During their subsequent meetings, Duquesne provided Sebold with
ample information—notably about the scope of America’s military
preparations—to be transmitted by shortwave radio to Abwehr
officials in Hamburg. Having captured these meetings on film—
and also fearing that Duquesne might begin to commit outright
sabotage—the FBI arrested him and 17 other members of the Ritter
ring in June 1941 (the total number ultimately apprehended was 33).
Singled out by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover as the “most important”
of the prisoners, Duquesne received a sentence totaling 20 years (18
for espionage and two for violating the Registration Act) along with
a $2,000 fine. Released after serving his full term, he died 15 months
later in New York City on 24 May 1956.DYNAMO. See SPORTVEREINIGUNG DYNAMO.
– E –
EBNER, HERMANN (1805–1856). A journalist working undercover
for the Mainzer Informationsbüro (MIB), Hermann Ebner was
originally a court musician in Electoral Hesse. Beginning in 1832, he
edited the conservative Frankfurt am Main newspaper Oberpostam-
tzeitung and contributed to numerous German journals. He resigned
his editorial position in 1834 and started to work for the MIB
employing the pseudonym Dr. Lichtweiss and submitting weekly
reports. Of particular value were his close relations to the Frankfurt
literary circles around Karl Gutzkow and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In
1846, Ebner’s plans for a weekly political-literary publication to be
entitled the Frankfurter Beobachter received much encouragement
from MIB head Joseph Klanner von Engelshofen, who believed it
would “open lucrative sources for his undercover work.” The demise
of the MIB shortly afterward brought an abrupt end to the project.
EDEL, PETER (1921–1983). A graphic artist, writer, and informer
for the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), Peter Edel was
born Peter Hirschweg in Berlin on 12 July 1921, the son of a Jew-
ish merchant. Trained as a graphic artist prior to World War II, he
was taken into custody for anti-Nazi activities in 1943 and then
EDEL, PETER • 91