The Nazi Saboteur on Fremont Street

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:15:00 -0500

The apartment building at 2234 North Fremont Street has been renovated, but it's still the same building. On the morning of June 27, 1942, Herbie Haupt walked out the front door and into history.

Haupt was 22 years old. He got into his new Pontiac and drove a block south to Webster, then turned right. At the 'L' underpass another car forced him to the curb. Three FBI agents emerged from the second car and placed Haupt under arrest. He was charged with being a German spy.

The U.S. had been at war with Nazi Germany for seven months. Haupt was one of eight men who'd been dropped off the Atlantic coast by a submarine a few days before. Their mission was to blow up defense plants and transportation facilities. The plan had been personally approved by Hitler.

Herbert Hans Haupt was born in Germany in 1919. His family moved to Chicago when he was a boy. He became an American citizen at 10, and later went to Schurz High School. While there he belonged to ROTC.

Haupt was in Germany when his native country declared war on his adopted country. His explanation for this was vague. He never denied that he'd been part of the sabotage mission. He claimed to have joined the plot only so he could get back home to America.

The eight spies had landed in two groups. One unit came ashore at Long Island, the other in Florida. Soon afterward, two men from the first group decided to abandon the mission. One of these men contacted the FBI. The FBI began tracking the others.

Haupt was part of the Florida group. Along with another man, he took a train to Chicago. The two of them were supposed to settle in and prepare for the next phase of the operation. Haupt went to his parents' apartment on Fremont Street.

Did they wonder why Herbie suddenly appeared? They didn't ask, he didn't tell. He seemed to have plenty of money. He bought a new car. He began dating a neighborhood girl.

Then the FBI nabbed him.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the eight terrorists be tried by military tribunal. Their lawyers attempted to get the cases moved to civilian courts. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeal, saying the accused were "unlawful combatants."

All eight men were quickly found guilty and sentenced to death. Roosevelt commuted the sentences of the two Germans who'd dropped out, giving them prison time instead. The other six--including U.S. citizen Herbie Haupt--died in the electric chair on August 8, 1942.

In recent years the Supreme Court ruling in the Nazi terrorist case has become part of the discussion about the Guantanamo detainees. The building where Herbie Haupt spent his last hours of freedom is privately owned.

Examining the fallout from the WikiLeaks controversy

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:59:00 -0600

The Wikileaks release of State department documents takes transparency and whistle-blowing to a new level.

Clearly there’s a wide range of opinion about the revelations. Wikileaks is a hero to some and a terrorist organization to others. The media is lapping up the revelations giving the world a snap shot behind the closed doors of the diplomatic world.

A CBS poll said 60 percent of people believe it will have a damaging impact for the US.

Today, we’ll have a few guests’ thoughts about the leaks:

Alfred McCoy is professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of "Policing America’s Empire: The United States, the Philippines, and the Rise of the Surveillance State."

Heather Hurlburt is the executive director of the National Security Network.

J.D. Bindenagel is the vice president for Community, Government and International Affairs at DePaul University and a former American ambassador with several assignments in Germany.

Georgi Derluguian is a professor of sociology at Northwestern University.

WBEZ | espionage

The Nazi Saboteur on Fremont Street

Examining the fallout from the WikiLeaks controversy