Death at the “Fritz Ritz”

Ask Americans about the presence of Nazi fighters in the United States during the Second World War and you’re likely to get a bewildered response. Some might know something about Operation Pastorius, the ill-fated June 1942 plot in which eight Germans covertly landed on beaches in Florida and Long Island intent on sabotage, only to be quickly apprehended by U.S. authorities. A few might remember that a German U-boat sank a 368-foot collier off of Port Judith, Rhode Island, on May 5, 1945, in the very last hours of active U.S.-German combat in World War II.

Most, though, will just think you’re crazy: everyone knows Uncle Sam fought the Nazis so effectively “over there,” they never had a chance to make it here.