Martin Monti - American Traitor

<p>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.</p><br><p>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.</p><br><p>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’...  </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘How a North County boy became the first U.S. military officer ever to be convicted of treason’ (St Louis Magazine, 2020):</p><p><a href="https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.stlmag.com/longform/the-first-traitor-north-county-world-war-II/</a></p><p>• ‘A Deserter and Confessed Traitor: The Amazing but True Story of Army Lieutenant Martin J. Monti Jr.’ (American Bar Association, 2017): <a href="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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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/</a></p><p>• ‘The Only U.S. Pilot to Defect to the Waffen-SS during WW2... in October 1944’ (House of History, 2020):</p><p> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJd4aa0beQk</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em></p><br><p><em>#40s #Person #Crime #Politics #US #Germany</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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