DISLOYALTIES THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY

THE DOUBLE AGENT (WILLIAM SEBOLD)

Thought to be a German spy during World War II, Sebold was actually

a double agent for the United States and worked for the FBI.

Because of him, the FBI was able to wire the radio station that was a

main channel of communication between the Abwehr and German spies

in New York, enabling the US to identify the names of dozens of

these German Spies spread in America. His counterespionage also enabled

the capture of the 33 German Agents of the Duquesne Spy Ring, the

largest espionage case in the US that ended in convictions.

THE CHARMING SPY (FRITZ JOUBERT DUQUESNE)

Duquesne is one of the prominent members of the Duquesne Spy Ring

which was dubbed the largest espionage conviction in the United States.

He was a German spy that relayed significant amounts of information

regarding Allied weaponry and shipping movements to Germany and

was responsible for numerous murders and arson. One of his greatest

achievements as a spy was the sinking of HMS Hampshire in 1916.

DUTCH PROFESSOR TURNED SPY

(CHRISTIAAN SNOUCK HURGRONJE)

Snouck was one of the first western scholars to infiltrate the Islam

culture and join the pilgrimage to Mecca, enabling him to gather

intelligence under the name “Haji Abdul Ghaffar”. However, he used his

knowledge of the Islamic and Aceh culture to quell Muslim Aceh resistance

in the Dutch East Indies. Because of his espionage, the Dutch were able

to devise strategies to crush the resistance and impose a Dutch colonial

rule in Aceh resulting to almost 100,000 deaths.

SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (VIDKUN QUISLING)

Before his treachery against his country, Quisling served as a Norwegian

Minister of Defence. He founded the Nasjonal Samling, which became

a puppet government by the Nazis when they invaded Norway in 1940.

He was responsible for a number of embezzlement and murders for

Germany during this time. When Germany surrendered in 1945,

he was executed for high treason.

A CHANGE OF SIDES (WANG JINGWEI)

This Chinese politician was initially a member of the left wing of

anti-communist Kuomintang and became extremely rightist after his

political efforts with the CCP turned ugly. When the Japanese invaded in

1937, he was offered a position, which he gladly took as head of state of

the Japanese puppet government until he died.

BECAUSE OF UNRECOGNIZED EFFORTS (BENEDICT ARNOLD)

Arnold was an American general during the American Revolutionary

War that immensely contributed to the success of the Americans

during numerous battles. However, other officers claimed all his

accomplishments, prompting him to sell West Point to the British.

After the plan was exposed in 1780, Arnold fled and became a

brigadier general of the British Army.

THE CATHOLIC TREASON (GUY FAWKES)

Contributing to the “largest one act of treason in English history”,

Fawkes was a member of the group of English Catholics who

started the failed treason plan, the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. He joined

against the Protestant Dutch and fought for the Spanish in the

Low Countries during the Eighty Years’ War. He was part of the plan to

assassinate King James I by guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder but

was found by the authorities, sentencing him to death by hanging.

THE GREEK TRAITOR (EPHIALTES OF TRACHIS)

Ephialtes became infamous in Greece after he betrayed his country to

the Persians in 480 BC. During the Battle of Thermopylae, he led the

Persian army to a path that gave access to behind the Spartan’s line,

hoping for a reward from the Persian leader, Xerxes. However, he reaped

not a reward but a bounty on his head. He was killed later on and

his name became synonymous with treason and nightmare.