Three men were eventually recruited to carry out the operation: Michael Kristoff, a 23-year-old Austrian immigrant who served briefly in the U.S. Army; Kurt Jahnke, a naturalized American citizen and former U.S. Marine, who was recruited as an operative by the German Consul General in San Francisco; and Polish-born Lothar Witzke, a young German naval lieutenant who survived his ships sinking by the British Navy off the South American coast in late 1915. Its been awhile since weve talked about the Mandela Effect the idea that somehow a large group of people misremember something collectively. The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. Von Rintelen is believed to have attacked 36 ships, destroying millions of dollars worth of cargo. the New York City region in the early hours of the morning of July 30, 1916. A railway connected the landfill island to shore and it became a key munitions depot during World War I. After years of deliberating, the German-American Mixed Claims Commission ultimately ordered Germany to pay $50 million in reparations. Today, the Black Tom site is part of New Jerseys Liberty State Park. On July 30, 1916, the supply depot on Black Tom Island contained around 1,000 tons of weapons and ordnance in train cars and on barges, ready to be shipped to Russia. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: By 1916, World War I had already been raging for two years. It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame. On July 30, 1916, an explosion at Black Tom Island rocked New York Harbor. The several federal bureaus should be welded into one and that one should be eternally and comprehensively vigilant. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. And no one anticipated that the munitions depot might become the target of enemy agents. Around 2:08 a.m. the munitions started to explode. Black Tom Explosion Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, by Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Second, for political reasons more than anything, Germany was incredibly reluctant to admit it. That night, two German spies rowed across New York Harbor, their boat heavy with dynamite. The explosions that went off that night would have registered high on the Richter scale. He arrived in 1914 with a staff not of diplomats, but of intelligence operatives, and with millions of dollars earmarked to aid German war efforts by any means necessary. By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. It is now believed that they set timed fuses and then fled the area. It was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. Sentenced to death, he was pardoned in 1923. IE 11 is not supported. Drifting in and out of prison for various crimes, he died of tuberculosis in 1928. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. The aftermath of the Black Tom explosion, an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents that took place on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City . For days, artillery shells and other munitions continued to explode, showering New York Harbor, to include Ellis Island, with embers and shell fragments. At 2:08 a.m., an explosion ripped through the night. All was dark and quiet on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, not far from the Statue of Liberty, when small fires began to burn on the night of July 30, 1916. There were five or six other lighters alongside mine at the dock, and a tug was just coming up to drag us away. I dont know what became of the tug or the other lighters. Explosion. But in the aftermath of the catastrophic explosions on Black Tom Island, the agencies investigating sort of preemptively decided it wasnt the work of foreign saboteurs. From Manhattan, witnesses saw shells shoot across the harbor and explode a mile from the blast site. One of the American MCC investigators was Harvard Law School graduate John McCloy, a 12-year staff member for the Commission. Genevieve Carlton earned a Ph.D in history from Northwestern University with a focus on early modern Europe and the history of science and medicine before becoming a history professor at the University of Louisville. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/news/the-black-tom-explosion, In 1916, German Terrorists Launched an Attack on American Soil. Advertising Notice [26] President Wilson remarked of the incident that it was "a regrettable incident at a private railroad terminal",[27][28] and Edgar E. Clark of the Interstate Commerce Commission was dispatched to investigate. The German Christmas Pickle: Tradition or Marketing? The blast excavated a hole so deep that it extended below sea level; water seeped in until a vast pond was created, strewn with the wreckage.. It looked as if they all went up in the air. Of the two men he was with, she said, I didnt see where they went, but I think they must be dead.. Survivors quickly evacuated the area around Black Tom Island after the 2:08 a.m. explosion. One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. The Mixed Claims Commission decided, at last, that there must have been "foul play" behind the Black Tom explosion. The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materiel from being used by the Allies in World War I. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. ; a Powder Factory Completely Destroyed Four Men Instantly killed", "The Point of Rocks Line: More about the Little Railroad", "An Attack That Turned Out to Be German Terrorism Has a Modest Legacy 100 Years Later", "Looking Back Black Tom railroad yard NFPA Journal", "On the Map; Explosion by the Hudson, Foreign Espionage, Local Fear: 1916", "Rogue River courier. It had 417 cases of detonating fuses. In the early 20th century, enemy attacks on American soil were so rare that many assumed the Black Tom explosion was an accident. Despite the enormity of the explosions, only four persons were reported killed. The damage from the Black Tom explosion stretched across the railroad yard and pier. James Doherty, a police officer from Jersey City, was killed in the explosion. "I think partly because of the isolation of the explosion. President Woodrow Wilson, locked in a tough reelection battle, downplayed the attack. Black Tom had been a center for the production of armaments that were being shipped to Europe to aid mainly Britain and France, both of which were fighting Germany, during World War I though the United States was technically neutral at the time. Its thought that, had the Richter scale existed, the Black Tom Island explosions would have registered somewhere around a 5.5.It wasnt until the next morning that most of the city saw the devastation. The Black Tom explosion truly shifted American sentiment against Germany and German-Americans. In the aftermath of the explosions, law-enforcement agents quickly arrested officials from the railroad, storage company and barge business who operated from the Black Tom site. J.P. Morgan survived, but Muenter died soon after most likely from suicide.The most deadly of these acts of German-sponsored terrorism happened on July 30, 1916 just 3,000 feet from the Statue of Liberty. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place. It would take years for a persistent team of American lawyers to find sufficient evidence that showed that in fact the disaster had been plotted by the Germans. Citing Black Tom Terminal by name, the message told Hilken that "Kristoff, Wo1fgang and that Hoboken bunch" were to be paid, and was signed "Hinch." Hinch, or Graentnor, was a shadowy figure who was never found. All Rights Reserved. [17][18], Property damage from the attack was estimated at $20,000,000 (equivalent to about $498,000,000 in 2021). At 2:08 a.m on July 16, 1916, a munitions depot on Black Tom Island, in the Hudson River just off Jersey City, exploded. Because while the statue was built for the torch to be accessed by tourists, its been closed from visitors since 1916. The event that sparked the ban occurred 102 years ago Monday, on July 30, 1916. Boats and barges of all sizes were destroyed during the attack. [citation needed], It is likely[according to whom?] But it took until after World War II for Germany to initiate the payout prolonging the saga until 1979. Terms of Use LAW CAN'T HALT MUNITIONS Representative Hamill Introduces Bill Giving Cities Power to Bar Explosives. It is the early morning hours of July 30, 1916, minutes before the Black Tom Island munitions dump explosion in Jersey City, N.J. will awaken half the east coast, changing history. In this episode, we talk about German Saboteurs and then chat with Author of "Branding Democrats," Ken Weber. [31] Kristoff would later serve in the United States Army in World War I, but admitted to working for German agents (transporting suitcases) in 1915 and 1916 while the US was still neutral. The next day, a sign warning of fire danger remained in the wreckage left by the explosion. The United States remained officially neutral, but the U.S. also sold millions of dollars in weapons to Britain and France. Others attempted to fight the fires and eventually called the Jersey City Fire Department. Host Michael Kent asks listeners to tell him something strange, bizarre or surprising that they've recently learned and he gets to the bottom of it! He served for years as an intelligence agent for the Nazi regime and was executed by the Soviets after his capture in 1945. The Mixed Claims Commission, set up after World War I to handle damage claims by companies and governments affected by German sabotage, awarded $50 million to plaintiffs in the Black Tom. [36][37] Irish socialist and labour union leader James Larkin asserted that he had not participated in sabotage, but admitted to having encouraged work stoppages and strike actions in munitions factories, in an affidavit to McCloy in 1934. Now at this point in the war mid-1916 America was neutral, meaning that the munitions being stored at Black Tom Island could have been sold to the highest bidder, whether that be Germany, France, Austria, or Great Britain. They knew a fire had started the chain of events. Vast quantities were stored in barges moored alongside a mile-long wharf, with one barge alone holding fifty tons of TNT and 25,000 detonators. He was a German Naval Intelligence officer and a master spy. One of those newcomers to America was Count Johann Von Bernstorff, the German ambassador to Washington. The most successful and experienced anti-sabotage investigators turned out to be the detectives of the New York Police Departments Bomb Squad. To Boldly Go: How Spacemen Poo and Pee (REBROADCAST of Episode 5) - The Internet Says it's True, The Nebraska Miracle: The West End Baptist Church Explosion. But its doubtful that anyone currently living has been up to the torch of the statue. In fact, it was almost too easy for the spies to infiltrate Black Tom Island. Captain Franz von Rintelen had arrived in the U.S. the previous year. In July that year, the Black Tom explosion an extraordinary but mostly forgotten disaster rocked the harbor when saboteurs destroyed a munitions plant across the water in Jersey City, New .

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