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Threat of German Attack

Throughout the war, Germans operated spy networks in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, and the U.S. As part of the Duquesne Spy Ring, Nazi agents Erwin Siegler and Franz Stigler — both U.S. citizens — attempted to infiltrate the Canal Zone as crewmen aboard the SS America in 1941. Their mission: to relay information on ship movements and defenses in the Canal.

 

Shortly after the U.S. Navy took over the America for wartime duty, Siegler’s and Stigler’s true identities were discovered. They were part of one of the largest espionage cases in U.S. history; 33 people were found guilty and sentenced to a combined 300 years in prison.

This online exhibition is based on the exhibition of the same name that was presented at the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries, March 7, 2020 - February 26, 2021.

Curated by Elizabeth A. Bouton with assistance from Elizabeth Bemis | Online design by Elizabeth A. Bouton

Student assistant curators: Summer Bias, Coral Dixon, Sean O’Dwyer, and Anna L. Weissman | Title design and other materials by Olivia Bowman

 

This exhibit was developed spring 2019 as part of the graduate Exhibitions Seminar in Museum Studies taught by Lourdes Santamaría-Wheeler. It was driven by student inquiry and has been an experiment in collaborative exhibition development processes.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all items are from the Panama Canal Museum Collection, Special & Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida.