They Invaded America

In the summer of 1942, in the dead of night, eight Nazi saboteurs landed by submarine on the eastern shores of the United States.

Sent by Hitler himself, the invaders planned to blow up industrial targets and spread fear and panic throughout the country. The Nazi dictator intended to strike a second blow to an America still reeling from the attacks at Pearl Harbor just six months earlier. But the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI uncovered the plot and tracked down the enemy agents. These saboteurs met their fate in a secret military trial that is still controversial to this day.

This group of saboteurs was not the first Nazi agents discovered on American soil. In New York in 1941, 44 men and women were arrested as part of a spy ring that sent American military secrets back to Germany. What is shocking about these two episodes of sabotage is that all the men and women working for Hitler lived here in America. They spoke English, worked in American factories and businesses, many were American citizens. Yet they believed in Nazi Germany and many were involved in a sinister pro-Hitler organization based right here in America called the German American Bund. They seemed like Americans, but they came to kill.

In this episode of “War Stories With Oliver North,” you’ll hear the fascinating tales of enemy agents infiltrating the United States. You’ll meet the U.S. Coast Guardsman and FBI agents who worked together to stop these acts of sabotage.

This is the story of the men who invaded our country and those who stopped them.