Byte Sized Biographies…

The true story of eight nazi spies who landed on American shores via U-Boat at the height of WWII

The true story of eight nazi spies who landed on American shores via U-Boat at the height of WWII. Typical German U-Boat
By the time the Dasch group was loaded on to U-202, Walter Kappe was seemingly glad to be rid of everybody.  Although the U-Boat captain Hans-Heinz Linder asked the group to join him in his quarters for a toast to the newcomers, Kappe stayed merely long enough to wish everyone well and then quickly bolted. Attorney General Francis Biddle
By the time the Dasch group was loaded on to U-202, Walter Kappe was seemingly glad to be rid of everybody.  Although the U-Boat captain Hans-Heinz Linder asked the group to join him in his quarters for a toast to the newcomers, Kappe stayed merely long enough to wish everyone well and then quickly bolted. Mugshot of Herbie Haupt's father, Hans Haupt
Herbie's mother, Erna Haupt
Hedy Engemann
Marie Kerling
Chief Justice Harlan Stone

The true story of eight nazi spies who landed on American shores via U-Boat at the height of WWII.

Martyr and Saint, Savior of France, National Icon, All by the Age of Nineteen Joan of Arc Joan of Arc was born sometime in January of 1412, the date of the sixth is traditionally mentioned.  Her parents, Jacques and Isabelle, were farmers who modestly tended a fifty acre plot in the village of Domremy.  This tiny town was located in a remote area of Lorraine, a region loyal to the French monarchy but surrounded by territory controlled by the Duke of Burgundy Joan, entering Orleans After six months of siege and with the fate of the kingdom of France hanging in the balance, a 17 year old girl freed Orleans in just four days of fighting, destroying the English myth of invulnerability.  This news spread across France and throughout Europe, proof that The Maiden was the instrument of the almighty.  Joan of Arc, Paris, Rue de Rivoli Clearly, the next military objective for the French army should have been the liberation of Paris, the largest city in France and most prestigious in Europe.  But, at this critical juncture, the English dangled a truce in front of Charles, who sent his court chamberlain George de la Tremoille, to negotiate with the Duke of Burgundy.  Joan of Arc, Bastille Day

Martyr and Saint, Savior of France, National Icon, All by the Age of Nineteen

Martyr and Saint, Savior of France, National Icon, All by the Age of Nineteen Joan of Arc, under interrogation Among the more driven individuals attempting to pry Joan out of the grasp of de Luxembourg was Pierre Cauchon, the Bishop of Beauvais.  Cauchon was a former Dean of the University of Paris, a chaplain to the Duke of Burgundy, as well as an ambitious and calculating high-ranking cleric.  Compiegne was in the diocese of Beauvais and Cauchon reasoned that any ecclesistical proceeding should be handled by himself.  Cauchon also understood that whoever succeeded in convicting and punishing Joan would establish himself prominently in the Roman Catholic hierarchy.  Cauchon additionally had a personal axe to grind as it was Joan’s incursion into Rhiems and the territory around Beauvais that had chased pro-English figures like Gauchon out of the area.  For the moment, he had relocated to Rouen, which was also the location of the administration of the English occupiers. Remnant of Bouvreuil, Rouen Hearing rumors of such a transaction, Joan attempted to escape from her rooftop cell in the keep of de Luxembourg’s fortress at Beaurevoir.  From an estimated seventy feet in the air, Joan attempted to tie together pieces of bedding and cloth.  During the process these tore, sending her to the completely uncushioned ground below.  Most likely unconscious for two days, she eventually regained her vitality.  Possibly her escape was actually a suicide attempt but to admit such an inclination was again a grave blasphemy. Joan of Arc, Vieux Marche, Rouen Joan was dragged to the fourth and highest platform and chained and bound to the stake by the official executioner.  Later, he would complain that the stake was so high he could not apply the customary rope around the victim’s neck to employ strangulation, a merciful alternative to actual burning.  The condemned was wearing a gray, sleeveless garment that stretched below her knees.  On her head, a crude crown with the words “Heretic, relapse, apostate, idolater.”  Around her neck a small, wooden crucifix, fashioned for her at the last moment.  A sympathetic priest, assigned to comfort her in her last minutes returned to her vicinity with a tall crucifix that he had retrieved from a nearby church.  Joan shouted to him, the din from the jeering crowd rising with each passing minute.  “Hold it before my eyes so I can see it until the last!!” Cauchon's obscured burial site today, Lisieux Pierre Gauchon did not live to observe these developments.  He died of a heart attack at Rouen in December of 1442, still enjoying prominence and comfort under the protection of the English. Joan of Arc statue, near stake location, Rouen, France

Martyr and Saint, Savior of France, National Icon, All by the Age of Nineteen

The true story of the television scandal that shocked America. Charles Van Doren and Herb Stempel during their climactic game The showdown between the two men continued on December 5, 1956, Stempel having accumulated 66,500 dollars.  The first show again resulted in a 21-21 tie.  The tension built as the dashing college educator tried to pull off the upset, but in the fourth game Herb Stempel pulled out to a 16-0 lead and seemed on the brink of successfully moving on.  21 had an interesting wrinkle in which contestants were asked after the second round of questions if they wished to stop the game.  Because they were in a soundproofed booth they did not know their opponent’s score and were instructed not to discuss specifics when their microphones and headsets were turned backed on. Herb Stempel as he appeared in 21 His appearance on 21 should have been a life changing event and a stepping stone to prominence and further achievement.  But for a variety of reasons, it hadn’t turned out that way.  Stempel’s background was the complete inverse of Charles Van Doren.  An only child and a three year old when his father died, Stempel was raised by his mother who left him alone in their Bronx tenement while she worked during the day.  An excellent student with a 170 IQ, Stempel did graduate from the academically demanding Bronx High School of Science.  Like many Americans, he joined the Army in 1942 and remained in the military for eight years, eventually working in military intelligence.  He finally left the service in 1952 to enroll at the City College of NY.  While a student, Stempel survived on money provided by a trust fund set up for his wife, Toby, the daughter of a successful hosiery manufacturer.  Vivian Nearing, Jack Barry and Charles Van Doren on the set of 21 Charles Van Doren finally met his match in Vivian Nearing, an attorney and the wife of a contestant that Van Doren already had defeated.  He was tripped up on a question involving obscure current ruling monarchs, failing to identify King Baudoin of Belgium.  But, along the way, Charles Van Doren became an overnight celebrity.  He won $128,000 on the program and appeared on the cover of the February 11, 1957 edition of Time Magazine with an accompanying glowing profile His appearance and popularity was so impressive that in April of 1957, he was offered a three year contract by NBC at fifty thousand dollars a year. The Van Doren family
Van Doren was a telegenic, well spoken, sophisticated scion of one of the most intellectual families in America.  Despite some misgivings, especially from his fiancé, he agreed to appear.  Although he did not even own a television, he soon found himself on the soundstage of the program, initially to observe several shows from the wings and eventually to compete against Stempel, still the current champion.  Jack Barry’s introduction was inaccurate but certainly impressive: “He teaches music at Columbia University, and was a student at Cambridge University, in England . . . and his hobby is playing the piano in chamber-music groups.” Barry also referred specifically to Van Doren’s father and his literary stature and background.  Richard Goodwin The film Quiz Show focuses on the efforts of one person, Richard Goodwin, played by Rob Morrow, a congressional investigator whose supposed efforts singlehandedly brought the Quiz show scandal to public attention and congressional oversight.  In fact, long before Congress or Goodwin got involved, New York newspapers and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office were already investigating rumors and allegations swirling around several quiz show productions.

The true story of the television scandal that shocked America.

The true story of the television scandal that shocked America. Charles Van Doren, 1959 On November 2, 1959, at 10 AM, Charles Van Doren and his attorney Carl Rubino entered the caucus room where the House Subcommittee hearings investigating potential game show corruption were conducted.  He had spent the previous evening accompanied by his wife and father at what must have been a very surreal dinner party at the home of Dick Goodwin, as this event was also attended by prosecutor Joseph Stone. District Attorney Frank Hogan Investigator Stone understood the potential volatility of the situation and he immediately personally briefed his boss, the District Attorney.  Frank Hogan was also skeptical of Stempel but for an additional reason.  He was a prominent alumnus of Columbia University, knew Professor Mark Van Doren personally and had even met Charles Van Doren.  He found it hard to believe that someone of the younger Van Doren’s background was capable of such duplicity but, at a formal news conference on August 28, Hogan did acknowledge that both Dotto and 21 were under investigation.  However, he also added that as yet the allegations were still unproven. Richard Goodwin, a high level White House staff member during both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Richard Goodwin quickly resigned from his subcommittee position and went to work for the Kennedy presidential campaign.   Herbert Stempel, later years Herb Stempel remained in an apartment not far from where he lived in Forest Hills, NY, in 1959, his phone number publicly accessible.  He lived well into his nineties, long retired from the Department of Transportation, Stempel and said he always knew when the film “Quiz Show” appeared on television.  Invariably, frequently in the middle of the night, his phone rang and the caller asked “What film won the award for best picture of 1955?”  Stempel always answered Marty, wished the caller a good evening and hung up the telephone.  He passed away on April 7, 2020, aged 93