History of Sorts

The Duquesne spy ring was the largest espionage operation case in the history of the United States that ended in convictions. It was a German ring operating within the United States during World War II and was run by Frederick Joubert Duquesne, a South African who became a naturalized American citizen in December 1913.

The ring was established in order to gather information that could be used in the event the United States entered the war. It was assigned to find holes in American military forces and preparedness before the United States entered the war and to find ways to destabilize the country and its morale. The information that members of the ring passed forward related to acts of domestic terrorism and sabotage as well as industrial and military espionage.

The ring came to light when William Sebold, a German native who had served in the Imperial German Army during…