on their son. Four others were convicted in the same trial as Haupt's parents: Haupt's uncle, Walter
Wilhelm Froehling, his aunt, Lucille Froehling, and the parents of Wolfgang Wergin,
515:
It is the Court's duty in sentencing these defendants to make sure that the punishment meted out to them will act as a timely and solemn warning to all who would attempt to commit the smallest act of sabotage, as well as to those who would treasonably traffic with the enemies of the United States.
531:
In the case of the husbands, the evidence shows deliberate adhering and giving aid and comfort to an enemy in time of war. To countenance such conduct by leniency while our nation fights for its very existence would be such dereliction of duty as would be second only to the treason thus condoned.
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In the years prior to the war, Haupt expressed pro-Nazi sentiments, saying that
Germany was better than the United States. At one point, an acquaintance, Lawrence J. Jordan, punched Haupt in the face after he showed at a party dressing in a storm trooper's uniform and speaking in favor of Nazism.
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As was indicated at the time of the argument on the motion for a new trial, the Court made its own abstract of the testimony in this case day by day as the trial progressed. The five days preceding the argument on the motion for a new trial were devoted exclusively by the Court to a careful and
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and each received 5-year sentences. Hans Haupt was retried, found guilty of treason once more, but received a life sentence. Charges were dropped against
Lucille and Kate, albeit Erna Haupt was held until the war ended and deported in 1948. In 1957, Hans Haupt was granted clemency by President
543:
The defendants Hans Max Haupt, Walter Otto
Froehling and Otto Richard Wergin, and each of them, are sentenced to death. Said defendants, and each of them, shall be taken from the bar of this court by the Marshal of the United States for the Northern District of Illinois and be confined by said
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However, the Court in fixing punishment does take into consideration the different degrees of guilt of the defendants as appears from the evidence. It was apparent on the trial of this cause that each of the woman defendants, though knowing the seriousness and evil nature of her actions,
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Here then is the most iniquitous offense on the unholy list of crimes, an offense which imperils at one and the same time the structure of our government, the production of the tools for victory, the lives of our production workers and citizens, and the very ideals of free humanity.
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The defendants Erna Emma Haupt, Lucille Froehling and Kate Martha Wergin, and each of them, are sentenced to the custody of the Attorney General to be imprisoned in a penitentiary for a term of twenty-five years and each of them to pay a fine of ten thousand dollars.
566:. He was sentenced to five years in prison and was fined $ 10,000. In August 1944, Wernecke was paroled after agreeing to serve in the U.S. Army. He served at various military bases in the continental United States before being discharged in September 1945.
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the prisoners to be representative in the slightest degree of the mass of our German-born citizens. These citizens should not in any way be subjected to harassment, unfairness or prejudice as a consequence of the acts of the defendants in this case.
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Haupt promptly took a train from Jacksonville to Chicago, where he stayed with his parents and visited his girlfriend. Haupt may well have intended to remain inactive until the end of the war. However, two members of the Long Island group,
460:. Haupt's last undelivered letter to his father read, "Try not to take this too hard. I have brought nothing but grief to all of my friends and relatives who did nothing wrong, my last thoughts will be of Mother."
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Campbell won praise around the country for the severity of the sentences. However, on appeal, the entire group had their convictions reversed due to technical errors. Walter and Otto later pleaded guilty to
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The home front in our titanic struggle against the enemy is equally important and certainly more vulnerable than our battle lines. This is a war of people against people, as well as cannon against cannon.
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consisted of 12 English-speaking Germans who were trained as secret agents at the Brandenburg Sabotage School. Eight eventually graduated and were sent to the United States via
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Deliberately and in secret, under the cloak of American citizenship, the agents and helpers of the saboteur scheme and connive to destroy their neighbors and this nation.
411:, had almost immediately turned themselves in to American authorities, naming the other members of their teams. Haupt and his parents were arrested in Chicago on June 27.
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before the trip. As they were German born (and thus still considered by Germany to be its citizens), they secured German passports from the Embassy in Mexico City.
441:, six – including Haupt – were sentenced to death. Dasch and Burger received long prison sentences, which were commuted to deportation after the war.
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They sailed to Japan, where they found work on a German merchant ship bound for France. Haupt and Wergin arrived in France at the time of the Japanese attack on
498:
Our enemies seek to destroy us both by force of arms on our far-flung battle fronts and through disaffection and treacherous sabotage within our own borders.
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The defendants in this case stand convicted of the crime of treason and it now becomes the solemn duty of the Court to fix punishment and impose sentence.
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sentenced Hans Haupt, Walter, and Otto to death, and Erna, Lucille, and Kate to 25 years in prison each. Prior to sentencing, Campbell gave a long speech.
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in 1923 to find work. His wife and son followed in 1925. Herbert Haupt became a United States citizen in 1930, at the age of 10, when his parents were
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to try to damage the U.S. war industries. Haupt and three others landed on Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on June 17, 1942. The remaining group landed on
316:. He attended Lane Tech High School and later worked at the Simpson Optical Company as an apprentice optician. As a youth, Haupt was a member of the
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had declared war against the United States. Now stranded in Europe, Haupt went to stay at his grandmother's home in Stettin. Wergin enlisted in the
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Following the war, Wernecke continued his involvement with the far-right, forming the Nationalist Conservative Party in 1954. He associated with
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In 1941, Haupt, with two friends, Wolfgang Wergin and Hugo Troesken, set off on a world trek. Troesken was turned back at the
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for lack of proper identification, but Haupt and Wergin continued. Neither Haupt nor Wergin had been able to secure American
471:, D.C. The graves were originally marked by wooden boards with numbers, but eventually a small monument was placed by the
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over the graves in 1982. The marker went largely unnoticed until it was removed by the National Park Service in 2010.
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To endanger this home front, therefore, is as treasonable as the act of spiking our guns in the face of the foe.
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593:. The Supreme Court ruling regarding Haupt, the only U.S. citizen executed in the affair, was cited again (
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Acting as an unlawful combatant with the intent to commit sabotage, espionage, and other hostile acts
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775:"Six Nazi spies were executed in D.C. White supremacists gave them a memorial – on federal land"
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radio episode (original air date 3/12/2004) about Haupt's life and the events leading up to
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and deported to Germany on the condition that he would never return to the United States.
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269:(December 21, 1919 – August 8, 1942) was an American spy and saboteur for
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374:. Haupt later insisted that he accepted the job only as a way to return home.
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456:. It was the largest mass execution by electrocution ever conducted at the
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attempted to use military tribunals to try American citizens after the
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824:"United States v. Haupt, 47 F. Supp. 836 | Casetext Search + Citator"
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were all executed on August 8, 1942, in the District of Columbia's
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Nationalist Conservative Party-William Wernecke - Chicago 105-2790
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Otto Richard Wergin and Kate Martha Wergin. U.S. District Judge
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Herbert Haupt and the other seven "U-boat Raiders" were sent to
370:(Secret Service), which recruited him to return to America as a
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People executed by the United States military by electric chair
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List of people executed by the United States federal government
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281:. Haupt would become the only American to be executed by the
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Capital punishment by the United States federal government
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448:, Hermann Neubauer, Werner Thiel, Heinrich Heinck, and
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American people convicted of spying for Nazi Germany
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Uncle of executed saboteur gets death sentence: 1942
358:As a civilian coast watcher, Haupt was awarded an
1061:Executed American collaborators with Nazi Germany
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992:Hans Max Haupt's appeal before the Supreme Court
585:In 2001, Herbert Haupt was in the news again as
437:, and even though they had not carried out any
573:, who later became a prominent figure in the
463:Haupt was buried with the five others in the
1101:Nazis executed by the United States military
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1081:People executed for spying for Nazi Germany
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29:
969:, by Pierce O'Donnell, 2005 The New Press
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182:Aiding the enemy as an unlawful combatant
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1091:Recipients of the Iron Cross, 2nd class
1051:Abwehr personnel killed in World War II
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730:Haupt’s appeal before the Supreme Court
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1086:People from the Province of Pomerania
1071:German emigrants to the United States
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847:Spark, Washington Area (1942-01-01),
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951:by Eugene Rachlis, 1961 Random House
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1026:National Socialist Saboteurs Trial
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773:Cox, John Woodrow (23 June 2017).
754:National Socialist Saboteurs Trial
564:Selective Training and Service Act
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957:by Scott Gordon, 2002 Lyons Press
804:LII / Legal Information Institute
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433:. All were found guilty of being
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16:Spy for Nazi Germany (1919–1942)
961:Saboteurs, Nazi Raid on America
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536:the indictment in this cause.
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1076:German American Bund members
742:Confession of Edward Kerling
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870:"Bundist Indicted in Draft"
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591:September 11, 2001, attacks
285:for collaborating with the
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800:"HAUPT v. UNITED STATES"
633:"The Keystone Kommandos"
39:mugshot on June 27, 1942
908:. 1942-09-06. p. 5
696:. 1942-07-10. p. 4
481:William Joseph Campbell
1066:Executed German people
997:The Facts Don't Matter
986:Story of Herbert Haupt
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318:German American Bund's
551:misprision of treason
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429:, where they faced a
364:Blockade Runner Badge
63:Free State of Prussia
666:"A Terrorist's Tale"
556:Dwight D. Eisenhower
360:Iron Cross 2nd Class
308:veteran who came to
306:Imperial German Army
142:German American Bund
980:Photograph of Haupt
963:, 2004 Alfred Knopf
779:The Washington Post
575:American Nazi Party
473:American Nazi Party
389:Operation Pastorius
384:Operation Pastorius
378:Operation Pastorius
279:Operation Pastorius
251:Operation Pastorius
100:Cause of death
1008:This American Life
1002:2009-04-21 at the
902:"William Wernecke"
874:The New York Times
409:Ernst Peter Burger
347:, following which
267:Herbert Hans Haupt
239:Service years
215:Espionage activity
23:Herbert Hans Haupt
949:They Came to Kill
715:"Wergin Obituary"
431:military tribunal
405:George John Dasch
362:, as well as the
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876:. 1942-11-14.
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828:casetext.com
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79:(1942-08-08)
1046:1942 deaths
1041:1919 births
469:Blue Plains
397:Long Island
314:naturalized
303:World War I
287:Axis powers
130:Spying for
110:Citizenship
1035:Categories
912:2024-07-24
887:2023-04-05
856:2022-05-24
833:2023-05-09
809:2022-05-24
700:2023-12-06
675:2022-05-24
642:2023-02-06
618:References
293:Early life
247:Operations
221:Allegiance
190:Conspiracy
51:1919-12-21
1096:Saboteurs
882:0362-4331
458:D.C. Jail
353:Wehrmacht
338:passports
242:1941–1942
186:Espionage
85:D.C. Jail
1000:Archived
601:See also
439:sabotage
372:saboteur
297:Born in
158:Children
152:Executed
35:Haupt's
943:Sources
784:23 June
444:Haupt,
310:Chicago
299:Stettin
273:during
116:Germany
59:Stettin
880:
393:U-boat
368:Abwehr
277:under
230:
435:spies
200:Death
878:ISSN
786:2017
407:and
74:Died
45:Born
597:).
467:in
37:FBI
1037::
921:^
904:.
872:.
826:.
802:.
777:.
747:^
735:^
723:^
692:.
668:.
651:^
635:.
399:.
355:.
289:.
91:,
87:,
65:,
61:,
934:.
915:.
890:.
836:.
812:.
788:.
717:.
703:.
678:.
645:.
161:1
53:)
49:(
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