During World War II, many spies worked behind enemy lines trying to discover secrets. Spying was dangerous work. Those who got caught risked being tortured and shot. Even those who didn’t get caught had a hard time finding accurate information, let alone getting it back home safely. Nevertheless, many people in World War II were prepared to take the risk and become spies.
German spy Josef Jakobs parachuted into England in January 1941. However, the Home Guard saw him land and arrested him. He had forged identity papers. He also had a radio transmitter for sending secrets back to Germany.
Jakobs was interrogated in the hope that he could be made to change sides and spy for Britain. But he was a committed Nazi and refused. He was taken to a cell in the Tower of London and later shot. Jakobs was one of 15 German spies executed in Britain during World War II.
Not all spying took place on the ground. During World War II, the first “spies in the sky” when powerful cameras, were used over enemy territory.
US soldiers tie a German spy to a post before executing him by firing squad. He was one of three Germans who were caught spying on Allied positions in Europe in 1945.
Probably the most skillful and successful spy in World War II was Richard Sorge. Sorge was a German citizen who spied for the Soviet Union. He spent the war in Tokyo, where he posed as a newspaper reporter while sending secrets back to Moscow.
Sorge became friendly with the German ambassador so he could spy on Germany as well as Japan. He discovered that the Germans were planning to invade the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. The Soviets, who had a pact with Germany, simply didn’t believe Sorge’s message and the invasion took them by surprise. In late 1941, the Japanese arrested Sorge, and he was hanged.
