WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Undetected: Operation Elster

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

Megan and Alessia dive into the thrilling story of the last Nazi spies in America, Erich Gimpel and William Colepaugh.

A man was sprinting down the road. The spirit of Christmas was in the air. Not everyone felt the jolly giving spirit, though. Sweat poured off the man's forehead as he ran through the city. He was nearing his destination, a cramped New York apartment. The door flew open. Colpaw, Coopal, are you there? He yelled.

He had important information for his partner, but the apartment was dark and empty. Panic began to set it as he went from room to room, searching for his partner. No one was there, though. Not only was no one there, but things were missing. This was no robbery. Something was very, very wrong. Welcome to Undetected on Radio Free Hillsdale. Go undercover with your hosts, Alessia Sandala and Megan Lee,

as they uncover the stories of spies from every country in time, the most thrilling yet the most secret of lives in history. Hi, Megan. I'm so excited to be back for another week of Undetected. This week we are talking about Germany's Operation Elster, or Magpie. Our first character for today's episode is someone you wouldn't at first expect to be a spy. This assumption may explain a lot later on, but for now, let's dive into the story. William Colpaw was born on March 25, 1918 in Nyadic, Connecticut. He managed to study at MIT, but eventually failed out.

He was known for having been incredibly anti-Semitic. At the beginning of the war, Colpaw got into some hot water with the Selective Service Board and the FBI. He did not want to fight for America and expressed pro-Semitic. Nazi opinions. Khopal got a job on a Swedish ship so he could make it to Europe. When in Lisbon, Portugal, Koppel deserted his ship and made a run for it to the German consulate. It was here that he offered his services to the German government. The Germans, understandably, were skeptical of his loyalties. He was transported to Berlin, where he was questioned and watched for about three months. A high-ranking SS officer sent him to an SS training school in the Netherlands. This is where

Koppel met our second character, Eric Gimple. Gimple was born in Mursberg, Germany, on March 25th, 1910, born on the same day eight years earlier than Coppal. His first gig in espionage was working as a radio operator for a mining company in Peru during the 1930s, where he would report on chip movements and cargo contents. After the U.S. entered World War II, Gimble returned to Germany, where he attended a school for espionage. This training eventually led him to the SS school where he met Copaul. At some point, during his time at school, Gimble was ordered to find a way to infiltrate

the United States and its atomic bomb program. Gimple, now a trained and experienced spy, knew he would need inside information and assistance from an actual American. The two were a perfect match. They began their mission in September 1944. They were placed on a U-boat, a German submarine, headed for Maine, posing as an engineer and a war correspondent. As it turns out, it's difficult to pretend to be a German journalist when you don't speak or act German. So the crew of the U-boat soon knew something strange was going on. Crossing the Atlantic in a U-boat in 1944 was a very dangerous endeavor. U.S. planes were always on the lookout for submarines lurking in American waters

now that they had the technology to deal with submarines. The pair was stocked with enough American money to last them until 1946, as well as with diamonds as a backup source of funds. When the submarine reached Maine, Koppel and Gimpo went to shore on a raft. There wasn't a soul anywhere in sight. Phase one of their plan was a success. As they walked to the main road, a car pulled up. alongside them. It was a taxi. What? A taxi? In the middle of nowhere. Yes, this taxi wanted to know if the two spies

needed a ride and Coppaw, in his native English, told a creative story about how their car had gone off the road. After their taxi ride, they caught a train to Portland, followed by one to Boston and then finally New York. Now they had to find a place to stay. This was critical to their work because it had to be somewhere that would not draw a lot of attention to them and also could not be a building made of steel because steel would block their radio transmissions. Soon after they found their new base of operations, things went south. For one, Koppel lost it. He definitely did. On December 21st, Koppel left with his baggage, including all of the money. Gimple later found out that Koppah had told an old friend everything. Being a loyal American, this friend called the FBI. The FBI had actually already been searching for two German agents.

Koppel apparently wanted to turn himself in so he could make a deal. As a nice Christmas present to themselves, the FBI arrested Colpaw on December 26. To catch Gimple, the FBI launched a Christmas time manhunt, which led to Gimple's arrest on December 30th. In the wake of President Roosevelt's death, Harry Truman became president and commuted the death sentences of both Colpaw and Gimple. Operation Alster was a complete failure, and the two spies did not send any valuable information back to Germany. Gimple was paroled in 1955 and moved to South America after a brief time in West Germany. Coppaw, who was paroled in 1960, remain in the country he had betrayed for the rest of his life. These two spies are believed to be the last German spies of the war to make it into America.

Wow, they definitely had some luck throughout their stint as spies. However, it seems the covert and challenging life of a spy simply cracked Coppaul. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Undetected. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at WRFH underscore Undetected for special content. Tune in next week to hear the thrilling and well shocking story of Russian spy Anna Chapman on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7.