The Nazis had a secret plan known as Operation Greif.


 German soldiers wore American uniforms and drove stolen US jeeps to fool the enemy. Their objective was to confuse the Americans by switching road signs and cutting telephone wires.


Since they were dressed in incorrect uniforms, appeared in battle were not treated as regular prisoners in the event of a capture. A soldier who got caught in his own uniform would often be sent to a prison camp, but these men were considered spies. There were three men, Schmidt, Billing and Pernass, which were caught and after a very quick trial, were executed on the spot in the cold.


The scariest occurred on December 23, 1944. The men were lashed to wooden posts in a Belgium courtyard. An American firing squad was on hand and a med. officer was present to confirm a dead body. In a famous picture Wilhelm Schmidt hangs limp on the ropes after the shots. The above picture depicts a severe reality of what spies face.

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