Edward John Kerling (June 12, 1909 – August 8, 1942) was a spy and saboteur for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and leader of

Operation Pastorius Operation Pastorius was a failed German intelligence plan for sabotage inside the United States during World War II. The operation was staged in June, 1942 and was to be directed against strategic American economic targets. The operation was n ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early life

Born in Biebrich,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Kerling was the son of Kasper and Walberoa Kerling. His father, Kasper, was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Imperial German Army veteran. Kerling studied engineering at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

. After leaving school, he went to the U.S. and over the next several years worked a myriad of jobs. He married Marie Sighard in 1931. Kerling and Sighard frequently travelled back to Germany throughout the years to visit their families.Kerling, Edward; Kerling's Confession

World War II

In the summer of 1940, Kerling once more returned to Germany to look for work. He received a position within the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

translating English broadcasts into German. He was sent to France for the duration of the project and returned to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

after three months. Upon returning, Kerling was given a position with the

Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda The Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (; RMVP), also known simply as the Ministry of Propaganda (), controlled the content of the press, literature, visual arts, film, theater, music and radio in Nazi Germany. The ministry ...

managing German theatres. He remained with the Propaganda Ministry for the next two years until Walter Kappe offered him the chance to return to the U.S. on a military mission. After a short time Kerling accepted the offer and spent the next several weeks training and becoming acquainted with other members of the mission. He spent a great deal of time with his parents during this period.

Operation Pastorius

consisted of 12 Germans who were fluent in English. They were trained as secret agents at the Brandenburg School of Sabotage. Upon graduation they were sent to the U.S. via

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

in an attempt to damage infrastructure and industries vital to the American war effort. Kerling's group landed on Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on June 17, 1942. Kerling was arrested by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

on June 23, 1942. It was revealed that two members of the other group, George Dasch and Ernst Burger, betrayed the entire operation and alerted federal authorities of their intentions.FBI, National Socialist Saboteurs

Trial and death

Kerling and the seven others involved were sent to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where they were to face a

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bod ...

. All were convicted of being spies and, even though they had not yet carried out any sabotage, six — including Kerling — were sentenced to death.Ex Parte Quirin Dasch and Burger received long prison sentences which were eventually commuted to deportation after the war. Kerling and the remaining five, Herbert Hans Haupt, Henry Harm Heinck, Hermann Otto Neubauer, Richard Quirin, and Werner Thiel were all executed on August 8, 1942, in the District of Columbia's

electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

.National Socialist Saboteur Trial It was the largest mass execution via electrocution ever conducted at the jail. Kerling and the others were buried in the Potter's Field in Blue Plains. The graves were originally marked by boards with numbers until a German-American organization placed a small monument commemorating their lives.

Citations

References used