Senate Document 105-2", "The Kaiser Sows Destruction Central Intelligence Agency", "Frequently Asked Questions Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". 17, which contained 50 tons of TNT and 417 cases of detonating fuses. German spies attacked New York on July 30th, 1916. On July 30, 1916, a massive explosion shakes the harbor, a blast so tremendous it's felt in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Even though President Wilson strongly advocated U.S. neutrality, public sentiment increased against _____. The Black Tom Explosion (1916) From Redditor u/ finlay_mcwalter: A terrorist attack, a massive explosion, a huge pall of smoke hangs over New York harbor. Many Explosions Since War Began New York Times, July 31, 1916. In spite of newspaper headlines claiming that dozens died, the official tally counted four deaths. The lawyers sued Germany in the Mixed Claims Commission at The Hague, and in 1939 won the case. One of the largest examples of sabotage during World War I happened half a mile from the Statue of Liberty and hardly anyone knows the story. Captain Franz von Rintelen had arrived in the U.S. the previous year. American Passage: This History of Ellis Island by Vincent J. Cannato, HarperCollins, 2009. [3], The Russian government[40] sued the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company operating the Black Tom Terminal on grounds that lax security (there was no entrance gate; the territory was unlit)[41] permitted the loss of their ammunition and argued that due to the failure to deliver them the manufacturer was obliged by the contract to replace them. and our [38][39], The United States did not have an established national intelligence service, other than diplomats and few military and naval attaches, making the investigation difficult. An explosion on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor in the middle of the night could be heard from miles away, shattering glass windows in Manhattan and killing seven people. And the reason it was closed? The blasts lit the night sky and shook the earth with the force of a Richter scale 5.5 earthquake. The exhibit is divided into two sections presenting historical and judicial points of view. They then fled the scene. In this episode, we talk about German Saboteurs and then chat with Author of "Branding Democrats," Ken Weber. [33][34] It is also believed that Michael Kristoff was responsible for planting and initiating the incendiary devices that led to the explosions. | The Secret Service, by presidential order, was able to investigate some German attacks and intrigues. Barges sank, collapsed warehouses buried freight cars, and eventually the entire pier went under. [12], After midnight, a series of small fires were discovered on the pier. After escaping from internment, Witzke traveled to San Francisco, where he met with the German Consul General there and was paired to work with Jahnke. Privacy Policy. James Doherty, a police officer from Jersey City, was killed in the explosion. The rivets popped out of the right arm and the arm holding the torch was pushed up against the statues crown. 9." Watermark: Permalife, 25% cotton content. By the early 1900s, it became known as Black Tom Island. Aluminum powder explosion, advanced by Patrick O'Sullivan. Includes text, notes, and inset of northern portion . Without a formal intelligence service on the national level, the United States only had rudimentary communications security and no federal laws forbidding espionage or sabotage except during wartime,[3] making the connections to the saboteurs and accomplices almost impossible to track. In the darkened . The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by German agents to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. People felt the shockwave as far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore. [10] All were waiting to be shipped to Russia. Damaged canal boats in the wreckage after the explosion. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. Get 15% off by using my promo code: INTERNET or click HERE. Today, the Black Tom site is part of New Jerseys Liberty State Park. A 10-week old baby lost its life as well, being thrown from his crib in Jersey City. And they couldnt imagine that Germans would have done this. 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. Sabotage at Black Tom: Imperial Germanys Secret War in America, 1914-1917, Algonquin Books, 1989. [47], The Black Tom explosion resulted in the establishment of domestic intelligence agencies for the United States. Windows were broken as far as 25 miles (40 km) away, including thousands in Lower Manhattan. Books: The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice by Chad Millman, Little, Brown and Company, 2006. In the 1950s, Germany finally agreed to pay the $50 million. 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. All Rights Reserved. Producer Credits The explosion damaged the torch of the Statue of Liberty, shown in the background. | READ MORE. After the terrifying 2:08 a.m. blast, the well-stocked arsenal was ablaze, casting the barges at Black Tom afloat in New York Harbor. But its doubtful that anyone currently living has been up to the torch of the statue. 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. By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. The process of sorting through the wreckage required extreme care. First, a lack of documentation made it incredibly difficult to prove Germany was guilty of the crime. [43] The final payment was made in 1979. Munition barges, freight cars, and warehouses were all damaged during the Black Tom explosion. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589, The Worst Way to Die: The Erfurt Latrine Disaster, BalloonFest 86 The Cleveland Balloon Disaster, Origin of the Blaster: Han Solos Weapon in Star Wars Rewind, The Invention of WiFi and Hedy Lamarr Rewind, James H. Snook: Known for More Than a Hook, New Years Eve: The TRUE History of the NYE Ball Drop (REBROADCAST of Episode 18) - The Internet Says it's True, New Years Eve: The TRUE History of the NYE Ball Drop, The German Christmas Pickle: Tradition or Marketing? The noise of the explosion was heard as far away as Maryland and Connecticut. The event that sparked the ban occurred 102 years ago Monday, on July 30, 1916. Nearby Ellis island was evacuated. Well it was option B on July 30th, 1916. A lot of this criticism came because of an 1875 accidental explosion on the island that killed 4 people. The Mixed Claims Commission declared in 1939 that Imperial Germany had been responsible and awarded $50 million (the largest claim) in damages, which Nazi Germany refused to pay. As described by Witcover: The Black Tom promontory was a charred ruin; 13 huge warehouses were leveled and six piers destroyed, and fires continued to eat their way through the remains and consume hundreds of railroads cars and barges tied to the docks. In New York alone, there had been 70 pier fires and 139 fires on board ships. Explosion on Black Tom Island packed the force of an earthquake. The incident also influenced public safety legislation. German Master Spy Franz Von Rintelen and his "pencil bomb" were responsible for acts of sabotage in the United States during World War I. The National Park Service's Statue of Liberty website cites the Black Tom explosion as the reason the torch is closed off, though it is unclear why, a century later, guests are still not allowed inside. Warehouses collapsed onto freight cars filled with TNT. It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, when the sky suddenly exploded with an unnatural brilliance. 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. Required fields are marked *. [44], The Statue of Liberty's torch was closed to the public following the explosion, due to structural damages. So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. The island received its name from a local legend of an African American resident named . JULY 30, 2016, marked the 100th anniversary of the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey. It blew the windows out of every high-rise building in Lower Manhattan. 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. JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two German spies crossed New York Harbor at midnight, making the journey in a rowboat loaded with dynamite. Every episode ends by playing a gameshow-style quiz game with a celebrity guest. According to Kristoff, two of the guards at Black Tom were German agents. In the early 20th century, enemy attacks on American soil were so rare that many assumed the Black Tom explosion was an accident. And after the explosion, multiple smaller blasts continued to rip through the air, the shrapnel and flying bullets making it nearly impossible for firefighters to control the blazing inferno. The explosion on Black Tom Island, in New York Harbor at Jersey City, jolted millions from their beds and broke windows all over the region about a million dollars worth of shattered glass.. He bribed officials, which included some of the security men responsible for guarding the pier at Black Tom Island. It was named allegedly after a freed slave named Tom who used to fish on the island. Second, for political reasons more than anything, Germany was incredibly reluctant to admit it. Doctors and nurses arrived on the scene and tended to dozens of injured. The explosion on Black Tom Island, a 25-acre promontory jutting from Jersey City that was built from New Yorkers' garbage, registered an estimated 5.5 on the Richter scale 30 times more . 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. 7. In Sabotage at Black Tom, Jules Witcover draws on his skills as an . He said the isolation of the island, along with the decreased influx of immigrants to nearby Ellis Island at the time other countries were deterring their citizens from leaving and escaping the draft lowered the casualty count. The policy was clearly rooted in McCloys experience with German sabotage, views that were shared by President Roosevelt who had been the Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I, and who attempted to justify this indefensible action, by declaring We dont want another Black Tom.. According to Chad Millman, who wrote The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice," there were two main reasons that the investigation took so long. Long: Terrorism's 100th anniversary. Sentenced to death, he was pardoned in 1923. The guards who fled had the right idea. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. 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. A dozen homes were destroyed and there were several injuries, though thankfully no casualties. 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. Spotting the smoke, guards eventually ran to call the fire department. S. Liebmann's Sons Brewing Co.By the 1910s, Black Tom Island was a key shipping port. On July 30, 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm's German agents, exploded the largest munitions depot on the east coast, Black Tom Island. Despite the enormity of the explosions, only four persons were reported killed. 49, No. Nearby Ellis Island had to be evacuated after the explosion, which also damaged the Statue of Liberty. In addition to scholarly publications with top presses, she has written for Atlas Obscura and Ranker. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. Flickr/Wavian. On Ellis Island, terrified immigrants were evacuated by ferry to the Battery. It was the middle of the night and the summer night on New York Harbor was calm. It was the center of, and was destroyed by, the terrorist bombing of 1916. If designed and placed properly, a pencil bomb could be timed to detonate days later, while ships and their cargo were at sea. Authorities assess the damage after the Black Tom explosion, which left the munitions depot in tatters. Still, the impact of the Black Tom Island explosion is still felt in at least one small way today. In June 1916, Witzke and Jahnke left San Francisco for New York City, where they connected with Kristoff. That money continued to be paid until 1979, 63 years after the attack. Shrapnel hit the nearby Statue of Liberty, closing off the arm to future visitors, as noted on a commemorative plaque that remains on the site to this day. Firefighters battled the flames well into the next day after the massive explosion. But the stock of US supplies and financial support were offered to the Allies, and Great Britain welcomed the help. "The Germans probably saw that as an act of war," Jackson said. One of the barge captains was also killed. October 18, 2006 | by Gotham Gazette Staff. They couldnt get to a second barge with another fire burning. Two hours later, at 2:08 in the morning, a huge explosion rocked the island. 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. And explode is barely the word: The shock-waves from Black Tom . The Black Tom Explosion. American intelligence agencies tied the Black Tom explosion to German saboteurs. How Eyewitnesses Survived Explosion New York Times, July 31, 1916. On July 29, 1916, German agents set fire to a complex of warehouses and ships in the New York harbor that held munitions, fuel, and explosives bound to aid the Allies in. Boats and barges of all sizes were destroyed during the attack. It is now believed that they set timed fuses and then fled the area. It took seventeen years for the MCC to find Germany responsible for the destruction of Black Tom Island, ordering the German government to pay the United States $50 million in damages. Just Southwest of Liberty Island, which used to be known as Bedloes island there was a munitions depot called Black Tom Island. So everyone just thought it was another accident like the one that had happened in 1875. Black Tom Island stored freight cars, barges, and warehouses full of explosives. LAW CAN'T HALT MUNITIONS Representative Hamill Introduces Bill Giving Cities Power to Bar Explosives. One of the things that was blamed was the lighting of smudge pots to keep mosquitos away. (REBROADCAST of Episode 17) - The Internet Says it's True. Germ Warfare in WWI Used on Horses in the U.S. Fall 2017, Vol. Some guards on the island sent for the Jersey City Fire Department, but others fled as quickly as they could, and for good reason: Black Tom was a major munitions depot, with several large powder piers. That night, Johnson Barge No. Shortly after 2:00 am, an earsplitting explosion rattled the Brooklyn Bridge, swayed skyscrapers, and shattered glass windows throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. As far away as Philadelphia and Baltimore, people felt the blast. On July 30, 1916, the supply depot on Black Tom Island contained around 1,000 tons of weapons and ordnance in train cars and on barges, ready to be shipped to Russia. A third spy simply walked into the munitions depot, his pockets filled with cigar-shaped bombs. "Four shells of three-inch caliber fell on the gravel path in front of the main door and another shell passed through the roof of the coal bunker attached to the power house.". 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. [29], Soon after the explosion, suspicion fell upon Michael Kristoff,[30] a Slovak immigrant. 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. Before these weapons are loaded onto ships and sent across the Atlantic, they are stored at Black Tom Island in Jersey City, a munitions depot projecting into New York Harbor just behind the Statue of Liberty. At 2:40am, another explosion this one slightly smaller rocked the island. Von Bernstorff not only helped obtain forged passports for Germans who wanted to elude the Allied blockade, he also funded gun-running efforts, the sinking of American ships bringing supplies to Britain, and choking off supplies of phenol, used in the manufacture of explosives, in a conspiracy known as the Great Phenol Plot. In spite of the magnitude of the attack, Wilson had not wanted to get dragged into World War I. The incident took place at on Black Tom Island, between New Jersey and Liberty Island on July 30, 1916, at 2:08 am. They approached the island and easily snuck past the eight guards on duty, placing explosives and setting small fires all over before hastily leaving. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The last payment was made to Black Tom claimants in 1979. Even the heaviest plate-glass windows in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn shattered, and falling shards of glass preceded a mist of ash from the fire that followed the explosion. Melted bottle from the Black Tom explosion, Black Tom pier shortly after the explosion, largest artificial non-nuclear explosions, List of German sponsored acts of terrorism during WWI, Largest artificial non-nuclear explosions, List of accidents and incidents involving transport or storage of ammunition, "Long: Terrorism's 100th anniversary | Commentary | roanoke.com", "The Kaiser Sows Destruction: Protecting the Homeland the First Time Around", "Providing Better Terminal Facilities for New York", "Where Street Refuse Goes; The Island of "Black Tom" in New-York Bay How the Offal of the City Adds to the Territory of New-Jersey", "A Terrible Explosion. Shrapnel pierced the Statue of Liberty (the arm of the Statue was closed to visitors after this). In the late 1800s, Jersey City dumped refuse on a rock in New York Harbor. German agents who were determined to prevent American munitions shippers from supplying its English enemy during the First World War. A third man, a drifter, entered the depot on foot. This was one of the major reasons that Germany was sending saboteurs to disrupt the supply chain from America. Smoke billowing from the Black Tom explosion, a German sabotage . 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. Decades would pass, however, before Germany settled it. The Black Tom explosion was a peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the first World War. This was the Black Tom explosion. In one terrifying, ear-splitting moment, the Great War then raging overseas had come to America. Divers recovered munitions from New York Harbor after the explosion. [36][37] Irish socialist and labour union leader James Larkin asserted that he had not participated in sabotage, but admitted to having encouraged work stoppages and strike actions in munitions factories, in an affidavit to McCloy in 1934. At 2:08 am, five million people were awakened by an explosion that was heard as far away as Maryland. The explosion on Black Tom Island could be heard from miles away. 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. Photo: Wikipedia. Sadly, there was no stopping them. Cookie Notice The FBI was in its infancy. that the bombing involved some of the techniques developed by German agents working for Ambassador Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, who covertly acted as a spymaster while under German Foreign Office cover, and Captain Franz von Rintelen of the intelligence wing of the German Imperial Navy, using the cigar bombs developed by Dr. Walter Scheele[de]. And not so much as a fence guarded the two million pounds of munitions. Category:Black Tom explosion. Kristoff was arrested by the Jersey City police on suspicion of involvement in the blast, but they released him for lack of evidence.

Environmental Nature Center Wedding, Articles B