The Making of a Spy: Memoir of a German Boy Soldier Turned American Army Intelligence Agent

The Making of a Spy: Memoir of a German Boy Soldier Turned American Army Intelligence Agent

Leaving the chaos of postwar Germany for an uncertain future, 17-year-old Gerhardt Thamm arrived in America in 1948 with little more than his American birth certificate. With minimal command of English and little formal education, he enlisted in the Army and quickly found himself assigned to operations where his German language abilities were put to use. With the Soviet Union's emergence as a potential adversary, Thamm was recruited into the Army's clandestine services, where he operated as a secret agent in Germany, under multiple identities. This richly detailed personal narrative tells Thamm's incredible story (with more than two dozen photographs and sketches). “a compelling personal story...the strength of the book lies in his descriptions of the training, tradecraft, and agent-control techniques he developed in the field”― The Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies . There are so many people to whom I have become indebted for support, encouragement and understanding during the course of my unorthodox career. First and foremost, Erwin Erdmann Erich Thamm, my father, whose love for America compelled him to encourage me to leave family and everything familiar to return to the distant land of my birth.  The Harold Kuehnel family of Detroit; they took me, a total stranger, into their home.  For me it was the first of many wonderful experiences of American hospitality.  The U.S. Army that nurtured me and became my surrogate family.   Ann Marie Holstad Thamm, my first wife, who shared with me the initial lean years of army life; who had to endure the tensions inherent in the occupation that had been thrust upon me; who gave birth to our two sons, Erik and Erwin, and our daughter, Renita.  Ann Marie's grandfather, Sigurd H. Holstad, the "Old Viking," who made my father's dream to come to America reality. The colonel in army personnel--I have long forgotten his name--who propelled me into a lifelong career in foreign intelligence operations.   Manfred "Fred" Herz, aka Doktor Hermann, my long departed friend and mentor in the clandestine service, who taught me the "street smarts" needed to survive in the upside-down world of espionage. Joe Milewski, my longtime friend, and the many other colleagues who, as tradition requires, must remain nameless; they supported me and made survival in this perilous endeavor possible.           And last only in chronological sequence, but foremost, Suanne Zuzel Thamm, my second wife, who patiently encouraged me to engage in the difficult task of writing, of selecting what can be said, and what cannot. She is a supreme editor; she gave this manuscript all the polish it has.  She too had to endure the tensions inherent in being married to an intelligence operative.   She packed my bags, waved me goodbye, and rarely knew where I went, or when or if I would return.  She tried not to pry, although I wonder how often she must have been tempted.  She is my wife.  She is my best friend, and she made my "third life" worth living. To the very few who fought the Cold War in the murkiness of the clandestine world. Their primary mission was, in Sun Tzu's words, "to know the enemy." They lived lies, received little credit or reward and, as the clandestine service tradition demanded, went unrecognized. Not even their closest family members knew the hazards encountered by those involved in the world's second oldest profession--a profession some insiders would jest, not as honorable as the world's oldest. Leaving the chaos or postwar Germany for an uncertain future, 17-year-old Gerhardt Thamm arrived in America in 1948 with little more than his American birth certificate. With minimal command of English and little formal education, he enlisted in the Army and quickly found himself assigned to operations where his German language abilities were put to use. With the Soviet Union's emergence as a potential adversary, Thamm was recruited into the Army's clandestine services, where he operated as a secret agent in Germany, under multiple identities. This richly detailed personal narrative tells Thamm's incredible story (with more than two dozen photographs and sketches). Gerhardt B. Thamm retired in 1987 after serving more than 38 years in intelligence and security-related operations. He has written for the Armed Forces Journal International, Periscope, Golden Sphinx, The Voice of Intelligence and Naval Proceedings. In 1994 the CIA specially honored Gerhardt for a report which was recently declassified and published in Naval Intelligence Professional Quarterly. He now lives in Fernandina Beach, Florida.