But it was too late. [26] Suspicion at the time fell solely upon suspected German intelligence operatives Kurt Jahnke and Lothar Witzke, who are still judged as legally responsible. [citation needed], This attack was one of many during the German sabotage campaign against the neutral United States, and it is notable for its contribution to the shift of public opinion against Germany, which eventually resulted in American support to enter World War I. Peter Raceta, the captain of a flatbottom barge in the harbor, was in the cabin watching the fire on Black Tom with two other men. 19? If designed and placed properly, a pencil bomb could be timed to detonate days later, while ships and their cargo were at sea. The Little-Known Story Of The Black Tom Explosion That Rocked New York In 1916. Boats and barges of all sizes were destroyed during the attack. The Bureau of Investigation initially concluded the explosion was an accident, but doubts were widespread. He was a German Naval Intelligence officer and a master spy. [31] Kristoff would later serve in the United States Army in World War I, but admitted to working for German agents (transporting suitcases) in 1915 and 1916 while the US was still neutral. [33][34] It is also believed that Michael Kristoff was responsible for planting and initiating the incendiary devices that led to the explosions. The Mixed Claims Commission, set up after World War I to handle damage claims by companies and governments affected by German sabotage, awarded $50 million to plaintiffs in the Black Tom explosionthe largest damage claim of any in the war. It was Black Tom, once a small island, that was the single most important assembly and shipping center in America for munitions and gunpowder being sent to the Allies, Witcover notes, and probably housed the most extensive arsenal anywhere outside the war zone itself.. At the time President Roosevelt said to him: "We don't want any more Black Toms."[50][51]. Your Privacy Rights At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. Privacy Policy. While its not thought that he was incredibly successful, he was discovered by the FBI and fled to Mexico. Black Tom Explosion: The Bombing That Rocked New York In 1916 After shrapnel from the blast hit the Statue of Liberty, its torch, which was once used as a viewpoint from which visitors could enjoy spectacular views of the city, became unsafe for visitors and guests are still barred from entering the torch to this day. By blowing up a munitions depot on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, Germany slowed the shipment of supplies to Britain and France from the ostensibly neutral United States. The Black Tom explosion was the peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the First World War. The devastating explosion on Black Tom was carried out by three men, one of whom worked at the depot. and our The massive blasts obliterated Black Tom Island, the largest munitions depot in the United States, located in New York Harbor and connected by rail bed to Jersey City, New Jersey. The Untold Story Of Espionage In New Jersey [4] Being largely built up from city refuse, it developed a reputation as an unseemly environmental hazard. Congress immediately passed the Espionage Act, which outlawed a variety of crimes associated with German agents; passed several other wartime laws; then the following year passed the Sabotage Act. "I think partly because of the isolation of the explosion. Germany. The noise of the explosion was heard as far away as Maryland and Connecticut. Black Tom 1916 Bombing FBI The Black Tom explosion was an apparent act of sabotage by German agents. An explosion that initially looked like an accident, turned out to be an act of sabotage. Get 15% off by using my promo code: INTERNET or click HERE. Throughout the city, office buildings were missing windows. It also meant fewer people would remember what happened at Black Tom. Survivors quickly evacuated the area around Black Tom Island after the 2:08 a.m. explosion. The act of sabotage was the largest enemy attack on continental American soil prior to 9/11. "World War I Intrigue: German Spies in New York! At 2:08 A.M. on Sunday July 30, 1916 the timed bombs . By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. Despite Americas claim of neutrality in World War I, it was no secret that the United States was selling massive quantities of munitions to the British. President Woodrow Wilson, locked in a tough reelection battle, downplayed the attack. the-terror-attack-on-nj-that-america-forgot History's Headlines: Black Tom Island, Sabotage 1916! - YouTube An explosion America seems to have forgotten ever happened. "Note: This territory also covered by sheets 84, 85, 86 & 89 of Hudson County, vol. From Manhattan, witnesses saw shells shoot across the harbor and explode a mile from the blast site. The most successful and experienced anti-sabotage investigators turned out to be the detectives of the New York Police Departments Bomb Squad. Danger in the Harbor: World War I and the Black Tom Explosion of 1916 He wanted to try to buy off some of the people in charge of the storing of ammunition to see if he could get some re-routed to Berlin. After midnight small fires started on some of the piers and then began to grow. But the legacy of this explosion is deeper than just relegating tourists to Lady Libertys crown. When Germany attacked New Jersey | Black Tom explosion IT'S HISTORY 480K subscribers Join Subscribe 661 Share Save 19K views 1 year ago The FBI recalls, It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday. All was dark and quiet on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, not far from the Statue of Liberty, when small fires began to burn on the night of July 30, 1916. The blast was believed by some to be the work of the same German operatives responsible for the numerous explosions and fires that had bedeviled ships and factories involved in the munitions trade for more than a year. From Black Buttons to Black Tom - The Momtropolis Some window panes in Times Square were shattered. He served for years as an intelligence agent for the Nazi regime and was executed by the Soviets after his capture in 1945. At around 2 a.m. on the Sunday morning of July 30, 1916, one hundred years ago today, explosions on Black Tom Islandrocked New York harbor. One contemporary newspaper report estimated up to seven deaths in the attack. So the men that were initially arrested were freed. Wartime Sabotage in a Neutral Country? The Black Tom Explosion The Mixed Claims Commission, set up after World War I to handle damage claims by companies and governments affected by German sabotage, awarded $50 million to plaintiffs in the Black Tom. The incident also influenced public safety legislation. [8] Between 1905 and 1916, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which owned the island and causeway, expanded the island with land fill, and the entire area was annexed by Jersey City. Black Tom Explosion | Encyclopedia.com Explosions rocked Railroad officials, warehouse owners and barge operators were immediately arrested. The Black Tom explosion (1916) The best-known of the German attacks occurred at Black Tom Island (actually a pier) in what is now Liberty State Park in Jersey City, early on the morning of July 30 . Host Michael Kent asks listeners to tell him something strange, bizarre or surprising that they've recently learned and he gets to the bottom of it! Listen to TONS of bonus content including: The Lehigh Valley pier was at the center of the explosion. Black Tom Explosion Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, by Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. One of the American MCC investigators was Harvard Law School graduate John McCloy, a 12-year staff member for the Commission. BONUS Episodes With few national security laws and no real intelligence community to thwart German agents, America was vulnerable. In Manhattan, hundreds of shops experienced broken windows because of the blast. | READ MORE. In this episode, we talk about German Saboteurs and then chat with Author of "Branding Democrats," Ken Weber. It was the center of, and was destroyed by, the terrorist bombing of 1916. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. No Evidence of Plot in New York Explosion, Federal Agents Assert Washington Post, July 31, 1916. Debris scattered across Manhattan, windows shattered in Times Square, people in Maryland feel the tremors, it's later called "one of the worst acts of terrorism in American history." Domestic . The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. J.P. Morgan survived, but Muenter died soon after most likely from suicide.The most deadly of these acts of German-sponsored terrorism happened on July 30, 1916 just 3,000 feet from the Statue of Liberty. The massive blasts obliterated Black Tom Island, the largest munitions depot in the United States, located in New York Harbor and connected by rail bed to Jersey City, New Jersey. Seven people perished in the explosion, and over $20 million in damages resulted. German spies nearly blew up Statue of Liberty in 1916, closing torch to President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the Black Tom explosion as part of his rationale for the internment of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The Black Tom explosion wasnt the only provocation. Shrapnel flew in all directions. The Black Tom Explosion by Lauren Dillon August 1, 2022 0 In 1916 one of the "largest non-nuclear artificial explosions" occurred in the United States. Some lodged in the Statue of Liberty, damaging her skirt and torch. It didnt kill anyone, but the saboteurs plot was to send a message for America to stay out of war profiteering. When the explosion came, it seemed as if it was from abovezumpf!like a Zeppelin bomb, he told a reporter from the New York Times. Harrison. Long: Terrorism's 100th anniversary. The explosion, at the Black Tom railroad yard, had the equivalent strength of a magnitude 5.0 to 5.5 earthquake on the Richter scale, and its effects reached as far as Philadelphia and Maryland. However, the damage was estimated at more than $20 million, (nearly half a billion dollars today), and investigations eventually determined that the Black Tom explosions resulted from an enemy attackwhat some historians regard as the first major terrorist attack on the United States by a foreign power. The Kingsland Factory Explosion (and the switchboard operator who saved [citation needed], It is likely[according to whom?] One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. A dozen homes were destroyed and there were several injuries, though thankfully no casualties. [3] Landfill projects later made Black Tom Island part of the mainland, and it was incorporated into Liberty State Park. It was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. One of the largest profiteers was J.P. Morgan and the same German agent, Eric Muenter broke into the home of Morgan and shot him twice. Witzke was arrested in January 1918 by the U.S. Army after decrypted German cables alerted authorities to his movements; he was later found guilty of espionage. The last payment was made to Black Tom claimants in 1979. [6] By 1880, the island was transformed into a 25-acre (10ha) promontory,[7] and a causeway and railroad had been built to connect it with the mainland to use as a shipping depot. This disambiguation . According to Kristoff, two of the guards at Black Tom were German agents. Discover our mission: IC principles, history, and success stories, Check out Bin Laden's Bookshelf, IC on the Record, and declassified documents, Read the latest news about and from the IC, Learn about how we work, IC members, and oversight. At 2:08 a.m on July 16, 1916, a munitions depot on Black Tom Island, in the Hudson River just off Jersey City, exploded. The Statue of Liberty was permanently damaged -- afterward, visitors were forbidden from climbing into the Torch. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. But there was a blockade of Germany in place by the Royal Navy, so America was only supplying munitions to the Allies. The lawyers sued Germany in the Mixed Claims Commission at The Hague, and in 1939 won the case. And the Bureau exercised primary jurisdiction over all of these laws as it pursued a wide variety of national security investigations. Why can't we go up the Statue of Liberty's torch? The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. In July that year, the Black Tom explosion an extraordinary but mostly forgotten disaster rocked the harbor when saboteurs destroyed a munitions plant across the water in Jersey City, New . In some ways, it's shocking that the explosion didn't cause more damage. One thing the authorities initially seemed to agree on was that the explosions werent the work of foreign saboteurs. The Black Tom Explosion Forgotten History Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589Bonus episodes and content available athttp://Patreon.com/MichaelKentFor special discounts, visithttp://theinternetsaysitstrue.com/deals. [48] The sabotage techniques used by Germany, and the United States' declaration of war on Germany, led to the creation of the Espionage Act, which passed by Congress in late 1917. 7 Foreign Attacks on US Soil That Are Rarely Mentioned (But Definitely Black Tom explosion (30 July 1916), Jersey City, New Jersey; act of World War I sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent shipments to the Allies. America didnt join the fight in Europe until early 1917, but Germany was nervous about Americas supply of materials to France and Britain, including cattle. This was the Black Tom explosion. This was one of the major reasons that Germany was sending saboteurs to disrupt the supply chain from America. That same year, a German agent entered the U.S., planted a bomb in the Senate reception room at the U.S. Capitol and set it to detonate at midnight. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine IE 11 is not supported. But it took years for investigators to piece together the evidence against the Germans in the bombing. In the aftermath of the explosion, Americans tried to identify the saboteurs behind the devastating attack. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. Two million tons of war materials packed into train cars had blown up in the Black Tom railroad yard on what is now a part of Liberty State Park. Today in History: The Black Tom Explosion of 1916 But federal authorities could not trace the fire to the pots, and reports ultimately concluded that the blasts must have been accidentaleven though several suspicious factory explosions in the United States, mostly around New York, pointed toward German spies and saboteurs. It was so large, that it measured 5.5 on the Richter Scale. Following the explosion, the Jersey Journal warned of as many as 50 deaths. An Attack That Turned Out to Be German Terrorism Has a Modest Legacy In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, two watchmen who had lit smudge pots to keep away mosquitoes were questioned by police but the police soon determined that the smudge pots had not caused the fire and that the blast had likely been an accident. Required fields are marked *. The explosion also caused enormous physical damage to the surrounding area . Part of the WCBE Podcast Experience. The Black Tom explosion destroying 2 million pounds of ammunition was an example of _____ sabotage. The violent blast, one of the largest explosions on U.S. soil, occurred on Black Tom Island, a peninsula jutting out into Upper New York Bay situated across from the Statue of Liberty. Review this podcast athttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589Bonus episodes and content available athttp://Patreon.com/MichaelKentFor special discounts, visithttp://theinternetsaysitstrue.com/deals, Your email address will not be published.
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black tom explosion never happened