A
COMMEMORATIVE WWII HISTORY SERIES
Part 5: Life During Wartime...From Nazi
Spies to Bigamous Brides
09/28/05
|
Courtesy
of Detroit Free Press
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During
the war, the FBI understandably had its hands full
countering Axis spies and saboteurs through our
intelligence work and national security investigations—from
the take down of the Duquesne
Spy Ring to the capture of eight
Nazis who arrived here by submarine to attack key
U.S. targets.
All
totaled, we investigated nearly 20,000 sabotage
claims, captured more than 16,000 enemy aliens in
the U.S., helped penetrate the Axis intelligence
system, and tracked down hundreds of enemy agents
and escaped prisoners of war.
But
what you may not know is this: we were equally
busy handling a rising load of criminal cases. Our
annual report to Congress in 1944, for instance,
is full of examples. Frauds against the government?
Up dramatically, it says. Theft and embezzlement
of government property? Up significantly. Theft
of interstate shipments? Up, more than two-fold.
Crimes on Indian reservations? Up sharply. National
stolen property crimes? Up "substantially."
At
the same time, the war was generating its own set
of crimes to investigate. Take the case of the "bigamous
bride." By the start of the war, Marion Stankowich
(pictured above) had reportedly gone through 11
husbands, most of whom she had not properly divorced.
During the war, she married husband #12. When he
was inducted into the Army, she began receiving
an allowance from the War Department. A light bulb
went off. She took new names, married three more
servicemen, and kept collecting checks all the while.
Turns out, that was a violation of a federal law—something
we investigated and something all Americans felt
strongly about as the benefit was strictly granted
to the wives and dependents of soldiers, sailors,
and Marines fighting in hot spots around the world.
We arrested her in 1944, and she later pled guilty.
And
then there were those who impersonated our servicemen.
Like 21-year-old German Karl Horst Wacker, who,
after attending Nazi spy school, pretended to be
an injured U.S. serviceman with amnesia in Berlin
just after the Third Reich surrendered. His ruse
worked: he was "returned" to the U.S.
and given medical treatment. We quickly caught up
with him and he was later convicted. Another was
the British Army deserter who stole the identity
of an American soldier and tried to bilk his mother
out of money, clothing, and even cookies. We captured
him, too, with the help of the Red Cross.
In
the end, we were able to handle a growing crop of
criminal cases
and a new slate of national
security responsibilities. Proof came in the
form of new resources. Our total personnel grew
from more than 2,400 in 1940 to nearly 12,000 in
1945, and our budget jumped 500 percent during that
time.
But
the war was not without its personal costs for the
FBI—as you'll learn in the next and final installment
of our World War II history series. Stay tuned!