Frederick Mayer

Another perspective on Secret Intelligence training

Opapa did not write much in his diary after he was transferred to Secret Intelligence (SI) in October of 1944. My last post focused on some of the handouts and pamphlets Opapa received during his SI training in Bari, Italy. But the brilliant Emily Gerbner has found another perspective: a video of Frederick Mayer, one of Opapa’s comrades in the OSS, who was interviewed in 1997. Mayer was one of the four other men who requested transfer from OG (Operational Groups) to SI (Secret Intelligence) along with Opapa in the fall of 1944. Mayer calls himself the “chief rebel” of the group, though I don’t know if Opapa would agree with that.

In their joint letter requesting transfer to Secret Intelligence, Mayer was described in the following way:

T/5. Frederick Mayer. 32535566. Born Oct. 1921, Freiburg Germany. Education: Graduate of high-school in German and of German Military Academy. Languages: Fluent German, French, English; fair Spanish. Territory known: Southwestern German (Black Forest). Experience: Qualified skier, pilot: expert in combustion engine lathe operation. 1 year in Rangers as heavy machine-gunner.

Mayer was interviewed by the USC Shoah Foundation for nearly 3.5 hours about his experiences. He mentions Opapa, along with the other men who requested transfer, and goes into detail about his training as well as his mission, where he parachuted behind enemy lines Germany and relayed critical information to the Allied forces.

Link to full video here.

Here are some interesting tid bits about OSS Secret Intelligence training:

• Mayer was sent into a German Prisoner of War “cage” so that he could pick up any new slang. When asked if he “passed” as a German PW, he said “there wasn’t any question.” He also noted that most German POWs were no longer invested in the war effort, but they advised Mayer to still say “Heil Hitler” if any of the German officers asked him anything.

• The interviewer asked Mayer about the importance of “pocket litter” for an espionage agent, and about situations he should try to avoid. He seems to think this was obvious: don’t have anything identifiably American in your pocket!

• When asked about who the other spy trainees agents were, Mayer notes: “Well, they were mostly Jewish refugees, who volunteered for duty thinking that they could do more good because of their German language ability.”

• Mayer mentions a “pen gun” that I think Opapa had as well. Here’s what he says: “We had things that looked like pens and actually it was one shot, and you could kill somebody with it. It was a 22 caliber bullet and if you pushed the clip, it would become a lethal weapon.”

• Mayer’s perspective on spy training was far more basic and straightforward than the pamphlets I wrote about in the last post. Mayer’s basic philosophy as a spy was: “Don’t get caught.”

Overall, the impression from Mayer is that secret intelligence training during WWII was pretty haphazard. Since there had not been an extensive US spy network before the War, there were no established training protocols, and no ex-agents who could offer insight into the experience of being a spy. In Tape 3, he explains:

“The only one who knew anything about the spy business was Dino Lowenstein” [who had done spy training in Maryland]….[There was] no established spy training to speak of…It was more or less up to each agent to use his own intelligence to get by.”

Mayer’s assessment of Secret Intelligence training corresponds with what I know about Opapa’s experience and writings about the OSS: those who were resourceful, clever and courageous could operate as they wished, but there was very little specific guidance on how to survive. Agents were given some training and supplies, but it was a very dangerous endeavor: most Secret Intelligence agents dropped behind enemy lines would not return.

In Mayer’s words, “there is one chance in 100 that you come out alive.”