I bought a British Newspaper Archives subscription last year and did various searches for Josef Jakobs/Jacobs. Imagine my surprise when I came across a 1987 article in which a man named Roy Harrison told the story of how he had served on the firing squad of Josef Jakobs! I already had an eye witness account […]
The Story of Roy Harrison – Executioner of a German Spy Read More »
Back in November, I received an intriguing Facebook message from a woman down on the east coast of the States. She said that her family name was spelt “Jakobs” as well and that her family had long circulated a story that one of their great-relatives was a spy for the Nazis. She had come across
Branches of the Josef Jakobs Family Tree Read More »
Introduction For a few years now, I’ve been researching a gentleman named Kenneth Clifford Howard and his mysterious association with the two German spies, Josef Jakobs and Karl Theodore Drücke. His association with Josef seems to be based on a filing error at the National Archives (or MI5). Two small notebooks belonging to Kenneth can
The Unsealed 1939 National Register entry for Kenneth Clifford Howard Read More »
Introduction A few weeks ago, I posted several blogs about one of the individuals involved with Jürgen Ziebell in an Irish naturalisation scheme. Johann Hans Wolpe was a Jewish financier who had left Berlin under suspicious circumstances, bumped around Paris for a few years and then ended up in Holland, from whence he was eventually
The Tarnished Career of Johann Hans Wolpe Read More »
There are a few mysteries in Josef’s MI5 files, and one of them lies in folder KV 2/25, folio 87a – a memo on 30 May 1941 from H.P. Milmo (B2c) to Mr. Hunter (B6) First off, it’s important to note that the memo has Josef’s Personal File number on it (P.F. 55039), which means
The Mystery of Le Touquet Syndicate and Josef Jakobs Read More »
I started this series of blog posts several months ago and had no idea it would lead me on such an epic journey. The stories of those who sought to escape the clutches of the Nazis span the gamut of tragedy to triumph. I have found it exceedingly difficult and emotionally draining to dig into
Conclusion – Black Market Passport Business Read More »
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about Josef Jakobs’ information on Ziebell’s attempt to secure Irish naturalisations for the Jews. The scheme involved two other men: Johann (Hans) Wolpe and Josef Emil Roos. During my research for that post, I came across some references to Wolpe in Google Books – specifically a book
Johann Hans Wolpe & the Aleister Crowley Connection Read More »
Preamble There are two final key individuals involved in Ziebell’s black market passport business in Berlin: Herr & Frau Reiwald. Both individuals were mentioned by Josef Jakobs and Lily Knips, but the details we have on them are very sketchy. Information from Josef Jakobs & Lily Knips Josef said that he introduced many rich Jews
Herr & Frau Reiwald – Berlin – Black Market Passport Business Read More »
N.B. In May 2020 I downloaded some National Archives files on Arthur Albert Tester which have quite a bit of information that touches on Roos. The first of a four part blog series on Tester can be found here. Preamble Josef Jakobs was a client recruiter for lawyer Jürgen Ziebell in Berlin in 1937 and
Preamble to Dochnal, Rosenberg & Goldstein Another blog in my series focused on the black market passport business run by Jürgen Ziebell in Berlin during the Second World War. I highly recommended that you read my earlier blog for an overview of the sale of black market passports to Berlin Jews, as related by Josef
Martin Goldstein & Emil Dochnal – Black Market Passport Business Read More »