<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" > <channel> <title>Josef Jakobs – 1898-1941</title> <atom:link href="https://josefjakobs.info/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/</link> <description>The story behind the last person executed in the Tower of London.</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:11:22 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <image> <url>https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Josef-Jakobs-site-icon-150x150.jpg</url> <title>Josef Jakobs – 1898-1941</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">190165329</site> <item> <title>Film Review – Operation Mincemeat (2022)</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:47:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Films]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ben MacIntyre]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Colin Firth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[media review]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MI5]]></category> <category><![CDATA[movie]]></category> <category><![CDATA[movie review]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Operation Mincemeat]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6729</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I admit to being a fan of Colin Firth, and the two movies I’ve watched recently just happen to have him in both! Operation Mincemeat was the code name assigned to a British wartime deception in 1943. In trying to convince the Germans that they planned to invade Greece (and not Sicily), a crazy plan […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022.html">Film Review – Operation Mincemeat (2022)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>I admit to being a fan of Colin Firth, and the two movies I’ve watched recently just happen to have him in both!</p> <p>Operation Mincemeat was the code name assigned to a British wartime deception in 1943. In trying to convince the Germans that they planned to invade Greece (and not Sicily), a crazy plan was conceived to plant misleading documents on a corpse (dressed as a British officer) and release it off the coast of Spain. The Spanish (technically neutral) found the body and (eventually) returned the briefcase of documents to the British but… the sealed letters had been opened. Had the Spanish allowed the Germans access to the documents? Had the Germans taken the bait? Would they shift their troops from Sicily to Greece? Yes, yes and yes!</p> <p>The tale of Operation Mincemeat has been well-told by Ben MacIntyre in his 2010 book titled the same. I have yet to read the book, but based on MacIntyre’s other books, and reader reviews of his Mincemeat one, I would say that it is probably factually accurate, and well worth a read.</p> <p>The movie, which is based on MacIntyre’s book, takes many factual liberties, as movies sometimes do, but, despite that, is still worth watching. They do a moderately good job of sticking to the overall framework of the story, but within that framework, there are many fictional or slightly fudged elements.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Did they consult coroner Bentley Purchase? Yes, they did, but they also consulted Sir Bernard Spilsbury.</li> <li>Was there a romantic love triangle between Montague, Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie? No, there wasn’t… that is purely a cinematic romance.</li> <li>Was Montague’s brother, Ivor, really a Soviet spy? Probably not, although he was a Communist.</li> <li>Did Jean Leslie’s American GI boyfriend provide the “live” photographs of the fictional Major Martin? No, he did not. That duty went to Ronnie Reed, an MI5 officer.</li> <li>Did the dead man’s sister show up to claim his body? Nope, never happened.</li> <li>Did Charles Cholmondeley board the <em>Seraph</em> submarine in Scotland and accompany the fictional Major Martin to his place of release? No, he did not.</li> <li>Did the bartender, Teddy, really threaten Jean Leslie in her apartment? No, Teddy is a fictional character.</li> <li>Did Naval Attaché, Captain David Ainsworth, seduce the Spanish secret police officer? No. Captain David Ainsworth didn’t even exist.</li> <li>And more pressingly, is that really how you pronounce Cholmondeley – as Chum-lee? Yes it is, and it is mystifying to me.</li> </ul> <p>Overall, the movie was entertaining (at least to me, but then I like Colin Firth) and moved along at a quick pace. We are also introduced to a young Ian Fleming (who later wrote the James Bond stories) and are even given a quick peak into the “Q” section where the boffins were hard at work creating (and dismantling) secret gadgets. And, the movie did inspire me to actually buy MacIntyre’s book and it’s now on my reading pile (along with a host of other books).</p> <p>If you haven’t seen the movie, I do recommend it. I admit to being completely distracted by the actor who played Admiral Godfrey. He looked so darn familiar… and I couldn’t pin him down… until I finally figured out where I had seen him… in the Harry Potter movies!</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="906" height="552" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Godfrey.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6733" style="width:600px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Godfrey.jpg 906w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Godfrey-300x183.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Godfrey-768x468.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Admiral Godfrey from Operation Mincemeat (2022)</figcaption></figure> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022.html">Film Review – Operation Mincemeat (2022)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/film-review-operation-mincemeat-2022.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6729</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Muddy Media Articles: Bella in the Wych Elm</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 08:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Bella in the Wych Elm]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Alex Merrill]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bella]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Clara Bauerle]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Express and Star]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hagley Wood]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hedwig clara bauerle]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Hedwig Clara Bäuerle]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jacobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jakobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Una Hainsworth]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Una Mossop]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wilford Byford-Jones]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Wilfred Byford-Jones]]></category> <category><![CDATA[wych elm]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6644</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>There are so very many podcast, videos, blog posts and articles about Bella in the Wych Elm. Including this one! Every time one pops up, I take a look at it and usually, I am disappointed. Most of them just seem to be a regurgitation or rehashing of other, often erroneous, articles/posts/videos. They just add […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm.html">Muddy Media Articles: Bella in the Wych Elm</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>There are so very many podcast, videos, blog posts and articles about Bella in the Wych Elm. Including this one! Every time one pops up, I take a look at it and usually, I am disappointed. Most of them just seem to be a regurgitation or rehashing of other, often erroneous, articles/posts/videos. They just add more mud to an already muddy pond. Here’s a few that I’ve encountered over the last few years. A couple are actually decent and helpful!</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The History Press – 2018 April 18</h3> <p><a href="https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/who-put-bella-in-the-wych-elm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This post</a> was written by storyteller David Phelps. I had some mild hope when this article first came out that it presaged a book about Bella via The History Press, but it would appear that is not the case. This post gives an overview of the Bella case and contains several errors. The following paragraph, in particular, seems to be based largely on the 2013 Alison Vale article which had its own share of assumptions and incomplete research.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">In the fifties another line of enquiry opened up. A letter to a local paper claimed that the victim was a German spy, killed by her confederates. <em>[If I recall, the woman was simply the girlfriend of a Dutchman named Van Ralt who “may” have been a spy.]</em> The police dismissed this as fanciful but, just in the last few years, as MI5 files have been opened to public scrutiny, evidence of a German spy ring operating in the area has come to light. <em>[I am not aware of a German spy ring operating in the Birmingham area. Certainly Josef Jakobs was never destined for Birmingham.]</em> One of them had a photograph of a well-known actress, Clara Bauerle, whom he claimed had also been trained as a spy because she had worked the music halls of Birmingham in the thirties and spoke English with a pronounced Brummie accent. <em>[Josef Jakobs never said Clara had worked the music halls of Birmingham nor that she spoke English with a Brummie accent.]</em> She was due to have been parachuted into the area at about the time the body in the wych elm had met her fate but there was no official trace of her. <em>[Josef gave no timeline for her arrival.]</em></p> <p>Admittedly, this article is six years old and much has been uncovered since then. Although, <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2018/02/book-review-who-put-bella-in-wych-elm.html">Alex Merrill’s excellent first volume</a> on the Bella mystery had been published in February 2018. It, and<a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/12/bella-crime-shrouded-in-mystery-alex-merrill-2019.html"> Alex’s second volume</a> are both first-rate resources for anyone interested in the facts of the Bella mystery.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Express & Star – 2024 March 15</h3> <p>Yes, we’re back with the Express & Star, the local paper where Anna of Claverley (ex-wife of Jack Mossop) mailed her revealing letter in the 1950s. This time, the <a href="https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/dudley/stourbridge/2024/03/15/who-put-bella-in-the-wych-elm-unravelling-the-mystery-of-murdered-womans-skeleton-found-in-tree-trunk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">newspaper is highlighting the research</a> of Sarah Haywood. Sarah is apparently a keen historian and self-professed ‘history influencer’ who works as a teaching assistant at Brierley Hill Primary School. She has has been researching the Bella story via the British Newspaper Archives and wanted to share some of her finds.</p> <p>The story has several images of newspaper clippings from the 1940s (50s) but the only captions accompanying the photos are: “Extracts from the British Newspaper Archives”. Not at all helpful as we have no idea of the provenance, or even the date, of the clippings. This article adds nothing new to the Bella case and simply rehashes old news of questionable accuracy.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News – 2023 April 6</h3> <p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-07/mystery-over-who-put-bella-down-the-wych-elm-/102171844" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This article</a>, by Lucia Stein and Rebecca Armitage, is actually very thorough and surprisingly accurate. It presents many of the theories around Bella but doesn’t laud any of them as the “truth”. It does quote Peter Osborne at various points, suggesting that the authors reached out to him for some first-hand information.</p> <p>The article has several outbound links which generally lead to helpful posts or articles. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04c9dfn">Punt PI’s 2014 audio episode</a> on Bella features heavily in the links. On the whole, this is a relatively good article. It covers most of the bases and avoids adding mud to the waters.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Birmingham Mail – 2024 April 17</h3> <p><a href="https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/unsolved-body-tree-murder-mystery-26716226" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This article</a> is noteworthy in that it references a new podcast by the BBC called “<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0fgqkxz" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Body in the Tree</a>“. Living in the hinterlands of Western Canada as I do, I don’t always get the latest news. So this was a very helpful article, if only for pointing me towards this series. The Mail article gives a brief summary of the case and quotes a couple of the experts who appear on the podcast series. The podcast is now high on my “must listen” list and I’m hoping it’s actually factual and helpful!</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The US Sun – 2024 April 13</h3> <p>This site has all the hallmarks of a tabloid (rampant ads and click-bait headlines) and so I’m a bit leery of the article. <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/11083266/bella-wych-elm-identity-mystery-murder-cold-case/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The article </a>summarizes the case but when it gets to Josef Jakobs and Clara Bauerle, it is clear that it is relying heavily on the Alison Vale story.</p> <p>This article claims that Josef was Czech-born (false) and that Clara had spent two years in the music halls of the West Midlands (false, as we saw earlier in this post). According to the article, Clara was well connected with “senior Nazis”. I’m not sure who those would be and Josef made no mention of those connections. The Sun then takes things a bit farther and says “Jakobs claimed she too had been recruited by the Gestapo with the aim of creating a spy network in the UK.” That’s a new one on me. Nowhere did Josef ever claim that Clara was going to be sent over to create a spy network in the US. Oh, and Josef apparently “told his captors she was the woman in the tree”. Clearly impossible given the body was found in 1943 and Josef was executed in 1941. But these sorts of logical errors are easy to make when facts are secondary to a good story. The article does at least mention that <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2016/09/clara-bauerle-is-finally-laid-to-rest.html">Clara died in Berlin in 1942</a>.</p> <p>On the whole, a rather tawdry article that embellishes the facts in order to gain views and ad-clicks. The six photographs included in the article have no source citations.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Junk Sites</h3> <p>I’ve come across snippets about the Bella article on BuzzFeed… not even going to deign to link to them. There was another article on US Times Post (another tabloidy style digital rag). I had trouble loading the site and the rampant pop-ups ended it for me. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm.html">Muddy Media Articles: Bella in the Wych Elm</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/muddy-media-articles-bella-in-the-wych-elm.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6644</post-id> </item> <item> <title>From the Mailbox: Spies, Interrogators, Fraudsters and Attorneys – November 2024</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 14 Nov 2024 08:29:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Mailbox]]></category> <category><![CDATA[attorneys]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beatrice Engers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[British Red Cross]]></category> <category><![CDATA[British Red Cross Ambulance in Ethiopia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dulwich College]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Eric Vincent Ewart White]]></category> <category><![CDATA[espionage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ethiopia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Great Britain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harm Knol Bruins]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Johann Hans Wolpe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Leon Engers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[spies]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6637</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>I must admit that I have a bit of a backlog of communications from the last couple of years. I seem to have held them in my email inbox with a mental note to: (a) report this in the blog and (b) reply to the sender. It seems I didn’t manage either of those all […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024.html">From the Mailbox: Spies, Interrogators, Fraudsters and Attorneys – November 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>I must admit that I have a bit of a backlog of communications from the last couple of years. I seem to have held them in my email inbox with a mental note to: (a) report this in the blog and (b) reply to the sender. It seems I didn’t manage either of those all the time. I surely am not the only one who loses track of emails in my inbox and then, when I do find them, am so mortified to find how much time has elapsed that I simply let them sit there again with a mental note of “Must respond to this… some day!”. Funny how the human brain works… or does not work! Right then, let’s tackle some messages from 2022.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">SPIES – Harm Knol Bruins</h3> <p>I had written a couple of posts on Harm Knol Bruins a few years ago. He had popped onto my radar after reading Guy Liddell’s diaries. A spy who was caught with a radio transmitter AND a cypher? Who had apparently transmitted weather reports to the Germans? How did he manage to escape execution? And why was his wife executed while he escaped with his life?</p> <p>After the first Bruins blog, Ivar, a Dutch reader, reached out to me. It turns out that Bruins’ second wife was Ivar’s father-in-law’s aunt. So Ivar’s Great Aunt-in-Law, if my calculations are correct. Ivar started out researching Anna (the second wife of Bruins) and then naturally included Bruins. Like me, Ivar wondered why Anna had been killed and Bruins had been shipped off to Camp 020 and then warehoused at Camp 001 for the duration of the war.</p> <p>In late 2022, Ivar sent me another email with a very detailed genealogical report on Bruins, as well as a mini-family tree. He also included a copy of the cypher that was found on Bruins and instructions on how to use it. Ivar has also learned that the French archives in Caen have a file on Anna but one needs to visit the archives in-person in order to access the material. Pity.</p> <p>I’ve recently had several emails from Ivar with a number of fascinating updates on the case, including photographs of Harm Knol Bruins AND his second wife Anna. Ivar also managed to get a copy of some key documents from the French archives. I’ll have to do a full update on the case later, once I’ve had a chance to review everything.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">INTERROGATORS – Robin William George Stephens</h3> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">British Red Cross in Ethiopia</h4> <p>Speaking of Camp 020… I had an email from a regular reader of this blog, Giles, in <em>**cough**</em> early 2022. Giles is as fascinated with Robin W.G. Stephens as I am. He had a few helpful thoughts…</p> <p>Giles thinks it’s likely that Stephens segued into the British intelligence services after his “retirement” from the Indian Army. He washed up on the shores of England in early 1930 and swiftly declared bankruptcy, followed a few years later by a divorce from his first wife. Giles also noted that: </p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Being second in command of the British Red Cross team afforded Stephens access to a wide array of people in the Ethiopian government as well as the “foreign milieu” that resided in Ethiopia at the time. His access likely included the Emperor himself… Given Stephens flamboyant persona it is odd that, during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, we do not see more news reports of the time mentioning him.</p> <p>I heartily concur with this assessment of Stephens’ time in Ethiopia. Even if he wasn’t formally recruited into the intelligence services by this point, it would seem likely that he was at least “encouraged” to be their eyes and ears.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Steeplechase Runner at Dulwich College</h4> <p>I received an email from Zeb M., another reader of this blog in mid-2022. Zeb had purchased a medal that Stephens had won in Steeplechase in 1917, when he attended Dulwich College. Zeb sent me a couple of nice photos of the medal against the backdrop of an Old Alleynian tie (Dulwich College alumni association).</p> <figure class="wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" data-id="6638" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-1-768x1024.jpeg" alt="Dulwich College Medal ca. 1917 - Awarded to Robin William George Stephens for Steeplechase (front)" class="wp-image-6638" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-1-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-1.jpeg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dulwich College Medal ca. 1917 – Awarded to Robin William George Stephens for Steeplechase (front)</figcaption></figure> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="768" height="1024" data-id="6639" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-2-768x1024.jpeg" alt="Dulwich College Medal ca. 1917 - Awarded to Robin William George Stephens for Steeplechase (front)" class="wp-image-6639" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-2-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-2-225x300.jpeg 225w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-2-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stephens-medal-2.jpeg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dulwich College Medal ca. 1917 – Awarded to Robin William George Stephens for Steeplechase (front)</figcaption></figure> </figure> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">FRAUDSTERS – Johannes (Hans) Wolpe & Beatrice Engers</h3> <p>I had an email last month from Howard E., a Canadian scientist working in Switzerland. He had come across my posts on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/11/the-tarnished-career-of-johann-hans.html">Hans Wolpe</a> and <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2021/01/from-mailbox_29.html">Beatrice Engers</a> while researching his family history. It always pleases me when random people find my blogs useful. And it fascinates me to see how all of our stories are interwoven together.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">ATTORNEYS – Eric Vincent Ewart White</h3> <p>I received a similar email last month from Will R. whose great uncle (brother of Will’s grandmother) was<a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2015/05/eve-white-attorney-for-defence-court.html"> Eric V.E. White</a>. White had served as defence attorney for Josef Jakobs during his court martial. Will had gone on a tour of the Tower of London and had a vague recollection that the Jakobs and White family stories were intertwined. Indeed they are. We are all probably far more interconnected than we think!</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024.html">From the Mailbox: Spies, Interrogators, Fraudsters and Attorneys – November 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/from-the-mailbox-spies-interrogators-fraudsters-and-attorneys-november-2024.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6637</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Haunted By History: Interview with Lily Knips’ Granddaughter</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 07 Nov 2024 08:41:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Denk mal am Ort]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jewish]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jewish refugees]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jacobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jakobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lily Katz]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lily Knips]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lily Sauer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[london]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lothar Sauer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sylvia Paskin]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6498</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Lily Knips, as many of you know, was a German Jewess who lived in Berlin prior to the Second World War. Her second husband, a non-Jew, had passed away earlier in the 1930s and she was alone in the city. Her only child, Lothar Sauer, had gone to England in the mid-1930s to study and […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter.html">Haunted By History: Interview with Lily Knips’ Granddaughter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-frau.html">Lily Knips</a>, as many of you know, was a German Jewess who lived in Berlin prior to the Second World War. Her second husband, a non-Jew, had passed away earlier in the 1930s and she was alone in the city. Her only child, Lothar Sauer, had gone to England in the mid-1930s to study and work as an accountant.</p> <p>In the late 1930s, Lily, like so many other German Jews, became increasingly desperate to escape Nazi Germany. She became acquainted with Josef Jakobs who, at that time, was working for Aryan lawyer <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Jürgen Ziebell</a>. It was Ziebell who told Lily that, for a fee, she could buy a legit Finnish passport and easily escape Germany. The “fee” was, of course, not insignificant.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="531" height="738" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lily-Knips0001.jpg" alt="Lily Knips ca 1940 – UK identification papers (National Archives – KV 2/24)" class="wp-image-6614" style="width:245px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lily-Knips0001.jpg 531w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Lily-Knips0001-216x300.jpg 216w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lily Knips ca 1940 – UK identification papers (National Archives – KV 2/24)</figcaption></figure> <p>This <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/overivew-of-black-market-passport.html">black market passport scheme</a> had been started by <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-hans-blum.html">Hans Blum</a> and later passed on to Ziebell. Fortunately, Lily had a savvy head on her shoulders. It all sounded a bit shifty to her and she demurred on having any further dealings with Ziebell. It does seem, however, that she maintained contact with Josef. A few months later, in October 1938, Ziebell’s entire operation (and many of his passport clients) were rounded up by the German authorities. As for Lily, her son managed to held her escape to England in April 1939.</p> <p>When Josef was captured in January 1941, near the village of Ramsey in Huntingdonshire, he gave his captors Lily’s name and address. Had he landed undetected, he likely would have tried to reach her in London, perhaps hoping that she could offer him shelter and help hi escape to the USA. Luckily for Lily, his broken ankle prevented him from dragging her down with him. Lily was still questioned by the police and MI5 officers. What did she know about Josef Jakobs? Who was this man? While she was eventually cleared of any nefarious connections or intentions, she also learned that Josef had been captured and, in August 1941, she learned of his execution. The following year, Lily’s father died in Hannover and her sister, Elsa, boarded an Ost Transport to Sobibor where she was ultimately murdered. For Lily, all of this was too much and she took her own life in January 1943.</p> <p>I became acquainted with Lily’s granddaughter, Sylvia Paskin, several years ago and we have stayed in touch ever since. Sylvia gave a touching interview to <a href="https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/i-feel-haunted-by-my-grandmother-ive-always-wanted-to-make-sense-of-what-happened-in-the-shoah-gbvmq1kb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Jewish Chronicle in January of 2024</a>. Part of the interview focused on Sylvia’s participation in a unique project in Germany known as <a href="https://denkmalamort.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Denk Mal am Ort</a>. This initiative believes that every house has a story to tell and the brings to life the stories of those persecuted by the Nazis, in the actual places where they lived. Sylvia told Lily and Elsa’s stories in May 2019. Part of her story is available <a href="https://denkmalamort.de/en/stories/sisters-lily-elsa-katz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">via this link</a>. The full story can be read in English (and German) on the 8 March, 2019, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/denkmalamort/posts/604528856641275" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post on the Denk Mal am Ort Facebook page</a>.</p> <p>I appreciate the play on words in the project’s name. Denkmal (one word) means Memorial, so on the one hand, as you say the phrase, it could mean “Memorial on site”. But split into two words (Denk mal), it means “Think about the site/place”. It’s brilliant.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-1024x1024.jpg" alt="Denk Mal am Ort logo - from their Facebook Page" class="wp-image-6616" style="width:262px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/denk-mal-am-ort-logo-2.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Denk Mal am Ort logo – from their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/denkmalamort?locale=de_DE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Facebook Page</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Perhaps one day, I will go to Berlin and tell the story of Josef’s uncle-in-law, <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2020/09/the-jewish-in-laws-of-josef-jakobs-2.html">Gustav Goldemann</a> who perished in the Holocaust. Or maybe that of my father’s childhood friend, <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2020/08/the-jewish-boy-who-escaped-nazis.html">Gerhard Drucker</a> and his family. There are so many people; so many houses and apartments with stories to tell.</p> <p>I empathize with Sylvia’s desire to make sense of what happened during the Shoah. As I’ve researched Josef’s life, and his association with Ziebell, I am left with so many questions. Why did this happen? How could this have happened? How can we make sure it never happens again. I firmly believe that these stories need to be told, and retold, so that we never forget. So it never happens again.</p> <p></p> <p>Header Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/ronporter-291009/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=540526">Ron Porter</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=540526">Pixabay</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter.html">Haunted By History: Interview with Lily Knips’ Granddaughter</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/11/haunted-by-history-interview-with-lily-knips-granddaughter.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6498</post-id> </item> <item> <title>The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 5: Virtually Invisible Female Relations</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2024 07:37:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Berlin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Chelmno]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cuba]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ernst Loewe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gustav Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harold Van Riper]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Helene Doubrousky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Helene Van Riper]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Holocaust]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ida Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ida Grausmann]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ilsa Charette]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ilsa Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ilse Charette]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ilse Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jews]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Johanna Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jacobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jakobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Marcus vs Dufour]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Olga Dufour]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Olga Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sunquam elementary school]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6483</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>N.B. This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on Ely Goldsmith. Links to earlier articles are at the bottom of this post. Introduction We’ve learned a lot about Ely Goldsmith over the last four blog posts. He left a very large footprint in the court records and press. But what of his family? His […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 5: Virtually Invisible Female Relations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p><em>N.B. This is Part 5 of a 5-part series on Ely Goldsmith. Links to earlier articles are at the bottom of this post.</em></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Introduction</h3> <p>We’ve learned a lot about Ely Goldsmith over the last four blog posts. He left a very large footprint in the court records and press. But what of his family? His wife, daughter and granddaughters? What became of his parents and sister in Nazi Germany? It is a mixed story. But before we get to that, let’s see what became of Ely in the latter years of his life.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">One Last Hurrah: Ely Fades from View</h3> <p>Ely was sent to prison in 1939 for a sentence of seven years. Given what comes next, we can presume that he was released early, likely in 1944, perhaps for good behaviour or perhaps because the parole board decided that he deserved to be paroled.</p> <p>On 4 January, 1945, Ely appeared in person before the New York Supreme Court. He had visited the New York public records office and had demanded to inspect the marriage record index, since it was a “public record”. The records clerk had told him that he needed to pay a fee and Ely had balked at this. The court, of course, agreed with the records office, particularly as Ely apparently wanted to access the index “for the purpose of obtaining information to enable him to institute an action at law”. His case was rejected. He had failed again. Courts 22 (?), Ely 2.</p> <p>Perhaps this last case finally broke Ely. We find no further trace of him in the legal case files, nor in the newspapers. We next learn that, on 15 March, 1950, Ely passed away at the age of 69. His obituary in the New York Times on 16 March, was brief, as obituaries were back then:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">GOLDSMITH–Herman, beloved husband of Ida and devoted father of Amy Furmansky and loving grandfather of Olga and Ilsa. Services today at 10 A.M., “The Riverside,” 76th St. and Amsterdam Ave.</p> <p>Beloved husband? Devoted father? Loving grandfather? Those would all seem to be serious stretches of the truth. Or Ida simply did not believe in speaking ill of the dead. Or perhaps it was true. Perhaps at home Ely was a completely different person.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The Unhappy Lives of Convict Wives</h3> <p>Despite all of the material on Ely, we have learned very little about his wife and daughter. Women generally did not appear in newspapers of the time unless they were famous or infamous. The fact that we find very little on Ida and Amy is a good thing. The same can’t be said for Harold Van Riper’s wife.</p> <p>Harold Van Riper, one of Ely’s associates, had been sent to the Atlanta federal penitentiary in 1932 for three years. His wife at the time, Helene, found that she could not cope with his disgrace. According to a 9 September, 1932, article in the <em>Washington Herald</em>:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>MRS. VAN RIPER DRAINS IODINE IN GOTHAM TAXI</strong><br />NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (U.S.). Mrs. Helene Van Riper, 26, beautiful wife of Harold Van Riper, immigration lawyer recently sent to Atlanta for three years for complicity in an alien smuggling ring, attempted to take her life here today.<br />Despondent at the loss of happiness she had found in her marriage after a life of sorrow in Russia, she drained the contents of a bottle of iodine while driving in a taxicab on Fifth Avenue.<br />Emetics administered at the Reception Hospital saved her life, and she was transferred to the psychopathic ward at Bellevue Hospital.<br />In the cab police found a large envelope containing a picture of her with her husband, handsomely clad in evening attire. The envelope was addressed to Van Riper in Atlanta.<br />On the back of the picture she had written this note, partly incoherent and partly illegible:</p> <p style="padding-left: 80px;">“Dear Harold:<br />I won’t be no ore, but why I have to be punished so much for no reason—. I wish you all the happiness in the world. I know now you will be very happy. I am tired of this kind of life. I left everything in condition. I have nothing. I sent to deposit $120 in Washington, D.C., to cover the (illegible) case. Have all your cases in good shape. Helene.”</p> <p>There is no word about what became of Mrs. Van Riper. Harold, after his release from prison in 1934, had to serve five years probation, although he did launch several appeals and counter appeals, all of which failed. On 13 May, 1938, his probation was revoked (he must have been suspected of something) but was later reinstated upon appeal. And finally, on 1 April, 1939, his term of probation expired, but he was not free and clear. On 8 May, 1939, he was re-arrested and charged with violating probation. His sentence was suspended and probation was reinstated for another five years. He appealed this decision but, again, failed. At least he didn’t end up in jail like Ely! In 1940 and 1950, Harold Van Riper was living with his “wife” Irma, a native-born American. Was this just another name for Helene? No. Harold had married Helene Doubrousky (a Russia immigrant) in 1924 in New York, so either Harold got a divorce from Helene, or she passed away (no record of that) or… she was locked up indefinitely in a psych ward after her suicide attempt and Harold was simply a bigamist.</p> <p>Ida would appear to be made of sterner stuff than Helene, although her life could not have been easy with her husband in and out of workhouses and prisons. His many schemes may have brought in a lot of money, so perhaps she was content with a sumptuous home and time to dote on her two granddaughters. Ida passed away three years after Ely, on 9 October, 1953. Her obituary mentioned her daughter Amy, and her two granddaughters Olga and Ilse.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Ely’s Daughter & Granddaughters</h3> <p>As noted earlier, Amy had married Harold Furmansky, a musician, in 1932. The couple had two children, Olga, born 1933, and Ilse, born 1937. Amy was a fairly well-known singer in her early years, but disappears from view after her marriage to Furmansky. She did live a long life, passing away in 2003 at the age of 94. While we might not know much about Amy, the same cannot be said about her daughters.</p> <p>Amy’s youngest daughter, Ilse (or Ilsa), married Arthur Haaker in 1958. The couple had several children and Ilse became a teacher. She remarried twice, to a Charette and then to a Weinstein (or Winston). In 1991, her name was in the news after a tragic accident at Sunquam Elementary School on Long Island, where Ilse was working as school principal. A fourth grade girl had been crushed by a folding door in the gymnasium and was taken off life-support in the local hospital several days later. Apparently the gym teacher and propped a piece of wood against the door’s “close” button so that the door would close while he went to supervise the boys in their locker room. The unfortunate girl tried to squeeze between the door and the gym wall and was caught by the neck. The door did not have an auto-stop or auto-retract feature and the motor burnt out as it continually tried to close. Rescuers took almost 20 minutes to extract her, stymied by the jammed door and its useless motor. Criminal charges against the gym teacher were considered but the police later said it was considered an accident. Four days after the accident, the school boarded voted to close the school, supposedly for financial reasons, although parents questioned that decision. Ilse passed away four years later in 1995.</p> <p>Amy’s oldest daughter, Olga, married Jacques Claude DuFour in 1954 and the couple had several children. Olga was an English teacher and her <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsday/name/olga-dufour-obituary?id=5208187" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2016 obituary</a> notes that she was “revered for her innovative teaching”. She also seems to have been a savvy businesswoman with her own interior design company. The obituary makes no mention of nieces or nephews (children of her sister) but she may have been estranged from them. Believe it or not, Olga ended up in court in 2011. Apparently a distant cousin had applied to the Austrian government for Nazi-era reparations (this would be via the Marcus family – on Ely’s maternal side). The cousin and his brothers were awarded a sum of money but Olga was awarded much more. The case ended up in court because Olga’s nieces and nephews (Ilse’s children), claimed that half of Olga’s amount should be awarded to them (<a href="https://casetext.com/case/marcus-v-dufour">CaseText 2011 07 08</a>). The problem lay with the fact that the reparations had been applied for after Amy had died, but were considered to be part of her estate. Since Ilse had passed away in 1995, before Amy’s death, Ilse (and her children) were not considered beneficiaries of Amy’s estate. Ultimately, the court sided with Olga. She was able to keep her entire share of the reparations and did not need to divide it with Ilse’s children. The nieces and nephews launched an appeal a month later, the results of which are unknown.</p> <p>It’s rather sad to learn that Ely’s grandchildren and greatgrandchildren ended up in court, squabbling amongst themselves over money. But, in some ways, it doesn’t surprise me. Something of Ely’s fight against injustice must have been passed down the generations.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Caught in a Trap: The Final Goldschmidt Woman</h2> <p>Through all of this, you may be wondering… what became of Ely’s parents and sister? Ely had emigrated to the USA in 1903, leaving them behind in Germany. As he “helped” German-Jewish refugees secure entry into the United States in the 1930s, what happened to his family?</p> <p>As we know from Ely’s 1920 visit to Berlin, his parents were both still alive, and his sister, Johanna, had married Ernst Loewe (1909). Ely’s mother, Margarete (neé Marcus) passed away on 18 April, 1928, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf at her residence, Nachodstrasse 15. She was 73 years old and the death informant was Ernst Loewe, her son-in-law.</p> <p>As the 1930s dawned (and Ely was in and out of prison), the National Socialist Party came to power in Germany. The year 1933 marked a turning point for Jews in Germany, as their rights were slowly stripped away by successive pieces of legislation. Johanna’s husband, Ernst, passed away on 17 November, 1934, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf at his residence. Four years later, Ely’s father, Gustav, passed away on 1 December, 1938, at the Jewish hospital at Iranische Strasse 2. He died of an intestinal obstruction and heart failure.</p> <p>And so, we are left with Ely’s sister, Johanna. There is no evidence that she and Ernst ever had any children, although it is always possible. What became of Johanna? Did Ely manage to extract her from the horrors of Nazi Germany? Did he get his Berlin contact, <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Jürgen Ziebell</a>, to secure her a Cuban passport. No. He did not.</p> <p>On 17 May, 1939, Johanna was living on her own at Schweidnitzer Strasse 7, in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Whether she was still practicing her profession as a teacher is unknown. If she was, she would have been teaching Jewish children only. By 1941, she had moved to Bier Strasse.</p> <p>On 27 October, 1941, she was likely forced to go to the synagogue on Levetzowstrasse, the muster point for transports to the east. This was the same synagogue from whence Josef’s uncle-in-law, <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2020/09/the-jewish-in-laws-of-josef-jakobs-2.html">Gustav Goldemann</a> would be deported a few months later in January 1942. It could not have been comfortable in the synagogue but Johanna would only spend a couple of nights there. On 29 October, 1941, at the age of 55, she, and over 900 other Jews, boarded the Ost (East) Transport to the Jewish ghetto in Łódź. Less than six months later, on 4 May, 1942, Johanna was sent to the extermination camp at Chelmno, 30 miles northwest of Łódź. Chelmno was the first stationary facility to use poison gas for the mass murder of Jews. Her exact date of death is unknown.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h3> <p>When did Ely learn that his sister had perished in the Holocaust? After she was deported from Berlin? After she was murdered in Chelmno? Or was it several years after the war as news of the atrocities was revealed for all to see? I would hope that this news stopped Ely in his tracks and made him reflect on his life. For all of his expertise and experience with immigration procedures, he had failed to help his own sister escape the Nazi horrors. Maybe it was this news that took the wind out of Ely’s legal sails.</p> <p>I can’t say, having become very familiar with Ely over the last few months, that I respect the man. He was a scammer and a fraudster. He was out to make as much money as possible. It didn’t matter who got dragged through the mire. It didn’t matter who got into trouble because of him. He reminds me very much of <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Jürgen Ziebell</a>, taking advantage of desperate people.</p> <p>Ely also reminds me of my own grandfather, Josef Jakobs, who also tried all sorts of fraudulent schemes in the 1930s – everything from gold counterfeiting to an import/export scheme. One could argue that these were “victimless” crimes, except for the jewelers who purchased his fake gold. But then… Josef got involved in Ziebell’s <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/overivew-of-black-market-passport.html">black market passport scheme</a>. Not a victimless crime. There are many aspects of Josef that I don’t respect either. And yet, Josef got his reckoning in British prisons and interrogation centres. I’m not sure that Ely ever faced the reality of what he had done. Perhaps, if/when he got news of his sister. Perhaps.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">H.Ely Goldsmith Blog Series</h3> <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">Part 1 can be accessed here – 3 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">Part 2 can be accessed here – 10 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">Part 3 can be accessed here – 17 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">Part 4 can be accessed here – 24 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">Part 5 can be accessed here – 31 October, 2024</a></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p>YadVashem – notes Johanna (neé Goldschmidt) Loewe’s Ost Transport – <a href="https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/deportations/5092749">Transport 3 from Berlin to Łódź Ghetto on 29/10/1941</a><br>CaseText legal case – 2011 07 06 – <a href="https://casetext.com/case/marcus-v-dufour" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Marcus vs. Dufour</a></p> <p></p> <p>Header Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/randomwinner-2195628/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6819539">Guy Percival</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6819539">Pixabay</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 5: Virtually Invisible Female Relations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6483</post-id> </item> <item> <title>The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 4 – The Cuban Connection</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 24 Oct 2024 07:17:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[atlanta federal penitentiary]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cuba]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harold Van Riper]]></category> <category><![CDATA[havana]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration fraud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pre-examination]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6565</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>NB. This is Part 4 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Links to other articles are at the bottom of this post. Introduction As the 1930s dawned, we find Ely in and out of prison. Released from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, he was immediately taken into custody for financial fraud. He did […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 4 – The Cuban Connection</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>NB. This is Part 4 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Links to other articles are at the bottom of this post.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Introduction</h3> <p>As the 1930s dawned, we find Ely in and out of prison. Released from the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, he was immediately taken into custody for financial fraud. He did manage to attend his daughter’s wedding in 1933, but by the time his granddaughter was born nine months later, Ely was in the Lewisburg federal penitentiary for selling fraudulent beer licenses and impersonating a federal agent. Would he ever learn his lesson? One would hope so and yet, sad to say, one would be disappointed. Ely seemed unable to keep his schemes on the legal side of the law. No matter what he did, he always strayed over the line. Perhaps the grass was greener on the illegal side of the fence? Certainly he could make way more money via illegal means!</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Dabbling in Immigration Matters (Again)</h3> <p>We can presume that Ely was released from the Lewisburg federal penitentiary in mid- to late-1934. He then appears to have kept his head down, and resurfaces on 31 October, 1935, when he attempted to enter Canada at the LaColle border crossing from Vermont, near Lake Champlain. Ely gave his occupation as “briefwriter”, someone who drafts concise, persuasive documents for legal cases. This is an interesting development and suggests that perhaps he landed on his feet. Perhaps he had found a legit job? Well, this is Ely we are talking about. As we shall see, Ely had simply connected with some accomplices to assist him in his latest variation of immigration fraud. As he tried to drive into Canada, he gave his destination as the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal. His nearest relative in the US was his wife, Ida Goldsmith, residing at 140-West 69th Street, New York. Ely was entering Canada with $8, which is a rather paltry sum (about $200 today) and ultimately, his entry was rejected.</p> <p>A German-Jewish couple was also rejected on the same day, at the same border crossing. Arthur and Margarete Traube were from Long Island, New York. Arthur was 57 and his wife was 33. According to the border crossing information, Arthur, born in Berlin, was a US citizen and Margarete, born in Hungary, was not. Arthur was a chemist and the couple’s destination in Canada was the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, the same destination that Ely had given. Arthur had $200 (about $4500 today) and Margarete had $0 in her possession.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="643" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933-1024x643.jpg" alt="Lacolle QC Canadian Border crossing ca 1933. This is the place where Ely and the Traube couple sought to cross into Canada. (from Wikipedia)" class="wp-image-6589" style="width:496px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933-1024x643.jpg 1024w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933-300x188.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933-768x483.jpg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Lacolle_223_border_station_1933.jpg 1571w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lacolle QC Canadian Border crossing ca 1933. This is the place where Ely and the Traube couple sought to cross into Canada.<br>(from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lacolle_223_border_station_1933.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikipedia</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>This raising the interesting question… was Ely traveling with these two individuals? If so, what were his intentions? Was he picking up his old trade of helping people immigrate? Why would this be necessary if Arthur was a US citizen? All three were rejected under the same section of whatever Canadian immigration law the border officer used to exclude them. I dove into the records to see what I could find on Arthur and Margarete. It was an enlightening detour.</p> <p>According to a German site’s online bio, Traube received his doctorate in 1901 in Berlin and worked on creating chemical processes to create colour slides and photographs: the diacrome and uvachrome processes. In 1921, the Powers Photo Engraving Company in the US acquired the American rights to the uvachrome process. Traube had formed his own company in Germany, but in the early 1930s, the economic depression and the rise of the National Socialist Party convinced him that his future lay in America, not in Germany. He sold his share of the company and, in June 1933, he and his third wife (Margarete) arrived in New York City aboard the <em>SS Europa</em>, having embarked in Cherbourg, France. Traube gave “Powers Bros.” as his contact in the United States and ended up working in the photochemical section of the Powers Photo Engraving Company. His long-time business partner in Munich, Ludwig Preiss, continued to run the business under the name Kunstverlag Farbenphotographie Preiss & Co, taking photographs for the National Socialists.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="872" height="734" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Traube-Penichon_Uvachrome_2013_2-web.jpg" alt="A photograph of Dr. Arthur Traube using the uvachrome process (From Timeline of Historical Film Colors site)" class="wp-image-6588" style="width:558px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Traube-Penichon_Uvachrome_2013_2-web.jpg 872w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Traube-Penichon_Uvachrome_2013_2-web-300x253.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Traube-Penichon_Uvachrome_2013_2-web-768x646.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 872px) 100vw, 872px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A photograph of Dr. Arthur Traube using the uvachrome process<br>(From <a href="https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1224/">Timeline of Historical Film Colors site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>A couple of months after their failed attempt to cross the Canadian border, on 9 January, 1936, we find Arthur and Margarete Traube arriving in Miami aboard the <em>SS Florida</em>. Arthur and Margarete both gave their nationality as German (neither was a US citizen). Arthur had been born in Berlin and Margarete in Hungary. They gave no contacts in the USA or Germany and acknowledged that they had been staying at 4 Elizabeth St. in Glen Cove, Long Island. They wished to return to Glen Cove and reside permanently in the USA. According to the info above, the Traubes had been in the US since 1933. Perhaps Arthur’s job with the Powers company had given him a business visa which they had overstayed? Perhaps they didn’t know how to legalize their presence in the USA? Whatever the case, Arthur and Margarete were issued quota visas on 6 January, 1936, in Havana. Arthur’s visa was a Non Preferential, Quota Immigrant Visa (#48) and Margarete’s was the same (#277). They gave their last permanent residence as Munich, Germany. This suggests that Arthur and Margarete were indeed illegal aliens in the US.</p> <p>If Arthur and Margarete were illegal aliens, however, why would they run the risk of leaving the USA in the faint hope of being allowed to re-enter again? What we need to know is that in the early 1930s, the USA entered into an agreement with Canada for a Pre-Examination Procedure which could be extended to illegal immigrants to facilitate their legalization. An immigrant in the United States who did not have a visa (i.e. illegal alien) could be “pre-examined” for legal admission by the US authorities. This would presumably be a process whereby the US authorities would assess the individual, their finances and their history in the US. One of the key criteria was assessing if the person had good financial supports in place. The US did not want people who were at risk of becoming a “public charge” (i.e. a welfare case). If the candidates passed muster, then they would be given pre-examination clearance. They could then leave the country as a “voluntary departure” and proceed to the nearest American consul in Canada. Once there, their pre-examination status would allow them to easily obtain a visa for permanent residence in America, and they could then reenter the United States formally as a legal admission.</p> <p>Obviously, the Traubes had tried to do this via the Canadian border and failed. Perhaps Ely was <em>persona non grata</em> with the Canadian immigration authorities. Or perhaps the Canadian authorities discovered that Arthur was NOT a US citizen as he claimed and rejected him on those grounds. With the Canadian door slammed in their faces, Ely pivoted and decided that the American Consulate in Havana, Cuba, was their next best option. And it worked!! Arthur and Margarete had legalized their status in the USA!</p> <p>And suddenly we have the first glimmers of Ely’s new scheme: “helping” illegal aliens and/or German-Jewish refugees immigrate to and/or legalize their status in the United States via another country. He had obviously first tried Canada and, failing that, was now trying the Cuban route. Ely would seize this new venture with both hands!</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Cuba: America’s Back Door</h3> <p>While Ely did not accompany the Traube couple in 1936 from Havana to Florida, he did sail from Bermuda to New York a few months later, on 21 August, 1936, aboard the <em>SS Britannica</em>. He was apparently traveling alone and resided at 27 West 72nd Street in New York. Over the next two years, we find Ely making many trips to and from Cuba, to the point that one could wonder if he had opened a satellite office in Havana. But he had been disbarred from representing clients at immigration hearings, right? How could he possibly assist people if he couldn’t attend the hearings? By this point, we should know that our friend Ely always finds a way.</p> <p>In 1937, Ely appears as an <em>amicus curiae</em> at the US District Court hearing of Harry Hudak. Harry had entered the US illegally from Canada in 1933 and had been deported back to his home country of Poland rather than his desired country of Canada. Ely’s role at the hearing was as <em>amicus curiae</em>, essentially an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. He was essentially appearing as an expert witness. It didn’t make any difference. Harry Hudak’s appeal was rejected.</p> <p>In late 1937, we also find Ely’s name in the immigration and naturalization department’s case file notes. According to these notes, Ely’s name was appearing with regular (and distressing) frequency in the departmental circulars. As we know, he was disbarred from representing clients at immigration hearings, but the circulars contain a long, and every growing, list of names of individuals associated with him.</p> <ul> <li>On 22 July, several names were added (names not listed)</li> <li>On 2 August, the name of Howard Campaigne, attorney, was added</li> <li>On 25 August, Irwin A. Klar and five others were added</li> <li>On 15 September, more names were added (names not listed)</li> </ul> <p>Ely was a popular fellow with the immigration authorities, for all the wrong reasons. One wonders if the immigration authorities noticed Ely’s shift from Canadian arrivals to Havana-Miami arrivals. He had become a frequent traveler on the Cuba-Florida route, arriving in Miami on 23 February, 4 July, and 11 September. Was he accompanying aliens who wanted to legalize their entry into the United States? Perhaps even Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany? The year 1938 is, after all, the time frame during which <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Jürgen Ziebell</a> was running his <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/overivew-of-black-market-passport.html">black market passport scheme in Berlin</a>. And Ely was his Cuban connection. One gets the sense that Ely had found another goose that laid golden eggs.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="835" height="361" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1938-09-15-Special-Delivery-from-Cuba.jpg" alt="1938 Self-addressed envelope for Ely Goldsmith - sent from Havana Cuba to New York City (from Cuban Philatelic site)" class="wp-image-6559" style="width:595px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1938-09-15-Special-Delivery-from-Cuba.jpg 835w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1938-09-15-Special-Delivery-from-Cuba-300x130.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1938-09-15-Special-Delivery-from-Cuba-768x332.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 835px) 100vw, 835px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">1938 Self-addressed envelope for Ely Goldsmith – sent from Havana Cuba to New York City (from <a href="http://www.philat.com/FIL/Collections/Prats/Republic/123501-31_248537_1385041317.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cuban Philatelic site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>In one of my many searches for information on Ely and his Cuban connection, I found a photograph of an envelope on a philatelic site (see above). The envelope has Ely’s New York address printed on the front (not typewritten) and was mailed from Havana. It would seem to indicate several things:</p> <ol> <li>Ely had envelopes printed with this business address on them. Maybe not quite a postage-paid envelope but something similar. This would seem to indicate that he had a need for a large supply of such envelopes. One doesn’t get letterhead or self-addressed envelopes printed unless one has a need for a large number of such documents.</li> <li>Ely had clients, or business associates in Cuba who would use such envelopes.</li> <li>Ely had a flourishing business going through Havana!</li> </ol> <p>In this case, the return sender on the envelope was likely a Steinhar or Steinham. It’s hard to see as the last letter has been damaged by tearing. The envelope was sent via Registered Mail and Special Delivery, perhaps accounting for the extra postage added to the envelope.</p> <p>Late in 1938, we find Ely trying a new method of travel. His earlier trips in 1938 had all taken place via ships. He would depart Havana on one day, and arrive in Miami on the following day. All of this took time. On 11 November, 1938, Ely we find Ely arriving in Miami from Cuba via an American seaplane with several other individuals aboard. Seventeen passengers were American citizens, four were Cuban nationals and one was a German, Martha Agnes Stoss, 32 years old. Of the twenty-two passengers, only Martha was held for a BS.I. (Board of Special Inquiry – essentially Secondary Inspection). Ultimately, all passengers, including Martha, were admitted to the USA. Was Martha one of Ely’s clients? Her Alien Arrivals card notes that she was accompanied by her brother-in-law, one of the American citizens on the same flight. Her race was “German” which makes me think she was likely not a Jewish refugee (usually noted as Hebrew), although her arrival through Havana is suspicious. She was admitted for one year. We know that Martha died in Richmond, VA, in 1950 as a naturalized US citizen. She could still be one of Ely’s clients, perhaps an illegal alien who wanted to legalize her status.</p> <p>As we know from the case file notes of the immigration and naturalization department, the authorities were keeping a close eye on Ely, likely taking note of his frequent trips to Havana. They may have wondered… “What is he up to?” In the end, Ely made it far too easy for them to nab him.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Pride goeth before a Fall: Ely’s Stupid Mistake</h3> <p>On April 12 and 13, 1939, a hearing was held before Subcommittee No. 3 of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives. The committee’s topic was rather broad ranging (making it a crime to promote the overthrow of government) but also included making it a requirement to register and fingerprint aliens. The Subcommittee heard from a LOT of individuals who came to offer their point of view. The person we are most interested in was James H. Patten from Washington DC and Belton SC.</p> <p>James represented the State Council of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics (NY and Virginia), the Patriotic American Civic Alliance, the American Citizenship Foundation, and several other organizations. James expounded at length on a variety of topics including providing a list of 34 “moral turpitude alien criminals” who had been admitted to the US under the Department of Labor’s 1934 pre-examination agreement with Canada. He devoted quite a lot of airtime to our friend Ely Goldsmith:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Mr. Patten: I have photostatic copies of some of these cases <em>[entry via Canada]</em> that are very enlightening. They have not been published. For instance, here are copies of letters written to certain aliens, other than non-quota and preference-quota aliens, alien relatives of citizens, for whom visas were granted under pre-examination privilege. The Department of State has testified before the House subcommittee on appropriations, hearings, <em>[dates and page numbers]</em> that it had nothing “in the slightest” to do with any such arrangement as that made in 1934 by the Department of Labor with Canadian immigration officials, whereby aliens unlawfully and illegally here can have their illegal presence in the United States legalized by sending them to Canada. I think, as illustrative of what necessarily flows from any such administrative indulgence of law-breaking or what may be called nonlaw enforcement, there inevitably develops such a racket as the one conducted in New York City by H. Ely Goldsmith. I have the original letters written by the present Commissioner of Immigration to Senator Reynolds, admitting these very abuses which I will be delighted to put in the record if necessary. Here is a racket, it seems to me, that is based entirely upon the Department of Labor’s special Canadian pre-examination arrangement. H. Ely Goldsmith openly advertises in the New York papers, “Immigration visas for sale.” Here is such an advertisement in the <em>Daily Mirror</em> of April 4, 1938, by the Elyton Syndicate, travel agency, Lincoln Building, run by H. Ely Goldsmith. <em>[More on the Elyton Syndicate below.]</em> The man that runs this racket even has access to deportation files in the Department of Labor as a result of legislation and mandamus proceedings brought here in the District of Columbia, and yet he has done time in the Atlanta and in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiaries. At Lewisburg he was USP-1242. The date of the photo I exhibit is October 13, 1934 <em>[probably a picture of Ely at the Lewisburg Penitentiary]</em>. In his circulars, which can be obtained at 60 East Forty-second Street, Lincoln Building–he has several telephones–he says:</p> <p style="padding-left: 80px;">“The services which this office can render fall, of necessity, into two great divisions:<br />1. The legal entry of people illegally in the United States by procuring for them immigration visas from Canada, Mexico, Cuba and other surrounding islands.<br />2. The bringing of persons to the United States as legal immigrants from European countries.<br />In both kinds of cases it is necessary to secure from the American consul immigration visas according to the quota of the country in which the applicant was born. The only thing different is the method of procedure.<br />The cost of this service, considering its importance and the fact that the person will not have to leave the United States for more than a few days is very moderate. A retainer fee is required in each case in the amount of $75, and the balance agreed upon to be paid when the alien receives his visa and is duly admitted for residence in the United States. The service rendered eliminates any necessity for an alien to go abroad, with the loss of often 6 months’ to a year’s time, and the resultant uncertainty. If the services of Mr. Goldsmith—[Patten interrupted himself to add “the jailbird who is not even a lawyer]–are availed of, the alien knows when he is leaving that he will be back within a few days as a legal resident of the United States.”<br /><em>[Patten interrupts his reading of Ely’s circular to say that Goldsmith tells people how to bring aliens into the US as legal immigrants from European countries]</em><br />“It is impossible to state here all the elements which may enter into a consideration of this question <em>[presumably bringing immigrants from Europe].</em> Mr. Goldsmith’s business is to coordinate the evidence in such a way as to aid the consul to make up his mind that the person on whose behalf the requisition is made will not become a public charge. For cases of that nature a retainer fee of $50 is required; an additional fee at the time the alien is granted his visa and has been legally admitted.”</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>[Patten continues his diatribe…]</em> With such circulars, Goldsmith even hands out a list of satisfied patrons, a list of immigration visas “procured” during the last few months, a whole page of names, with their complete addresses. At the bottom of this page of names is the explanatory note that: “The foregoing are names of persons for whom immigration visas were procured since about January 1, 1937,” or within the previous 10 months. “You are welcome to inquire of any of them as to the success of my services,” the advertisement concludes.</p> <p>Several days later, from April 20-24, 1939, a series of Joint Hearings were held before the Subcommittee of the Committee of Immigration and Naturalization from both the US Senate and the House of Representatives. They were discussing a resolution to authorize the admittance into the US of a limited number of German refugee children, presumably German-Jewish children. The Joint Hearings heard from a number of individuals, including our new friend, James H. Patten. James presented much the same evidence as at the earlier hearing. He admitted that the “real trouble maybe is that this is too much of a hobby with me”. Certainly Patten had a lot of free time on his hands and was a bit of an amateur sleuth and crusader! His comment about Ely being at the heart of the Elyton Syndicate is interesting and with a bit of sleuthing, I managed to track down a couple of references to it.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Elyton Syndicate</h3> <p>Patten called the Elyton Syndicate a travel agency which isn’t quite accurate. I found it on a list of newspaper syndicates where it offered “legal and semi-legal features”. Ely apparently took his business so seriously that he had his own publishing syndicate. A Hebrew language New York newspaper, <em>The Forward (Forverts)</em>, actually contains a 1936 advertisement for Ely’s business in the classified section.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="430" height="170" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1936-Hebrew-Newspaper-Forward-02.jpg" alt="The Forward (Forverts) - Hebrew language newspaper in New York - 1936 Oct 11 - page 19 - column 5 - about halfway down - second ad below the classified section title "Business Directory"" class="wp-image-6561" style="width:498px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1936-Hebrew-Newspaper-Forward-02.jpg 430w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1936-Hebrew-Newspaper-Forward-02-300x119.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><a href="https://www.nli.org.il/ar/newspapers/frw/1936/10/11/01/page/19?&"><em>The Forward</em></a> (Forverts) – Hebrew language newspaper in New York – 1936 Oct 11 – page 19 – column 5 – about halfway down – second ad below the classified section title “Business Directory”</figcaption></figure> <p>It is written in Hebrew which is difficult to translate online. With the help of Google Translate and the <a href="https://doitinhebrew.com/Translate/default.aspx?kb=IL%20Hebrew%20Phonetic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Do It In Hebrew</a> site, we can figure out the overall gist of the ad:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>Right Now! Naturalization Opportunities for rich European relatives to become proud immigrants.</em></p> <p>Running ads in Hebrew-language papers may have let Ely operate under the radar of the immigration and naturalization authorities, but clearly Patten had heard about the Elyton Syndicate from somewhere. He had done his research and may even have visited Ely’s offices to pick up one of the circulars that he quoted during the hearing. Whatever, the case, it would appear that either Patten’s words had been passed along to the relevant authorities, or others already had Ely in their sights. On 6 May, 1939, the <em>Berwick Enterprise</em> newspaper ran this article:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>IMMIGRATION SPECIALIST ACCUSED OF EXTORTION</strong><br />New York, May 6 (LP)–H. Ely Goldsmith of New York, described as an “immigration specialist” was accused of extorting money from aliens on the promise he could maintain residence for them in the United States, according to an indictment opened today in federal court.<br />The indictment, opened in the court of Federal Judge John C. Knox, contained 22 counts and specifically charging that he obtained nine separate false affidavits showing that a number of aliens were financially able to maintain residence here. Most of his clients were from Cuba and Venezuela, according to the indictment. (<em>Berwick Enterprise</em>, May 6, 1939 – page 3)</p> <p>The <em>New York Times</em> reported the indictment as well, and noted that Ely had spent two years in jail for fraud. According to the United States Attorney John T. Cahill, Goldsmith “was very diligent” in his search for illegal aliens residing in the US and had even sent a business card to Francis G. Caffey, the federal judge who had sentenced him in 1929 to two years in prison.</p> <p>Oops.</p> <p>That was a BIG mistake on Ely’s part… or on the part of his secretary… or his business associate. As we learned in the last post, Caffey had accurately assessed Ely as a “public menace” in 1929. Ely had NOT made a favourable impression on Caffey and when Ely’s business card landed on Caffey’s desk, we can only imagine the venerable justice’s shock. A quick phone call to his contacts and… the net around Ely tightened.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="785" height="1024" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-785x1024.png" alt="Federal Justice Francis Gordon Caffey ca 1930s - from Ancestry" class="wp-image-6571" style="width:324px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-785x1024.png 785w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-230x300.png 230w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-768x1001.png 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-1178x1536.png 1178w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1-1571x2048.png 1571w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Francis-G-Caffey-from-Ancestry-1.png 1735w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 785px) 100vw, 785px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Federal Justice Francis Gordon Caffey ca 1930s – from <a href="https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/person/tree/157641749/person/112073167005/facts">Ancestry</a></figcaption></figure> <p>According to the <em>NYT</em>, Ely’s operations were based on the fact that “under the law an alien who is in the United States illegally may go to another country, apply to the American consul for a visa, and be permitted to re-enter if his application is approved and deportation proceedings have not been begun”. Ely had advertised in foreign language newspapers and on the radio inviting fearful aliens to come to his offices at 60 East 42 Street. The executive assistant to the US Attorney (Fulton) noted that Ely’s offices were “sumptuously furnished”. This is almost identical to what Josef Jakobs said about <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Ziebell’s offices</a> on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, which Josef described as being “luxuriously furnished”.</p> <p>The <em>NYT</em> reported that “If the alien had come from a country that had quota rights and could pay a fee that ranged from $200 to $600 <em>[$4500-$13,000 USD today]</em>, Goldsmith would undertake to help him… Goldsmith was alleged to have advised a man earning $15 a week to obtain a letter saying his salary was $25 a week.” Another newspaper noted that he was accused of falsifying affidavits and letters for American consuls in Havana and Toronto. So, essentially, this is the same business he did with Wolfgang Galiks in 1929. Ely had obviously learned nothing during his time in prison.</p> <p>Ely was arrested Friday, 5 May, 1939 and held on $10,000 bail (about $225,000 USD today). Not only was he arrested, but the authorities began to round up some of his accomplices. On 11 May, 1939, less than a week after Ely was arrested, the <em>Daily News</em> (NY) ran this article:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>VAN RIPER AGAIN IN TOILS OF U.S.</strong><br />Harold Van Riper, a disbarred attorney who was sent to Atlanta Penitentiary for three years in 1932 as a naturalization racketeer, was arrested yesterday on similar charges. United States Attorney John T. Cahill said Van Riper, who lives at 140 E. 46th St., was a business associate of H. Ely Goldsmith, indicted last week after an investigation of his radio-advertised naturalization services. Cahill indicated he would attempt to force Van Riper to serve a 40-year sentence which was suspended at the time of his previous conviction.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Convicted in Alien Fraud</h3> <p>The trial for Ely, who was 58 years old, was set to begin on the morning 31 May, 1939, before Federal Judge John C. Knox. It was, however, postponed to 5 June. While we don’t know what happened during his trial, his subsequent conviction on the evening of 13 June, 1939, was splattered across numerous US and Canadian newspapers. I include the full text of the New York Times article as it is the most thorough:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>‘AGENT’ CONVICTED IN AN ALIEN FRAUD</strong><br /><strong>He is Guilty for Second Time of Helping Deportables to Get Citizenship</strong><br /><strong>SERVED ONE PRISON TERMS</strong><br /><strong>He Returned to Old Swindle After He Got Out–Will be Sentenced Tuesday</strong><br /> H. Ely Goldsmith, who had operated as an “immigration consultant” at 60 East Forty-second Street until his recent indictment, was found guilty last night by a jury in Federal court of using his talents to convert deportable aliens into naturalized citizens. He will be sentenced on Tuesday.<br /> An expert in immigration law, Goldsmith was specifically charged with helping nine aliens to legalize their status by means of false documents which he drew up. The jury found him guilty on fifteen of twenty-two counts of the indictment.<br /> Goldsmith was alleged to have a mailing list of persons who somehow or another smuggled themselves into the United States or entered on false papers. From time to time he added to the list. In June, 1929, Federal Judge Francis G. Caffey sentenced him to Atlanta penitentiary for two years for a similar offense.<br /> Somehow Judge Caffey’s name got on the mailing list after Goldsmith got out of prison and got into business again. The judge received through the mails a copy of Goldsmith’s business card in which he advertised that he handled “all matters relating to naturalization of aliens and legalization of previous illegal entries.”<br /> Government investigators had other intimations that Goldsmith had gone into his old business again and the indictment resulted after a long inquiry. Hugh A. Fulton, executive assistant to United States Attorney John T. Cahill, who prosecuted the case, declared that Goldsmith received from $200 to $600 from each alien whose status was “adjusted”.<br /> Goldsmith was alleged to have helped aliens obtain false documents which attested that they earned substantial salaries and could be relied on to fulfill moral obligations to their families. These papers were sent to consuls abroad. Then the aliens were told to leave the country and re-enter with visas issued in Havana or Toronto. Their entry was thus legalized, the aliens could then go ahead and obtain naturalization.</p> <p>Other newspapers added some extra highlights. Several noted that the maximum penalty would be 150 years behind bars and a $150,000 fine (about $3,400,000 USD today). Others revealed that his racket was so lucrative he kept spacious offices at 42nd Street and lived in a fashionable hotel off Central Park, the Pare <em>[sic]</em> Vendome (340 West 57 St). </p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Parc-Venodome-apartments-where-he-lived-in-1939-1.png" alt="The Parc Venodome at 340 West 57 St in New York City where Ely Goldsmith was living in 1939." class="wp-image-6600" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Parc-Venodome-apartments-where-he-lived-in-1939-1.png 600w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Parc-Venodome-apartments-where-he-lived-in-1939-1-300x200.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Parc Venodome at 340 West 57 St in New York City where Ely Goldsmith was living in 1939.</figcaption></figure> <p>One paper described Ely as a “plump little racketeer”. Another noted that Ely had been a “sore spot to the Department of Labor for twenty years”. One revealed that while Ely had been “twice sent to federal prisons, he once was sentenced to an additional fifty-two days at Lewisburg, Pa., for acting as “legal adviser” to fellow inmates.” That’s a new one! We know that he was sent to Lewisburg for the beer license scam, but we didn’t know that he managed to get time added to his sentence. Impressive.</p> <p>Another newspaper added that he had been a certified public accountant until his certificate was revoked in 1932. I had wondered what had become of his accounting designation. I can’t imagine that the New York society governing accountants would have allowed a convicted felon to remain within their ranks.</p> <p>A later appeal document noted that Ely’s methods “include the procuring of false certificates from supposed employers of the aliens showing that the latter had been steadily and gainfully employed, and of statements from banks showing balances on deposit, built up by the simple process of borrowing the money for the purpose of deposit, and the use of such certificates and statements, as well as statements of the aliens themselves, in making applications for immigration visas.</p> <p> So, essentially, Ely built up a respectable dossier for each client with false, fraudulent or forged documents. This must have been an extremely lucrative business for him, one that he felt was worth the risk. His motivations are, however, a complete mystery. While he was making money hand-over-fist, his sister was facing impending doom in Nazi Germany. Did he make any attempts to save her? Did he use his wealth, influence and connections for an altruistic purpose? We will have to wait until the next blog post to learn what became of his sister.</p> <p>But what became of Ely? Was he sentenced to 150 years in prison? His sentencing hearing was held on Tuesday, 20 June, 1939, and the newspapers reported on it the following day. Ely was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for using false documents to certify the entry of six aliens. The executive assistant to the US Attorney (Fulton) told Federal Judge Goddard that Ely “has a most brazen contempt for the functions of government. During the course of his sordid career he cost the government in excess of $100,000 in prosecutions and investigations.” I can well believe it. Ely was constantly in and out of the US court system, bringing case after case, many of which seemed comical and petty. I’m surprised he didn’t get pegged as a frivolous or vexatious litigant. Ely’s defense team, for their part, suggested that Ely should simply be put on probation. Goddard did not agree. Ely’s crimes had come home to roost and he would not be able to squirm out of this one.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="253" height="400" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Goddard.jpg" alt="Federal Judge Henry W. Goddard (From Digital Commons - New York Law School)" class="wp-image-6579" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Goddard.jpg 253w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Goddard-190x300.jpg 190w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Federal Judge Henry W. Goddard<br>(From <a href="https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/distinguished_judges/5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Digital Commons – New York Law School</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>Ely was once again sent down to Georgia to the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. His name appears on the list of inmates in the 1940 US Census (taken 9 May). Naturally, Ely spent his time in prison busily crafting legal appeals to contest his conviction and sentence. His associate, Harold Van Riper did the same. Their appeals were not successful.</p> <p>On 12 November, 1940, Van Riper’s appeal to the Supreme Court was denied. On 5 May, 1941, Ely’s appeal to the Supreme Court for a rehearing was denied. On 8 February, 1943, the Circuit Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit) denied Ely’s appeal regarding the Parole Board’s decision to deny him parole. On 3 January, 1944, Ely’s appeal to the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus was denied. On 31 January, 1944, Ely’s appeal to the Supreme Court for a rehearing was denied. This denial noted that “applications to individual Justices have been considered by them individually and they are denied”. This would suggest that Ely was now writing and sending his appeals to the individual judges, which is rather odd. Ely was noting if not tenacious, even if he was ultimately unsuccessful. He would kick his heels in prison for the full duration of his sentence.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h3> <p>I honestly don’t know what to make of Ely. Was he simply a stupid man who thought he was far smarter than the authorities? Did he honestly believe that he was being persecuted by the authorities? Did he see himself as a crusader for truth and justice for the “little guy”? Was he just out to make his fortune? Or was he a victim of “small man syndrome”? Did his short stature influence his psychology and behaviours? Did he overcompensate for his diminutive height be seeking to dominate in other ways?</p> <p>And yet, no matter what happened to him, Ely always seemed to land on his feet. No matter what happened to him, he always came up with a new scam or scheme to fleece unsuspecting victims. He was a survivor and always managed to turn lemons into lemonade. He never gave up. He always found a way to make money. Perhaps he had some shred of decency in him, but I am having a hard time finding it.</p> <p>In our next (and final) post on Ely, we’ll see if he learned a lesson from his latest stint in the federal pen. We will also take a look at the women in his life (and Van Riper’s). What became of them, as their men circulated in and out of prison?</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">H.Ely Goldsmith Blog Series</h3> <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">Part 1 can be accessed here – 3 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">Part 2 can be accessed here – 10 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">Part 3 can be accessed here – 17 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">Part 4 can be accessed here – 24 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">Part 5 can be accessed here – 31 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p>There are many legal sites (e.g. CaseText, Case Law, that record Goldsmith’s legal cases). A few are listed below.</p> <p>Ancestry – genealogical documents<br>New York Times – various articles<br>NewspaperArchives site – various articles<br>VLEX Case Law – 1943 02 08 – <a href="https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/goldsmith-v-sanford-no-887169626">Goldsmith v. Sanford, 10467</a><br>CaseText – Appeal – 1940 Jan 8 – <a href="https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-goldsmith-7">United States v. Goldsmith, 108 F.2d 917</a><br>Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association – The Jewish Herald – 1939 Jul 7 – page 5, bottom of page under title “Foundation to Aid Nazi Emigrants” – scan has been cut off – <a href="https://rijha.org/wp-content/uploads/voiceandherald/1939/1939-7-7.pdf">1939-7-7.pdf</a><br>Cuban Philatelic Site – <a href="http://www.philat.com/FIL/Collections/Prats/Republic/123501-31_248537_1385041317.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Envelope dated 1938 from Havana with Ely’s New York address</a><br>Deutsche Biographie – <a href="https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz107362.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bio of Arthur Traube</a><br>George Eastman Museum – <a href="https://archives.eastman.org/agents/people/302" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bio of Arthur Traube</a><br>World Radio History – list of Newspaper Feature, Picture and News Syndicates – includes info for Elyton – page 33 of 211 page pdf – <a href="https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Other-Documments/Ayer-Directory-of-Newspapers/1939/N-W-Ayer-1939-Lists.pdf">N-W-Ayer-1939-Lists.pdf</a><br><em>The Forward (Forverts)</em> – New York – Hebrew language newspaper – 1936 Oct 11 – page 19 – column 5 – about halfway down – second classified below the section title Business Directory – <a href="https://www.nli.org.il/ar/newspapers/frw/1936/10/11/01/page/19?&">https://www.nli.org.il/ar/newspapers/frw/1936/10/11/01/page/19?&</a></p> <p></p> <p>Header Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/falkenpost-1987955/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1638594">Falkenpost</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1638594">Pixabay</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 4 – The Cuban Connection</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6565</post-id> </item> <item> <title>The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 3: Unrepentant Convicted Felon</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 17 Oct 2024 07:35:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[atlanta federal penitentiary]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harold Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Harold Van Riper]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration fraud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[lewisburg federal penitentiary]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category> <category><![CDATA[passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visa fraud]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6481</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>N.B. This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Previous blog post links are at the bottom of this post. Introduction In the previous installment of this series, we witnessed Ely slide from a legitimate, presumably successful accountant to a sketchy, unqualified immigration consultant. Ely also put the American justice system […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 3: Unrepentant Convicted Felon</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>N.B. This is Part 3 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Previous blog post links are at the bottom of this post.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Introduction</h3> <p>In the previous installment of this series, we witnessed Ely slide from a legitimate, presumably successful accountant to a sketchy, unqualified immigration consultant. Ely also put the American justice system through its paces, bringing various (sometimes strange) cases before the state and federal court systems. He was very rarely successful and yet he continued to push against what he obviously perceived as injustices, mostly against his ability to earn money. That seems to be a continuous thread throughout the 1920s. Ely had found his goose that laid golden eggs… people desperate to immigrate to the USA. He promised to “help” them… for a fee of course.</p> <p>As the 1920s began to wane, Ely started to take some short cuts which finally landed him in serious hot water. He had been helping someone detained at Ellis Island and needed an attorney’s signature. He had worked with DC attorney Harold Van Riper before and simply signed the documents with Van Riper’s name. That was a mistake. It would mark the beginning of a decade of mistakes for Ely, ones that that would have significant consequences for him and his family.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Three Months in the Workhouse</h3> <p>On 13 April, 1928, Ely was in the news again. He had been caught the previous November in a trap set by the Bar Association. His crime? He was accused of practicing law without a license.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Bogus Lawyer Jailed</strong><br /><strong>H. Ely Goldsmith Sentenced to Workhouse for Three Months</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"> A sentence of three months in the workhouse was imposed yesterday in Special Session, on H. Ely Goldsmith, 47 years old, a certified public accountant, of 545 West End Avenue, on his conviction by Justices Kelly, Caldwell and Salmon on practicing law without a license.<br /> Goldsmith, who had previously posed as an authority on immigration law, was arrested in his office at 105 West Fortieth Street on Nov. 12 last through a trap set by representatives of the Bar Association when he accepted a $5 fee for drawing up a will. He contended that he did not violate the law, as banks and trust companies, he said, do similar work without being prosecuted. Probation Officer Connors said that Goldsmith earned about $10,000 a year. (14 April 1928 – The <em>New York Times</em>)</p> <p>This story, however, has nothing to do with the Ellis Island case and forging Harry Van Riper’s signature. What became of that? We’re not sure, but it could only have compounded the problem for Ely. Whether Ely actually served his sentence in the workhouse is not clear. Knowing Ely, he would have naturally appealed his sentence through the layers of courts. But this was his first serious conviction, his first “jail” sentence. Would it deter him? Not at all.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Helping Temporary Workers</h3> <p>In August 1928, Ely was before the courts again, this time as an advocate for temporary workers. As we learned in the last post, Ely had tried to help workers who were happy to live in Canada but who wanted to commuted daily to the US (usually Detroit) for work. Probably as a consequence of the tightened immigration laws brought into force in 1924, aliens commuting to the United States for work were no longer classified as temporary visitors. They needed to actually obtain an immigration visa, and that was not an easy thing to do. But Ely clearly thought he could help these workers… or at least use them as guinea pigs to test the mettle of the US border agents and their knowledge of US immigration law.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>TWENTY ALIENS ARE SENT BACK</strong><br />DETROIT – Aug 1–The first attempt in this immigration district to nullify an immigration order classifying all aliens commuting to the United States for work, as immigrants rather than temporary visitors and requiring them to obtain immigration visas was made today.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"> Twenty aliens recruited by H. Ely Goldsmith of Buffalo, N.Y. <em>[he apparently had offices there]</em>, who terms himself an immigration expert, attempted to enter the United States from Canada on the Windsor ferry. They were taken before a special board of inquiry. Goldsmith attempted to obtain a writ of habeus corpus for their release, but it was denied in federal court. The aliens were ordered returned to Canada. <em>(New Castle News, PA)</em></p> <p>Ely had failed in this endeavour, but it wouldn’t stop him. In early October, Ely appears in the case file cards of the immigration and naturalization department. A memo from their office in Montreal to their office in Detroit noted that Ely intended to advise aliens being transported to Montreal for deportation to leave the train in Windsor and institute habeas corpus proceedings. In response to this information, the US immigration authorities had decided to make temporary arrangements to deport aliens from New York on ships instead. The amount of trouble that the immigration authorities went to… all because of Ely Goldsmith. I can only imagine how they must have gritted their teeth every time his name came across their desk.</p> <p>Less than a month later, on 31 October, Ely is in the news again, this time in the <em>Windsor Star</em>, a Canadian newspaper:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>H. Ely Goldsmith is Freed by Court</strong><br /><strong>Unlicensed Employment Agency Charges Dismissed</strong><br /> Lack of evidence prompted Magistrate D.M. Brodie in police court today to dismiss two charges of operating an employment agency without a license against H. Ely Goldsmith of 57 Pitt Street West.<br /> John Papiernik of Remington Park, witness in one of the two cases, and the only one in which testimony was taken, told of a conversation with Goldsmith in which the latter agreed to assist him “across the line” in consideration of his paying Goldsmith $25 down and a further $75 when he got work. He produced a slip of paper, dignified by verbal use of the word “contract” which he said Goldsmith had given him. It proved to be a receipt for the payment of $25 and a promise to pay $75 when he was at work in the United States. There was nothing in the document to suggest that Goldsmith promised him a job or would undertake to get him one.<br /> Questioned by Magistrate Brodie as to how he operated to collect the outstanding amounts in such cases, Goldsmith said he had a number of lawyers in Detroit whom he retained for that purpose and who acted for him when necessary.<br /> Goldsmith who failed to appear when the cases were called was haled into court on a bench warrant issued by the magistrate. (31 October 1928 – <em>Windsor Star</em>)</p> <p>Ely must have been ebullient to win this particular case, although his failure to appear voluntarily does smack of a contemptuous regard for the dignity of the courts.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Another Win for the Little Guy</h3> <p>The following month, in November, 1928, Ely would extend his winning streak when his conviction for illegally practicing law (writing wills for $5) was set aside. As we can see, Ely appealed the original sentence; it just took a while for the process to wend its way through the courts.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>H.E. Goldsmith Goes Free</strong><br /><strong>Sentence for Illegally Practicing Law is Set Aside</strong><br /><strong>Special to the New York Times</strong><br />Albany, Nov. 20.–H. Ely Goldsmith, an accountant of New York City, won a victory in the Court of Appeals today when it dismissed the judgments of the Appellate Division, First Department, and the Court of Special Sessions, which had sentenced him for illegally practicing law.<br /> The court found there was no evidence that Goldsmith had held himself out to the public as entitled to practice law within the meaning of Section 270 of the penal code. Judge John F. O’Brien did not sit in the case. The court wrote no opinion.<br />Goldsmith was visited on Nov. 12, 1927, by an investigator for the New York County Lawyer’s Association, at whose request he drew up a will. The investigator paid him $5.<br /> In the Court of Special Sessions Goldsmith was sentenced to three months in the Workhouse and the Appellate Division affirmed the judgment.<br /> Before the Court of Appeals Horace G. Marks, Goldsmith’s counsel, contended that the sentence was excessive, and if it was an illegal act, it had harmed no one, in which case a suspended sentence would have been sufficient punishment. (21 November, 1928 – The <em>New York Times</em>)</p> <p>The article doesn’t note if Ely actually served some days (weeks) in the workhouse. He had been convicted by the courts and had the sentence confirmed by the Appellate Division. But did that mean he was out on bail while his appeal was being heard? We’re not sure. Still, it should have given Ely pause to reconsider his actions. Or at least, one would think so. It did not. Ely continued to “help” desperate aliens enter the USA, legally or not. The consequences of his actions eventually caught up with him. We hear nothing from Ely for several months, until late June 1929 when he explodes back onto the sheets of the New York newspapers.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Sentenced to the Federal Penitentiary</h3> <p>Ely had been working on behalf of a Polish immigrant, Wolfgang Galiks, who resided in Argentina. Wolfgang, like so many others, wanted to immigrate to the United States. He was engaged to be married and Ely told Wolfgang’s father and fiancé, both of whom were in the US, that he could expedite Wolfgang’s entry into the US, for a fee of course. All it needed was some forged letters from a defunct company (one of Ely’s former accounting clients) and… easy peasy. Except it wasn’t. The immigration authorities thought Wolfgang’s story and/or papers were suspicious and eventually he spilled the beans. The immigration officers likely rolled their eyes when they heard that Ely was involved in the scheme.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Goldsmith in for 2 Years in Atlanta</strong><br /> H. Ely Goldsmith, once convicted for practicing law without license, and now sentenced to two years for preying upon aliens and deceiving the United States Government, can no longer play the role of “benefactor” to American-bound aliens and “immigration consultant”. He was also fined $1000 for the latest offense <em>[about $18,000 in USD today]</em>.<br /> Judge Francis G. Caffey in Federal Court decided that Goldsmith, who is said to have enabled hundreds of aliens to enter the country, often to the consternation of the Department of State, must go to the Federal Penitentiary, Atlanta.<br /> Robert E. Manley, chief assistant United States Attorney, charged that in January, 1928, Goldsmith had mailed a letter to the American Consul in Buenos Ayres <em>[sic]</em> urging that Wolf Galiks, a Pole living in Argentina, be permitted to enter the United States on a business conference as a representative of Consolidated Petroleum Corporation.<br /> The corporation, according to Mr. Manley, was defunct at the time, and the name, “W.S. Harper, treasurer,” had been forged on the firm’s letterhead. Inclosed<em> [sic]</em> in the letter was a check for $200 to pay Galiks expenses to the United States. The money, it was said, had been supplied by Miss Edith Feldman, Galik’s fiancé, and Goldsmith was to have received a large fee if the couple were reunited in Philadelphia.<br /> Galiks, who had been permitted to enter the United States under a temporary vice following Goldsmith’s arrest, testified against him. One of the jurors was so touched by the romance that he expressed the hope that Galiks could marry Miss Feldman and stay in this country.<br /> In pronouncing sentence Judge Caffey described Goldsmith as a “public menace” and said that his age of forty-eight years was the only thing that saved him from a severe penalty. (26 June 1929 – <em>New York Journal</em>)</p> <p>Given that Ely had “helped” many, many aliens, we’re not sure what it was about this particular case that finally gave the immigration authorities the ammunition they needed to shut him down. Perhaps it was the fact that Galiks was willing to testify against Ely? Whatever the circumstances, the authorities had finally secured a serious conviction against our clever little fellow. Ely was going to the federal penitentiary. We should take note of the justice who presided over Ely’s case. Francis Gordon Caffey was a newly minted federal justice with a seat at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. It is possible that Ely’s case was one of the first over which Caffey presided. Perhaps that is why Ely, the “public menace”, would stick so firmly in Caffey’s memory.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="291" height="318" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GALIKS-Wolf-b1901-1931-Naturalization-pic.jpg" alt="Wolfgang Galiks - from his Naturalization document on Ancestry." class="wp-image-6557" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GALIKS-Wolf-b1901-1931-Naturalization-pic.jpg 291w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GALIKS-Wolf-b1901-1931-Naturalization-pic-275x300.jpg 275w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 291px) 100vw, 291px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Wolfgang Galiks – from his Naturalization document on Ancestry.</figcaption></figure> <p>As an aside, for those who, like that juror, are hoping for a happy ending… Galiks and Feldman were married on 20 July 1929 in Farmingdale NJ, but Galiks then had to return to Argentina. He did make it back and became a naturalized US citizen in 1931. He was a grocer later in life and died in 1962. He was one of the lucky ones.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">A Convicted Felon in the Federal Pen</h3> <p>Ely’s immigration scheme with Galiks does not seem that dissimilar from modern immigration fraudsters. Simply forge documents that indicate the person has a legitimate reason to come to the country (e.g. job, conference, studies) and then provide the person with a “loan” so that they appear financially well-off with sufficient funds to support themselves. Nothing much has changed over the decades. In the case of Ely, he was caught and sentenced to two years at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. But this is Ely we are talking about. He was slippery as a snake and had managed to wiggle and petition his way out of other convictions. Did he manage that with this sentence?</p> <p>On 5 May, 1930, Ely’s appeal was heard by the Circuit Court of Appeals (Second Circuit). The court reviewed the facts of the case and we learn a bit more about the scheme that Ely had cooked up. Galiks father, Solomon, who lived in the US, had sought to secure entry for his son. He had been told to get in touch with Ely who could facilitate this. Ely had met with Galiks’ father and Edith (a naturalized US citizen).</p> <p>Galiks was apparently working for a petroleum company in Argentina and therefore Ely forged an offer of employment letter from Consolidated Petroleum, with a proposed wage of $50/week. Galiks was to become their rep in Argentina and was coming to the US for three months to familiarize himself with the business. During the trial, it came out that: (a) the company had ceased operations in 1927, (b) the treasurer who signed the letter never existed, and (c) the company had never operated in Argentina. Ely had apparently done accounting work for the company in 1925/1926 and had managed to pilfer some company letterhead during that time.</p> <p>Ely told Edith and Solomon that he could secure Galiks’ entry for a temporary visit, during which time, Edith and Galiks could marry. This would then “automatically give Galiks permission to stay”. All he would need to do was leave the US temporarily and then return and he would be permitted entry as the spouse of a US citizen.</p> <p>At the appeal, Ely’s lawyer argued that errors had been made in the original trial and questioned using the letter from Consolidated Petroleum as evidence. The Circuit Court of Appeal upheld the original verdict. Ely would remain in prison. But that didn’t mean that he had exhausted all legal avenues. He might not have been an attorney, but he did seem to known his legal rights, and the options open to him.</p> <p>In June 1930, Ely applied to the Supreme Court for <em>certiorari</em> (a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency). Essentially he had applied to have his sentence over-turned. He was arguing that until that review had taken place, he was legally entitled to bail. In October 1930, the justices rejected his appeal for <em>certiorari</em> and another one for <em>mandamus</em>. Ely would stay behind bars.</p> <p>Our clever little fellow was quite adept at tying up the courts, but ultimately all of his appeals fell upon deaf ears. Justice Caffey’s statement that Ely was a “public menace” would follow him around.</p> <p>On 5 December, 1930, the Circuit Court of Appeals (Fifth Circuit) heard an appeal from Ely. According to the court records, after he had served one third of his sentence (8 months), he had applied to the Board of Parole for parole, as was his right under law. The parole board had “arbitrarily” denied his appeal, according to Ely. He was seeking a writ of habeas corpus against the warden of the prison (essentially claiming that he was now being unlawfully imprisoned and that his sentence was void). The justices said that habeas corpus could not be applied in the situation.</p> <p>While Ely was furiously writing up legal briefs in prison, the case file notes from the immigration and naturalization department contains an intriguing note from the Montreal office. One Robert Bayard Atkinson had been convicted for stealing and forging postal money orders. He had received a sentence of five years. His name had been linked with Ely, Harold Van Riper and others. Harold Van Riper keeps turning up in relation to Ely, rather like a bad penny. We will learn more about him in due course.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Freedom is Short-Lived</h3> <p>Finally, on 12 August, 1931, Ely was released from the federal pen in Atlanta. Was his wife there to pick him up? Had his wife and daughter visited him while he was incarcerated? It couldn’t have been easy on them. The stock market crash had taken place and the Great Depression was in full swing. Ely must have heaved a sigh of relief as he heard the prison gates clang shut behind him. Although, had he stayed in prison for a few more months, he would soon have been sharing meals and rubbing shoulders with the notorious Al Capone who was sent to Atlanta in May 1932. What did Ely do after his release from prison? Did he run into the open arms of his wife and turn over a new leaf? Did he seek to follow the straight and narrow? Alas, no. We have an article from the <em>NYT</em> dated 13 August, 1931, which tells a different tale:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>GOLDSMITH OUT, IN AGAIN</strong><br /><strong>Attorney is Rearrested at Atlanta on Mail Fraud Charge</strong><br />ATLANTA, Aug 12 (AP).–H. Ely Goldsmith, a New York attorney, was rearrested by Federal officers today when he left Atlanta Penitentiary after finishing a two-year sentence for forging public records.<br />The new charge was use of the mails to defraud. Bond was set at $2,500.<br />———<br />The rearrest of H. Ely Goldsmith was made at the request of Jacob J. Rosenblum, Assistant United States Attorney, who obtained his indictment last May for alleged mail fraud. Mr. Rosenblum plans to place Goldsmith and six co-defendants on trial in September.<br />The indictment charges that Goldsmith, Louis Pirelli, Felix H. Randis, Diago Viale and, Joseph, Sesto and Luigi Cappa took in some $500,000 worth of stock of the Franklin Plan Corporation <em>[equivalent to over $9,000,000 USD today]</em>, and that, among other misrepresentations, they said that Senator Borah of Idaho had obtained a charter for a national bank which the defendants were to operate. The corporation was organized in 1927 to do a money lending business. (The <em>New York Times</em> – 13 August, 1931)</p> <p>Ely’s re-arrest was unlikely to have been a surprise for him. As noted in the above article, the seven schemers were indicted on 29 May, 1931 by a Federal grand jury according to a 31 May article in the <em>NYT</em>. They did indeed sell $500,000 worth of stock of the Franklin Plan Corporation with offices at 233-239 West 42 Street (which is suspiciously close to Ely’s own offices). It isn’t clear what happened to Ely with these new charges. Was Ely just sent back into the federal pen after a brief period of freedom? Was he allowed out on bail? We aren’t sure.</p> <p>What we do know is that during the 4 week trial for the Franklin Plan fraudsters, the charges against Ely were dropped and he testified for the prosecution. Did he cut a deal? Maybe not. The 15 October edition of the <em>NYT</em> times carried an article about the case which noted:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Mr. Rosenblum [Asst US Attorney] <em>nolle-prossed</em> <em>[<span class="AraNOb">abandon</span> or dismiss (a suit) by <span class="AraNOb">issuing</span> a nolle prosequi]</em> the indictment as it applied to H. Ely Goldsmith, former Controller of the Franklin Plan Corporation, saying he believed Goldsmith had nothing to do with the corporation’s sale of stock. Goldsmith then testified for the government. <em>(The New York Times – 15 October, 1931)</em></p> <p>The Franklin Plan fraudsters were convicted in early November and likely sent to prison for their role. As for Ely, he had dodged a bullet and was a free man. At least for a while.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">A Wedding and a Scam</h2> <p>If we step back, we have to admit that Ely’s luck had long since run out. He was a convicted felon who had served time in the federal penitentiary. His reputation as a solid and honest accountant was in tatters. He was <em>persona non grata</em> with the immigration authorities. They just had to see his name on a document and alarm bells would wring, eliciting a much more thorough and detailed examination of whomever might be carrying the incriminating document. In fact, on 16 March, 1932, he had been disbarred from the privilege of representing clients before immigration board hearings. A later news article notes that it was around this time that he lost his CPA designation, which would have been a serious blow to his business. His career options were slowly shrinking. Accounting and income tax work were out of the question. Immigration work was a dangerous route. One would hope that after his release from the pen, he decided to turn over a new leaf. And, at first, we would be forgiven for believing this to be the case.</p> <p>On 19 September, 1932, Ely experienced a perfectly normal family event. He and his wife celebrated their daughter’s marriage to Harold Furmansky, a fairly well-known musician who performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Harold played the viola and apparently performed in orchestras that accompanied Jazz singer Tony Bennett, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, Perry Como and even Frank Sinatra! Amy Margaret Goldsmith was herself a reputable soprano who appeared in several newspaper concert announcements. Perhaps the engaged couple had waited to tie the knot until Ely was out of prison. For all of his financial and legal troubles, Ely could have been a jovial and caring Papa to his daughter.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="288" height="406" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Amy-Margaret-b1909-Ancestry-Pic-04.jpg" alt="Amy Margaret Goldsmith ca 1930s (From Ancestry)" class="wp-image-6586" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Amy-Margaret-b1909-Ancestry-Pic-04.jpg 288w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Amy-Margaret-b1909-Ancestry-Pic-04-213x300.jpg 213w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Amy Margaret Goldsmith ca 1930s<br>(From <a href="https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/23329286/person/1377139205/facts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>Within a few short months, Harold and Amy announced that they were expecting their first grandchild! Ely was going to be a grandfather! But… and there is always a “but” with Ely… in the nine months it took for Amy and Harold’s first child, Olga, to be born, Ely would be in trouble again. His first grandchild would be born while he was in prison.</p> <p>As we know from earlier posts, Ely was not a huge fan of Prohibition. He was a man who liked a good beer. He must have leapt in jubilation when the 7 April, 1933, edition of New York Times headlines read: “Beer Flows in 19 States at Midnight as City Awaits Legal Brew Today”! Thirteen long years of Prohibition was over and the taps were about to open! Of course, businesses that wanted to sell the beer needed to comply with the new alcohol sales laws. This, of course, gave Ely an idea. On 30 May, 1933, the<em> New York Times</em> ran this article:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>BEER LICENSE RACKET BARED BY MULRONEY</strong><br /><strong>Ex-convict Seized on Charge of Impersonating Federal Officer–Office Raided</strong><br /> Federal agents arrested Herman Eli Goldsmith, 52 years old, self-styled “consultant in Federal and State government procedure,” yesterday afternoon on a charge of impersonating a government officer.<br /> Goldsmith, who served a term in the the workhouse in 1928 for practicing law without a license, and was sent to the Atlanta Penitentiary in 1929 for smuggling aliens into the United States, is alleged to have circularized restaurants offering to obtain beer licenses for them. He also is said to have had ten men soliciting license-getting jobs.<br /> A few days ago, one of Goldsmith’s cards was called to the attention of Chairman Mulroney of the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, who turned it over to Department of Justice agents. Inspector John Manning of the department, accompanied by city detectives, went to 507 Fifth Avenue, where Goldsmith had rented office space, yesterday. Goldsmith was not in. A restaurant proprietor who described himself as August Boka of 1120 Manhattan Avenue, Greenpoint, was there, however, and said he had come to get Goldsmith to obtain a license for him. Besides the usual State charge of $200 for his license, Boka confided, he expected to pay Goldsmith $43.50 for a bond, $5 for a revenue stamp, and $10 for personal services.<br /> Learning that Goldsmith probably was at his home at 203 West Seventy-fourth Street, Manning and the detectives went to that address. <em>[Another article notes that he was arrested at a midtown hotel suggesting that he was living in a residential hotel. With his wife? We don’t know.]</em><br /> There, it is alleged, Manning represented himself as Boka, informed Goldsmith that he had brought the money for a license, and Goldsmith volunteered to obtain it. He was seized and taken to his office where, Manning said, various beer license applications were found, together with internal revenue receipts bearing the name of Charles W. Anderson, Collector for the Third District. The name had been written in on a typewriter.<br />(The <em>New York Times</em> – 30 May 1933)</p> <p>Ely was held on $4000 bail (about $100,000 USD today) after being charged with posing as a Federal officer. According to the US Attorney at his hearing on 1 June, 1933, Ely had collected $7.50 each (about $200 USD today) from 500 beer retailers ($5 for a Federal license and $2.50 for his own services). He had collected $3750 over the course of the swindle (the equivalent of $90,000 USD today).</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="761" height="582" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-alcohol-license.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6595" style="width:619px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-alcohol-license.jpg 761w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-alcohol-license-300x229.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An example of a post-Prohibition alcohol license for the State of New York.<br>(From <a href="https://beveragedynamics.com/2023/05/17/bremers-celebrates-90-years-beverage-alcohol-business/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beverage Dynamics site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>We don’t know if Ely was granted bail or if he was held in custody after the raid on his offices. I haven’t been able to find a newspaper article about his sentencing, but I did, of course, find a record of his appeal of his conviction! Ely was nothing if not a man who loved to tie up the legal system. The Circuit Court of Appeals (Second Circuit) decided Ely’s appeal on 18 December 1933. In reviewing the case, they noted that Ely had been sentenced to imprisonment in the Lewisburg Penitentiary for 1 year and a day with the six sentences to run concurrently. He was also fined $1000. In response to Ely’s various arguments to appeal his verdict, the court noted: “The contention is utterly without merit” and “…that the appellant was properly charged… is too plain for argument”. Needless to say, his appeal was denied.</p> <p>He then appealed to the Supreme Court which, on 12 March, 1934, also denied his appeal. Ely would remain in jail for the duration of his sentence, and the birth of his first grandchild.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h2> <p>I really don’t know what to say about Ely. Did he just move in fraudulent circles and get caught up in schemes and deals, like the Franklin Plan Corporation? Or did he just get lucky with that one? Or was he actually at the heart of these schemes, a spider spinning a web of deceit? Did he simply not know what was legal and what was not? Or did he simply not care? Did he think he would escape justice and simply get away with it? Had he perhaps heard the words, “Ely, you are such a clever little fellow!”, too many times and actually believed that he was more clever than the authorities? So many questions and not many answers.</p> <p>Within the space of five years, Ely had been sent to the federal penitentiary twice. Would he learn his lesson? Would he actually find a legal line of work and stick with it? Only time will tell.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">H.Ely Goldsmith Blog Series</h3> <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">Part 1 can be accessed here – 3 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">Part 2 can be accessed here – 10 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">Part 3 can be accessed here – 17 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">Part 4 can be accessed here – 24 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">Part 5 can be accessed here – 31 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p>New York Times – various articles<br>NewspaperArchives site – various articles<br>Justia Case – 1930 10 31 – <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/44/166/1504045/">Goldsmith v. Aderholt, 44 F.2d 166</a><br>Case Text – 1930 05 05 – <a href="https://casetext.com/case/goldsmith-v-united-states-2">Goldsmith v. United States, 42 F.2d 133</a><br>CaseText – 1933 12 18 – United States v. Goldsmith, 68 F.2d 5<br><a href="https://www.historynjdc.org/resources/newspaper-clips/historical-articles-page-3">The Historical Society of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey </a> – 1929 06 26 article about Ely’s imprisonment – (search for Goldsmith on the page that loads)<br>NYC – Vital Records Scanned – <a href="https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search</a><br>Swann Galleries – <a href="https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/%28US-FEDERAL-PENITENTIARY--ATLANTA-GEORGIA%29-Presentation-albu?saleno=2506&lotNo=262&refNo=757599" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">auction of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary photo album</a><br>Ancestry – genealogical records<br>Modern Immigration Fraud stories – 2024 09 19 – CBC News – <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tiktok-canada-us-border-smugglers-1.7325746" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smugglers using TikTok to drum up business</a><br>Modern Immigration Fraud stories – 2020 11 26 – <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2020/11/cbsa-dismantles-an-alleged-immigration-fraud-scheme.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Canadian Border Services dismantle immigration fraud scheme</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 3: Unrepentant Convicted Felon</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6481</post-id> </item> <item> <title>The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 2 – From Respected Accountant to Shady Immigration Consultant</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 10 Oct 2024 07:34:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accountant]]></category> <category><![CDATA[accounting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Accurate Audit Co]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[certified public accountant]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration fraud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration quotas]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jacobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jakobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category> <category><![CDATA[United States]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USA]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visa fraud]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6478</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>N.B. This is Part 2 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. Part 1 can be viewed here. Links to the other parts are at the bottom of this post. Introduction Ely Goldsmith seemingly had it made, carving out a new life for himself in the USA. He was a naturalized citizen. He was […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 2 – From Respected Accountant to Shady Immigration Consultant</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>N.B. This is Part 2 of a 5-part series on H. Ely Goldsmith. <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Part 1 can be viewed here.</a> Links to the other parts are at the bottom of this post.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Introduction</h3> <p>Ely Goldsmith seemingly had it made, carving out a new life for himself in the USA. He was a naturalized citizen. He was married with a beautiful daughter. He was a Certified Public Accountant and had a burgeoning business, Accurate Audit Co. And yet, as the new decade dawned, Ely began to go off the beaten path. He started to help aliens with visa requirements, something he wasn’t qualified to do. He expanded the scope of his accounting firm to counsel resident and non-resident aliens on income tax laws. He wrote articles for trade journals, placed provocative ads in American and international newspapers, and began to avail himself of the American legal system, bringing case after case before the courts.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="840" height="945" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Quota-Cartoon.jpg" alt="The quota system imposed severe limits on the number of immigrants who could come to the USA. In addition, certain ethnicities were seen as more desirable than others. (From National Park Service site)" class="wp-image-6542" style="width:376px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Quota-Cartoon.jpg 840w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Quota-Cartoon-267x300.jpg 267w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Quota-Cartoon-768x864.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The quota system imposed severe limits on the number of immigrants who could come to the USA. In addition, certain ethnicities were seen as more desirable than others. (From <a href="https://www.nps.gov/articles/closing-the-door-on-immigration.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Park Service</a> site)</figcaption></figure> <p>The early 1920s also marked America’s ever-tightening regulations against immigrants from certain “undesirable” races and ethnicities. First in 1921, and then in 1924, the American welcome mat became smaller and smaller. Italians need not apply. Nor Eastern Europeans. Nor Jews. This was the time of immigration quotas and these quotas were based on extremely racist theories. And yet, in the aftermath of the First World War, there were thousands upon thousands of displaced persons in Europe (many from the eastern regions) who sought to find some way, any way, to enter America, legally or not. Ely was more than happy to help them find a crack in the system. But first… we have to wonder why Ely began tilting at various legal windmills with wild abandon.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Ely’s Crusade Against Injustices</h3> <p>I wonder how deeply Ely’s experience at the Board of Education shaped his character. According to the Special Agent, Ely took the Board of Education to court and won. I haven’t been able to find any record of him definitively winning the case, but I get the sense that Ely’s crusade against injustice may have had roots in that experience.</p> <p>On 17 July, 1921, Ely brought a case before the courts, arguing that gambling losses should be considered tax deductions. It’s rather an eye-popping argument and apparently the lower court gave the case short shrift. Ely then took the case to the Supreme Court of New York where he actually convinced one of the justices that “if gambling winnings were taxable, then gambling losses should be a deduction”. Kind of like business income and expenses, I suppose, although one could hardly claim that “gambling” was a business. In fact, the State Controller argued that since gambling was prohibited by the Penal Code, gambling losses could not be considered a legal ground for income deductions. The Supreme Court ruled against Ely (notwithstanding the one dissenting opinion) but he did not let it rest. The lower court had ruled against him. The Supreme Court had ruled against him. He took his gripe to the Court of Appeal which heard the case in early 1922. They didn’t even bother to issue a legal opinion on the ins and outs of the case. They simply confirmed the Supreme Court ruling. Gambling losses were NOT tax deductions. Courts 1, Ely 0.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-gavel-7533898_1280-1024x682.jpg" alt="A gavel in an American court room." class="wp-image-6541" style="width:481px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-gavel-7533898_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-gavel-7533898_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-gavel-7533898_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-gavel-7533898_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A gavel in an American court room.</figcaption></figure> <p>A few months later, on 1 June, 1922, Ely brought a legal case against the Jewish Press Publishing Co. This case appeared before the Supreme Court of New York, and in this instance, Ely was represented by a lawyer – Dennis Buhler Woodward. What was his complaint against the Jewish Press? Well, apparently they were running advertisements from five individuals who falsely claimed to be “CPAs” or “Certified Public Accountants”. Ely had notified the publisher of these misleading advertisements and yet the Jewish Press continued to run these patently misleading ads. The injustice of it all must have rankled. Ely had worked hard to become a CPA and here were these fraudsters claiming to be the same, potentially stealing business and clients from him. In the end, however, the court ruled that while there might be a misdemeanor somewhere in the case, that would be for the criminal courts to handle. On top of that, Ely had produced no evidence to demonstrate that these ads were actually hurting his business. The case was dismissed. This must have left a bitter taste in Ely’s mouth. The unfairness of it all. The injustice. These fraudsters were getting away with lying. Courts 2, Ely 0.</p> <p>A few months later, our clever little fellow picked up a taxation gauntlet. On 11 November, 1922, the <em>NYT</em> ran an article which originated with our friend Ely. According to the article, the Treasury Department had issued a new ruling which required “every taxpayer carrying on the business of producing, manufacturing and selling any commodities or merchandise” to keep permanent books of account or records. With the exception of farmers… who did not need to keep permanent books of account. Ely bristled at the injustice: “Other business men are put to a distinct and unwarranted disadvantage by the regulation which allows the farmer to escape investigation of his tax liability while the manufacturer and other business men are kept to a strict accountability.” Men like Ely, presumably. Having lost two court cases, Ely took his gripes to the press and public opinion.</p> <p>All of this makes me wonder how well Ely was doing in terms of his accounting business. His offices had been at 1265 Broadway for several years, but by 1922 he had moved several blocks north to 105 West 40th Street. While Ely grumbled about the false ads of others, he also ran ads. One such ad in the 1 Feb, 1923, edition of <em>Variety</em> stated:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">I can prepare and file your returns even when you are not in New York. Write me about your circumstances and I will ask you for such details as I need.</p> <p>Given what we know of Ely’s penchant for handling the tax affairs of resident and non-resident aliens, we can read between the lines and see the type of clients he is seeking to attract. People who might live abroad and who needed help filing tax returns. And who might need help with a few other things… like visas and passports.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Post-War Visas</h3> <p>In the years following the First World War, travel between countries and continents began to resume. Released from the horrors of war, which had forbade many from visiting family in “enemy” nations, people now wanted to travel. This desire for travel resulted in some streamlining of travel documentation. In 1920, the League of Nations adopted the standard booklet-style passport that we still use today. Many European countries dropped visa (visé) requirements, a process that was similar to the old saying: “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine”. If Germany no longer required visas for British citizens, then Britain would happily return the favour and waive visas for German citizens.</p> <p>One of main outliers to this genial visa-waiver reciprocity was the USA which still required foreign nationals to acquire a visa and pay the required fee. European nations retaliated by requiring US citizens to acquire a visa prior to visiting their country. This could lead to very high costs if, for example, a family of 4 wanted to travel from Italy, through Austria, to Germany and then Holland. Four countries would each require the payment of a visa… the costs added up quickly.</p> <p>On 19 February, 1925, the House of Representatives was engaged in a debate of the visa issue and several letters, news articles and other correspondence were read out to the members. One of the letters was from our friend Ely. I include it in its entirety here because it gives us a sense of the man, his education and his eloquence:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>The next communication is from Mr. H. Ely Goldsmith, a certified public accountant of New York City, and head of the Accurate Audit Co. of that city. On September 23, 1924, Mr. Goldsmith said:</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Editor New York Times, Times Building, New York, N.Y.<br /> Dear Sir: For a proper understanding of the passport-reform question mentioned in the statement of Congressman Bloom in the Sundays <em>Times</em> and in a letter by Mr. Shepard and another published in Monday’s <em>Times</em> it is necessary to realize the background for all these complaints.<br /> The difficulty Americans are suffering under is not so much the fee charged them for a passport by the State Department, but the fee charged for a visé [visa] to foreigners attempting to enter the country. This visé charge being unreasonably high, it leads to retaliation on the part of all foreign governments.<br /> The charge had its origin during the war, when the Secretary of State’s office came to the conclusion that the foreign service of the United States had to be made nearly self-supporting in order to induce Congress to provide the Department of State with adequate appropriations for the support of the foreign service, and therefore it asked Congress to pass laws providing for such revenue as was calculated to raise sufficient funds. The expense falling to the greater extent upon foreigners, Congress had no misgiving about enacting such laws. (Foreigners don’t vote here.)<br /> However, Congress overlooked that this is a game that two can play at, and the foreign governments saw a chance to get back at Americans, and they did it in a manner outlined by the various parties whose communications the <em>New York Times</em> recently printed.<br /> There is no more reason why the foreign service or the Immigration Service should be self-supporting than that the Attorney General’s office or the Weather Bureau should be self-supporting. They are all parts of the general scheme of government, every service doing its allotted share for the benefit of all citizens, and every one of them can and should be supported principally by general taxation as distinguished from a special tax or free on those using the service.<br /> I have no figures showing the amounts collected by the department from the visé fees, but they can not possibly equal the amount paid by individual Americans as similar fees to foreign governments. It seems, therefore, that the most necessary remedy is the abolishment of the visé charges as against those countries who will reciprocate.<br /> As to the charge made for issuing a passport, I am not so certain whether that is unreasonable, because it is a special service rendered to some citizens which other citizens do not ask for.<br /> If Congress feels that the expense of the foreign service should be paid for by citizens traveling abroad, I believe it would be wiser to even increase the passport fee rather than continue the visé fee as at present. But to my mind even that is unnecessary. The fee of $1 or $2, as charged before the war, is amply sufficient for the clerical service, and if citizens’ protection by the Government while abroad must be bought a more adequate payment should be exacted.<br /> Congress should provide liberally for the foreign service in every respect, as that service is of great help to the country at large, but it should not require a small percentage of Americans to suffer intensely in expenditure by money, time and patience because it wants to load upon the foreigners part of the expense of that service.<br />H. Ely Goldsmith<br />Certified Public Accountant, State of New York</p> <p>The year 1925 seems to be the turning point for Ely. While he had certainly started his mad tilt at various legal windmills prior to that year, it was in 1925, that things really start to take off. Ely began to regularly appear in various newspaper articles and court appeals. Not always for the best reasons.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Expanding his Reach</h3> <p>In March 1925, Ely appeared before the Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia (DC). He had apparently applied to the United States Board of Tax Appeals to be enrolled as an attorney. The Board was created in 1924 and had quasi-judicial privileges to conduct tax appeal hearings with a quasi-judicial character. Ely had applied to be recognized as an “agent” or “attorney” (presumably quasi-judicial) who could appear before the Board and advocate for his clients during their tax appeals. The Board of Tax Appeals had sent his application to a commission which had “received, considered and denied” his application. Rather than request a hearing from the Board at which he could argue his case, Ely simply filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals. According to him, the Board’s denial was arbitrary and “capricious”. The Board of Tax Appeals, for their part, had submitted a response to the Court of Appeals which stated that their unanimous decision was:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">“… based upon the judgment and determination that the petitioner [appellant] is lacking in integrity, is of bad character and reputation, is untrustworthy, and is unworthy of the confidence necessarily imposed by any judicial, quasi judicial, or administrative body of the government in practitioners appearing before it to represent taxpayers or clients.”</p> <p>Wow. That is quite the departure from the Special Agent’s assessment in 1920. He had concluded that Ely enjoyed a good reputation, both personally and professionally. What could possibly have happened in the intervening five years for the Board of Tax Appeals to reject Ely with such a damning judgement?</p> <p>Luckily for us, the Board of Tax Appeals presented two key points that informed, and supported their decision to reject his application.</p> <p>In the first point, according to the Board, Ely had been discharged from a position in the comptroller’s office of the state of New York for alleged violation of the duties of his position. This is likely the issue Ely had had with the Board of Education between 1915 and 1920. The Special Agent in 1920 had noted that Ely had taken the Board of Education to court and had been vindicated. Right? Nope. Wrong. The Board of Tax Appeals noted that Ely had applied to the courts to force the Board of Education to reinstate him. But all the courts of the state had decided against him. I take this to mean that the initial court decision went against him, and then the court of appeals, and then the supreme court of NY. This is most decidedly not what Ely told the Special Agent who interviewed him for his passport application in 1920. From the information provided by the Board of Tax Appeals, it would appear that Ely had lost his battled with the Board of Education.</p> <p>The second point that the Board of Tax Appeals used to support their decision against Ely was a bit was simpler. Ely had also applied to the Secretary of the Treasury to be enrolled as an accountant or agent to represent others before the Treasury Department. That application had ultimately been refused, primarily because charges had been brought against Ely by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. And if the Secretary of the Treasury had rejected Ely, then obviously, the Board of Tax Appeals would reject him as well.</p> <p>Ely’s eloquent response to the Board of Tax Appeals was simple. Everything they presented was “at best hearsay evidence”. </p> <p>The Court of Appeals denied Ely’s petition to reverse the Board of Tax Appeals decision. But Ely was a clever, little fellow and he naturally pursued every legal avenue open to him, and submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nothing if not tenacious. After all the tortuous appeals and counter appeals, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Ely should have appealed the initial refusal to the Board of Tax Appeals, and demanded a hearing. He chose not to do that, and instead went directly to the courts, thereby shooting himself in the foot. His appeal was denied on 1 March 1926. Courts 5 (6?), Ely 0. </p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-us-supreme-court-building-2225766_1280-1024x682.jpg" alt="Supreme Court of the United States" class="wp-image-6543" style="width:478px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-us-supreme-court-building-2225766_1280-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-us-supreme-court-building-2225766_1280-300x200.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-us-supreme-court-building-2225766_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-us-supreme-court-building-2225766_1280.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Supreme Court of the United States</figcaption></figure> <p>On top of his appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals (DC), he also applied to the Board of Accountancy in DC to be admitted as an agent or accountant and was denied there. He took them to court as well and after the judgments went against him, submitted various appeals to higher courts. The Court of Appeals in DC considered the matter in March 1925. Basically, we have a similar pattern as to his issue with the Board of Tax Appeals. Ely applied to the Board of Accountancy to be recognized as a “certified accountant” in DC but his application was denied. He then asked to see his file with them and they refused to share it with him. He asked to see the files of other applicants and was refused that as well.</p> <p>During the appeal hearing, the Board of Accountancy cited confidentiality issues and noted that while they had no issue with his citizenship, moral character or education, they questioned whether the laws in the State of New York regarding the certification of accountants were equivalent to those of the District of Columbia. After considering the arguments, the Court of Appeals affirmed the earlier judgment against Ely. He would not be practicing accountancy or acting as an attorney or agent during tax appeals, at least not in the District of Columbia. Courts 7 (or 8?), Ely 0. It’s hard to keep track since many of these cases went through several different courts.</p> <p>Perhaps it was these failures to expand his tax accounting business that ultimately convinced Ely to focus his attentions elsewhere. While we have see earlier echoes of his fixation on helping aliens with visa and passport issues, the latter part of the 1920s would see that aspect of his business take off. But before we get to that, we need to take a slight detour to Montreal.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Speeding to Montreal for a Beer</h3> <p>Ely might have been considered a “clever little fellow” by some, but this next episode is comical to say the least. On 25 September, 1925, Ely was due to appear in court to face charges of speeding. Sounds pretty simple. He had apparently been caught driving at 32 miles an hour on Riverside Drive in Manhattan, between 184th and 189th Streets. While 32 miles an hour might seem like a fairly pedestrian pace today, back in 1925, this was quite excessive. The in-town speed limit in many states was 15 mph, while the in-the-country speed limit was 25-30 mph. Many of the cars of the day struggled to reach 45 mph. A comparable infraction today would be doing 60 mph (highway speed) in a 30 mph (city speed) zone. It seemed like a pretty simple case. Driver was caught speeding. Driver then pays the ticket and continues on his merry way. But Ely was not a typical driver.</p> <p>The Warrant Officer, John McNamara, appeared in court on 24 September, and handed a telegram to the Magistrate, Charles A. Oberwager. The telegram had been sent by Goldsmith, who was happily ensconced in a Montreal bar, sipping a cold beer. The telegram read:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">An ill-wind for some one else and a God-send to me compelled me to suddenly depart for this benign country, where prohibition is but a nightmare and where a man can openly quench his thirst with malt beverages of suitable strength. I can, therefore, not keep my appointment with you on my return. Should you have any difficulties show this telegram to Presiding Magistrate Oberwager. Thanks in advance. (The <em>New York Times</em>, 25 September 1925)</p> <p>The NYT did not record the response of Oberwager but did provide a quick summary of some of Ely’s latest exploits, noting his efforts to stop the Jewish Press from allowing fraudsters to advertise that they were certified public accountants. Apparently, in 1924, Ely also criticized New Jersey justices for their method of handling motor law violators (perhaps he got a ticket there) and had found fault with income tax laws.</p> <p>About a week later, on 2 October, Ely finally appeared before Magistrate August W. Glatzmayer, who apparently had a sense of humour. According to a <em>NYT</em> article published on 3 October, Ely pleaded guilty to speeding on 12 August and apologized for being 50 days late. He was to have initially appeared before the courts on 13 August (the day after his speeding violation) but failed to appear. Finally, he had sent the telegram implying that he couldn’t appear because of business in Montreal. The Clerk of the Court had sent a telegram in reply urgently requesting he return to answer the charge as his disregard for the summons was a reflection on “the dignity of the court”. Ely did not reply to that telegram either.</p> <p>And then, on 2 October, he “smilingly walked into court” and stated that he was ready to enter a guilty plea. The magistrate questioned him and Ely stated that he had to attend the “Dry Voting League in Canada”. The judge and Ely then had a conversation that seems to included coded references to alcohol.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Judge – Did you play any of the places up there?<br />Ely – Once in a while, your Honor, I did knock them off.<br />Judge – Did you try it out yourself?<br />Ely – Yes, I did.<br />Judge – What did you pay for it?<br />Ely – $3.50 a quart. (The <em>New York Times</em>, 3 October, 1925)</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="849" height="1024" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-Ancestry-Pic-crop-849x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-6544" style="width:353px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-Ancestry-Pic-crop-849x1024.png 849w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-Ancestry-Pic-crop-249x300.png 249w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-Ancestry-Pic-crop-768x926.png 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-Ancestry-Pic-crop.png 915w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">H. Ely Goldsmith (from <a href="https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/23329286/person/262235436947/facts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>The judge obviously had a sense of humour and, after staring at the ceiling, said “Well, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll fine you seven quarts at Canadian prices and…” Ely protested “But, your Honor, they search all persons crossing the border… and it is hard to smuggle it in.” The judge said, “Well, you may pay the equivalent in American cash. According to the article, Ely “smilingly paid the fine”, a grand total of $24.50 (worth about $450 today). I’m not sure how this interaction really supported the “dignity of the court”!</p> <p>The year 1925 was a busy year for Ely with him losing his fights with the Board of Tax Appeals (DC), the Board of Accountancy (DC) and the traffic court. But it also marked the year where he began to embrace the immigration aspects of his business and consequently comes to the attention of immigration authorities.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Trying to Find a Crack in US Immigration Law</h3> <p>As early as 10 August, 1925, case notes of the immigration and naturalization departments (IND) noted that Ely had been running advertisements stating that he could assist aliens in the US by procuring passports and immigration visas for them. Ely had been in their sights for a while, and they wouldn’t lose track of him.</p> <p>We also get a better sense of why Ely hared off to Montreal in September. It wasn’t just for a “real” beer. The IND files note that, according to the Montreal office, Ely was attempting to legalize the entry of deserting seamen and forwarded a copy of the form he was using to secure the illegal entry of aliens into the USA. Apparently some crew members had deserted from the <em>SS Veendam,</em> a Holland-America line steamer. Whatever tricks he was trying to use, the immigration and naturalization department was getting a rapid education in his methods. On 17 November, 1925, one IND case file had another tidbit from the Montreal office. Apparently Ely had written a “threatening” letter and announced that it was his intention to secure a writ of mandamus from the Supreme Court in order to “compel” the American Consul to issue a passport visa to a woman named Rosa Porter. A writ of mandamus is essentially a court order compelling a government official or entity to perform a duty that is mandated by law. Ely is beginning to sound more like an immigration attorney than an accountant. This trend would only escalate.</p> <p>On 13 March, 1926, Ely appears in an article in the <em>NYT</em> in a case against Secretary of State Kellogg, Secretary of Labor Davis and Harry E. Hull, the Commissioner General of Immigration. According to the article Ely was acting on behalf of Morris Kaufmann, a wealthy plumbing contractor in Detroit, who was seeking a writ of mandamus to force the above-named officials to issue a visa for Kaufmann’s brother. Ely was arguing the these officials were barring thousands of aliens from visiting America through an arbitrary and unlawful exercise of power. Never mind that the Immigration Act of 1924 had severely restricted the number and type of immigrants admitted to the United States. For Ely, that was beside the point. He was going to press against the legal strictures of the US immigration system until he found a way to get his clients into the USA.</p> <p>On 20 July, 1926, Ely again appears in the <em>NYT</em>, this time over an issue of duty free limits at border crossings. Apparently, US citizens used to be allowed to bring $100 worth of goods back across the border, duty free, after a three day trip. Apparently, border officials were demanding duties stating that the Treasury Department had ruled that in such cases citizens should not be classed as “residents returning from abroad” and were not entitled to the $100 exemption. The Treasury Department, for its part said that this policy had been in place for years but had not been strictly enforced. A recent ruling by the Customs Court in New York had given sharper teeth to the policy which was now being strictly enforced. Citizens who had been in Canada for less than 3 days were, indeed, being charged duty on their purchases. The fact that Ely had time for all of these legal windmills is impressive. Or concerning. The man seems slightly deranged at times.</p> <p>In August 1926, Ely appeared before the United States District Court in Vermont of behalf of four individuals who sought to enter the US from Canada to visit family. All four had valid passports for their countries of origin (Finland, England/Russia, Finland, Poland) and stated that they did not wish to “immigrate” to the USA, they just wanted to “visit”. All four had applied to the American Consul in Montreal for a visa to enter the US and all had been denied. The four had tried to enter the US individually at various times but on this occasion, they all appeared together at the same point of entry, St. Albans, VT. Given that they lacked visas, the immigration officer refused them entry. Ely and his fellow attorney wished to argue that the American Consul had no right to withhold the visas and should have provided them to anyone who presented themselves. Ely argued that the American Consul had no right to satisfy himself as to whether or not the travelers were indeed traveling for pleasure/business, or whether they sought to immigrate. He should just issue visas to whomever appeared. Ultimately, the District Court upheld the authority of the American Consul and the four hapless individuals were not permitted entry to the US.</p> <p>Whether Goldsmith charged a fee to the four individuals or whether he was prodding and testing the integrity of the border process, is unknown. But his efforts would not be stopped by this ruling. A year later, on 1 November, 1927, one of the cases appeared before the Circuit Court of Appeals. Ely and a couple of attorneys argued that the British/Russian individual should not have been denied entry. Why they only chose to appeal the one case is not known. Perhaps this was another testing and prodding of border security and the immigration and justice system. Of course, the appeal failed and the lower court ruling was upheld. Essentially, the court said that if the individual had a problem with a visa not being issued by the American Consul, then the country in which she held citizenship needed to file a diplomatic complaint. Of note here is that one of the attorneys representing the woman was a man named Harold Van Riper. We will hear more about him later as he was woven ever deeper into Ely’s network of immigration fraud.</p> <p>Earlier in 1927, on 9 March, the <em>Decatur Evening Herald</em> (Illinois) ran a small news article which featured our friend Ely.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Kellogg Named in Suit for $500,000</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">WASHINGTON, March 9 [1927] – Secretary [of State] Kellogg; American Consul-General, Carlton D. Hurst; Foreign Service Officer Coert DuBois, and American consuls, Arthur C. Frost and Edward Caffery, were sued today for $500,000 by H. Ely Goldsmith of New York.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Goldsmith, self-styled consultant in immigration matters, charges Kellogg and the others formed a conspiracy to keep him from conducting his business by neglecting their duty in issuing passports caused him to lose money.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="220" height="290" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-TIMEMagazine28Sep1925.jpg" alt="Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg - 28 September, 1925 - on the cover of Time Magazine" class="wp-image-6545" style="width:332px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Secretary of State Frank B. Kellogg – 28 September, 1925 – on the cover of <em>Time Magazine</em></figcaption></figure> <p>The <em>Martinez Gazette</em> in California ran a similar article on 10 March, 1927, with a few additional details:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Washington–Suit for $500,000 damages was filed against Secretary Kellogg and other State Department officials today by H. Ely Goldsmith, New York, who charged a conspiracy to refuse to permit certain of his foreign clients to make temporary visits to the United States. Goldsmith says he had retainers of more than $100,000 from nearly 300 applicants for visas.</p> <p>Our “bright, clever little fellow” had gumption. His suit would be worth about $9,000,000 USD today. Not an insubstantial amount. And it would appear he had about $1,800,000 (in today’s USD) of retainers for 300 clients which would be about $6000 per person in today’s USD. That’s just the retainers. Obviously Ely had a lucrative little business churning away, attempting to turn illegal aliens into legal visitors to the US.</p> <p>On 25 October, 1927, the <em>NYT</em> ran another article featuring Ely. He was acting on behalf of one Sam Gordon, a citizen of Springfield, Illinois. Sam, born in Lakavitch, Russia, had entered the US on 5 December, 1913, as “Israel Gorendar”. He had Americanized his name and when he sought to get citizenship, the immigration officials could find no record of his arrival. Ely sought to view the ship’s passenger lists but was refused as they were considered the private property of US immigration officials. Ultimately, Ely (and Sam) were successful, for by the 1930 US Census, Sam Gorden is a naturalized US citizen. Courts 22, Ely 1.</p> <p>In December 1927, Ely’s name surfaces again in another case before the United States District Court, New York. Two individuals who lived in Niagara Falls, Canada, had been commuting daily into Buffalo for the purposes of employment. Neither individual wanted to reside in the USA, they just wanted to work there, and live in Canada. But according to the Immigration Act of 1924, they really needed to have an unexpired consular immigration visa. Without that, they couldn’t enter the USA. Ultimately the District Court upheld the original ruling and the two were deported back to Canada. Another failed attempt for Ely. One of the immigration files notes that Ely used this scheme “to harass” the immigration service.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Dog Licenses & Confiscated Crackers</h2> <p>But lest we think Ely was solely focused on making his fortune with desperate illegal aliens… a 6 January, 1928, article from the <em>NYT</em> is a real eyebrow-raiser. Ely sued the SPCA (yes, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) to allow him to inspect its license records so that he could obtain the list of 200,000 dog owners in NYC.</p> <p>He wished to send all of the dog owners a letter urging their support of a commercially unsuccessful animal hospital (American Hospital and Home for the Care of Pet Animals). The SPCA charged a license (an early version of a municipal dog license, I presume) and issued a dog tag to registered owners. Ely planned to send out similar metal tags to dog owners that they could attach to the dog collars. If the dog was lost, the tag would encourage the finder to bring the dog to the animal hospital where a reward would be paid. The bigger plan was that the recipient of such a dog tag would make a contribution to the hospital.</p> <p>The SPCA naturally refused to share its records with Ely (and also with manufacturers of dog biscuits, muzzles and mange cures). They said the metal tags would cause confusion about licenses and might “encourage the theft of the pet animals for the sake of the rewards offered”. Ely argued that the SPCA’s refusal was “unlawful, arbitrary, tyrannical and unfair”. He said that since the society collected dog taxes, its records on such taxes should be open to taxpayers. On 4 February, Supreme Court Justice Levy ruled that the SPCA did NOT need to open its dog owner records for public inspection. Courts 25, Ely 1.</p> <p>Ely himself also had some trouble when crossing the border at one point, a rather comical incident reported in a 16 February, 1928, Washington Post article. Under the headline “United States Court of Customs Appeals” is a list of case numbers with companies and individuals who had been assessed customs penalties or had items confiscated at the border. Our friend Ely appears here:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">No. 3012. H. Ely Goldsmith vs. United States. Personal effects: crackers. Dismissed upon stipulation.</p> <p>I can only deduce from this that Ely had had “crackers” confiscated at one of his many border crossings. Whether these were: (a) edible crackers; (b) Christmas crackers; (c) other small fireworks; is unknown. I tend to think they were likely the explosive variety, not the edible variety. Although, if he was importing cases of edible crackers, that could possibly have triggered a confiscation.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="190" height="291" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Christmas-Crackers-1925.jpg" alt="Tom Smith's Christmas Crackers, a British brand which may have been available in Canada but not the USA. Image from Ebay" class="wp-image-6546" style="width:322px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tom Smith’s Christmas Crackers, a British brand which may have been available in Canada but not the USA. Image from <a href="https://www.ebay.ca/itm/304472537586" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ebay</a></figcaption></figure> <p>As 1928 progressed, Ely began to appear in the news with increasing regularity. His fanatical mission to crack the walls of US immigration law seemed to make headway in March. The <em>Expositor</em> ran an article on 8 March which stated that the US Circuit Court had declared that the border restriction rule for commuters was illegal. Ely served notice on the Secretary of Labour that he wanted six aliens to receive immediate admittance to the US for daily commuting to work. The Assistant Secretary of Labor stated that the department would not change the ruling (barring such individuals) until the Supreme Court had ruled on the issue.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The Ice Begins to Crack</h3> <p>On 23, March, Ely was in the <em>NYT</em> again, and this time he wasn’t bringing a case before the courts, it was he who was being dragged before the courts. He had been charged with offering a “faulty writ”. He was fined $150 after he had been found guilty of contempt of court for improperly presenting a writ of habeas corpus. On 3 February, Ely had presented the writ on behalf of an immigrant detained at Ellis Island. In presenting the writ, he had used his own name as well as that of attorney Harry Van Riper (we heard about him earlier). The prosecuting attorney stated that Ely had no right to present the petition because he was not a lawyer and Van Riper, who had represented Ely in the past, had not authorized the use of his name in this case. Charges against Ely for practicing law without a license were now pending. And these were potentially serious charges.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h3> <p>Ely had been in and out of court rooms for almost a decade, generally as the plaintiff. He had dragged the Board of Education through the courts, as well as the Jewish Press, the SPCA, the Board of Tax Appeals, the Board of Accountancy and probably a number of other defendants about whom we know nothing. But as the 1920s were waning, and the Great Depression loomed on the horizon, Ely had finally been cornered. Practicing law without a license was not as easily dismissed as a speeding ticket. And as the 1920s ticked over into the 1930s, Ely will get a different view of the American justice system, from the inside.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">H.Ely Goldsmith Blog Series</h3> <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">Part 1 can be accessed here – 3 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">Part 2 can be accessed here – 10 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">Part 3 can be accessed here – 17 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">Part 4 can be accessed here – 24 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">Part 5 can be accessed here – 31 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p>Board of Tax Appeals Case: <a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep270/usrep270117/usrep270117.pdf">Goldsmith v. BD. Of Tax Appeals, 270 U.S. 117 (1926). (loc.gov)</a><br>Board of Tax Appeals Case: <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/270/117">GOLDSMITH, Certified Public Accountant of State of New York, v. UNITED STATES BOARD OF TAX APPEALS</a><br>Board of Tax Appeals Case: <a href="https://www.anylaw.com/case/h-ely-goldsmith-v-united-states-board-tax-appeals/supreme-court/02-28-1926/f88YYmYBTlTomsSBzaxV">H. ELY GOLDSMITH v. UNITED STATES BOARD TAX APPEALS | Supreme Court</a><br>US District Court – <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?id=_OZCUACRmq0C&pg=RA10-PA4&lpg=RA10-PA4&dq=%2B%22H.+Ely+Goldsmith%22&source=bl&ots=qdpNWXABlN&sig=ACfU3U3UDtuabfFWzlLxnpVW8Dsx-zsSDg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj5w_e0nq6HAxWhDzQIHR4RAfk4ChDoAXoECBsQAw#v=onepage&q=%2B%22H.%20Ely%20Goldsmith%22&f=false">Records and Briefs of the United States Supreme Court – Google Books</a><br>Accountant’s Directory Who’s Who – 1920 – <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288029535.pdf">Accountants’ directory and who’s who (core.ac.uk)</a><br>Ancestry – Image of H. Ely Goldsmith – <a href="https://www.ancestry.co.uk/family-tree/person/tree/23329286/person/262235436947/facts">Ancestry Tree</a><br>Ancestry – various genealogical sources<br><em>The New York Times</em> – numerous articles<br>NYC – Vital Records Scanned – <a href="https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search">https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search</a><br>NYC – The City Record Online – <a href="http://cityrecord.engineering.nyu.edu/">http://cityrecord.engineering.nyu.edu/</a></p> <p></p> <p>Header Image from <a href="https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/us-immigration-in-the-1920s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FamilySearch</a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 2 – From Respected Accountant to Shady Immigration Consultant</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6478</post-id> </item> <item> <title>The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 1: From Berlin to New York</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 03 Oct 2024 07:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Furmansky]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amy Margaret Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[black market passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Christian Friedrich Jürgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldschmidt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Herman Ely Goldsmith]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ida Grausmann]]></category> <category><![CDATA[immigration fraud]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Josef Jakobs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Jurgen Ziebell]]></category> <category><![CDATA[passport]]></category> <category><![CDATA[US immigration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[visa fraud]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6381</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>How does a Certified Public Accountant end up in jail, not once, but twice, for smuggling aliens into the USA? How does a tax accountant end up dabbling in passports and visas? When I first came across H. Ely Goldsmith’s name in the Swiss Archives files, I had no idea he would lead me down […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 1: From Berlin to New York</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>How does a Certified Public Accountant end up in jail, not once, but twice, for smuggling aliens into the USA? How does a tax accountant end up dabbling in passports and visas? When I first came across H. Ely Goldsmith’s name in the Swiss Archives files, I had no idea he would lead me down such a tortuous path. If there is one thing I have learned over the years of publishing this blog, it is to expect the unexpected. One would think that a German-Jewish-American “Immigration Consultant” would be able to save his own sister from the Nazi horrors. One would think wrong. Let me introduce you to H. Ely Goldsmith. This is the first post in a five-part series on Ely.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Introduction</h3> <p>The Swiss Archives are a rich resource, far richer than I could ever have imagined. It feels akin to standing before a massive banquet table, groaning with all sorts of interesting choices. So many files, so little time.</p> <p>I began nibbling at the edges of the archives last year, focusing on a group of files that dealt with the Jewish passport business with which Josef Jakobs had been associated. In 1938/1939, the Nazis had rounded up the Berlin group involved with this <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/overivew-of-black-market-passport.html">black market activity</a> and sent out a bulletin to other European governments. The Germans asked other countries to be on the look-out for travellers with fraudulent Finnish passports. One of the people that the Swiss authorities apprehended in 1939 was <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/08/black-market-passport-business-fraulein.html">Dorothea Schachtel</a>, a German Jewess who had attempted to escape Nazi Germany with a Finnish passport purchased from Aryan lawyer <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2019/07/black-market-passport-business-2.html">Jürgen Ziebell</a>. The Swiss files contain Dorothea’s statement to the police as well as reports from the investigating officers.</p> <p>During one statement to the Swiss Police, Dorothea admitted that:</p> <p>“At Ziebell’s request, I was supposed to get in touch with an Eli Goldsmith in Cuba. Goldsmith was recently arrested in New York for forging passports. I can still provide the relevant newspaper article. I am now glad that I have had nothing to do with Goldsmith. Goldsmith is connected to Ziebell and should have taken care of my progress in Cuba.” (Dorothea Schachtel, Translated from her statement to the Swiss Police in Zurich in late May 1939).</p> <p>Josef’s own statements about the black market passports had also mentioned that Ziebell had had a contact in Cuba who could “facilitate” Cuban passports. It seems very likely that H. Ely Goldsmith was this Cuban connection.</p> <p>I dove deep into the Ancestry records and newspaper archives to dig up information on H. Ely Goldsmith. He was quite a character – a man with a respectable profession who ultimately ran afoul of the law and became a thrice-convicted felon.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Origins and Upbringing of H. Ely Goldsmith</h3> <p>Herman Elias (Ely) Goldschmidt came from rather humble beginnings. He was born 18 February, 1881, in the Thuringian town of Nordhausen. A quaint medieval centre nestled at the southern edge of the Harz Mountains, Nordhausen became a hub for engineering and munitions in the early 20th century. Decades later, it would go down in history for the infamous and hideous conditions at the Mittelbau-Dora (Nordhausen) concentration camp. At the time that Ely was born, however, Nordhausen was a rather rustic town teetering on the cusp of becoming an industrial centre.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="842" height="469" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/nordhausen-YT-Video-of-old-photos.jpg" alt="Nordhausen, Harz Mountains - birthplace of Ely Goldsmith - a street scene ca 1880-1890 (From a YouTube video of old Nordhausen photographs)" class="wp-image-6401" style="width:672px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/nordhausen-YT-Video-of-old-photos.jpg 842w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/nordhausen-YT-Video-of-old-photos-300x167.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/nordhausen-YT-Video-of-old-photos-768x428.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 842px) 100vw, 842px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nordhausen, Thuringia – birthplace of Ely Goldsmith – a street scene ca 1880-1890<br>(From a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AiBPbPLv3Os" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube video</a> of old Nordhausen photographs)</figcaption></figure> <p>Ely’s parents were Gustav Goldschmidt and Margarete (née) Marcus. Gustav had been born 5 September, 1861, in Drakenburg Kreis Nienburg, just northwest of Hannover. Margarete, had been born 1855 in Beeskow, just southeast of Berlin. How the couple met, and under what circumstances, is unknown. It seems likely that they married in the late 1870s or in 1880.</p> <p>After Ely’s birth, the family moved to Berlin and settled in the Kreuzberg district, residing at Oranienstraße 100. Five years after Ely’s birth, on 5 May, 1886, Gustav and Margarete welcomed a daughter, Johanna, into their lives. There is no evidence that they had any other children, so this would have been a rather small and close-knit family.</p> <p>Gustav was a fairly well-off businessman. After the move to Berlin, he founded Gustav Goldschmidt Junior, a manufacturing firm that produced girls’ clothing. In addition to selling locally, he also advertised wholesale and export services. It seems likely that Gustav had a tailoring background and it is possible that young Ely was recruited to help his father at the shop.</p> <p>The family moved several times over the next few decades, from Oranienstraße 100 in Kreuzberg to Uhlandstrasse 176 and Nachodstrasse 15 in Wilmersdorf. The two later addresses were only a few blocks from Josef’s own family home. Our friend Ely would not make these moves with his family, nor would he continue to follow in his father’s tailoring footsteps. Ely chose a different path.</p> <p>Ely graduated from the Realschule (high school for trades-oriented students) around 1898, at the age of 17. He may have attended post-secondary studies, or he may have picked up an apprenticeship for a trade. Given his future career choices, he may also have helped his father’s business by taking care of the accounting, or at least helping with it.</p> <p>A few years later, at the age of 21, Ely joined the Germany Army for his stint of compulsory military service. Ely was a rather short fellow (5’2″) and with his reddish hair, must have cut a rather comical figure in the ranks of young recruits. It could not have been a pleasant experience. While most young men needed to complete three years of compulsory military service, some were rejected after their first assessment (due to criminal records or physical/mental infirmities). We don’t know the circumstances, but we do know that Ely did not complete his three years of military service. He had found a way out.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Establishing Roots: Ely Goldschmidt’s Early Years in America</h3> <p>On 20 December, 1902, Ely boarded the <em>Graf Waldersee</em> in Hamburg with a Second Class ticket clutched in his hand. He had set his sights on a new life in America. On 1 January, 1903, he walked down the gangway in New York, with a world of new opportunities lying before him. Ely did not waste a single moment and hit the ground running. On 9 January, 1903, less than two weeks after setting foot on US soil, Ely applied for naturalization as a US citizen before the Circuit Court of the United States. This was likely the first time he had appeared before a US court but it would definitely not be the last.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Graf-Waldersee-Natinoal-Museums-Liverpool.jpg" alt="Graf Waldersee - launched 1898 - Hamburg-America Line (From National Museums Liverpool site)" class="wp-image-6398" style="width:708px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Graf-Waldersee-Natinoal-Museums-Liverpool.jpg 800w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Graf-Waldersee-Natinoal-Museums-Liverpool-300x225.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Graf-Waldersee-Natinoal-Museums-Liverpool-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Graf Waldersee</em> – launched 1898 – Hamburg-America Line<br>(From <a href="https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/photograph-of-graf-waldersee-hamburg-amerika-line" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Museums Liverpool site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>What drove Ely to emigrate is a complete mystery. The fact that he was travelling Second Class (and not Third) suggests he must have had some funds to support this trip. Perhaps his father had visions of a clothing empire expanding from Berlin into the USA. Perhaps this plan also gave Ely a way to avoid another two years of compulsory military service. Perhaps Ely’s father had contacts in the US who had offered to take Ely under their wings. Whatever the case, Ely took to life in America like a duck to water.</p> <p>Ely first resided at 212 East 6th Street, smack dab between Noho and the East Village, in Manhattan. What he did during his first few years in the States is a mystery, but by 1907 he had established his own accounting firm, Accurate Audit Company. This would suggest that he had some background in accounting, either through schooling, or through experience as an apprentice or journeyman. Later that same year, on 17 December, 1907, he married Ida Grausmann in Manhattan.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="407" height="550" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GRAUSMAN-Ida-b1881-2024-Ancestry-pic-02.jpg" alt="Ida Grausmann (later Goldschmidt/Goldsmith) ca. 1900-1908 One gets a sense of her millinery skills from the hat she is wearing. Photo from Ancestry" class="wp-image-6399" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GRAUSMAN-Ida-b1881-2024-Ancestry-pic-02.jpg 407w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GRAUSMAN-Ida-b1881-2024-Ancestry-pic-02-222x300.jpg 222w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ida Grausmann (later Goldschmidt/Goldsmith) ca. 1900-1908<br>One gets a sense of her millinery skills from the hat she is wearing.<br>Photo from <a href="https://www.ancestry.ca/mediaui-viewer/tree/23329286/person/262235437013/media/8c3dd9be-bc12-41cc-ba2d-00f00fd14807" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ancestry</a></figcaption></figure> <p>Ida was a German Jewess who had immigrated to the USA in 1899, at the age of 20. Unlike many other young immigrant women, Ida made the epic journey on her own. Her parents, Seligmann Grausmann and Amelia (née Silberman), remained in Wonfurt, Bavaria. Ida did not make the journey completely unsupported however. One of the witnesses to Ely and Ida’s wedding was her brother, Meier Grausmann. Meier, born in 1860, had immigrated to the USA in 1882 and was a tailor. Ida’s arrival in the US makes a bit more sense now, even more so when we learn that she worked as a milliner. Tailoring and textiles obviously ran in the family. The fact that the Grausmann siblings worked in the textile industry suggests that Ely also moved in those “tailoring” circles during his early years in America. Perhaps his toehold in the States was facilitated by his father’s business connections. Or perhaps Ely found work doing the books at some local textile businesses.</p> <p>Just over a year after their wedding, Ely and Ida welcomed a daughter into their lives. Amy Margaret, born on 5 March, 1909, would be their only child. She would turn into a gifted singer and one can imagine Ely coming home from work and being serenaded by his little girl.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Professional Advancements</strong></h3> <p>A year after Amy’s birth, on 11 April, 1910, Ely filed a petition with the Supreme Court in New York to be naturalized. At this point, the young family was living at 528 West 151st Street in the Hamilton Heights area of Upper Manhattan. According to the 1910 US census, Ely was a “Public Accountant”. His list of clients had expanded beyond the textile sector and now included, Barre-Bernard Company, a real estate company incorporated in 1910.</p> <p>The following year, in 1911, Ely became a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. This was a relatively new term in the accounting field, designed to regulate accountants and accounting practices. In 1896, the State of New York had established that the Regents of the University of the State of New York would provide a Certificate of Public Accountancy to: “individuals over the age of 21, of good moral character, and who possessed, or intended to declare citizenship in the United States, with appropriate accounting education or experience, either through examination or previous experience”. The following year, in 1897, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants was incorporated, the first state society for CPAs in the United States. It was only in 1929 that the State of New York required that all <strong>new</strong> members had to have a college degree</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="534" height="800" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/accounting-adding-machine-ca-1913.jpg" alt="Ellis Adding-Typewriter Machine - ca 1913 (From the National Museum of American History)" class="wp-image-6402" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/accounting-adding-machine-ca-1913.jpg 534w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/accounting-adding-machine-ca-1913-200x300.jpg 200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ellis Adding-Typewriter Machine – ca 1913<br>Ely may have used such cutting edge technology.<br>(From the <a href="https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/bookkeeping-machines/national" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Museum of American History</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>It seems likely that Ely became a CPA through experience alone, although questions about his education linger. A 1920 directory of New York accountants gives a brief biography of Ely. It is here that we learn he completed the RealSchule and served one year with the Imperial German Army.Later in life, Ely claimed to have four years of college education but there is no evidence to support this claim and the 1920 directory makes no mention of this. But, as we shall learn, Ely was not above embellishing the facts to suit his interests.</p> <p>Nevertheless, achieving the Certified Public Accountant designation would have provided a huge boost to Ely’s career options. He was nothing if not a savvy businessman. From 1911 to 1914, Ely served as an Examiner of Municipal Accounts and as State Comptroller. He was also listed as an Expert for the State Department of Efficiency and Economy. During the same period, he also worked as an accountant for the New York Board of Education, although this was a job that would haunt him for several years! The sense, from all of this, is that Ely was a mover and a shaker. He had a lot of irons in the fire, and seized every opportunity that came his way, and even went out and actively chased down opportunities that were NOT necessarily coming his way!</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Challenges and Opportunities</h3> <p>In 1915, Ely’s accounting firm maintained offices in the Centurian Building at 1182 Broadway just south of Midtown Manhattan. The Centurian building (1910) would have provided a central location from which Ely could serve his accounting clients. The following year Ely had moved his business across the street to 1265 Broadway. The Browning, King & Co. building (1910) housed a men’s furnishings retailer, the building’s namesake, on the lower floors. The upper floors of the building provided offices to architects, lithographers, book publishers and our friend, Ely.</p> <p>That same year, Ely began his life-long wrangle with the US legal system. On 2 October, 1915, <em>The City Record</em>, New York City’s journal included this notice under court decisions:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em>Peo. ex rel. Herman Goldschmidt vs. Bd. of Education</em>–Entered order granting motion to vacate order for examination of Patrick Jones.</p> <p>The term “<em>Peo. ex rel.</em>” is generally used in cases where an employee is taking their employer to court. In this instance, the order to examine Patrick Jones was vacated or nullified. <em>The City Record</em> carries additional notices that track Ely’s tussle with the Board of Education for the next five years. Finally, on 23 April, 1920, <em>The City Record</em> published this notice:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Herman E. Goldschmidt vs. P. Jones; Same vs. G.C. Brown; Same vs. A.E. Bracefield–Entered orders discontinuing actions without costs.</p> <p>Did he win? Did he lose? We aren’t sure. Some future sources will tell us that he won. Others will tell us that he lost. It is confusing but that too is becoming something we can expect from Ely. He knows how to talk a good talk and obfuscate the facts. He might actually have made a “good” politician, or a lawyer.</p> <p>The tussle with the Board of Education took place while the First World War was raging, and we could wonder about Ely’s military service. As a relatively recent German immigrant, one would think that he would have been exempted from military service. And yet, on 12 September, 1918, Ely was required to register for the US military draft. Leaving aside his ethnicity, Ely would never have been considered prime military material. He was 37 years old and, according to the draft form, short (5’2″) with a “stout” figure. He was living at 2 Pinehurst Avenue, a large apartment building in Hudson Heights and gave his occupation as Certified Public Accountant. Whatever might have been happening with the Board of Education, Ely was still a reputable accountant with a seemingly solid business.</p> <p>As noted above, we get the sense from the wartime years that Ely was a mover and a shaker. After the war, we can see this trend continuing and escalating. Ely was always writing something, promoting something or advertising something. He published regular articles in the <em>Exhibitor’s Trade Review</em>, for example, particularly on income tax topics. A new Internal Revenue law had come into force in 1919, and Ely seemed determined to take advantage of it. Ely ran an ad in the <em>Review</em> stating that he would do tax returns for FREE if exhibitors displayed a slide advertising his services during their performance. He was quite the hustler and that could indicate success or desperation.</p> <p>Several sources from 1918-1920 provide some key information on Ely and his company. From the 1918-1919 Polk’s Directory of Corporations, we learn that Ely was the President of Accurate Audit Co, 1265 Broadway. The company had $10,000 in capital (worth about $200,000 USD in 2024). The company had several other officers: A. Alvin Fleischer – Vice President; Martin Weintraub – Secretary; Barnet Resnick – Treasurer. The company directors were the same four men. Fleischer, as we see in the below ad from the New York Times was a former U.S. Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue. That would be a handy resource for an accounting company! Alas, by 1920, Fleischer seems to have left the firm.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="398" height="473" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1918-NYT-03-20-page-4-Accurate-Audit-ad.jpg" alt="An ad by Accurate Audit Company featured in the 20 March, 1918 edition of the New York Times (page 4)." class="wp-image-6408" style="width:370px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1918-NYT-03-20-page-4-Accurate-Audit-ad.jpg 398w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1918-NYT-03-20-page-4-Accurate-Audit-ad-252x300.jpg 252w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An ad by Accurate Audit Company featured in the 20 March, 1918 edition of the New York Times (page 4).</figcaption></figure> <p>From the 1920 Accountant’s Directory (noted earlier), we learn Alex S. Jacobson was now Vice-President of Accurate Audit Company. All of the other directors remained the same. The brief bio of Ely in the directory also notes that he was the author of a 1911 publication called the <em>Laymen’s Corporation Manual</em>. He was also the editor of several Income Tax department publications. Despite his short stature, Ely was determined to cut a wide swath through life.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Shifting Focus: Assisting Aliens with Immigration & Tax Matters</strong></h3> <p>Up until this point, Ely seems to have led a rather unremarkable and normal life, with the exception of the Board of Education case. Ely was a naturalized immigrant and citizen of the United States. He was married with a wife and beautiful daughter. He had his own (successful?) business and a reputable career as as Certified Public Accountant. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, a LOT. 1920 marks a change in Ely’s business direction, as he starts to see legal (and eventually, illegal) aliens as a source of business and income.</p> <p>The First World War had severely restricted immigration into the United States, particularly from places like Germany and Austria. In the aftermath of the war, there were hundreds of thousands of displaced persons across Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, who saw the United States of America as a haven of freedom. Unfortunately, the cessation of war had not opened America’s immigration gates. And wherever there is huge demand, and reduced supply… there is a business opportunity for those smart enough to seize it. Ely saw the immigration bottleneck as an opportunity to “help” people.</p> <p>We get the first inklings of this in a New York Times (NYT) article from 11 June, 1920. The previous day, a German newspaper had published an advertisement which stated that Ely could get permission from the State Department for German and Austrian residents to emigrate to the United States, for a fee of “just” $30-$35 (about $500 USD today). A sharp-eyed NYT journalist saw this ad in the German paper and trotted off to Ely’s offices to interview him. So many questions. Were his promises true? How could he get permission when so many could not? According to the journalist, Ely proudly claimed that most of the visa applications he had sent to Washington had indeed been accepted. The State Department, according to Ely, was relaxing its wartime ban on immigration and was allowing “meritorious” cases to enter. He may even have tapped the side of his nose, winked a bit, and suggested that it was all about who you knew.</p> <p>Naturally, the NYT journalist also tracked down and interviewed State Department officials who, mouths agape, actually scoffed at Ely’s claims. They had never heard of him and he had absolutely no “special relations” with them. Major Moore, the visa officer at the State Department, said there were very limited circumstances in which Germans or Austrians could emigrate to the US. Each case was considered on its own merits and he warned Germans or Austrians seeking entry to the US to ignore such advertising.</p> <p>Was Ely lying? Was he simply out to make a fast buck, preying on unsuspecting Europeans who had no idea how to navigate the complexities of the US immigration process? Immigration fraudsters still exist today, convincing unsuspecting immigrants that a few well-spent dollars will expedite their application. All lies. Was Ely doing something similar? Possibly. But Ely was not a one-trick pony and was playing every angle he could.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Publicity and Pushback</strong></h4> <p>A couple of days later, on 13 June, 1920, the NYT ran another article about Ely with an eye-catching headline:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Charges $4,000,000 Tax Loss by Aliens</strong><br /><strong>Accountant Here Declares Income Levies Have Been Collected Illegally</strong><br /><strong>Cites Case of a Styrian</strong><br /><strong>Collector Edwards Replies that Law Provides Ample Means for a Refund</strong></p> <p>According to Ely, who was quoted in the article, hundreds of resident aliens (originally from Germany and Austria) were being taxed inappropriately. With post-war travel opening up again, they naturally wanted to visit family and friends in Europe. As these resident aliens tried to board their ship, however, they needed to prove that their US taxes were paid and up-to-date. Even though they were resident aliens, they were being taxed as if they were non-resident aliens, at a much higher rate. If the resident alien traveler did not pay what was demanded, right there, at the dock, then a revenue inspector would prohibit them from boarding their ship. Ely had tried to bring the matter before the courts but had failed. Evidently, he decided that bringing the matter before the newspapers would bring some attention to the matter. He had even sent an article to German newspapers informing them of this grave injustice. The Collector of Internal Revenues, when asked for a statement by the NYT journalist, simply said that the aliens would get the money back as a tax refund, if warranted. Which makes sense. As long as those resident aliens came back, and filed their tax returns promptly (and accurately), whatever they had paid to the revenue inspector at the dock would naturally be applied to whatever tax was owing. And if they had paid too much, then they would most certainly get a refund.</p> <p>This too seems to be a trademark of our friend Ely. He takes an issue, embellishes it a bit, and then gets it some media attention. I get the sense that he was always looking for a convenient soapbox from which he could elevate his position or amplify his voice. He obviously thought that newspaper ads and articles would get some action. Whether that action was movement on the part of the government, or just publicity for his business, is another question.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Family Ties: Returning to Berlin</h3> <p>On 24 July, 1920, Ely himself applied for a US passport, a document that would, in those days, also have included his wife and daughter. This should have been a fairly straightforward process, given that Ely was a naturalized citizen of the United States. It was not.</p> <p>Ely paid the passport fee on 27 July and included a hand-written letter stating that he was an income tax expert and a Certified Public Accountant. He wanted to visit Britain, France, Holland and Belgium in order to obtain income tax work. According to Ely, thousands of tax returns (presumably US ones) were being filed from Europe. Yet no one was providing tax advice to these tax payers except the US consuls, who had neither the time nor a broad enough knowledge of tax matters. It sounded pretty legit, but Ely’s application was not accepted. At least not initially.</p> <p>On 29 July, 1920, the Division of Passport Control sent a memo to a Department of State official named T.R. Coward stating: “This man’s name appears on the passport refusal cards of this Division with a reference to your office. Will you please let me know whether or not you are of the opinion that a passport should be withheld from him.” An attached note from the Visa Office of the Department of State simply noted “Refusal” and was dated 11 February, 1920.</p> <p>On 2 August, 1920, T.R. Coward sent a memo to the Chief Special Agent asking: “Do you know anything re: Goldsmith? Pls make sure as I can find no record in V.H.” What exactly this “V-H” is, is unknown. Perhaps a type of Visa file? Perhaps a remnant of the First World War tagging those with connections to Imperial Germany? Perhaps a case of mistaken identity? Prior to 1920ish, Ely was known as Herman E. Goldschmidt, but after the Board of Education debacle, Ely pivoted to being known as H. Ely Goldsmith. Perhaps this name change was registered as “suspicious”. My sense of Ely is that he was trying to leave the Board of Education debacle behind him and create a fresh start. Whatever the reason, Ely would come under the microscope of the government before he received his passport.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">A Bright, Clever Little Fellow</h4> <p>The Office of the Special Agent in Charge (Department of State) assigned a Special Agent to investigate Ely. This agent (name unknown) interviewed several people who knew Ely, and then interviewed Ely himself. Overall, he concluded that Ely “enjoys a good reputation as a citizen and professionally”.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="218" height="326" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1920-US-Passport-application-14-pic-of-Ely.jpg" alt="An image of Herman Ely Goldsmith ca. 1920 - from his US Passport application." class="wp-image-6395" style="width:370px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1920-US-Passport-application-14-pic-of-Ely.jpg 218w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1920-US-Passport-application-14-pic-of-Ely-201x300.jpg 201w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">H. Ely Goldsmith ca. 1920 – image from his US Passport application.</figcaption></figure> <p>The agent naturally learned of Ely’s battle with the Board of Education and his investigation provides us with a bit more information. According to the report, Ely lost his position with the Board because he was too “critical of the Board’s methods of doing business and turned up unpleasant irregularities in certain transactions”. The Special Agent interviewed Leo M. Wallstein, Commissioner of Accounts for New York during Ely’s time with the Board. Although Wallstein wouldn’t go into any details about the incident, he did say that Ely’s dismissal was not a reflection of him personally. Wallstein regarded Ely as a “bright, clever little fellow”.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Altruistic Travel Plans</h4> <p>The Special Agent then interviewed Ely who “cheerfully and freely” shared details about his past activities and his future plans. Regarding the Board of Education issue, Ely said that he had taken them to court where he had won. The agent noted that this statement was supported by court records. Whether Ely showed the court records to the agent, or whether it was just a statement of fact is unclear. It would appear, however, that Ely won his tussle with the Board of Education! Although… later information calls this into question. Let’s just say that in July 1920, the back-and-forth court appeals and counter-appeals game was sitting in Ely’s favour.</p> <p>As for his current and future plans, Ely told the agent that many of his clients were aliens. He saw a growing demand for his assistance in helping these clients comply with visa regulations. He did admit that he had previously aided some individuals in securing passports, but had given up this venture “almost entirely” after the government raised objections. This little tidbit is interesting as it would indicate that Ely’s career up until 1920 was not as squeaky clean as we had thought. Perhaps that was why there was a “refusal” on his visa and passport file. Ely was, however, a bit disingenuous with the Special Agent. He said that he had “almost entirely” stopped helping aliens secure passports. That would imply that he was still helping some people with passport issues. We will soon learn that providing aliens with passports and visas was something of a hobby horse for Ely, or the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg(s).</p> <p>With an expression of utter innocence, Ely told the Special Agent that his intention in going Europe was to assist foreigners who owned large properties in the United States. These people were often not versed in the tax laws of the United States, and his services were in demand. He also planned to contact newspapers in Britain, France, Holland Belgium, and edit income tax articles for them. These articles would serve as passive advertising for him and connect him with prospective clients. Given the earlier NYT article (11 June, 1920) and his ads in German newspapers, this does not seem entirely accurate or truthful. But it is clear that Ely was indeed a “bright, clever, little fellow” and could spin a good story.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="273" height="292" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GOLDSMITH-Herman-Ely-b1881-1920-US-Passport-application-15-pic-of-wife-and-daur.jpg" alt="Ida (née Grausmann) and Amy Goldsmith - wife and daughter of Ely Goldsmith - ca. 1920. Image taken from Ely Goldsmith's US Passport application." class="wp-image-6396" style="width:365px;height:auto"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ida (née Grausmann) and Amy Goldsmith – wife and daughter of Ely Goldsmith – ca. 1920. Image taken from Ely Goldsmith’s US Passport application.</figcaption></figure> <p>The Special Agent was “favorably impressed with [Ely] personally and as to honesty and reliability professionally”. The agent recommended Ely be given a passport. At the same time, he had reminded Ely that: “Any other purpose in making the trip than that stated is denied.” In other words, Ely could only go where he had said he wanted to go and do what he said he wanted to do. Germany was most definitely not on the approved list of places. The agent told Ely that if the passport was used for any other purpose, it would be confiscated. Based on the Special Agent’s report, Ely was approved for a passport on 6 August, 1920.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Visiting Germany</strong></h4> <p>Later that month, on 28 August, Ely and his family departed New York aboard the <em>SS Rotterdam</em>. Ely was ecstatic. Finally… he could have a beer! A real, alcoholic beer! Prohibition had come into effect in the US earlier that same year and Ely would seem to have been a stereotypical German who enjoyed a decent brew! Ely wrote a short note to the editor of the NYT from aboard ship:</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Opening of the Ship’s Bar</strong><br /><em>To the Editor of the New York Times:</em><br />If anybody has any doubts of the unpopularity of Prohibition let him take an ocean trip one of these fine Fall days, and attend the opening of the bar aboard after the statutory three-mile limit has been passed.<br />I watched the [..?…] aboard this good ship and I assure you that when the fourth sen mile was passed “no throat was found dry.”<br />The bartenders worked [..?…] the first day, and the waiters collapsed from overwork.<br /><em>H. Ely Goldsmith</em><br /><em>S.S. Rotterdam, Sept. 3, 1920.</em></p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="439" height="353" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rotterdam-4-interior.jpg" alt="Opulent interior of the SS Rotterdam (IV) around the time Ely would have travelled in 1920. (From the Holland-America site)" class="wp-image-6400" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rotterdam-4-interior.jpg 439w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/rotterdam-4-interior-300x241.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 439px) 100vw, 439px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Opulent interior of the <em>SS Rotterdam (IV)</em> around the time Ely would have travelled in 1920. (From the <a href="https://www.hollandamerica.com/150th-anniversary/en/timeline/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Holland-America site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>The SS Rotterdam docked in Rotterdam a few days later. According to the passenger manifest, however, Ely’s ultimate destination was not England, France, Belgium or Holland. It was Berlin. This is rather surprising, since Germany was NOT included on Ely’s list of approved places. But, as we are learning, Ely was a stubborn little fellow and chafed at legal statutes that restricted his enterprises or smacked of injustice. He was a staunch champion of the “little guy”… which often turned out to be him.</p> <p>Given that Ely’s parents lived in Berlin, It seems likely that Ely had taken his wife and daughter to visit them. He hadn’t seen his parents and sister for almost 20 years and much had changed during that time. His little sister, Johanna, had grown up and married Ernest Löwe in 1909, although they seem to have been childless. Little Amy, at 11 years old and the only grandchild, would have been a delight to her Oma and Opa, perhaps singing for them in the evenings. Certainly Gustav would have been staunchly proud of his only son. The boy had turned out well – he had his own respectable accounting business, had married a good German-Jewish girl and produced a delightful granddaughter.</p> <p>A few months later, on 10 November, 1920, Ely, Ida and Amy boarded the <em>SS Manchuria</em> in Hamburg and sailed back to New York. According to the ship’s manifest, they had been most recently in Berlin. One wonders… did Ely actually travel to the list of places on his passport application? Did he go to Britain, Belgium and France? Ely was most definitely not a person to follow the rules… perhaps his experience at the NYC Board of Education taught him that being a stickler for rules got you into more trouble than bending the rules. His relatively small legal battle with the Board of Education had given him a taste for victory. He had travelled to Germany and gotten away with it as there is no evidence that his passport was confiscated. The “little guy” could win and Ely decided to help other “little guys” (aliens) win against the state. For a price, of course. Some of his crusades, however, are a bit ludicrous. But that is for the next blog.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">H.Ely Goldsmith Blog Series</h3> <p><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">Part 1 can be accessed here – 3 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-2-from-respected-accountant-to-shady-immigration-consultant.html">Part 2 can be accessed here – 10 October, 2024</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-3-unrepentant-convicted-felon.html">Part 3 can be accessed here – 17 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-4-the-cuban-connection.html">Part 4 can be accessed here – 24 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a><br><a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-5-echoes-of-a-ravaged-family.html">Part 5 can be accessed here – 31 October, 2024 (link not live until then)</a></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p>Ancestry – Births, Marriages, Deaths, Census, passenger lists, naturalization documents and other records.<br>Accountant’s Directory Who’s Who – 1920 – <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/288029535.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Accountants’ directory and who’s who (core.ac.uk)</a><br>NYC – The City Record Online – <a href="http://cityrecord.engineering.nyu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://cityrecord.e</a><a href="http://cityrecord.engineering.nyu.edu/">ngineering.nyu.edu/</a><br>NYC – Vital Records Scanned – <a href="https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/search</a><br>New York Times – <a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/browser" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">archived newspaper articles</a></p> <p></p> <p>Header image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/cpastrick-35190/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1428230">Chris Pastrick</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1428230">Pixabay</a></p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html">The Unusual Case of H. Ely Goldsmith – Part 1: From Berlin to New York</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/10/the-unusual-case-of-h-ely-goldsmith-part-1-from-berlin-to-new-york.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6381</post-id> </item> <item> <title>Draper, Nurse, Midwife, Spy: The Fantastical Life of Margaret Spencer</title> <link>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/09/draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer</link> <comments>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/09/draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer.html#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Giselle]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Sep 2024 07:03:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[People]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Croydon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[David Lindsay Scott]]></category> <category><![CDATA[David Lindsey Scott]]></category> <category><![CDATA[east sussex]]></category> <category><![CDATA[eastbourne]]></category> <category><![CDATA[margaret ethel payne]]></category> <category><![CDATA[margaret ethel scott]]></category> <category><![CDATA[margaret ethel spencer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[margaret spencer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MI6]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nuns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nurse]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nursing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[princess alice hospital]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Royal Air Force]]></category> <category><![CDATA[second world war]]></category> <category><![CDATA[secret intelligence service]]></category> <category><![CDATA[soe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[special operations executive]]></category> <category><![CDATA[spies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[walter mitty]]></category> <category><![CDATA[women spies]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://josefjakobs.info/?p=6417</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>While searching for nuns and spies the other week, Google presented a few results that piqued my curiosity. All of the hits revolved around a lady named Margaret Spencer from Eastbourne. She had passed away in June 2014 and, after her death, her family revealed that Margaret had been a wartime spy. Now, this is […]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/09/draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer.html">Draper, Nurse, Midwife, Spy: The Fantastical Life of Margaret Spencer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <p>While searching for nuns and spies the other week, Google presented a few results that piqued my curiosity. All of the hits revolved around a lady named Margaret Spencer from Eastbourne. She had passed away in June 2014 and, after her death, her family revealed that Margaret had been a wartime spy.</p> <p>Now, this is not unusual. There were many women who served with the Special Operations Executive, parachuted behind enemy lines and carried out extremely dangerous missions. But Margaret’s story is different.</p> <p>The story first ran in the Eastbourne Herald and was then picked up by three tabloids, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express and The Mirror. The link to the Eastbourne Herald article no longer exists, so we are left to sift through the national tabloids for the core of her story.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Nurse who parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe dressed as a NUN to spy for the Allies dies aged 94</strong></h2> <p style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Margaret Spencer lived a quiet life as a midwife in Eastbourne, East Sussex</strong><br /><strong>But after her death the pensioner’s incredible double life was revealed</strong><br /><strong>Not even her husband knew her activities and just thought she was a nurse</strong><br /><strong>She told how she lived the rest of her life with a bullet lodged in her back</strong><br /><strong>The incredible story of a spy who parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe disguised as a nun has been revealed after she died aged 94.</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">By Dan Bloom</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Just before her death Margaret Spencer wrote of her days as a Second World War spy, being shot in the back by a German sniper and caught by the Gestapo. She had been silent for 50 years after signing the Official Secrets Act – and her account was a shock to all but her closest friends and family in her village near Eastbourne, East Sussex. She finally revealed her life story in memoirs which her family handed to her local newspaper, the Eastbourne Herald, after her death last month.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Mrs Spencer said she had been recruited at the start of the war, given a Colt 45 and instructed to round up German spies and Communists along the south coast – all while working as a nurse. “During all these activities my husband was in complete ignorance,’ she wrote. ‘He just thought I was busy at the hospital. Secrecy meant just that, not even your nearest and dearest knew about your double life.’</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">During one of her daring missions she told how she was captured by the brutal Nazi secret police, the Gestapo. Her published memoirs do not reveal how she escaped – but she lived to tell the tale. In another mission, she parachuted behind enemy lines disguised as a nun.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">After the war she continued working in the intelligence services, including a mission to Russia, before leaving to work as a community nurse and midwife. All the while, she said, she still had the bullet from a German sniper lodged near her spine. But she was only allowed to reveal her secrets in 1995 – and kept her gun until 1977.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Mrs Spencer lived in Eastbourne with her husband Len before moving to the nearby village of Westham, where she was choirmaster at St Mary’s Church. She was also a keen member of the WI [Women’s Institute] and a local history group.<br />Her daughter Diana Milne, 68, who also lives in Eastbourne, told MailOnline her mother had been involved in several parachute drops – but remained completely humble. ‘She was far more proud of what she did in the village than what she did during the war,’ she said. ‘She was the kingpin of the village and lived in and around Eastbourne all her life. ‘A lot of people had contacted the local paper because my mum had given a few talks locally, and there were so many different stories that I decided to let people read what she wrote. ‘But she was very private and only told her story within the village. She had an opportunity to publish – someone who taught history at a university wanted to write it – and she said no. ‘She only ever wrote three accounts of her life which she put down in letter form to her family.’ Her daughter added: ‘The parachuting was normal for her and I know the details of the mission when she dressed as a nun, but she would have wanted that kept private. ‘She was a wonderful woman, my mum. I’m very proud of her.’</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Friend Jill Parsons said: ‘She was well known in the community and very popular. She came to our local group a few years ago and told us about her time in the war. ‘She wasn’t one to show off about what she did. She was incredible.’<br />(<em>Daily Mail – 23 July 2014</em>)</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Girls’ Own Adventure?</h3> <p>My immediate thought, upon reading the tabloid articles was that Margaret had been working on a fiction book. Her story reads like a fantastical <em>Boys’ Own</em> story… or in this case… a <em>Girls’ Own</em> adventure story. It seems that her family took her written “memoirs” at face value and believed them to be autobiographical. It is clear, however, that Margaret also spoke about these exploits over the years, regaling close friends and family with snippets of her secret life as a spy. Different villagers heard different versions, and it was Margaret’s written account that finally set the story straight.</p> <p>The online tabloid articles from 2014 have dozens of comments, most praising Margaret for her willingness to risk her life. A few readers are skeptical of the entire story but are quickly trolled by others.</p> <p>Unfortunately, without proof, her story does beggar belief. She survived a sniper’s bullet? The bullet remained lodged near her spine for her entire life? She was captured by the Gestapo and escaped? She kept the gun until 1977? To top it off, the original Eastbourne Herald article includes even more fanciful anecdotes (more on that later).</p> <p>Some commentators suggest Margaret was delusional, going squirrely in the head as she aged. Charitably, she may have read wartime accounts or fictional stories and blurred the lines between fantasy and reality. Perhaps she was sitting with her history club and shared some information she had gleaned from one of these accounts. Perhaps someone said, “How do you know so much about this?”. And in a moment of weakness, she said “I was there.” Heads turned. Eyes widened. Suddenly Margaret was the centre of attention. There was immediate interest from the group: “Tell us more!” But as soon as you start with one small white slip… you are committed to it. The single fib gets bigger and multiplies. The lies take on a life of their own.</p> <p>Until, a university history professor contacted Margaret asking if he could write her story. She demurred. But acquiesced when her family asked her to write some of it down. She might have been appalled to learn that her story would then be published in the newspapers for all to see. For all to evaluate.</p> <p>Let’s start with a bit of background information on Margaret, based on facts and see where that leads us.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Early Life of Margaret Spencer</h3> <p>Margaret Ethel Payne was born 16 May, 1920, in Eastbourne, to Frederick William Payne and his wife Edith Florence Mabel (née) Bird. Frederick had joined the Royal Navy at age 15 (1886) and served until 1917. He and Edith were married in February 1908 and their first child was born 10 months later. The 1911 census notes he was a Petty Officer Instructor. The couple had four children (one of whom died as an infant) and Margaret was the youngest. By the time Margaret was born, Frederick worked as a bank messenger. Margaret was baptized at Christ Church in Eastbourne on 20 June, 1920.</p> <p>From 1920 to 1934, Frederick and his family resided at 30 Seaford Road in Eastbourne. There is no information on Margaret’s education but it seems likely that she attended school in Eastbourne. Would she have learned any foreign languages during her school years? Latin? Greek? German? French? Her paternal grandfather was born on the Jersey Islands and may have spoken French. But would those language skills have been passed down to Margaret? It seems unlikely.</p> <p>In 1933, at the age of 25, Margaret’s eldest sister, Irene Edith Payne gave birth to a child whose father seems to have been John Henry Dixon. There is, however, no evidence that Irene married this Dixon character. Irene had been living with her family until 1931, at which point she moved out on her own, into Dixon’s house. Dixon seems to have run a rooming house as there were other individuals living at the same address. Irene later pops up in the 1939 National Registration (under her maiden name) residing in Bournemouth and working as a Beauty Specialist Demonstrator. Her son, Roy, was probably living her, but his record is still locked. Irene later married Harold Jones in 1960 and eventually moved to Canada. She worked as a teacher and passed away in 1986 in Victoria, British Columbia, not far from here. Irene was a widow when she passed and died from ovarian cancer complications. I wonder if she stayed in contact with Margaret after she left for Canada, or even before? I get the sense that she may not have left the family home in 1931 under the best of circumstances. Margaret, on the other hand, was the good girl. At least for a while.</p> <p>By 1934, the Payne family had moved to 29 Harding Avenue (aka Lothbury), a bland, semi-detached in a sea of similar homes. Margaret and her parents would remain here for several decades. At this point, Margaret’s older brother, Nigel Edward, was still living at home. By 1939, however, he had moved to Yorkshire where he was working as a Mechanical Engineering Draughtsman. He would settle in Staffordshire and raise a family. It was up to Margaret to care for her aging parents.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="797" height="685" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Eastbourne-29-Harding-Avenue.png" alt="29 Harding Avenue, Eastbourne, Sussex - former residence of Margaret and her parents (Google Streetview)" class="wp-image-6457" style="width:581px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Eastbourne-29-Harding-Avenue.png 797w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Eastbourne-29-Harding-Avenue-300x258.png 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Eastbourne-29-Harding-Avenue-768x660.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 797px) 100vw, 797px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">29 Harding Avenue, Eastbourne, Sussex – former residence of Margaret and her parents (Google Streetview)</figcaption></figure> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Outbreak of War</h3> <p>Shortly after the outbreak of war (according to the 1939 National Registration), Margaret was living with her parents at 29 Harding Avenue. Frederick (age 68) was a Bank Messenger (retired) and a pensioner of the Royal Navy who had served as a Petty Officer Gunnery Instructor. His wife Edith was 53 years old and a housewife. Margaret (age 19) was a Draper’s Assistant, someone who worked in a fabric shop. The marginal notes are cut off but suggest that Margaret was Section Leader for the British Red Cross and possibly an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) Ambulance Driver. It doesn’t appear that Margaret’s parents served in the ARP or Red Cross, at least not this early in the war.</p> <p>So, here we have 19 year old Margaret at the outbreak of war. She is living with her parents in Eastbourne. She is a volunteer with the British Red Cross and works in a fabric shop. There is no indication, as of yet, of a health care profession. She is like any other typical young woman of the day. She stepped up to do her duty, but a local duty. She did not join the WAAF (Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) or the WRNS (Women’s Royal Naval Service). She did what she could within the confines of her life. She doesn’t appear to have had any particular skills that would have made her a top pick for the Secret Intelligence Service. Other than, perhaps, keeping her eyes open for spies.</p> <p>Given that Eastbourne was along the coast, it was regularly bombed during the Battle of Britain. At the same time, fears of spies sneaking ashore in advance of a Germans invasion, had all of the coastal communities on high alert. Everyone needed to keep their eyes open for spies. Not just Margaret.</p> <p>The next time Margaret surfaces is on 23 September, 1943, when she marries Dr. David Lindsay Scott at St. Mildred’s Church in Addiscombe, Croydon. This is rather far from Eastbourne, Mildred’s normal stomping grounds. Who was this Dr. Scott? Did Margaret meet him while working as a nurse in a hospital? Had they eloped? Luckily for us, David and Margaret’s subsequent divorce made the national newspapers. We can learn quite a bit about their short-lived marriage from the papers and genealogical records.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Dashing Surgeon</h3> <p>David Lindsey [sic] had been born 11 May, 1920, in East Essex to David Scott and his wife, Beatrice Mary Lindsey. David Sr had been born 1867 in the Orkneys and by 1890 had moved to the south of England with his large family to farm. But David Sr had bigger plans for his life than farming. He seized the opportunities available in the south and, on 27 July, 1912, he qualified as a physician and surgeon. Seven years later, at the age of 52, he married Beatrice Mary Lindsey. Interestingly, Beatrice (born 1888) would qualify as a registered nurse in 1944 at the age of 56. Late bloomers seem to run in the family, although young David Lindsay hit the ground running. (N.B. the spelling of his middle name was changed by deed poll in 1930 from Lindsey to Lindsay)</p> <p>David Jr earned his MRCS (Membership in the Royal College of Surgeons) and LRCP (Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians) on 24 April, 1942 at the age of 22. By 1 October, 1942, David was hard at work at Princess Alice Memorial Hospital in Eastbourne. He is mentioned in a 24 October, 1942, Eastbourne Herald article. A sapper named Joseph Walsh had died of complications from Vincent’s angina (inflammation of the mouth) and an inquest had been held, during which Dr. D.L. Scott gave testimony.</p> <p>As a newly minted surgeon, David’s skills would have been in high demand during the war. Born in 1920, he was also of an age to be prime military material. Britain’s Armed Forces were always in need of medical staff. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to learn that David received a commission in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 21 January 1943. The RAFVR was the primary means whereby air crew and commissioned officers entered the RAF during the war. David naturally joined the RAF’s Medical Branch, and was initially commissioned as a Flying Office (Flg Off).</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Courtship & Marriage</h3> <p>According to subsequent newspaper articles (detailing the end of their marriage), David had met Margaret in an Eastbourne hospital where he was a surgeon and she was a probationer (student) nurse. It seems likely that they met at Princess Alice Hospital. As a probationer nurse, Margaret would have had to live in residence with the other nurses, not at home with her parents. She would have been under strict supervision by Staff Nurses and Matron. Her job would have included helping patients with bed pans, taking temperatures, and giving blanket baths. Living in residence meant that nurses were under intense scrutiny and strict discipline. Matron would have controlled their movements, conduct, manners and morals. Because of this strict policy, and the requirement to live in residence, nurse training was virtually incompatible with married life.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="694" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Princess-Alice-Hospital-ca-1934-1024x694.jpg" alt="Princess Alice Hospital - Eastbourne - from NHS East Sussex site" class="wp-image-6465" style="width:634px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Princess-Alice-Hospital-ca-1934-1024x694.jpg 1024w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Princess-Alice-Hospital-ca-1934-300x203.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Princess-Alice-Hospital-ca-1934-768x521.jpg 768w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Princess-Alice-Hospital-ca-1934.jpg 1400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Princess Alice Hospital – Eastbourne – from <a href="https://www.esht.nhs.uk/history/the-nhs-at-70-years-old/nhs-70th-princess-alice-hospital/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NHS East Sussex site</a></figcaption></figure> <p>It therefore comes as a bit of a surprise to learn that Margaret and David found the opportunity to get romantically involved. Even if David arrived in Eastbourne in May 1942 (shortly after being licensed as a Surgeon & Physician), the two lovebirds would have only had eight months to form a relationship before David joined the RAF. The strict supervision of the probationer nurses, would have made their courtship difficult. Difficult, but seemingly not impossible. Perhaps David was stationed at a nearby RAF base (RAF Croydon?) and visited on the weekends, when Margaret had a few blessed hours of relief from emptying bed pans. Perhaps all of this played into their decision to get married in Croydon, far from the disapproving eyes of Matron and Margaret’s parents. Given what had happened with Margaret’s eldest sister, Irene, Margaret may have told David that if he wanted “more” then they needed to get married.</p> <p>Whatever the case, while they were going on their honeymoon, Margaret’s bubble of romantic marital bliss popped. David told her that, even though he was a member of the Church of Scotland, he was an agnostic and ridiculed the marriage ceremony and the parson. Margaret was devastated. David was not the man she had thought him to be. But they were married. And marriage was for life.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized wp-duotone-unset-2"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="600" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Addiscombe-St-Mildreds-church.jpg" alt="St. Mildred's Church - Addiscombe, Croydon (from British Listed Buildings site)" class="wp-image-6456" style="width:562px;height:auto" srcset="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Addiscombe-St-Mildreds-church.jpg 800w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Addiscombe-St-Mildreds-church-300x225.jpg 300w, https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Addiscombe-St-Mildreds-church-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">St. Mildred’s Church – Addiscombe, Croydon (from <a href="https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101485732-church-of-st-mildred-addiscombe-ashburton-ward" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British Listed Buildings site</a>)</figcaption></figure> <p>What happened next? Margaret was now a married woman and it seems rather unlikely that she continued as a probationary nurse. Did she move back home with her parents? David would have been housed in military quarters and it is unlikely that she would have moved in with him. A few months after their marriage, on 21 January, 1944, David was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. And so their relationship continued, with weekend leave granting them some time together.</p> <p>In May 1945, after the Japanese surrender, David was sent overseas with the RAF to Singapore, as a non-combatant, likely in his role as physician/surgeon. During his time away, Margaret continued to live with her parents at 29 Harding Avenue.</p> <p>On 27 July, 1945, Margaret gave birth to a daughter, Diana Christine Scott. The birth announcement in the Eastbourne Herald noted that her father, Dr. D.L. Scott was serving overseas with the RAF. If we count backwards, little Diana was likely conceived in late October 1944. Was she conceived while David was on weekend leave from the Royal Air Force? Possibly.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tragic Suicide</h3> <p>On 5 February, 1946, while David was overseas, tragedy struck the Payne household. It was around noon when Margaret went into the garden to call her father inside, possibly for the midday meal. Getting no response, she went to the potting shed and found him with a gunshot wound to the head, and a service revolver near his right hand. I can’t even imagine how this affected Margaret, but perhaps her nursing experience kicked in. Did she attempt to render first aid? She did have the presence of mind to ring for the doctor and the police.</p> <p>A coroner’s inquest was held the next day where it was revealed that Frederick had seen his family doctor several weeks earlier about a small growth on his right ear. The physician had referred him to a surgeon at Princess Alice Hospital. Afterwards, there was talk of radium treatment suggesting that the doctors thought it might be cancerous.</p> <p>Margaret said she had never heard her father threaten to take his own life, but thought that the ear trouble “was a bit of a blow” to him. Margaret knew that there was a gun in the loft but didn’t know that her father had ammunition for it. The coroner returned a verdict that Frederick killed himself while the balance of the mind was disturbed.</p> <p>Margaret herself had had a series of hard blows within the space of three years. She had had a hasty marriage and subsequently discovered that her husband was an agnostic. She may have lost her position as a probationary nurse after her marriage. Her husband was sent overseas just as the war was ending elsewhere. She gave birth to their daughter while her husband was away. Her father committed suicide at the age of 74 and she was the one who found him. Was she also the one who had to clean up the potting shed afterwards? Trying to scrub away the blood stains? Consoling her mother who had lost a husband?</p> <p>Her father’s suicide is also the only time we come across a revolver. Was it a Colt 45? Did Margaret carry it around with her (unloaded) as she patrolled Eastbourne’s streets, searching for spies and communists? Other lonely wartime women had done even stranger things. For example, <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Spy-Beside-Sea-Extraordinary-Wartime/dp/0752479636" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dorothy O’Grady</a>, on the Isle of Wight, had imagined herself to be a Nazi spy and had cut telegraph wires with nail scissors. I also wonder… what became of the suicide weapon after the coroner’s inquest? Did Margaret turn it over to the authorities? Or did she hang onto it? It could not have been easy to handle the gun that had killed her father.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Brief Reunion</h3> <p>Thing began to look up for Margaret a few months later, however. In May 1946, David returned from overseas duty. Margaret was ecstatic! Finally, they could have a normal life!</p> <p>And yet, as time went on, she smelled a rat. She asked him if he had been unfaithful while overseas. He scoffed at the idea. In September, 1946, however, the couple reached a breaking point. David was visiting his wife for the weekend in Eastbourne. While they were walking on the Eastbourne promenade, David showed her three photographs of a “coloured” woman and said he had lived with her while overseas. Back at the family home, voices were raised and David lost his temper. Margaret’s mother ordered him out of the house and after protesting he left. He phoned Margaret the next day and “invited” (ordered?) her to join him. She refused.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Divorce or Dissolution</h3> <p>Much of this information came out during proceedings at the London Divorce Court in mid-December 1950. Mr. Commissioner Grazebrook presided over the case and listened as Margaret and David both told their sides of the story.</p> <p>David claimed that Margaret had deserted him when she refused to come with him in September 1946 and sought a divorce for desertion.</p> <p>Margaret on the other hand, claimed that David had admitted adultery and sought a decree “nisi” or dissolution of the marriage. Margaret claimed that her husband was intemperate in that, when he drank, he became angry and would stamp about the house and kick the furniture, to the point that she was afraid of him. When he showed her the photographs of the other woman, he also extolled the virtues of this lady and compared “his wife unfavourably as regards methods of affection and love”. Margaret also told the court that. if she had known that David was an agnostic, she would never have married him.</p> <p>At the time of the divorce case, David was living in Liverpool and Margaret was still living in the Payne home in Eastbourne. The Commissioner sided with Margaret and called David’s attempts to justify his adultery as “ridiculous”. The marriage was dissolved.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">A Second Marriage</h3> <p>Margaret was now a free woman, but she would not leap back into the marital bed anytime soon. She and her mother, and little Diana, continued to live in their semi-detached in Eastbourne. While there is no evidence that Margaret ever completed her registration as a nurse or midwife, perhaps her role as community nurse did not require her to be registered.</p> <p>On 16 November, 1958, Margaret’s mother passed away. We don’t know much about Edith, although knowing that she kicked David out of the house in September 1946, we can assume that she had her feisty moments.</p> <p>Six years later, on 25 April, 1964, Margaret married Leonard Tennyson Spencer in Eastbourne. Born in 1912, Leonard was a joiner/carpenter whose first wife had passed away in 1959. He had two children (born in the 1940s) from his first marriage. and passed away in 1984 in Eastbourne.</p> <p>Margaret herself passed away on 23 June, 2014, in Eastbourne.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Margaret’s Spy Story in Context</h3> <p>Having reviewed some of the facts of Margaret’s life, at least as much as we can decipher from the historical record, let’s now take another look at her spy story. The following account was published on <em>War History Online</em> on 28 July, 2014.</p> <h4 style="padding-left: 40px;"><strong>Nurse who parachuted as a NUN into Occupied Europe to spy for the Allies has died</strong></h4> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Upon the death of a former WWII nurse, her previously unknown story has been discovered. It is now known that she was much more than anyone might have guessed from her job description. In an act of Allied espionage, she was sent to Germany in the guise of a nun. Transcending the role of a simple WWII nurse, she became a spy for the Allies, keeping her secret from those closest to her for the rest of her life.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Margaret Spencer died recently at ninety-four years of age, but not before putting pen to paper and revealing a lifetime of silence surrounding her role in the Second World War. Due to the Official Secrets Act, she could not tell the tale of her deployment in Germany, during which she was dressed as a nun to help maintain secrecy. Most believed her to be a WWII nurse like any other, but she was actually carrying a gun. Her mission was to help capture German spies for the Allies. Her nun disguise only accompanied her to one of many missions, but her pistol was with her on all of them. Unfortunately, danger still lurked around every corner.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Of course, the greatest danger for a spy such as Spencer was the fear of being caught. This eventually became a reality. Not only was she spotted by a German sniper who put a bullet in her back that would remain there for the rest of her life as a supposed WWII nurse, but she was eventually captured by the Gestapo. Her writings of this account appear to be relatively unfinished, in that her escape is not detailed. Even so, it is clear that she led a harrowing life during the war, the Mail Online reports.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Her life was much quieter after the war ended. In the mid-1990s, she was allowed to tell some of her friends and family what she had been through. In between her late life as a housewife and her life as a WWII nurse and spy, she did run a few missions. Luckily, they were not as dangerous as the operations she undertook during the conflict. Like many heroes of the Second World War, even those who she told about her adventures would not describe her as a braggart, but rather as a remarkable woman with a measure of humility.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">Spencer’s work as a WWII nurse and spy was not a widely known story until after her death due to her decision not to write about it until the end of her lifetime. Only those in her local village were aware, and their stories were generally mixed until her accounts set the record straight with the precise details of her wartime engagements. She is now known to be much more than a simple WWII nurse, but rather a heroic spy who put her life on the line to give the Allies an edge in one of the largest conflicts in history. <em>(<a href="https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/nurse-who-parachuted-as-a-nun-into-occupied-europe-to-spy-for-the-allies-has-died.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">War History Online – 28 July 2014</a>)</em></p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fact vs. Fiction</h2> <p>Let’s review again, the facts that we know about Margaret’s activites between 1939 and 1945.</p> <p>We know that at at the outbreak of war, Margaret was working as a draper’s assistant and volunteering with the Red Cross and ARP.</p> <p>We know that Margaret was a probationer nurse in mid-1942 when she met Dr. David Lindsay Scott, likely at Princess Alice Hospital in Eastbourne. We know that she married David in September 1943 and that he, an RAF officer, likely visited her on the weekends. We know that, as a probationer nurse, she would have lived in a nurse’s residence and been kept under the eagle-eyed supervision of Matron. We know that, due to the strict rules of conduct governing probationer nurses, her marriage may have ended her career as a wartime nurse. Her name does NOT appear in the Register of Nurses, although her mother-in-law’s name does, in 1944. We know that Margaret became pregnant with her daughter in October 1944, and that she gave birth in July 1945, a few months after David was sent to Singapore with the RAF.</p> <p>We know that her father committed suicide with a service revolver in February 1946. Margaret knew about the gun but did not realize her father had ammunition for it. We know that David returned in May 1946 and that the couple went their separate ways in September 1946. We know that Margaret lived with her mother and daughter at 29 Harding Avenue in Eastbourne until her second marriage to Leonard Spencer in 1964.</p> <p>I honestly find it difficult to picture Margaret having the time, or freedom, to parachute behind enemy lines at any point during the war, or after it.</p> <p>I question her language skills. Was she fluent in French or German? Where would she have learned a foreign language? Many of the SIS and SOE agents were either foreign refugees or dual citizens who were fluent in other languages.</p> <p>How did she survive capture by the Gestapo? <a href="https://www.violette-szabo-museum.co.uk/violette.html">Violette Szabo</a>, a British-French SOE agent who parachuted into occupied France was captured by the Germans and executed. Margaret conveniently does not write how she managed to escape.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="220" height="263" src="https://josefjakobs.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Violette_Szabo_IWM_photo.jpg" alt="Violette Szabo from Wikipedia" class="wp-image-6464"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Violette Szabo from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violette_Szabo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wikipedia</a></figcaption></figure> <p>There are many women, like Violette who risked their lives for King and Country. Real heroines like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllis_Latour" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phyllis Latour</a> or <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cneej0r2n7go" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Elżbieta Zawacka</a> or <a href="https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Krystyna-Skarbek-Christine-Granville/">Krystyna Skarbek</a> (aka Christine Granville) or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odette_Hallowes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Odette Hallowes</a> or <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/SOEleigh.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vera Leigh</a> and her compatriots. Many of these brave women joined the <a href="https://www.fany.org.uk/History" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">First Aid Nursing Yeomanry</a> as a cover for their covert activities, yet there is no evidence that Margaret was ever a member of FANY.</p> <p>There is no evidence that Margaret was ever a member of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Responses to Margaret’s Story</h3> <p>The tabloid articles in July 2014 garnered many comments and responses. Many of the readers were awestruck by Margaret’s bravery and humility.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">“What a Woman!” “A truly remarkable woman.” “Fascinating story” “Brave woman” “A true heroine” “The Greatest Generation”</p> <p>A minority of readers questioned Margaret’s story and identified the gaping holes in it.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">“This story is a load of hooey – she was delusional.”<br />“It reads like a phoney story to me.”<br />“Parachuting into enemy territory while dressed as a nun? I think she watched too many B-movies or episodes of Dad’s Army! A female Walter Mitty?”<br />“Sounds breezy to me”<br />“Not just breezy but totally bonkers. The gullibility of people is just extraordinary”<br />“I have read a lot about the female agents during WW2, but I had never heard of this one before. Was she fluent in another language?”</p> <p>Those who questioned the veracity of Margaret’s story were trolled by those who clung to the veracity of Margaret’s tale.</p> <p style="padding-left: 40px;">“Sadly reading some of these comments I think they broke the mold when they finished making that generation. The disbelieving of some commenting here break my heart. Thank you dear lady and all the others that fought for our future. Sadly the politicians today have given it always in the name of greed.”</p> <p>It makes sense. Readers have an initial emotional reaction to Margaret’s story. After that, emotions rule the roost and it’s harder to bring in some critical thinking.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Eastbourne Herald Tidbits</h3> <p>The Army Rumour Service forums (ARRSE) has some interesting tidbits from the original Eastbourne Herald article. These scraps of information did not make it into the national tabloids, perhaps because, even the tabloids found them too fantastical:</p> <ul> <li>Margaret Spencer was flown in a small aircraft and landed in a field (complete with flarepath) outside wartime Berlin to pick up an agent suffering from rabies.</li> <li>A quote from Margaret’s “memoirs”: “He spun around and pointed his gun at me and told me to walk over and stand with my back to the wall and that was his big mistake because while my back was turned to him I got my gun out of my cloak and as I turned I shot his gun out of his hand…”</li> <li>After the war – Margaret disguised herself as a male Russian officer to smuggle someone over the Russian [sic] border</li> </ul> <p>I have tried to track down the Eastbourne Herald article but the link provided in the ARRSE forum no longer works as the Herald was absorbed into a larger Sussex news site. The Herald link now redirects to a <em>Page Not Found</em> notice on the Sussex Express site. The British Newspaper Archives only has digital versions of the Herald up until 2003. If anyone has access to the Eastbourne Herald from late July 2014, I would love to read the original articles!</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p></p> </blockquote> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Conclusion</h3> <p>It is telling, perhaps, that after the first flurry of articles in late July 2014, we hear nothing further about Margaret Spencer and her secret life as a spy. Perhaps the family realized that Margaret’s story was just that, a story, with no basis in fact.</p> <p>There is also no mention of Margaret on the <a href="https://www.eastbournehistory.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eastbourne Local History Society</a> page. I like to think that Margaret made up fanciful tales for her grandchildren about the wartime exploits of brave women. If, as she aged, these stories came across as autobiographical, let’s put that down to faulty memories and wishful thinking.</p> <p>I feel for Margaret. She was on track, in 1942, to make something of herself as a wartime nurse. She was making a difference in the war effort, even if it wasn’t, as yet, glamourous. But then she got swept off her feet by David Lindsay Scott. And got pregnant. And found her father in the potting shed. Her life was derailed multiple times and perhaps she wanted to follow a different path. Perhaps she imagined an alternate timeline, one in which things played out differently. One in which she was the hero.</p> <p>And yet, Margaret was a hero. She stood up for herself in divorce court and won! She raised her daughter on her own. She found a job that supported herself and her daughter. She remarried, happily this time I hope. She was esteemed and revered in her community. One doesn’t need to have led a fantastical life in order to have made a difference.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Post Script</h3> <p>For those who wonder what became of Dr. David Lindsay Scott. The 1959 Medical Register notes that he was living/working at Lasarettet [Hospital], Sundsvall 5, Sweden. Sundsvall is a city about 400 km north of Stockholm, on the Gulf of Bothnia. A rather frigid and isolated place for a British surgeon.</p> <p>I did find several references to him in the <em>British Journal of Anaesthesia</em> (1955), where he wrote several letters to the journal. One comments on a modified larygoscopic blade, the other on labelling syringes. In the same journal, he submitted an article titled <em>Pethidine and Gallamine alone in the Treatment of Fractured Mandible</em> (instead of using anaesthesia). In all cases, he was working at the County Hospital in Sundsvall.</p> <p>By 1961, David was back in England, working at St. Helens and South Liverpool Hospital Group. He had written another article for the BJA, this one detailing his experience in Sundsvall – <em>Anaesthetic Experiences in 1,300 Geriatric Operations</em>. Beyond that, I have been unable to trace him. Did he remarry? Did he have other children? What became of him? </p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">References</h3> <p><a href="https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/british-agent-parachuted-while-dressed-as-a-nun.216841/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">British Agent Parachuted While Dressed as a Nun | Army Rumour Service (arrse.co.uk)</a></p> <p>Bartleby Research – a questionable site that lets users buy essays – there is an essay stub on Margaret Spencer that raises even more eyebrows – without access to the Eastbourne Herald articles, it’s hard to say how much of this essay is actually based on Margaret’s “memoirs” – <a href="https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Nurse-Margaret-Spencer-The-Secret-Intelligence-Service-5A9CA5FB1D62DDA1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nurse Margaret Spencer: The Secret Intelligence Service Spy | Bartleby</a></p> <p>War History Online – 28 July 2014 – <a href="https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/nurse-who-parachuted-as-a-nun-into-occupied-europe-to-spy-for-the-allies-has-died.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nurse who parachuted as a NUN into Occupied Europe to spy for the Allies has died (warhistoryonline.com)</a></p> <p>Express – 22 July 2014 – <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/490575/Former-spy-Margaret-Spencer-has-died" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Former spy Margaret Spencer has died | UK | News | Express.co.uk</a></p> <p>The Argus – 21 July 2014 – <a href="https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11355918.spy-heroine-parachutist-margaret-dies-aged-94-in-east-sussex-village/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spy heroine parachutist Margaret dies aged 94 in East Sussex village | The Argus</a></p> <p>The Mirror – 22 July 2014 – <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/church-choristers-secret-life-spy-3897991">Church chorister’s secret life as spy who parachuted into Nazi Europe disguised as NUN revealed – Mirror Online</a></p> <p>Eastbourne Herald – original article link (no longer works)- http://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/local/double-life-of-wartime-secret-agent-mrs-margaret-spencer-1-6186718</p> <p></p> <p>Header Image – Group of WW2 ARP ambulance drivers from Sheffield Civil Defence – from <a href="https://www.ww2civildefence.co.uk/blog/ww2-arp-ambulance-drivers-sheffield-civil-defence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WW2 Civil Defence</a> site</p> <p>The post <a href="https://josefjakobs.info/2024/09/draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer.html">Draper, Nurse, Midwife, Spy: The Fantastical Life of Margaret Spencer</a> appeared first on <a href="https://josefjakobs.info">Josef Jakobs - 1898-1941</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://josefjakobs.info/2024/09/draper-nurse-midwife-spy-the-fantastical-life-of-margaret-spencer.html/feed</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6417</post-id> </item> </channel> </rss>