Gestapo impostor tricked Nazi sympathizers in WWII

An undated photo made available by The National Archives of Eric Roberts, a lone MI5 agent who secretly penetrated the ranks of Britain's wartime Nazi sympathizers and who has been identified as an unassuming suburban bank clerk. Time and time again, the low-key “Jack King” was able to convince British traitors that he was a Gestapo man, hoovering up potentially lethal information intended for the Nazis and keeping it safely in British hands. A secret Security Service document made public Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, unveils his real identity: “King” was really Eric Arthur Roberts, a bank clerk seemingly without special training. (AP Photo/The National Archives) An undated photo made available by The National Archives of Eric Roberts, a lone MI5 agent who secretly penetrated the ranks of Britain's wartime Nazi sympathizers and who has been identified as an unassuming suburban bank clerk. Time and time again, the low-key “Jack King” was able to convince British traitors that he was a Gestapo man, hoovering up potentially lethal information intended for the Nazis and keeping it safely in British hands. A secret Security Service document made public Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, unveils his real identity: “King” was really Eric Arthur Roberts, a bank clerk seemingly without special training. (AP Photo/The National Archives)

By Associated Press October 24, 2014 4 min read

LONDON (AP) – At the height of World War II, Hans Kohout wanted to give the Nazis advance word of a top-secret British tactic that could neutralize an enemy’s air defenses, leaving major cities exposed to devastating air raids, according to secret intelligence files released Friday.

Kohout, a naturalized British citizen, knew about it from his work at a plant doing defense-related work.

He passed the information to Jack King, who he believed was a Gestapo agent working undercover in Britain. Kohout expected King to give the information to the Nazis, so they could copy the technology.

But King was an impostor working for British intelligence, not the Gestapo, and Kohout’s plan fizzled, according to the files made public by the National Archives. The information never crossed the English Channel.

Time and time again, the low-key “Jack King” was able to convince British traitors that he was a Gestapo man, gathering up potentially lethal information intended for the Nazis.