Sauerkraut missions
The Sauerkraut missions ("Operation Sauerkraut") were secret service operations planned and carried out by the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during the Second World War from July 1944 to at least March 1945. The aim was to enable rapid dissemination of Allied propaganda material by the use of German prisoners of war. 

The idea of utilizing German prisoners of war as agents arose after the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. By exploiting this unexpected psychological advantage, the deployment of apparently German soldiers in Wehrmacht uniforms was considered particularly suitable for indoctrinating the enemy without much delay.

In a prisoner of war camp for Germans near Naples, efforts were made to recruit the first candidates for the mission. At the same time, suitable leaflets were developed which referred to the attempted coup on July 20 and were then to be smuggled into German territory. Thus, for example, it was claimed that Walther von Brauchitsch had taken over the command in Germany, or German troops were called upon to carry out revolutionary measures against the Nazi regime. An extra issue of the magazine "Das Neue Deutschland" was also produced, which pointed to alleged opposition groups within the German Reich.

After initially selecting 16 trustworthy prisoners of war, they were first transported to Rome to be equipped accordingly. This included German Wehrmacht uniforms, forged documents, weapons and compasses. Money in Italian currency, cigarettes and first aid equipment were also included. In small groups they were then smuggled across the river Arno. They were to penetrate as deeply as possible behind the German lines and spread the propaganda material they had been given. For example, leaflets and magazines were to be placed on trees, in cars, in buildings and on roads.
Of particular importance were the forged documents that were given to the agents. Since the German side was constantly changing certain recognition features for security reasons, the US side had to regularly improve them, which apparently succeeded brilliantly. Although agents of the operation were later reportedly checked by German military police on several occasions, there was only one case in which such an agent was exposed. While the forged documents had to look as perfect as possible - and this included forged party books along with the party fee stamps - the propaganda material provided was deliberately printed in a much coarser quality. This was to avoid the impression that the stickers, leaflets or magazines were material produced abroad by the enemy using high-quality printing presses.

In total, about 13 missions of "Operation Sauerkraut" were carried out. For this purpose, small groups were smuggled behind the German lines from July 25, 1944 until at least March 21, 1945.

Since international law prohibits deliberately placing prisoners of war in dangerous situations, all "Operation Sauerkraut" personnel had to sign a declaration certifying their voluntary participation. US lawyers considered this procedure to be indispensable in the event that after the war legal action was taken against the US Army before an international court. Although the German agents of "Operation Sauerkraut" were promised preferential treatment for their services by the U.S. side, they were merely returned to the regular POW camps after their deployment. There they were shunned by fellow prisoners of war to the knowledge of their agent activities and despised as traitors.
Q939616
secret service
Concept
Q658626
Office of Strategic Services
ORG
Q362
Second World War
EVE
Q7281
propaganda
Concept
Q179637
prisoners of war
Concept
Q3882219
assassination
Concept
Q105570
Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944
Concept
Q163698
psychological
Concept
Q128781
Wehrmacht
ORG
Q1070290
prisoner of war camp
Concept
Q2634
Naples
LOC
Q57140
Walther von Brauchitsch
PER
Q7318
Nazi regime
Concept
Q65233486
Das Neue Deutschland
MEDIA
Q192852
opposition
Concept
Q1206012
German Reich
LOC
Q220
Rome
LOC
Q34735
compass
Concept
Q4916
Italian currency
Concept
Q115457
Arno
LOC
Q7281
propaganda
Concept
Q165950
agents
Concept
Q210815
military police
Concept
Q914901
fee stamps
UNK
Q144334
printing press
Concept
Q4394526
international law
Concept
Q40348
lawyer
Concept
Q836925
legal action
Concept
Q9212
US Army
Concept
Q1262438
international court
Concept
Q179637
POW
Concept
Q160128
traitors
Concept
Q65242526
Sauerkraut missions
UNK
1944-07-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 1944
DATE
1945-03-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
March 1945
DATE
1944-07-20T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 20, 1944
DATE
1944-07-25T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
July 25, 1944
DATE
1945-03-21T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
March 21, 1945
DATE
+20^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
20
NUMBER
+16^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16
NUMBER
+13^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
13
NUMBER
point in time