Readorama: Author Howard Blum sheds light on German terrorists in World War I

In 1915, a native of Germany bombed the U.S. Senate and shot banker J.P. Morgan Jr.

The suspect was known by several names, one of which was Erich Muenter. He once had been known as a Harvard University language instructor. Some 10 years before that, according to author Howard Blum, he had studied at Kansas State University.

In the years just before the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, more than 8 million Americans — about one-tenth of the country’s population — had been born in Germany or had a German parent.

While the vast majority of these were loyal to America, some were not. Although it remains unclear whether Muenter was acting on official orders, espionage agents working on behalf of German officials were active in the heartland. Congress didn’t approve legislation outlawing espionage activities, such as interfering with American military operations, until after the United States declared war.

Blum, author of “Dark Invasion 1915: Germany’s Secret War and the Hunt for the First Terrorist Cell in America,” writes about the federal government’s failure to fully comprehend the activities of German agents, who wanted to prevent America from supplying munitions to England and its allies.

Many American security officials weren’t sure just what was going on, even when supply ships bound for Europe began blowing up at sea — a result of time-delayed explosions — and the Black Tom munitions depot in New Jersey blew up in 1916.

“It was just beyond their ken,” Blum, a Vanity Fair contributing editor, said recently. “They didn’t realize these people were terrorists.”

President Woodrow Wilson, in a 1917 Flag Day speech, lamented his own naivete regarding the true intentions of some German diplomats. “He talked about how he was personally insulted, he talked about people whom he once had considered his friends,” Blum said.

“But that was part of realizing that terrorists were part of our daily life and we had to be prepared for it.”

Blum’s book begins with the story of Tom Tunney, a New York police officer who became head of the city’s bomb squad. Actor Bradley Cooper has agreed to portray Tunney in the pending film version.

Blum speaks at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St. His appearance is sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library with the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Readorama: Author Howard Blum sheds light on German terrorists in World War I."