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Patrick K. ODonnell is a bestselling author and combat historian who has conducted over 5,000 oral history interviews with heroes like Frederick Mayer. The Messerschmitt design team were on to something . Like many other Germans by the end of the war, Hofer was looking for a safeguard with the Allies to secure his own freedom. Two of them, Mayer and Wynberg, were exiled Jewish men in America who had fled their countries when hostilities began in Germany. With a military background, he thought his former service would protect his family from persecution. Quentin Tarantinos 2009 warfilmwas partly based on a real story. Trembling, he stammered, Do anything you want to me, but dont hurt my family.. It featured a few re-enactments, but most of the story was told by the two Jewish refugees, Hans Wijnbergand Fred Mayer, with the widow and son of Franz Weber, the Wehrmacht officer, also contributing. All Rights Reserved. Bingeing spy movies, let us say from Orson Welless The Third Man(1949) through Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds(2009), would be a lifetime occupation. The Germans even broke his teeth with a powerful haymaker punch while stuffing a pistol in his mouth. fifty races he entered. An Olympian, six-time consecutive World Speed Skiing Champion and former world record-holder, Franz Weber still holds the North American record, at 129.303 mph/208.092 kph which he set in 1983 in Silverton, Colorado. The interrogation was watched by a third man, who eventually took Mayer to the house of Franz Hofer, the local Gauleiter [Nazi Party boss]. And when youre done with all of those hundreds of books, you can turn to film. Greenup also discovered Hitlers location, as well as that of Mussolini. Frederick Mayer (28 October 1921, Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden, Germany - 15 April 2016, Charles Town, Jefferson County, West Virginia) was a German-born Jew who became an American spy as an OSS agent for the United States during World War II.He negotiated the surrender of the German Army in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1945 after he was captured in "Operation Greenup". For UK viewers it is available on the 5 Demand online catch up service until 22 December. After training for months and mapping out the mission in minute detail, the men were ready to gobut no one wanted to fly the team. Air Force Special Operations Commandos owe part of their heritage to OSS pilots who flew many dangerous missions during the war. Mayer was the son of a German WWI veteran. Mayer was allowed to send a message to the OSS. They purloined a Jeep, mutinied from the OGs and arrived at OSSs Secret Intelligence (SI) section, which had been dropping agents deep inside Nazi Germany. One of the closest comparisons is to Operation Greenup, a spy mission which the National WWII Museum in New Orleans has called "The REAL Inglourious Basterds.". Inform us! Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. They tortured him brutally, but he didnt break. He married Katharina Haechlinger about 1550. Anna was a Tyrolean hotelier who gave the team shelter, support, and protection from the Nazis at the risk of her own life, and who once cried out, both in despair and defiance, If Hitler wins the war, then I dont believe in God anymore. A film on Greenup would have it all: a righteous cause, victims fighting back, nail-biting chase scenesit couldnt help but score big at the box office. See Photos. You think they're gonna be one way and then they're not at all.". Ulmer asked them if they knew what would befall them if they were caught by the Nazis. Besides, its too late, he says of the event. The governor was about to go on the radio to tell his troops to fight to the last man. Weber stayed with his family, his fiances mother took Mayer in, and Wijnberg stayed at a neighbors house. one of four skiers who broke a world record by skiing sixteen Colorado ski resorts in one day. Mayers superiors were impressed by his skill and native fluency in German and French, as well as English. Cross) Chemistry: The Central Science (Theodore E. Brown; H. Eugene H LeMay; Bruce E. Bursten; Catherine Murphy; Patrick Woodward) The Real Inglorious Bastards. ORCID record for Franz Weber. They made their way to Webers family and then Mayer actually stayed in the Officers barracks in Innsbruck for several weeks, gleaming as much intelligence as he could and then relaying it to Wynberg (the radio operator) who would then relay it to OSS HQs. The team needed somebody with local knowledge, and Franz Weber, an anti-Nazi local who had deserted from the German Army to the Allies, volunteered to join it. Here is the short version: two Jewish refugees to the United States, living in Brooklyn (Frederick Mayer, 23, and Hans Wijnberg, 22) enlist in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the postwar CIA, and parachute deep behind German lines into the Austrian province of Tyrol in February 1945. So how did the title of Tarantino's WWII revenge flick go from "Inglorious Bastards" to "Inglourious Basterds"? That guy was an extra. He was shown a picture of Mayer and was asked if he knew him. Hofer got Mayer to help him arrange the surrender. They didn't end up killing Hitler, but they were able to negotiate the . ORCID provides an identifier for individuals to use with their name as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. He was finally arrested when a black marketeer was caught by Nazi authorities and fingered Mayer as a spy. Being Jewish, the senior Mayers status couldnt protect them, so the family emigrated to the US in 1938. Major Bland West, an intelligence officer, saw a young man with a swollen face jumping out of the car. 12 min. Theres no doubt that Operation Greenup saved many thousands of lives, Austrian and American, civilian and military. Each of them spoke at least two European languages, with Mayer speaking German, French, and Spanish. In an era of fake heroes who vie for their own reality television shows, Fred Mayer shies away from publicity. Eventually, they transferred to Italy and once again continued to sit out the war. Posing as a recovering German officer, Mayer befriended an Engineer Officer who worked on the Fuhrer Bunker in Berlin. On July 28, 1914, one month after Franz Ferdinand's death, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning a chain reaction that would lead to four years of horrific conflict with millions of . He was a German Jew whose family emigrated from their home on the Western edge of the Black Forest in 1938 to make a new life in the United States. 504-528-1944. Consider an Allied espionage operation code-named GREENUP, which in some ways is even more improbable than a Hollywood pot-boiler. However, that doesn't mean the provocative auteur was taking a break from work; he was keeping busy writing scripts. In 1997, he won the Legends Downhill Championship in Vail, Colorado and placed first overall in the Masters Division of the MCI World Downhill Championships. Mayer was asked to dine with Hofer, his wife and the German Ambassador to Italy, Rudolph Rahn. Tarantino's movies, "Inglourious Basterds" included, generally have such excellent casting that it's often weird to read about who almost played their iconic characters instead. Unlike the strange and often idiotic Tarantinos movie, however, the truth was far more bizarre. Later, West learned that Mayer was a sergeant. 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Last week we posted a story on the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) and how after 73 years they were finally recognized as a group and were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal. But they all wanted some payback for the German government that forced so much suffering on them. By Tom Linder West Hawaii Today tlinder@westhawaiitoday.com | Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 12:05 a.m. Franz Weber, a longtime Kona resident, started Paying it Forward, which serves as a bridge between . Operation Greenup consisted of two young Jewish refugees and one Wehrmacht officer, who parachuted one winter night into the Austrian Alps and risked their lives to strike back at Nazi Germany. Their little band soon adds a third member: Franz Weber, a Wehrmachtlieutenant who has belatedly come to his senses about the murderous nature of Adolf Hitlers war. They found that Germans were using movable bridges on the Brenner railway that they hid in tunnels by day and used only at night. "Say 'What' Again!" And that was after they had tortured him. What hotels are near Franz Carl Weber Geneva? They had to walk down the glacier, sometimes waist deep in snow. The wrong tug on their chutes or a miscalculation of the pilot by mere seconds could have sent the men to their deaths. The team needed somebody with local knowledge,and Franz Weber, ananti-Nazilocal who haddeserted from the German Army to the Allies, volunteered to join it. Working alongside Mr Mayer were Hans Wynberg, a Dutch-born Jew whose family had been deported to Auschwitz, and Franz Weber, an Austrian officer whose patriotism had led him to defect from the . This was worn by civilians in the employment of the Waffen SS. Not surprising to those who know him, Fred Mayer may not attend the Congressional reception and the screening of the movie chronicling his feats. He was an actor, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1949), Pillars of Society (1935) and So ein Flegel (1934). or. He retired as World Champion in 1985 but returned to the sport of speed skiing seven years later to compete in the 1992 Winter Olympics at Albertville, France where he clocked his fastest personal time of 138.112 mph/222.222 kph (average speed). Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286 (27):24458-24466. are western hognose snakes legal in the uk risk assessment for cleaning pigeon droppings He had Mayer brought to him. Translated by Mara Isabel Carrasco Cara Chards, Read more:"Say 'What' Again!" One recruit summed up the band of desperadoes: The whole bunch were the craziest people I ever met in my entire life.. In 1944, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) of the United States Army trained three soldiers: Frederick Mayer, Hans Wynberg, and Franz Webe. He then worked for Mayer till the Gestapo caught him. There is a nice WC on the ground floor with baby changing facilities. Hans Wynberg, a Dutch-born Jew whose family was sent to Auschwitz, and Franz Weber, an Austrian officer who had defected from the German army, worked with Mayer. They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany, Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Rangers Who Accomplished D-Days Toughest Mission and Led the Way Across Europe. WORLD WAR II; Nov 27, 2015 Shahan Russell, Guest Author. Just dont hurt my family., Mayer was disgusted, What the hell do you think we are? Sign Up. Fortunately for Webers fiance and her family, Mayer had found other lodgings before being captured. view all Franz Weber's Timeline. During World War II, the OSS twice nominated Fred Mayer for the Medal of Honor. Once the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Mayer enlisted in the U.S. Army. After arriving in New York, Mayer changed his name to Frederick. Mayer gave what perhaps was the best answer of all, This is more our war than yours.. son. [Quentin asked], 'How did you feel when he joined the Basterds?' Birth of Fridolin Weber. That didnt stop the intrepid OGs. World War II was not only the greatest military conflict in history, it was also America's most important twentieth-century war. Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. He radioed the exact locations and dimensions back to HQs. Go to the front lines of World War II in this war documentary, chronicling a group of Jewish agents for the American OSS who infiltrated Nazi territories, many of them German Jews returning to avenge Hitler's sinister acts. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat. Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, on December 18, 1863, the oldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig, who was the younger brother of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. They had to walk down the glacier, sometimes waist deep in snow. Mayer convinced Hofer the war was over. Birth of Franz Weber. Mayer was born in Freiburg, Germany, on Oct. 28, 1921. 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 Their mission: to compile reports on German rail traffic over the Brenner Pass between Italy and Austria. Most of SIs missions had been failures with the operatives either killed or shipped off to concentration camps. In this operation, OSS used former German nationals who were forced to flee for their lives just because they were Jewish. Rising to power in an unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi Party) rearmed the nation and signed treaties . 8.5 km. By then it was April of 1945 and the Germans knew they were done. You really would have to quit your job and become a monk to get through them all. Busting the Myth Behind Moctezumas Headdress; Did It Really Belong Him? Out jumped a bruised and battered Mayer, who offered the formal surrender of the entire regions German Army. The Gestapo burst in and arrested Mayer and took him to their HQs. Mayer and his five teammates were all European Jews and were languishing in Italy waiting for a mission. Speaking in an interview(via Screenrant) with fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez for an episode of "Director's Chair" on El Rey Network, Tarantino said, "People thought I was going through writer's block, you know, I was going through the opposite. On May 7, an invitation-only screening of the film will open the GI Film Festival with a Congressional Reception at the U.S. Capitol Building to honor the veterans of the mission, including Mayer. He described these men: A more eclectic group of desperados could not be found: former Luftwaffe pilots, Jewish escapees from German death camps, Polish deserters, world-class athletes, and even a former convict. One recruit referred to the group as the craziest people he ever met. Zrich Airport. I don't want you to be bad at the script reading, but I want you to hold a lot back. Franz Weber. But he wasnt so honored. While Tarantino's films have featured many strong female characters, the director's treatment of women in real life has been the subject of controversy. He continued to work with producer Harvey Weinstein even though, he admitted to The New York Times, "I knew enough to do more than I did" about Weinstein's serious sexual misconduct. When he is not skiing, Weber's schedule is filled with promotional and personal appearances for sponsors, celebrity sports events, speaking engagements and charity events. So I was trying to keep taming it, and I couldn't My idea at the time, because it was just so big and so unwieldy, was to do it as a miniseries, and that really was what I was planning on doing." The two men are Brooklyn to the core, and they even overlay a map of their New York borough onto that of Tyrol, to have a whole set of code names for various Tyrolean locales that would utterly baffle the Nazis. Sein Leben war durch eine umfangreiche Reisettigkeit geprgt. When he realised for certain that his prisoner was an American officer, he had Mayer cleaned up, dressed, and fed. With the cash, the group purchased train tickets to an OSS spy base in Algiers. 3 (Fall 2010), pp. They traveled by ship to North Africa. ), Austrian football player Franz Weber (soldier) (1921-2014), German soldier Franz Weber (activist) (1927-2019), Swiss environmentalist and animal welfare activist Franz Weber (skier) (born 1956), Austrian skier Then he posed as a French electrician to infiltrate a Messerschmitt factory. (371) 7.4 52min 2012 13+. A movie that climaxes with a group of Jewish soldiers shooting Hitler in the face isn't particularly concerned with historical accuracy, but "Inglourious Basterds" still draws some inspiration from real history. Theyd be sent into Nazi-occupied Europe and they knew what awaited them there as most were Jewish. However, their plans failed when Mayer was arrested by Nazi officers in an attempt to get crucial information. Mayer obtained a German uniform and impersonated a wounded officer. In 2005, he and five others were honored by Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schssel for their athletic achievements and economic contributions to Austria. When telling this story to The Los Angeles Times in 2009, Roth also noted that the part where the giant swastika falls in the theater was an accident, resulting from the unexpectedly powerful fires burning the steel cables holding it up. As the troops approached the city, they saw a car with a large white bed sheet attached to a pole racing toward them. So convincing was his performance that the agent turned away from the team and started checking the papers of the other passengers. Does anyone out there have Quentin Tarantinos cell? Mayer originally volunteered for the U.S. Army, but they rejected him as an enemy alien. However, the OSS, the forerunner to the CIA, saw Mayers potential and recruited him to join its ranks. He dominated the sport of speed skiing from 1980 to 1985, winning over eighty percent of the races he entered. However, Tarantino based his film on an actual operation codenamed, Greenup. All three landed safely with most of their equipment, but the canister containing their skis was lost. The rectangular shaped obverse reads: "Waffen-SS" in black ink on a yellow backing. Without making specific promises, he offered salvation. In 1945, after capture and torture by the Gestapo, he was responsible for accepting the surrender of a large German force. (The original radio transcripts are preserved at The National Archives in College Park, Maryland.). Sandler, meanwhile, could have been a scene stealer in the memorably violent role of Donowitz, but he had scheduling conflicts with the filming of the Judd Apatow comedy "Funny People." All rights reserved. The threewere to be dropped byparachutednear Innsbruckin February 1945. 1526-24 January 1624 (Age 98) Beglingen, Glarus, Switzerland. By wars end, OSS had 13,000 personnel in their ranks, nearly a third were women and included were some Hollywood types like John Ford, Sterling Hayden, Marlene Dietrich, Julia Child and others. The Germans,wanting to surrender to the Americans passed it on. Webers sister, Louise, was a nurse who gave Mayer the uniform and documents of a recently-deceased German officer. Or are you interested in war medals . 129.303 mph/208.092 kph which he set in 1983 in Silverton, Colorado. When US troops approached Innsbruck he met them and informed them that the city was willing to surrender. A German soldier, Matull had deserted and was caught by the Allies who threw him into a POW camp. So, though the story is completely fictional, the Basterds are pretty much based on some real-life groups that gave their lives to defeat the Nazis, like Nakam, the Jewish group devoted to killing or, as it's literally translated from Hebrew, "to avenge their people." People named Franz Weber. Thanks to his Intel, the Allies knew the schedules of troop and munition trains and bombarded them accordingly. He introduced himself as Lt. Mayer of the OSS and explained that he was going to take the major with him to accept the German surrender from Hofer. Find your friends on Facebook. He joined the OGs (Operational Groups), specifically Operational Group Germany. It's aged well, winning IndieWire's critics' poll for the best Tarantino movie a decade after its release. It was a mission focused on intelligence gathering in the area of Innsbruck. His father didnt want to leave Germany. Though it turned out to be a myth created by fanatical Nazis, the Allies couldnt have known that at the time. Their mission was to infiltrate the area around Innsbruck, Austria and monitor the reports of the Nazis stockpiling arms and ammunition there, the Alpine Redoubt. Robert Citino, PhD, is the Samuel Zemurray Stone Senior Historian in the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. For the next three days, he was mercilessly beaten, tortured, and hung upside down. A long-time resident of Lake Tahoe, Weber and his wife, Janet, founded Franz Weber Inc., a Reno-based sports management and consulting company, in 1984.Today, the company represents world-class . The war pitted the Central Powersmainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkeyagainst the Alliesmainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United . Channel 5s website describes the programme as follows: Documentary exploring one of the hundreds of undercover missions launched by the US governments Office of Strategic Services during World War II. The German officer in charge was one Franz Hofer. Air Force, The only area to infiltrate was a small lake frozen over in the winter between the mountains. She thinks this experience was a "lesson" for Tarantino: "Sometimes you are the one that puts and I'm sure I'm guilty of that too you put people in boxes. A couple of excellent books on the subject are : This Grim And Savage Game: The Oss And U.s. Covert Operations In World War II by Tom Moon and. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, On a journey of discovery to historical sites? Wijnberg and Weber had to flee, whilst Mayer was tortured by the Gestapo. I do not want them to think that they are getting a glimpse of who you are really going to be.'" He and his familyescaped to the USA in 1938. Inside one of World War II's most daring spy missions: The men who made OSS operations possible. Finally, an intrepid American Air Corps pilot, Lt. John Billings, and his crew stepped forward and volunteered. Mayer, who is Jewish, and his family fled Germany at the onset of the war, barely escaping the holocaust. They would use Weber and for this mission, it would be Mayer, Wynberg and Weber. "Literally, the only reason he auditioned me is because there was no one left to audition," said Kruger. Matull insisted that only someone as important as Franz Hofer (the local administrator) could get away with interrogating Mayer. Historian K. ODonnell published a volume called They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany. According to The Playlist, the theatrical cut of "Inglourious Basterds" runs one minute longer than the Cannes version. It added in one two-minute scene where the Basterds and Lt. Archie Hicox prepare for the rendezvous in the La Louisiana tavern, as well as a brief joke involving Joseph Goebbels having sex with his translator, while making around a minute's worth of small trims and adjustments for pacing elsewhere in the film. The OSS went to the only available source of that nearly impossible combination: an Allied prisoner of war camp. In one of the most incredible scenes from World War II, Frederick Mayer approached the American lines and informed the advancing 103rd division that the Germans had surrendered Innsbruck to him, saving potentially thousands of German and American lives in the process. Operation Greenup brought the Allies real material benefits, transmitting dozens of radio messages with detailed accounts of Brenner traffic to the OSS listening station in the city of Bari in the heel of Italy. Will King Charles IIIs Reign See the End of the Commonwealth. Disguised as a French electrician, Mayer tried to infiltrate one of the Luftwaffe factories. In April, Mayers superiors needed info on an underground factory that made jet engines. By this time Hofer, like many Nazis, realised that the war was lost and was interested only in surrendering to the Western Allies rather than the Soviets. One of the guards saw him, reported him to the authorities, and he was arrested. The next day, Mayer tried to enlist, but the military said no. He was German, after all, and, therefore, an enemy alien. Weber bluffed his way past a team of agents that had been searching the train. Edit your search or learn more. They said if we were in there another 15 seconds, the stage we were on would have collapsed and we all would have been killed." The Nazi governor wined and dined his Jewish captive, then explained that he wanted to surrender but not to the Soviets. Finally, Ulmer asked the Jewish-Americans matter-of-factly, Do you appreciate what can happen to you if youre caught?, Mayer responded, staring directly into Omers eyes, This is more our war than yours.. The Life of Fridolin. In February, 1945, an odd trio parachuted onto a vast Austrian glacier and kicked-off one of the most spectacular clandestine missions of World War II. Later, Mayer changed his disguise and donned the clothing of a French electrician. The Americans will slaughter everyone who did this!. Feeling he had achieved his speed skiing goals, Franz permanently retired from the sport following the 1992 Olympics. 2" caused serious injuries to Uma Thurman (Thurman has forgiven Tarantino). It brought profound and permanent social, governmental and cultural changes in the United States, and has had a great impact on how Americans regard themselves and . OSS was the forerunner to both the Special Operations Command of the military, OSS Jedburgh and Operation Groups were the units that became the US Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs owe part of their legacy to OSS Maritime Group operatives, where one of them invented the US version of SCUBA. OK In an interview, Mr. Mayer stated that he had a good combination of hatred and love: a hatred of the Nazis and a love for America. His father fought valiantly in World War I, and Mayer had seen his family forced from their homeland by an evil regime that later murdered 6 million European Jews in the Holocaust. A pilot called Billings volunteered to drop them on a glacier. For three days and nights, Mayer was savagely beaten, but he kept up his cover speaking only in French. Their most daring operation, however, involved finding the Alpine Redoubt in Austria a fortress where the German government could supposedly retreat to in the event of defeat. Ulmer asked several pointed questions about their background, and the men revealed that they were Jewish. He has written eight books, including his most recent (insrt embedded link to Amazon) Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Rangers Who Accomplished D-Days Toughest Mission and Led the Way Across Europe. There are a few different reasons people have speculated on. The members of Operation Greenup ended up helping the Allies get their victory and were later on decorated for their heroic services during the war. Webers sister was a nurse who helped Mayer disguise himself as a German officer in uniform and bandaged up from a head wound. Their mission wasto gather intelligence in the Tirol region of Austria. Since 2013, Fondation Franz Weber is working closely with the World Heritage Centre to support the conservation and safeguard of natural World Heritage sites.This partnership intends to strengthen the Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a programme jointly managed by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna & Flora International aimed at protecting natural World Heritage sites in emergency . He found and recruited deserter-volunteer, Franz Weber. Sent to Italy, he was teamed up with Hans Wijnberg another Jewish-American whose family was thrown intoAuschwitz. Though they managed to retrieve most of their supplies, their skis were another matter entirely, forcing them to climb down in waist-deep snow. Franz Weber (actor) (1888-1962), German actor Franz Weber (footballer) (1888-? Then they boarded a Gestapo-infested train bound for Innsbruck (a major rail hub) where they were asked for their papers. In an article about the film in The Guardian, Tarantino is quoted as refusing to explain the "u" in "Inglourious" but does explain the "e" in "Basterds": "That's just the way you say it: basterds.". The team would infiltrate using a blacked out B-24, After three months, Mayer changed his cover to that of a French electrician who was fleeing the Soviets. Heinrich Weber (1799-1848) married Susanna Fritz (1807-aft 1861) a. Franz Weber (this Franz Weber) b. Anna Maria Miller c. Elizabeth Herrman Provided by Trecil. His mother, however, demanded that the family flee to the U.S. Young Fitz (Mayers nickname) was captivated by cowboy stories of the American West, and so looked forward to the journey. The tables turned, the Gestapo man shaking, told Mayer to do with him as he would, but to please leave his family alone. Stealing a Jeep (now they sound like SF), they drive to OSS HQs and went to see the head of the SI (Special Intelligence) Section to volunteer. Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? They didn't end up killing Hitler, but they were able to negotiate the surrender of the German Army in Austria. Channel 5 in the UK broadcast a documentary called The Nazi Killers on Friday 22 November. Hofer, convinced that the war was a lost cause, was looking for a way to surrender to the Americans rather than to the Soviets. TracesOfWar.com tells you more! They were sent to enemy lines to sabotage Nazi activities. Matull immediately went into a story that Mayer was a VIP in the American Army and if he was shot that the Americans would be looking to try whoever ordered that as a war criminal.