Editing Allen Dulles (section)

== World War II and OSS career ==
Dulles was recruited into the [[Office of Strategic Services]] by [[William J. Donovan]] in October 1941, after the outbreak of the World War II in Europe, and on November 12, 1942, he moved to Bern, Switzerland, where he lived at [[Herrengasse 23 (Bern)|Herrengasse 23]] for the duration of World War II.{{sfn|Dulles|Petersen|1996|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZG2P4hC8JBYC&pg=PA563 Notes]|p=563}} As Swiss Director of the [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]],<ref name=EB1970YB/> Dulles worked on intelligence about German plans and activities, and established wide contacts with German émigrés, resistance figures, and anti-Nazi intelligence officers. He was assisted in intelligence-gathering activities by [[Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz]], a German emigrant. Dulles also received valuable information from [[Fritz Kolbe]], a German diplomat, one whom he described as the best spy of the war. Kolbe supplied secret documents about active German spies and plans for the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] jet fighter.

[[File:Bundesarchiv RH8II Bild-B0788-42 BSM, Peenemünde, Startvorbereitungen V2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Allen Dulles used information from [[Heinrich Maier]]'s resistance group for the very important [[Operation Crossbow]].]]
Dulles was in contact with the Austrian resistance group around the priest [[Heinrich Maier]], who collected information through many different contacts with scientists and the military. From 1943 onward, he received very important information from this resistance group about [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1]], [[V-2 rocket]]s, [[Tiger tank]]s, [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]], [[Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet]], and other aircraft and the related factories. This helped Allied bombers to target war-decisive armaments factories. In particular, Dulles then had crucial information for [[Operation Crossbow]] and [[Operation Hydra (1943)|Operation Hydra]]. The group reported to him about the mass murder in Auschwitz. Through the Maier Group and Kurt Grimm, Dulles also received information about the economic situation in the Nazi sphere of influence. After the resistance group was uncovered by the Gestapo, Dulles sent American agents to Austria to contact any surviving members.<ref>Hansjakob Stehle "Die Spione aus dem Pfarrhaus (German: The spy from the rectory)" In: Die Zeit, January 5, 1996.</ref><ref>Fritz Molden "Fires In The Night: The Sacrifices And Significance Of The Austrian Resistance" ((2019).</ref><ref>Helga Thoma "Mahner-Helfer-Patrioten: Porträts aus dem österreichischen Widerstand" (2004), pp 150.</ref><ref>Elisabeth Boeckl-Klamper, Thomas Mang, Wolfgang Neugebauer: ''Gestapo-Leitstelle Wien 1938–1945.'' Vienna 2018, {{ISBN|978-3902494832}}, pp. 299–305.</ref><ref>Christoph Thurner "The CASSIA Spy Ring in World War II Austria: A History of the OSS's Maier-Messner Group" (2017), pp 187.</ref>

Although Washington barred Dulles from making firm commitments to the plotters of the July 20, 1944 [[20 July plot|attempt to assassinate Hitler]], the conspirators nonetheless gave him reports on developments in Germany, including sketchy but accurate warnings of plans for Hitler's [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1]] and [[V-2]] missiles.{{sfn|Grose|1994|pp=214}}

As the Third Reich neared defeat in 1944 and 1945, Dulles and his law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, worked with several German industrialists to move Nazi funds out of Germany's territory.<ref>Mark Felton, "Himmler's Fourth Reich - SS Assets Saved in Global Conspiracy" (Oct. 9, 2024), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKDI2rxQ-fA&t=712s</ref> [[Heinrich Himmler]], Reichsführer of the German SS, began transferring Nazi wealth, including that stolen from Jewish [[Holocaust]] victims, to other countries to support a postwar "Fourth Reich."  Brigadeführer [[Kurt Baron von Schröder]], who cooperated with Himmler on his plan, was a business associate of Dulles.  Dulles and Schröder created companies through which they moved Nazi wealth to other nations. This operation infuriated U.S. [[FBI]] Director [[J. Edgar Hoover]], who unsuccessfully pressured President [[Harry S. Truman]] to disrupt the plan.  However, given the ties of the [[British Royal Family]] to German wealth, no formal investigation began.<ref>Id.</ref>

Dulles was involved in [[Operation Sunrise (World War II)|Operation Sunrise]], secret negotiations in March 1945 to arrange a local surrender of German forces in northern Italy. His actions in Operation Sunrise have been criticized by historians for offering German SS General [[Karl Wolff]] protection from prosecution at the Nuremberg trial, and creating a diplomatic rift between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. After the war in Europe, Dulles served for six months as the OSS Berlin station chief and later as station chief in Bern.<ref>Talbot, David (2015). The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government. HarperCollins. {{ISBN|978-0062276216}}</ref> The Office of Strategic Services was dissolved in October 1945 and its functions transferred to the State and War Departments.

In 1947, Dulles served as a senior staffer on the [[Herter Committee]].<ref name=Final>{{cite report |title=Certain Reports and Proposals on Foreign Aid |chapter=Final Report on Foreign Aid of the House Select Committee on Foreign Aid (PART I. Studies undertake prior to and in preparation for implementation of the Marshall Plan) |page=1 |publication-place=[[Washington, D.C.]], USA |editor1-first=John W. |editor1-last=McDonald Jr. |department=[[International Cooperation Administration|United States International Cooperation Administration (ICA)]] |publisher=[[United States Department of State]]/[[Executive Office of the President]] of the United States (EOP) |author=[[Council of Economic Advisers|United States Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)]] |via=Marshall Foundation |date=October 1, 1947 |url=https://www.marshallfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Studies_Prior_to_the_Marshall_Plan.pdf |access-date=September 27, 2021}}</ref>