Bernard Kuehn file photo [23452]

Bernard Kuehn

SurnameKuehn
Given NameBernard
CountryGermany
CategoryIntelligence
GenderMale

Contributor:

ww2dbaseBernard Julius Otto Kuehn was an associate of German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. Despite lacking formal training as a spy, Goebbels sent Kuehn to the US Territory of Hawaii in 1935 to work with Japanese intelligence agents. Kuehn began collecting intelligence for the Japanese immediately, with assistance from his wife Friedel Kuehn, his daughter Susie Ruth Kuehn, and even his young son Hans-Joachim Eberhard Kuehn. He linked up with Japanese spy Takeo Yoshikawa after Yoshikawa arrived in Honolulu, and the two communicated by occasional flashed messages across the city. A Japanese consulate staff member who received intelligence from Kuehn later noted that the intelligence shared by Kuehn were generally low in value. On the day of the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, his flashes to Yoshikawa was observed by the Americans. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Kuehn, his wife, and his daughter on 21 Feb 1942. He was found guilty as a spy and was given a death sentence; it was later commuted to 50 years of hard labor at the Hawaiian Island Detention Camp on Sand Island. Dr. Bernhard Hormann of the University of Hawaii looked after Hans-Joachim Eberhard Kuehn for the remainder of the war. After the war, the Kuehn family was deported back to Germany in 1948.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Apr 2015

Bernard Kuehn Timeline

15 Aug 1935 Bernard Kuehn and his family arrived in Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii.
21 Feb 1942 Bernard Kuehn was arrested in Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii.
21 Feb 1942 Susan Kuehn was arrested in Honolulu, US Territory of Hawaii.




Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you.

Share this article with your friends:

 Facebook
 Reddit
 Twitter

Stay updated with WW2DB:

 RSS Feeds




Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
27 May 2015 02:35:12 PM

Just read up on the Bernand Kuehn FBI files - insanely riveting!
2. Anonymous says:
14 Dec 2015 11:44:26 AM

Does anyone know the address of where the Kuehn family lived in Hawaii?

All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.

Posting Your Comments on this Topic

Your Name
Your Email
 Your email will not be published
Comment Type
Your Comments
 

Notes:

1. We hope that visitor conversations at WW2DB will be constructive and thought-provoking. Please refrain from using strong language. HTML tags are not allowed. Your IP address will be tracked even if you remain anonymous. WW2DB site administrators reserve the right to moderate, censor, and/or remove any comment. All comment submissions will become the property of WW2DB.

2. For inquiries about military records for members of the World War II armed forces, please see our FAQ.

Search WW2DB
Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

Winston Churchill


Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!