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Long Island hosted Nazi spies in WWII – Metro US

Long Island hosted Nazi spies in WWII

A Nazi U-boat packed with German spies eluded the Coast Guard and landed on an Amagansett beach on the morning of June 13, 1942, according to declassified British documents that were released yesterday.

The secret agents came here to leave bombs in suitcases at Jewish-owned shops, as well as to disseminate anti-war propaganda, according to officials.

The agents chosen for the mission were former U.S. residents returning to their native Germany. They had received training in “sabotage school” there, where they learned to assemble explosives.

But the mission was plagued with problems, according to the wartime intelligence: Not only did their submarine run aground several times, but mission leader George John Dasch immediately surrendered to authorities and ratted out his cohorts, British National Archives historian Edward Hampshire told the Daily News.