Martin Monti - American Traitor

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. After 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. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly attempt to understand Monti’s 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 ‘eager beaver’... Further Reading: • ‘How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason’ (St Louis Magazine, 2020): https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/ • ‘A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.’ (American Bar Association, 2017): https://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/ • ‘The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2... in October 1944’ (House of History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk For bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/Retrospectors We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. #40s #Person #Crime #Politics #US #Germany Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices