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The first ever U.S. officer to be convicted of treason, Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr., defected from the Air Service to the Nazis on 13th October, 1944.\nAfter a stint in radio propaganda, he joined the Waffen-SS, was recaptured by the Americans, and then claimed to be a prisoner of War. His family petitioned his Senator to go lightly on his crimes, the full extent of which only became clear when he sensationally confessed to treason in court.\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti\u2019s repeated flip-flopping; uncover the hidden community of German-born Americans who returned to the Motherland to support Hitler; and explain why even Roosevelt was predisposed to believe Monti was just an \u2018eager beaver\u2019...\xa0\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 \u2018How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason\u2019 (St Louis Magazine, 2020):\nhttps://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/\n\u2022 \u2018A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.\u2019 (American Bar Association, 2017):\xa0https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation_journal/2017-18/fall/a-deserter-and-confessed-traitor-amazing-true-story-army-lieutenant-martin-j-monti-jr/\n\u2022 \u2018The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2... in October 1944\u2019 (House of History, 2020):\n\xa0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#40s #Person #Crime #Politics #US #Germany\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices