Spy & Condemned
According to the MI5 interrogation reports,
Josef provides the following information on his early life.
Josef provides the following information on his early life.
Josef was released from Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp on March 22, 1940. He gives various stories about how he came to work for the German Military Intelligence Service (Abwehr).
In September 1940, Josef was sent to Hamburg for espionage training. He was trained in Morse Code and weather reporting. In January 1941, he was sent to The Hague and Amsterdam for final training. He left Schipol Aerodrome on the evening of January 31, 1941 - Destination England.
Josef broke his ankle during his descent via parachute from the aircraft - either upon exiting the plane, or upon landing. He was found the next morning by two farm workers near Ramsey in Huntingdonshire.
Josef was hospitalized from early February to the middle of April. Upon his release, he was interrogated at Camp 020. It was decided that he was not suitable as a Double-Agent and in July 1941 he was charged under the Treachery Act (1940). He was tried by military court martial on August 4 and 5, 1941, found guilty, and sentenced to death by firing squad. The sentence was carried out August 15, 1941 at the Tower of London. He is buried in an unmarked grave in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery in London.
(Information from PRO files - KV 2/24, KV 2/25, KV 2/26, KV 2/27)
In September 1940, Josef was sent to Hamburg for espionage training. He was trained in Morse Code and weather reporting. In January 1941, he was sent to The Hague and Amsterdam for final training. He left Schipol Aerodrome on the evening of January 31, 1941 - Destination England.
Josef broke his ankle during his descent via parachute from the aircraft - either upon exiting the plane, or upon landing. He was found the next morning by two farm workers near Ramsey in Huntingdonshire.
Josef was hospitalized from early February to the middle of April. Upon his release, he was interrogated at Camp 020. It was decided that he was not suitable as a Double-Agent and in July 1941 he was charged under the Treachery Act (1940). He was tried by military court martial on August 4 and 5, 1941, found guilty, and sentenced to death by firing squad. The sentence was carried out August 15, 1941 at the Tower of London. He is buried in an unmarked grave in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery in London.
(Information from PRO files - KV 2/24, KV 2/25, KV 2/26, KV 2/27)
Is it True?
Was Josef a soldier in World War II? - Apparently. The death notice states that he "fell for the Fatherland".
How was Josef recruited for the Abwehr? - We don't know yet.
Did Josef have any last words? - He wrote a final letter to his family the night of August 15 1941. It was to have been delivered at the end of hostilities, but by then his family had been bombed out and no longer lived at the address listed. The letter was given to his granddaughters in the autumn of 1993.
On what day was Josef executed? - August 15, 1941
How was Josef recruited for the Abwehr? - We don't know yet.
Did Josef have any last words? - He wrote a final letter to his family the night of August 15 1941. It was to have been delivered at the end of hostilities, but by then his family had been bombed out and no longer lived at the address listed. The letter was given to his granddaughters in the autumn of 1993.
On what day was Josef executed? - August 15, 1941
