Military straps, ropes, and a piece of cloth that emerged from the retreating Sulztalferner glacier in Austria’s Stubai Alps appeared to belong to Operation Greenup, a 1945 U.S. espionage mission. “By now we are 100 percent sure that the objects belonged to the three men of Operation Greenup,” said Edith Hessenberger, head of the Ötztal Museums, according to a report by Die Welt.
Operation Greenup unfolded on a February night in 1945, when three agents parachuted onto the glacier to gather intelligence on Nazi rail traffic, armament production, and troop strength in Tyrol. The team included Fred Mayer, a Jewish refugee from Freiburg im Breisgau; Hans Wijnberg, a Dutch Jew; and Franz Weber, a Tyrolean who had deserted the Wehrmacht.
From their mountain hideout the trio radioed detailed reports to Allied commanders. Weber’s familiarity with the region guided them through hostile territory, while Mayer, disguised as a wounded Wehrmacht officer on leave, gained access to the officers’ casino in Innsbruck and even infiltrated a local aircraft factory. Their intelligence helped Allied forces enter Innsbruck without bloodshed.
Gestapo agents captured Mayer shortly before the war ended. He survived torture, was liberated, and later returned to the US.
“The objects are likely supply materials that were dropped by parachute and hidden in the snow,” said Hessenberger, according to Die Zeit. Initial examinations matched the equipment to lists kept by the wartime Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA.
“Claims that Operation Greenup inspired Quentin Tarantino’s film Inglourious Basterds are not verifiable,” said historian Peter Pirker, according to Die Welt.
The preparation of this article relied on a news-analysis system.