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German Boat with Swastika Flag in the Canal, n.d.
2005.072.003.009, Gift of Frank Mott
The Caribbean Breeze, Political Cartoon of Nazi Officers Planning an Attack, 1944
2016.26.1, Gift of Ruth Galleher
Richard Wilmer Rowan, “When Hitler Tried to Grab the Panama Canal,” an Imaginative Description, 1940, Official Detective Stories, 2005.086.934, Gift of Betty Stergion
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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.