Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, On a journey of discovery to historical sites? I was really training for it.". 3, No. Deutsches Kreuz in Gold . 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. 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. There are a few different reasons people have speculated on. However, their plans failed when Mayer was arrested by Nazi officers in an attempt to get crucial information. He says Waltz was also instructed to not show up to rehearsals with any of his co-stars, with the one exception ofDenis Mnochet (who played the dairy farmer Perrier LaPadite and shares the film's suspenseful opening scene with Waltz). 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. With the cash, the group purchased train tickets to an OSS spy base in Algiers. In 2005, he and five others were honored by Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schssel for their athletic achievements and economic contributions to Austria. By now, those of you have seen Tarantinos film should be thinking Inglourious Basterds. Mayer, Wijnberg, and Weber are the real thing, the actual basterds, and indeed, Mayer himself is once supposed to have said that the three of them just wanted to kill Nazis.. Part of the reason Tarantino decided to make "Kill Bill" first was due to the fact the story for his epic was growing so large in scale that he was having trouble cutting it down. Besides, its too late, he says of the event. Will King Charles IIIs Reign See the End of the Commonwealth. Or are you interested in war medals . Then good fortune stepped in. Imagine a Jew helpingNazissurrender peacefully to the Allies. 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. United States. 2. In this operation, OSS used former German nationals who were forced to flee for their lives just because they were Jewish. info@nationalww2museum.org Tom Moon, author of This Grim and Savage Game: OSS and the Beginning of U.S. Covert Operations in World War II, wrote, The Germany Army in that area had in effect surrendered to an OSS Jewish Sergeant.. Proud of his heritage, Franz assisted in the creation of the NBC Today Show Where in the world is Matt Lauer? featuring his birth town, Innsbruck Austria, while also including his home in Reno/Tahoe. He then worked for Mayer till the Gestapo caught him. Once at the bottom of the mountain, the men boarded an Innsbruck-bound train infested with Gestapo. Operation Greif was a special false flag operation commanded by Waffen SS commando, SS Obersturmbannfhrer, Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge, Skorzeny died age 67, on 05-07-1975, The . Service on a half-dozen fronts, including the bloody struggle against Marshal Tito's partisans in occupied Yugoslavia, has opened Weber's eyes. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat. This is a horrible place where the Nazis tortured and killed members of the Belgium resistance. Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? I don't want you to be bad at the script reading, but I want you to hold a lot back. Major Bland West, an intelligence officer, saw a young man with a swollen face jumping out of the car. He and Mayer negotiated the peaceful surrender of Innsbruck, the Tyrolean provincial capital, to the US 7th Army on May 3, 1945. Then the Nazis came to power. Franz did Research in the Field of Nephrology and Hypertension. He responded, Who do you think we are, Nazis?. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, On a journey of discovery to historical sites? Then they boarded a Gestapo-infested train bound for Innsbruck (a major rail hub) where they were asked for their papers. The "Inglourious Basterds" screenplay was a particular challenge both to write and to edit down into a workable feature. In zweiter Ehe war er mit Genovefa Brenner verheiratet; aus dieser . I'd have a 100-page script and no end in sight. Mayer gave what perhaps was the best answer of all, This is more our war than yours.. World War I, also called First World War or Great War, an international conflict that in 1914-18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. Mayer was allowed to send a message to the OSS. are western hognose snakes legal in the uk risk assessment for cleaning pigeon droppings Ittrained them for operations behind enemy lines. ORCID provides an identifier for individuals to use with their name as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. From 0-99, there is something for the child in all of us. But at the radio station, Mayer persuaded the Nazi to declare Innsbruck an open city, and place himself under his arrest, effectively surrendering the city and his forces to Mayer. World War II Military Records. Dulles cabled OSS HQs in Italy, Fred Mayer reports he is in Gestapo hands but cabled Dont worry about me, Im really not bad off a remarkable message considering that it was coming from a Jew. Hofer got Mayer to help him arrange the surrender. Webers sister, Louise, was a nurse who gave Mayer the uniform and documents of a recently-deceased German officer. So Matull hadnt entirely lied. They approached speeds of 60 mph or more as the craft careened down the mountain. 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. I dont stay up late anymore.. Eventually, the man who fingered Mayer was brought in and he knew the ruse was up. 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. See Photos. Mayers superiors were impressed by his skill and native fluency in German and French, as well as English. Franz Anton von Weber (* 26. See Photos. This fact caught the attention of Franz Hofer, a member of the Reichsgau, a Nazi administrative subdivision based on occupied territories. Mayer obtained a German uniform and impersonated a wounded officer. Disguised as a French electrician, Mayer tried to infiltrate one of the Luftwaffe factories. Website zuerich@fcw.ch +41 44 225 78 78 Google Maps Public transport. On November 26, 2007, Franz was the recipient of the prestigious Schneekristall award (providing him with lifelong free skiing privileges in Austria). And although he was circumcised, the Gestapo thought nothing of it since many non-Jews also practiced circumcision. By then it was April of 1945 and the Germans knew they were done. Hofer could see the end coming and had little desire to be tried as a war criminal. The Germans even broke his teeth with a powerful haymaker punch while stuffing a pistol in his mouth. As the company approached along the relatively featureless terrain, it came under violent MG . The revelations about Weinstein and Thurman's car accident placed an extra dark light on one anecdote about filming the scene in "Inglourious Basterds" where Hans Landa chokes Bridget Von Hammersmark to death. This enabled him to pick upinformation from other German officers, which Wijnberg relayed back to the OSS. After unexpectedly arriving at the OSS post, the men sat and languished for months, waiting for a mission. Mayer was then ordered to investigate a nearby underground factory that was building Me 262 jet fighters. An irreverent alternate history following two intersecting plots of Jews taking violent revenge against the Nazis (one by an orphaned French theater owner named Shosanna, the other by an American GI squad known as the Basterds), Tarantino's sixth film became the director's biggest hit up to that point in the summer of 2009. "KillBill" offered a fun break from the not-quite-ready project and a chance to reunite with "PulpFiction" scene-stealer Uma Thurman. Learn More. The Life of Fridolin. Mayer was asked to dine with Hofer, his wife and the German Ambassador to Italy, Rudolph Rahn. Edit your search or learn more. . The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. Despite being intensely tortured, Mayer never mentioned this to his partners. 1526-24 January 1624 (Age 98) Beglingen, Glarus, Switzerland. They recommended him for the Office of Strategic Services, which later became the CIA. Top Image:L-R Franz Weber, Hans Wijnberg, and Fred Mayer courtesy of theUS National Archives. All three landed safely with most of their equipment, but the canister containing their skis was lost. Inhibition of osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption by N-methylpyrrolidone. Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, The OSS in Vietnam, 1945: A War of Missed Opportunities by Dixee Bartholomew-Feis, Secret Agents, Secret Armies: The D-Day Misfit Spies, Black Volunteer Infantry Platoons in World War II, Kasserine Pass: German Offensive, American Victory, Gallantry against Great Odds: LTC George Marshall and Operation RESERVIST, Prelude to Liberation: Genesis of American Amphibious Assault in the ETO, Black Thursday October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid, An Exercise in Depravity: The Establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad, Stalingrad: Experimentation, Adaptation, Implementation. His work was to get as much information as possible from the Germans, from plans for troop displacement, to attacks, and where they stored supplies, so him and his partners could sabotage them. The only area to infiltrate was a small lake frozen over in the winter between the mountains. He put his unusual skills and experience to work, selling surplus Army towels and other gear to Bedouins. Ulmer asked them if they knew what would befall them if they were caught by the Nazis. Hiseyes grew wide, Youre all as good as dead! he gasped, shaking his head in disbelief. The German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet fighter and appeared in air combat towards the end of World War Two.The Me 262 has always been one of my favourite World War Two era aircraft.It wasn't the best jet to ever grace the skies but I have always liked its shark like, leading edge design! There they were helped by his family. This man was Hermann Matull, who was also working as a spy in the region. 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. Donny Donowitz. While promoting her 2022 action movie "The 355," Diane Kruger appeared on the podcast "Reign with Josh Smith" and answered questions about how she got the role of German actress and spy Bridget Von Hammersmark in "Inglourious Basterds." It was feared that the Nazis would establish an Alpine redoubtin order tomake a last stand there. The 'Good War' Myth of World War Two. How bizarre? Cookies help us deliver our Services. Just dont hurt my family., Mayer was disgusted, What the hell do you think we are? Both men joined the US Army, and were then approached to join the OSS, the US intelligence service,because of their language skills. 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. However, things took a turn for the worse when a member of Mayers spy network betrayed him. 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. At one point, the writer-director feared it would be too long for a movie and that the epic story would be better suited for a TV miniseries. The pilot John Billings volunteered, and it nearly ended in disaster. During the movie's production, however, there were also serious risks and conflicts that could have (and probably should have) been avoided. Mayers incredible story provided the basis for my book They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany. 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 . During WWII, some Jews really did volunteer to go into Nazi-occupied Europe to engage in espionage and sabotage. Sadly, "Inglourious Basterds" was to be Menke's last film with Tarantino (the last film she edited was"Peacock" in 2010, directed by Michael Lander) because she died while hiking in the heat on September 27, 2010 (via The Los Angeles Times). Mayer was born in Freiburg, Germany, on Oct. 28, 1921. They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines by Patrick K. ODonnell. Download the TracesOfWar app directly on, Australia (1901-present, Federal Monarchy), Belgium (1830-present, Constitutional Monarchy), Canada (1931-present, Constitutional Monarchy), Soviet Union (1922-1991, People's Republic), FELLGIEBEL, W.P., Elite of theThird Reich, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, HU, JRGEN & SONDERMANN, HEINZ-WERNER, Ritterkreuztrger im Mannschaftsstand 1941-1945, VDM Heinz Nickel, Zweibrcken, 2009, Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright. When Fridolin Weber was born in 1526, in Beglingen, Glarus, Switzerland, his father, Georg Weber, was 20 and his mother, Anna Maria Kohl, was 21. Inside one of World War II's most daring spy missions: The men who made OSS operations possible. However, this historical episode is not the only one. They didnt embark on any sort of killing spree, but they did succeed in their mission. ADVERTISING. Mollis,Glarus,,Switzerland . For his bravery, Mayer received the Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Claiming to be on the run from the advancing Soviets, he got a job at the facility. In a scene that could have been ripped from the movie Where Eagles Dare, the team, clad in white ski parkas, parachuted onto the side of a 9,000-foot glacier. Shahan Russell is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. He volunteered for the US Army but was denied service because he was considered an enemy alien. OSS immediately saw his potential and recruited him into their ranks. Feeling he had achieved his speed skiing goals, Franz permanently retired from the sport following the 1992 Olympics. ORCID record for Franz Weber. After completing their training in Allied territories, the three soldiers were dropped off in Tirol on February 26, 1945. His two interrogators discounted the possibility that he might be Jewish, because their anti-Semitism meant that they refused to believe that a Jew could be brave enough to withstand their tortures. He called in air strikes, destroying dozens of them. You really would have to quit your job and become a monk to get through them all. Quentin Tarantinos 2009 warfilmwas partly based on a real story. and a disaffected Austrian officer named Franz Weber. For UK viewers it is available on the 5 Demand online catch up service until 22 December. Their little band soon adds a third member: Franz Weber, a Wehrmacht lieutenant who has belatedly come to his senses about the murderous nature of Adolf Hitler's war. As much as he packs into these movies, however, their scripts often run even longer. 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. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. The Germans,wanting to surrender to the Americans passed it on. Weve already been checked, Weber asserted with great chutzpah. These are the untold truths of the making of "Inglourious Basterds.". They didn't end up killing Hitler, but they were able to negotiate the . 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. 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. Weber bluffed his way past a team of agents that had been searching the train. According toIndieWire, in Tara Wood's Tarantino-focused documentary "QT8: The First Eight," Eli Roth recounts the story of one extra who got fired for not developing a backstory for his non-speaking character. Download the TracesOfWar app directly on, Australia (1901-present, Federal Monarchy), Belgium (1830-present, Constitutional Monarchy), Canada (1931-present, Constitutional Monarchy), Soviet Union (1922-1991, People's Republic), Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, - Die Ordenstrger der Deutschen Wehrmacht. Theres no doubt that Operation Greenup saved many thousands of lives, Austrian and American, civilian and military. And that was after they had tortured him. Theyd be sent into Nazi-occupied Europe and they knew what awaited them there as most were Jewish. As the Germans surrendered, the Gestapo officer who had savagely beaten Mayer was taken to the very cell where he tortured him. Any intel they can glean here will give the Allies hints about how the German Army intends to fight in the wars endgame, whether it will try to circle the wagons in some sort of Allied redoubt for a last-ditch fight. 2" caused serious injuries to Uma Thurman (Thurman has forgiven Tarantino). They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 8 daughters. Matull gave fake information on Mayer, claiming he was an important general of the American Army. In 1945, after capture and torture by the Gestapo, he was responsible for accepting the surrender of a large German force. Do you have more information about this person? Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945. In fact, Mayer was taken to Hofers home, met Hofers wife, and ate with them. The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. One of the mainsprings of the group spoke eight different languages, had fought and escaped from the French Legion, and had previously worked as a matre d at the Copacabana nightclub. 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." Weber stayed with his family, his fiances mother took Mayer in, and Wijnberg stayed at a neighbors house. Enter Hermann Matull. Does anyone out there have Quentin Tarantinos cell? The two men needed a third teammate who spoke German and knew the areaand was willing to risk certain death if captured. Mayer was assigned to the German Operational Group before heading out. High winds buffeted the plane making them lose 6000 feet of altitude in just 18 seconds. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. They had to walk down the glacier, sometimes waist deep in snow. OSS ran many fantastic operations and had an eclectic group of operatives. Fred Raskin, Menke's assistant editor on "KillBill," would become Tarantino's go-to editor following her death, starting with "Django Unchained" in 2012. They traveled by ship to North Africa. Weber, Franz; Weber, Franz. Feigning the role of a captured German POW, Fred entered a camp and networked within its gates. They all spoke German, and many were Jewish refugees who wanted vengeance for their families suffering. All rights reserved. Those who survived the initial onslaught and did not manage to flee, had to eke out a living on a battleground ravaged by incessant bombardment and street fighting. It was a good documentary. His alias was establishedso he then moved into the officers barracks, where he sent information to Wijnberg, the teams radio operator. After tramping through chest-deep snow, the men literally sledded down the side of the glacier in a Santa Claus-like sleigh. One recruit summed up the band of desperadoes: The whole bunch were the craziest people I ever met in my entire life.. 8001 Zrich. His current life is fairly peacefulhe still chops wood nearly every day and volunteers with Meals on Wheels. Support Veteran Journalism . He was imprisoned and tortured. Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? October 28th, 1944. In May 2011, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) completed construction of its new facility in St. Louis, Mo. 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. Franz Weber. Their task was to penetrate one of the most secured areas of the Third Reich, an area of Austria near Innsbruck, where Nazis reportedly had been fortifying and massing vast quantities of troops and supplies. It was the scariest part of the entire mission.. The German officer in charge was one Franz Hofer. Representing a variety of world class athletes, the company specializes in client hospitality and luxury adventure travel notably . A blooper reel included on the "Inglourious Basterds" DVD and Blu-ray releases showcases one of the ways Tarantino and his actors made sure to keep their hard-working editor in high spirits: whenever they knew a shot had to be cut, someone would interrupt it to say "Hello, Sally!" There is a nice WC on the ground floor with baby changing facilities. Franz Weber may refer to: . However, he was never caught and lived a relatively peaceful life until his death in 1964. In an amazing turnabout, Mayer received an opportunity for revenge. In mid-April, a black marketer whom Mayer dealt with was caught up in a Gestapo dragnet. IndieWire reported that Tarantino wanted the movie edited on a much tighter schedule that his previous productions, both as a reaction to spending too much time "overfiddling" with "Death Proof" and so the film would be ready to screen at Cannes. Trembling, he stammered, Do anything you want to me, but dont hurt my family.. In fact, it deserves nothing less than a movie. "Literally, the only reason he auditioned me is because there was no one left to audition," said Kruger. The war pitted the Central Powersmainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkeyagainst the Alliesmainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United . He was arrested by the American army three days after his surrender and was kept a prisoner until 1948, when he was set free. M7/109 Thomas Wielptz, Solingen . 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. As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942.