This Week In History News, Mar. It had a reputation as an environmental hazard, and people in New York hated that it was so close to the city. Survey map of ammunition storage facilities, industrial plants, warehouses, railroad tracks, wharves, and piers damaged by a German sabotage operation during World War I. Its been awhile since weve talked about the Mandela Effect the idea that somehow a large group of people misremember something collectively. The blast was the equivalent of a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. At around 2 a.m. on the Sunday morning of July 30, 1916, one hundred years ago today, explosions on Black Tom Islandrocked New York harbor. America didnt join the fight in Europe until early 1917, but Germany was nervous about Americas supply of materials to France and Britain, including cattle. 1.7K views 2 years ago #JerseyCity #HistorysHeadlines It is the early morning hours of July 30, 1916, minutes before the Black Tom Island munitions dump explosion in Jersey City, N.J. will. And what of the Black Tom saboteurs? As for the other boats Raceta had seen earlier in the night, he said, "It looked as if they all went up in the air. With few national security laws and no real intelligence community to thwart German agents, America was vulnerable. | READ MORE. And they couldnt imagine that Germans would have done this. Why can't we go up the Statue of Liberty's torch? The explosions, which occurred on July 30, 1916, in New York Harbor, killed four people and destroyed some $20,000,000 worth of military goods. For days, artillery shells and other munitions continued to explode, showering New York Harbor, to include Ellis Island, with embers and shell fragments. It's as if they didn't know the event existed either. Without a formal intelligence service on the national level, the United States only had rudimentary communications security and no federal laws forbidding espionage or sabotage except during wartime,[3] making the connections to the saboteurs and accomplices almost impossible to track. Forgotten history, bizarre tales & facts that seem too strange to be true! Long: Terrorism's 100th anniversary. Millions of Persons Heard and Felt Shock New York Times, July 31, 1916. Barges sank, collapsed warehouses buried freight cars, and eventually the entire pier went under. It was still dark in Manhattan on a Sunday morning, July 30, 1916, when the sky suddenly exploded with an unnatural brilliance. The island was the location of 2 million pounds of small arms and artillery ammunition. The Black Tom explosion did massive damage to the pier. [48] The then Police Commissioner of New York, Arthur Woods, argued, "The lessons to America are clear as day. It also meant fewer people would remember what happened at Black Tom. And after decades of debate, Germany agreed to pay reparations for the damage. Listen to TONS of bonus content including: The force of the Black Tom explosion was equivalent to a 5.5 magnitude earthquake. Nearby at the Statue of Liberty, a legacy of the disaster remains: Due to the damage the statue sustained on July 30, 1916, its torch has been closed to the public for the last century. "The new German government felt like if they were to admit to and pay damages for the destruction at Black Tom, it was tantamount to saying that they drew the U.S. into war from this," Millman said. (REBROADCAST of Episode 17) - The Internet Says it's True. German agents who were determined to prevent American munitions shippers from supplying its English enemy during the First World War. Producer Credits It is not known how many died. Visitors have not been allowed inside the torch for over a century after a massive explosion. This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into . The massive blasts obliterated Black Tom Island, the largest munitions depot in the United States, located in New York Harbor and connected by rail bed to Jersey City, New Jersey. [9], On the night of the Black Tom explosion, July 30, 1916, about 2,000,000 pounds (910,000kg) of small arms and artillery ammunition were stored at the depot in freight cars and on barges, including 100,000 pounds (45,000kg) of TNT on Johnson Barge No. For an event as big as the Black Tom Explosion, why did this well known Youtube channel with over a million subscribers completely ignore the event? Second, for political reasons more than anything, Germany was incredibly reluctant to admit it. At 2:40am, another explosion this one slightly smaller rocked the island. And the Bureau exercised primary jurisdiction over all of these laws as it pursued a wide variety of national security investigations. 3 By David Pfeiffer Enlarge A shipment of horses at a New York City rail yard, 1918. An explosion on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor in the middle of the night could be heard from miles away,. The Black Tom explosion was the peak act of German sabotage on American soil during the First World War. Historical Marker", "1916 Black Tom Blast Anniversary Observed", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Tom_explosion&oldid=1152246751, This page was last edited on 29 April 2023, at 02:07. Anton Dilger was an American who sympathized with Germany after studying there. They approached the island and easily snuck past the eight guards on duty, placing explosives and setting small fires all over before hastily leaving. [14] The explosion created a detonation wave that traveled at 24,000 feet per second (7,300m/s) with enough force to lift firefighters out of their boots and into the air. Around 2:08 a.m. the munitions started to explode. After escaping from internment, Witzke traveled to San Francisco, where he met with the German Consul General there and was paired to work with Jahnke. [35], Additional investigations by the Directorate of Naval Intelligence also found links to some members of the Irish republican Clan na Gael organization and far-left organizations. Your email address will not be published. Shrapnel from the explosion even hit the Statue of Liberty. Shrapnel hit the nearby Statue of Liberty, closing off the arm to future visitors, as noted on a commemorative plaque that remains on the site to this day. [49] In an interview with Jules Witcover, McCloy noted that as assistant secretary of the navy under Wilson, Roosevelt "knew all about Black Tom." It starts, You are standing on a site which saw one of the worst acts of sabotage in American history!. Some lodged in the Statue of Liberty, damaging her skirt and torch. JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Two German spies crossed New York Harbor at midnight, making the journey in a rowboat loaded with dynamite. Never mind that the U.S. was officially neutral in the conflict at this point. Citing Black Tom Terminal by name, the message told Hilken that "Kristoff, Wo1fgang and that Hoboken bunch" were to be paid, and was signed "Hinch." Hinch, or Graentnor, was a shadowy figure who was never found. [25] Immigrants being processed at Ellis Island had to be evacuated to Lower Manhattan. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. But its doubtful that anyone currently living has been up to the torch of the statue. And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: By 1916, World War I had already been raging for two years. A third spy simply walked into the munitions depot, his pockets filled with cigar-shaped bombs. They then fled the scene. Munition barges, freight cars, and warehouses were all damaged during the Black Tom explosion. At 2:08 am, five million people were awakened by an explosion that was heard as far away as Maryland. Congress immediately passed the Espionage Act, which outlawed a variety of crimes associated with German agents; passed several other wartime laws; then the following year passed the Sabotage Act. Your Privacy Rights An explosion America seems to have forgotten ever happened. And during the great war, there were at least 10 instances of attempted terrorist attacks in America by Germany. On July 29, 1916, German agents set fire to a complex of warehouses and ships in the New York harbor that held munitions, fuel, and explosives bound to aid the Allies in their fight. They were right. Explosion. An official website of the United States government. Updated: September 1, 2018 | Original: July 29, 2016, Two years after the start of World War I, the greater New York region was a major hub of the American munitions industry, with 75 percent of all ammunition and armaments shipped from the United States to Europe went out within a radius of five miles of City Hall in Lower Manhattan, according to Sabotage at Black Tom by Jules Witcover. The Black Tom Explosion didn't happen in our original universe [Week of July 28th, 1916] ( https://youtu.be/lu9VPY2DHPk ) On July 30th of 1916, German agents detonated a munition depot in New York harbor which resulted in 4 deaths, hundreds of injuries, and damage to the Statue of Liberty. The process of sorting through the wreckage required extreme care. [16] The outer wall of Jersey City's City Hall was cracked and the Brooklyn Bridge was shaken. The lawyers sued Germany in the Mixed Claims Commission at The Hague, and in 1939 won the case. The first of the Black Tom explosions was felt at 2:08 a.m. followed half an hour later by a second blast. Firefighters battled the flames well into the next day after the massive explosion. They couldnt get to a second barge with another fire burning. [31] Kristoff would later serve in the United States Army in World War I, but admitted to working for German agents (transporting suitcases) in 1915 and 1916 while the US was still neutral. Officially, around four people died due to the explosion. The explosion, at the Black Tom railroad yard, had the equivalent strength of a magnitude 5.0 to 5.5 earthquake on the Richter scale, and its effects reached as far as Philadelphia and Maryland. The loss of life, however, was not great: Counts vary, but fewer than ten people perished in the explosions. Hours after the blasts, with the Black Tom fires still burning out of control, The New York Times printed a story listing 42 explosions at American munitions and chemical facilities since war. It was the largest non nuclear explosion to date. Two hours later, at 2:08 in the morning, a huge explosion rocked the island. Explosions rocked Shrapnel pock-marked the Statue of Liberty. In one terrifying, ear-splitting moment, the Great War then raging overseas had come to America. The culprits? Photo: Wikipedia. [8] Between 1905 and 1916, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which owned the island and causeway, expanded the island with land fill, and the entire area was annexed by Jersey City. Well it was option B on July 30th, 1916. With debris raining down, authorities were forced to evacuate hundreds of terrified immigrants having just escaped from war-torn Europe from Ellis Island to the mainland. [26] Von Rintelen used these resources to make generous cash bribes, one of which was notably given to Michael Kristoff in exchange for access to the pier. Von Rintelen is believed to have attacked 36 ships, destroying millions of dollars worth of cargo. The massive blasts obliterated Black Tom Island, the largest munitions depot in the United States, located in New York Harbor and connected by rail bed to Jersey City, New Jersey. It was Black Tom, once a small island, that was the single most important assembly and shipping center in America for munitions and gunpowder being sent to the Allies, Witcover notes, and probably housed the most extensive arsenal anywhere outside the war zone itself.. [1][2] This incident, which happened prior to U.S. entry into World War I, also damaged the Statue of Liberty. It took investigators years to determine that operatives working for Germany were to blame. 17 was packed with 50 tons of TNT, and 69 railroad freight cars were storing more than a thousand tons of ammunition, all awaiting shipment to Britain and France. The Black Tom explosion wasnt the only provocation. There is a Youtube channel called "The Great War" that covers WW1 week by week and not once do they mention the Black Tom Explosion. How Eyewitnesses Survived Explosion New York Times, July 31, 1916. The force of the explosion left wreckage strewn across Black Tom Island. Firemen Work in Rain of Bullets New York Times, July 31, 1916. One of the barges was loaded with 50 tons of TNT. Nearly three years after this storm, the state is still rebuilding. That night, two German spies rowed across New York Harbor, their boat heavy with dynamite. The deadly Battle of the Somme had just begun in France and would last for 5 more months, producing more than one million casualties. Martin Casella: The title Black Tom Island comes from the name of a small island that used to be off the coast of New Jersey, about a half-mile from the Statue of Liberty. The blasts lit the night sky and shook the earth with the force of a Richter scale 5.5 earthquake. The total damage came to an estimated $20 million a massive sum in 1916 equivalent to more than half a billion dollars today. Black Tom Island is now part of Liberty State Park. Officially, around four people died due to the explosion. The Little-Known Story Of The Black Tom Explosion That Rocked New York In 1916 Genevieve Carlton 4 weeks ago During World War I, German saboteurs ignited 2 million pounds of munitions on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor, triggering one of the largest explosions to ever occur on American soil. [13] A notable location for one of the first major explosions was around the Johnson Barge No. The Lehigh Valley pier was at the center of the explosion. The sheer magnitude of the explosions at Black Tom is difficult to fathom. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Investigations immediately claims the explosion at Black Tom is, "an accident." President Wilson, vacationing in Chesapeake Bay, calls the devastation at Black . [48] The sabotage techniques used by Germany, and the United States' declaration of war on Germany, led to the creation of the Espionage Act, which passed by Congress in late 1917. A lock () or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Host Michael Kent asks listeners to tell him something strange, bizarre or surprising that they've recently learned and he gets to the bottom of it! One of the largest examples of sabotage during World War I happened half a mile from the Statue of Liberty and hardly anyone knows the story. Germany. [26] President Wilson remarked of the incident that it was "a regrettable incident at a private railroad terminal",[27][28] and Edgar E. Clark of the Interstate Commerce Commission was dispatched to investigate. Pieces of metal from the explosion struck the Jersey Journal building clock tower at Journal Square, stopping the clock at 2:12 a.m. He served for years as an intelligence agent for the Nazi regime and was executed by the Soviets after his capture in 1945. So everyone just thought it was another accident like the one that had happened in 1875. Category:Black Tom explosion. Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol46no1/article02.html. Throughout the city, office buildings were missing windows. The Little-Known Story Of The Black Tom Explosion That Rocked New York In 1916. The Black Tom explosion on July 30, 1916, in Jersey City, New Jersey, was an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent the materiel from being used by the Allies in World War I. For the U.S., responding was difficult. Assuming office in 1913, ___ was only the second Democrat elected President since the Civil War. The CIA wouldnt be established until after World War II. And when it erupted, the blast destroyed warehouses, train cars, and piers. Chad: So when the guard saw him he didn't think twice about this guy being in the area . Still, the impact of the Black Tom Island explosion is still felt in at least one small way today. Three men were eventually recruited to carry out the operation: Michael Kristoff, a 23-year-old Austrian immigrant who served briefly in the U.S. Army; Kurt Jahnke, a naturalized American citizen and former U.S. Marine, who was recruited as an operative by the German Consul General in San Francisco; and Polish-born Lothar Witzke, a young German naval lieutenant who survived his ships sinking by the British Navy off the South American coast in late 1915. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the Black Tom explosion as part of his rationale for the internment of Japanese Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Total damage was calculated at $45 million ($1.127 trillion in 2021), with damage to Lady Liberty costing $100,000 ($2.5 million in 2021) alone. [33][34] It is also believed that Michael Kristoff was responsible for planting and initiating the incendiary devices that led to the explosions. At one point, a huge cavern was hewed out of the earth by the explosions of some 87 dynamite-laden railroad cars. Authorities assess the damage after the Black Tom explosion, which left the munitions depot in tatters. Aftermath of German bombing and sabotage of Black Tom Railroad train cars in New Jersey on July 30, 1916. The Mixed Claims Commission declared in 1939 that Imperial Germany had been responsible and awarded $50 million (the largest claim) in damages, which Nazi Germany refused to pay. The nearby Statue of Liberty suffered severe shrapnel damage, closing visitor access to the Statues torch for good. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. He wanted to try to buy off some of the people in charge of the storing of ammunition to see if he could get some re-routed to Berlin. Five deaths were officially recorded in the attack, including a ten-week-old baby thrown from its crib, but the true death toll was likely much higher, as many of the destroyed barges were commonly used as shelters by vagrants and immigrants. As described by Witcover: The Black Tom promontory was a charred ruin; 13 huge warehouses were leveled and six piers destroyed, and fires continued to eat their way through the remains and consume hundreds of railroads cars and barges tied to the docks. Giveaways and swag The explosion damaged the torch of the Statue of Liberty, shown in the background. It would take years for a persistent team of American lawyers to find sufficient evidence that showed that in fact the disaster had been plotted by the Germans. ; a Powder Factory Completely Destroyed Four Men Instantly killed", "The Point of Rocks Line: More about the Little Railroad", "An Attack That Turned Out to Be German Terrorism Has a Modest Legacy 100 Years Later", "Looking Back Black Tom railroad yard NFPA Journal", "On the Map; Explosion by the Hudson, Foreign Espionage, Local Fear: 1916", "Rogue River courier. Divers recovered shells lost in the harbor after the explosion. One of his master spies was Franz Von Rintelen, who had a pencil bomb designed for his use. They had been the victim of whats thought to be one of the first foreign terrorist attacks in the United States. In the darkened . At the time President Roosevelt said to him: "We don't want any more Black Toms."[50][51]. The damage was estimated at $20 million the equivalent of more than $500 million in 2021 dollars. A 1mi (1.6km)-long pier on the island housed a depot and warehouses for the National Dock and Storage Company. At 2:08 am, the first and largest of the explosions took place, the second and smaller explosion occurring around 2:40 am. German Master Spy Franz Von Rintelen and his "pencil bomb" were responsible for acts of sabotage in the United States during World War I. It looked as if they all went up in the air. Of the two men he was with, she said, I didnt see where they went, but I think they must be dead.. From Manhattan, witnesses saw shells shoot across the harbor and explode a mile from the blast site. According to North Jersey, after placing bombs along the island, one of the saboteurs fled to his aunt's nearby home, shouting, "Oh, my God, what did I do?". In the early 20th century, enemy attacks on American soil were so rare that many assumed the Black Tom explosion was an accident. (Grants Pass, Or.) Black Tom Explosion Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security, by Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Black Tom explosion (30 July 1916), Jersey City, New Jersey; act of World War I sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents to prevent shipments to the Allies. Advertising Notice The Black Tom explosion destroying 2 million pounds of ammunition was an example of _____ sabotage. [45][46] Access was not opened even after the 19841986 restoration which included repairs to the arm and installation of a new gold-plated copper torch. The Black Tom Explosion (1916) From Redditor u/ finlay_mcwalter: A terrorist attack, a massive explosion, a huge pall of smoke hangs over New York harbor. "Four shells of three-inch caliber fell on the gravel path in front of the main door and another shell passed through the roof of the coal bunker attached to the power house.". It is the early morning hours of July 30, 1916, minutes before the Black Tom Island munitions dump explosion in Jersey City, N.J. will awaken half the east coast, changing history. In early 1941, McCloy was named Assistant Secretary of War, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, helped craft the policy to intern more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans in remote facilities for much of the duration of World War II. The damage from the Black Tom explosion stretched across the railroad yard and pier. [26] Suspicion at the time fell solely upon suspected German intelligence operatives Kurt Jahnke and Lothar Witzke, who are still judged as legally responsible. US GovernmentThe next day, a sign warning of fire danger remained in the wreckage left by the explosion. But it took until after World War II for Germany to initiate the payout prolonging the saga until 1979. [43] The final payment was made in 1979. Along with two German saboteurs, Lothar Witzke and Kurt Jahnke, Kristoff is believed to have set the incendiary devices that caused the mayhem on Black Tom. The Black Tom Explosion. 17, which contained 50 tons of TNT and 417 cases of detonating fuses. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. 1, The Bizarre Legend Of Belsnickel, The Centuries-Old Christmas Figure From German Folklore, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Warehouses collapsed onto freight cars filled with TNT. Three years after the war ended, the United States and Germany formed the quasi-government Mixed Claims Commission (MCC) to investigate claims and negotiate financial compensation for wartime damages to commercial and private property. [citation needed], It is likely[according to whom?] "It meant more to Germany to not have them found responsible for Black Tom than it did for the U.S. to prove Germany was responsible for Black Tom. A dozen homes were destroyed and there were several injuries, though thankfully no casualties. To this day, access to that torch is banned. Police officers stood outside stores with broken windows following the explosion to prevent looting. It took years for investigators to determine that Germany was actually responsible for the explosion, a conclusion that had been written off in the immediate aftermath. James Doherty, a police officer from Jersey City, was killed in the explosion. It had 417 cases of detonating fuses. [27] The former Black Tom Island is at the end of Morris Pesin Drive in the southeastern corner of the park, where a plaque marks the spot of the explosion. The term "Black Tom" originally referred to an island in New York Harbor next to Liberty Island. So if you ever run across someone who claims theyve been up to the Statue of Libertys torch, now you know why they havent. On the night of July 30, 1916, Americas largest ammunition depot sat unguarded. But federal authorities could not trace the fire to the pots, and reports ultimately concluded that the blasts must have been accidentaleven though several suspicious factory explosions in the United States, mostly around New York, pointed toward German spies and saboteurs. In the aftermath of the explosions, law-enforcement agents quickly arrested officials from the railroad, storage company and barge business who operated from the Black Tom site. Watchmen in the Woolworth building in Lower Manhattan saw the blast, and thinking their time had come, got down on their knees and prayed, one newspaper reported. Germany, under the rule of Hitler, failed to pay up and the settlement was renegotiated in the early 1950s. The Bureaus Role During Early World War I Years, FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. Department of Justice. There still is a cloak of secrecy about what happened on July 30, 1916. The act of sabotage was the largest enemy attack on continental American soil prior to 9/11. He bribed officials, which included some of the security men responsible for guarding the pier at Black Tom Island. Review this podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-internet-says-it-s-true/id1530853589 There simply wasnt any sort of federal body with the ability or the authority to deal with foreign saboteurs.It wasnt until several decades later that Germany was declared officially responsible and was sued. At least five people were killed, including a baby in Jersey City who was thrown from. Required fields are marked *. | For centuries, humans used tallow in skin moisturizers and healing balms, but unfortunately, the topical application of these fats seemed to stop around the same time that animal fats stopped being considered part of a healthy diet. The total damage came to an estimated $20 million - a massive sum in 1916 equivalent to more than half a billion dollars today. Peter Raceta, the captain of a flatbottom barge in the harbor, was in the cabin watching the fire on Black Tom with two other men. A series of blasts were heard and felt some 90 miles in every direction, even as far as Philadelphia. He was lucky to escape with his life. Cookie Notice And as of 1916, the United States still wanted to remain isolated from the war. It was heard and felt as far away as Philadelphia, and in Baltimore, people spilled from their homes, fearing an earthquake was underway. It was the center of, and was destroyed by, the terrorist bombing of 1916. As for Black Tom Island, it would eventually sink into the bay. The sinking of the Lusitania occurred over a year earlier. Authorities recovered munitions from the blast site without knowing whether they were live. Was it an accident or planned? Used as a munitions warehouse for the Allies, Black Tom Island in the New York Harbor rarely gained any attention during WWII. [citation needed], This attack was one of many during the German sabotage campaign against the neutral United States, and it is notable for its contribution to the shift of public opinion against Germany, which eventually resulted in American support to enter World War I. Discusses the circumstances and German plotting that surrounded the sabotage explosion at the Black Tom munitions depot in New York Harbor on July 30, 1916 Print length 339 pages Language English Publisher Algonquin Books Publication date May 1, 1989 ISBN-10 0912697989 ISBN-13 978-0912697987 See all details The Amazon Book Review The United States remained officially neutral, but the U.S. also sold millions of dollars in weapons to Britain and France. The Black Tom explosion was an act of sabotage by agents of the German Empire, to destroy U.S.-made munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I. At the time, it was both the largest explosion in modern history and the first foreign terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Despite Americas claim of neutrality in World War I, it was no secret that the United States was selling massive quantities of munitions to the British. In spite of the magnitude of the attack, Wilson had not wanted to get dragged into World War I. The rivets popped out of the right arm and the arm holding the torch was pushed up against the statues crown. After wiring the facilities with explosives, the trio set small fires in boxcars brimming with TNT and gunpowder and loaded other time-delayed bombs and incendiary devices onto a barge tied to a pier.