Carl Emil Ludwig Krepper (May 11, 1884 – June 21, 1972) was a German-American

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor and

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

collaborator who assisted the Nazi saboteurs in

Operation Pastorius Operation Pastorius was a failed German intelligence plan for sabotage inside the United States during World War II. The operation was staged in June 1942 and was to be directed against strategic American economic targets. The operation was n ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Krepper was born in

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg. Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Alton ...

. He attended the Ebenezer Seminary, which trained Lutheran clergy, at

Kropp Kropp () is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 13 km south of Schleswig. Kropp is the seat of the ''Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

. In 1909, Krepper moved to the United States, where he was naturalized. He served at Lutheran churches in Newark, Rahway, Carteret, and Bridgeton, all in New Jersey. He later earned a master's degree from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. In his master's thesis, Krepper was very critical about the U.S. and of the church for not being outspoken against slavery during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Nazi collaboration

At the same time, however, Krepper became a fanatical Nazi. He was a member of the

German American Bund The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (, ''Amerikadeutscher Volksbund'', AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FONG, FDND in German) and ...

and the German American Business League, which supported boycotting Jewish businesses. In 1935, Krepper went to Germany. He returned to the U.S. as a spy in 1941. In 1942, during

, Krepper helped establish safehouses in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

for the saboteurs of the mission. His name was one of several written on handkerchiefs given to

George John Dasch George John Dasch (7 February 1903 – 1 November 1991) was a German agent who landed on American soil during World War II. He helped to destroy Nazi Germany's espionage program in the United States by defecting to the American cause, but was ...

and

Edward Kerling Edward John Kerling (June 12, 1909 – August 8, 1942) was a spy and saboteur for Nazi Germany and the leader of Operation Pastorius during World War II. Early life Born in Biebrich, Wiesbaden, Kerling was the son of Kasper and Walberoa Kerli ...

. Due to a lack of evidence, Krepper was not arrested when the plot was exposed by Dasch and

Ernest Peter Burger Ernest Peter Burger (September 1, 1906 – October 9, 1975) was a German-American who was a saboteur for Germany during World War II who defected to the United States. A naturalized citizen of the United States who returned to Germany during the ...

. In December 1944, he was arrested after a

sting operation In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a rol ...

by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

had wanted to use Krepper as a double agent, but was unsuccessful due to Krepper's commitment to Nazism. In February 1945, Krepper was found guilty on one count of

trading with the enemy Trading with the enemy is a legal term of English origin that is used with a number of related meanings. It refers to: #An offence at common law and under statute #A ground for condemnation of ships in prize proceedings #A ground for illegality a ...

, for which he faced up to 20 years in prison. The following month, he was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit sabotage and violate wartime censorship laws, for which he faced up to two years in prison. Krepper was ultimately sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was sent to the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to serve his sentence. The government also charged Krepper with three additional counts of conspiracy, for which he faced an additional 32 years in prison. However, the charges were dismissed, albeit Krepper's appeals were unsuccessful. Krepper was paroled on February 3, 1951. Further attempts by him to secure a pardon or have his conviction overturned failed. He remained on parole until 1957. Krepper moved to the

Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

, where one of his girlfriends owned property. He managed to secure

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

benefits and a pension from the

German Lutheran Church The United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (German: Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands, VELKD) was founded on July 8, 1948, in Eisenach, Germany. Its total membership is 7.5 million people. All its member churches belong ...

. Krepper died of

bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the Bronchus, bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 ...

at a nursing home in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

, on June 21, 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krepper, Carl 1884 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American Lutheran clergy Abwehr personnel of World War II American members of the clergy convicted of crimes American prisoners and detainees American spies for Nazi Germany Christian fascists German American Bund members 20th-century German Lutheran clergy Deaths from bronchopneumonia Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States Nazis convicted of crimes People from Altona, Hamburg Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government