Lothar Witzke
Encyclopedia
Lothar Witzke was a German spy and saboteur active in the United States and Mexico during World War I.
, based in Mexico City. At this time the American authorities knew nothing of Jahnke's and Witzke's surreptitious activities. Both showed special aptitude for secret service work and were of a caliber far superior to von Bopp's other agents. So cleverly did they cover their tracks that they were never even suspected during the neutrality period.
In addition to their work on the West Coast, they made frequent trips east on sabotage missions. After von Bopp's arrest they gradually shifted their operations to the industrial Eastern Seaboard. Witzke was connected to the March 1917 munitions explosion at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
in San Francisco by double agents of the U.S. Military Intelligence Corps
. Later, Witzke himself implied that he had taken part in the massive Black Tom explosion
in New York harbor on July 30, 1916, which killed four and was heard as far away as Philadelphia.
at the Mexican border. He claimed to be a Russian-American, "Pablo Waberski", returning to San Francisco. A 424-letter cryptogram was found sewn into the left upper sleeve of his jacket. Several months later this cryptogram was broken by Herbert Yardley
at the fledgling MI-8
and identified the bearer to the "Imperial Consular Authorities of the Republic of Mexico". He was convicted by a court martial at Ft. Sam Houston and sentenced to death. Twice he attempted to escape and once got out, but was caught the same day emerging from a Mexican shack. Upon return, a razor blade was found in his cell, and since suicide was feared, his top clothes were removed. On 2 November 1918 his sentence was approved by the Department Commander.
On 27 May 1920, President Wilson commuted his sentence to life imprisonment, and Witzke went to Leavenworth Prison. Meanwhile German officials were exerting every possible pressure for his release. On 30 April 1923, the German Ambassador asked for his release on the grounds that other countries, including Germany, had released all prisoners of war including spies. At the same time a prison report showed Witzke had heroically prevented a disaster by entering a prison boiler room after an explosion. On that basis Witzke was released on 26 September 1923, pardoned by President Calvin Coolidge
, and deported to Berlin.
Upon his return to Germany, Naval Lieutenant Witzke was decorated with the Iron Cross
, First and Second Class.
Naval career
Born in Posen (now Poznań), Witzke was educated at Posen Academy then entered the German Naval Academy as a seventeen-year-old cadet. By the beginning of the war he was a lieutenant in the Imperial German Navy on the light cruiser SMS Dresden. After many months of excitement, during which the Dresden played havoc with Allied shipping and hid from British warships, she was eventually caught and sunk. Witzke's leg was broken in the action. Together with other survivors of the crew he was interned in Valparaíso, Chile.Sabotage activities
Early in 1916 he escaped; and as a seaman, under an assumed name, he succeeded in reaching San Francisco in May 1916 on board the S.S. Calusa. There he reported to German Consul General von Bopp, who put him in touch with another saboteur, Kurt JahnkeKurt Jahnke
Kurt Albert Jahnke was a German-American intelligence agent and saboteur active both during World War I and World War II.Born in Gnesen, Jahnke immigrated to the United States in 1899, became a naturalized citizen, and served in the U.S. Marines in the Philippines...
, based in Mexico City. At this time the American authorities knew nothing of Jahnke's and Witzke's surreptitious activities. Both showed special aptitude for secret service work and were of a caliber far superior to von Bopp's other agents. So cleverly did they cover their tracks that they were never even suspected during the neutrality period.
In addition to their work on the West Coast, they made frequent trips east on sabotage missions. After von Bopp's arrest they gradually shifted their operations to the industrial Eastern Seaboard. Witzke was connected to the March 1917 munitions explosion at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
in San Francisco by double agents of the U.S. Military Intelligence Corps
Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)
In the United States Armed Forces, Military Intelligence refers specifically to the intelligence components of the United States Army...
. Later, Witzke himself implied that he had taken part in the massive Black Tom explosion
Black Tom explosion
The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916 in Jersey City, New Jersey was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materiel from being used by the Allies in World War I.- Black Tom Island :...
in New York harbor on July 30, 1916, which killed four and was heard as far away as Philadelphia.
Imprisonment
He was arrested at 10 a.m. on February 1, 1918, in Nogales, ArizonaNogales, Arizona
Nogales is a city in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 21,017 at the 2010 census. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,833. The city is the county seat of Santa Cruz County....
at the Mexican border. He claimed to be a Russian-American, "Pablo Waberski", returning to San Francisco. A 424-letter cryptogram was found sewn into the left upper sleeve of his jacket. Several months later this cryptogram was broken by Herbert Yardley
Herbert Yardley
Herbert Osborne Yardley was an American cryptologist best known for his book The American Black Chamber . The title of the book refers to the Cipher Bureau, the cryptographic organization of which Yardley was the founder and head...
at the fledgling MI-8
Black Chamber
The Cipher Bureau otherwise known as The Black Chamber was the United States' first peacetime cryptanalytic organization, and a forerunner of the National Security Agency...
and identified the bearer to the "Imperial Consular Authorities of the Republic of Mexico". He was convicted by a court martial at Ft. Sam Houston and sentenced to death. Twice he attempted to escape and once got out, but was caught the same day emerging from a Mexican shack. Upon return, a razor blade was found in his cell, and since suicide was feared, his top clothes were removed. On 2 November 1918 his sentence was approved by the Department Commander.
On 27 May 1920, President Wilson commuted his sentence to life imprisonment, and Witzke went to Leavenworth Prison. Meanwhile German officials were exerting every possible pressure for his release. On 30 April 1923, the German Ambassador asked for his release on the grounds that other countries, including Germany, had released all prisoners of war including spies. At the same time a prison report showed Witzke had heroically prevented a disaster by entering a prison boiler room after an explosion. On that basis Witzke was released on 26 September 1923, pardoned by President Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, and deported to Berlin.
Upon his return to Germany, Naval Lieutenant Witzke was decorated with the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, First and Second Class.
Other people
- Lothar Witzke (1903–1998) was a German composer (short bio in German).
Literature
- The Reader of Gentleman's Mail: Herbert O. Yardley and the Birth of American Codebreaking, David Kahn, Yale University Press, 2006 (ISBN 978-0300098464)