Friend of Nazi saboteurs given 45 years: 1942
Anthony Cramer, one of fourteen people charged in civilian courts with aiding eight Nazi saboteurs who landed by submarine on U.S. shores In June 1942, is shown in a full frontal photograph after his arrest.
Cramer was aa close friend of Werner Thiel, one of eight German Nazi saboteurs who landed by U-boat on U.S. shores in June 1942.
Cramer was born in Allendorf, Germany in 1900 and served in the German army during World War I. He arrived in the United States in 1925 and became a naturalized citizen in 1936.
He was a member of the Friends of New Germany—the predecessor organization to the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization.
While in the United States, Cramer worked as both an engineer and a mechanic in New York.
He had dinner with both Thiel and Edward Kerling, another of the saboteurs, while in New York. Thiel gave Cramer $3,670 for safekeeping which Cramer put in a safe deposit box.
Cramer was charged and convicted of treason in November 1942 and sentenced to forty-five years in prison plus a $10,000 fine.
While Cramer remained imprisoned, the case was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed his conviction on April 23, 1945 in a 5-4 decision.
Writing for the majority, Justice Robert H. Jackson said that the Constitution is clear in its definition of treason, limited to the waging of war, or giving material assistance to an enemy.
The prosecution and its witnesses could demonstrate only an association and not that Cramer had given "Aid and Comfort," as defined in Article Three. Jackson wrote that the jury had been given no evidence that Cramer had "even paid for their drinks." As such, the majority opinion held, the associations were insufficient to convict Cramer for treason, and the judgment of the Court of Appeals was reversed.
But Cramer’s legal troubles were not over. Minutes before the paperwork could reach the prison to release him, Cramer was indicted for violating the “Trading with the Enemy” act and a Presidential “freeze order” over Cramer’s safeguarding Thiel’s money.
Cramer pled guilty September 29, 1945 and was sentenced to six years in prison. The judge remarked that it would have been 10 years except that Cramer had already been in prison for over three years.
The eight Nazi saboteurs who landed in the U.S. in Florida and New York were almost immediately arrested after one of them, George Dasch, contacted the FBI and turned himself in.
The eight saboteurs were quickly convicted--six of whom were executed in August 1942, including Kerling and Thiel; one received a life sentence; and one received 30 years imprisonment following a Washington, D.C. military trial.
Fourteen other people, including Cramer, were charged with aiding the eight saboteurs. Cramer was charged with treason and the government sought the death penalty.
Of the others charged with aiding the saboteurs some received various prison terms, some had charges dropped, some were detained as enemy aliens and deported after the war ended.
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsmPiRmT4
The photographer is unknown. The image is believed to be a U.S. government photograph. It is housed in the D.C. Library Washington Star Collection.
Friend of Nazi saboteurs given 45 years: 1942
Anthony Cramer, one of fourteen people charged in civilian courts with aiding eight Nazi saboteurs who landed by submarine on U.S. shores In June 1942, is shown in a full frontal photograph after his arrest.
Cramer was aa close friend of Werner Thiel, one of eight German Nazi saboteurs who landed by U-boat on U.S. shores in June 1942.
Cramer was born in Allendorf, Germany in 1900 and served in the German army during World War I. He arrived in the United States in 1925 and became a naturalized citizen in 1936.
He was a member of the Friends of New Germany—the predecessor organization to the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization.
While in the United States, Cramer worked as both an engineer and a mechanic in New York.
He had dinner with both Thiel and Edward Kerling, another of the saboteurs, while in New York. Thiel gave Cramer $3,670 for safekeeping which Cramer put in a safe deposit box.
Cramer was charged and convicted of treason in November 1942 and sentenced to forty-five years in prison plus a $10,000 fine.
While Cramer remained imprisoned, the case was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed his conviction on April 23, 1945 in a 5-4 decision.
Writing for the majority, Justice Robert H. Jackson said that the Constitution is clear in its definition of treason, limited to the waging of war, or giving material assistance to an enemy.
The prosecution and its witnesses could demonstrate only an association and not that Cramer had given "Aid and Comfort," as defined in Article Three. Jackson wrote that the jury had been given no evidence that Cramer had "even paid for their drinks." As such, the majority opinion held, the associations were insufficient to convict Cramer for treason, and the judgment of the Court of Appeals was reversed.
But Cramer’s legal troubles were not over. Minutes before the paperwork could reach the prison to release him, Cramer was indicted for violating the “Trading with the Enemy” act and a Presidential “freeze order” over Cramer’s safeguarding Thiel’s money.
Cramer pled guilty September 29, 1945 and was sentenced to six years in prison. The judge remarked that it would have been 10 years except that Cramer had already been in prison for over three years.
The eight Nazi saboteurs who landed in the U.S. in Florida and New York were almost immediately arrested after one of them, George Dasch, contacted the FBI and turned himself in.
The eight saboteurs were quickly convicted--six of whom were executed in August 1942, including Kerling and Thiel; one received a life sentence; and one received 30 years imprisonment following a Washington, D.C. military trial.
Fourteen other people, including Cramer, were charged with aiding the eight saboteurs. Cramer was charged with treason and the government sought the death penalty.
Of the others charged with aiding the saboteurs some received various prison terms, some had charges dropped, some were detained as enemy aliens and deported after the war ended.
For more information and related images, see flic.kr/s/aHsmPiRmT4
The photographer is unknown. The image is believed to be a U.S. government photograph. It is housed in the D.C. Library Washington Star Collection.