The German Secret Service in America 1914-1918

Drawing on a year of reporting for a newspaper and a subsequent independent probe, the author pulls back the curtain on a covert campaign that unfolded across American cities while the Great War raged abroad. Listeners will hear how Germany’s secret service embedded agents, diplomats, and businessmen into everyday life, gathering intelligence and sowing discord before the United States entered the fight.

Details a grim inventory of tactics – from bribery of officials and subversive pamphlets, to arson of factories, sabotage of shipping lanes, and even plots to stir trouble in Mexico. It also exposes uneasy collusion between certain embassy staff and the shadowy operatives who carried out espionage, providing a vivid picture of a nation under silent assault.

Compiled up to early 1918, the work blends official documents, courtroom testimony, and the reporter’s own observations to paint a meticulously researched portrait of wartime espionage on American soil. By listening, you gain a clearer sense of how intelligence battles shaped public opinion and policy, and why those hidden struggles still echo in today’s discussions of national security.