The Jewish Baseball Player Who Destroyed the Nazi A-Bomb

Moe Berg

Moe Berg (1902-1972) was a real-life Zelig -- or, for you non-intellectuals who do not recognize a Woody Allen reference, Forrest Gump -- who found himself inserted into pivotal moments of world history. Berg graduated Princeton University magna cum laude in modern languages, and then went on to graduate Columbia Law School. Instead of becoming a multilingual lawyer, he opted to play professional baseball.

I apologize to my non-American readers for the following baseball references, but it wouldn't hurt you to learn something about American culture, since there is so little opportunity for you to do so.

Berg was described by none other than Casey Stengal as "the strangest man ever to play baseball." He was a very mediocre hitter (.243) and an average fielder. In fact, he was the subject of the famous four-word scouting report: "Good field, no hit." However, he could do whatever was asked of him. He agreed to be the catcher one day, even though he had never played the position. In his very first game, he caught a knuckleballing pitcher facing the Yankees, which included Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. His team won.

In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, an event that marked the beginning of World War II in the Pacific. In 1934, a U.S. baseball all-star team consisting almost exclusively of future Hall of Famers went on a playing tour in Japan. One U.S. team member conspicuously did not fit in -- Moe Berg. He gave the team's welcome speech to the media in Japanese, and then addressed the Japanese legislature in their own language. While the more famous athletes were touring the city and attending ceremonies, Berg traveled around unnoticed, using a movie camera to capture scenes throughout Tokyo. He even went atop one of the city's highest buildings to film a vast panorama. Why? I'll get to that.

Moe Berg did set an American League record for catching 117 consecutive games without an error, but he ended his otherwise unillustrious baseball career with his final game on 1 September 1939. On that same day, a German nuclear energy project began under the auspices of the Nazi military -- oh, and Germany invaded Poland, beginning World War II in Europe.

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, bringing the U.S. into the war. Five months later, U.S. bombers staged the first attack on Tokyo during "Doolittle's Raid." Success for the mission hinged on a bit of film that showed all of Tokyo, including a panorama from one of the city's tallest buildings. The reasons for Berg's "selection" to the touring all-star team was now apparent.

Berg joined the Office of Strategic Services (the forerunner of the CIA). In 1943, he parachuted behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia and met with resistance leader Josip Tito. As a result of Berg's recommendation, Tito was given U.S. military aid, which helped him secure his place as the ruler of Yugoslavia after the war. He also entered Norway, confirmed the location of a heavy-water plant used in the production of atomic weapons, and allied forces then bombed it, significantly delaying production.

But, wait, there's more: In 1944, Berg was given a special assignment. He had to study nuclear physics to the point of being an expert and then was dropped into Europe. Using his fluency in German, he posed as a European physicist, quite a role for a Jewish baseball player. In December, he was ordered to attend a lecture in Zurich by Werner Heisenberg, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who was head of Germany's nuclear program, tasked with creating an atom bomb. Berg was to use his new-found expertise in nuclear physics to determine the extent of Germany's program. If he felt that Heisenberg was a threat, Berg was to assassinate him. Berg went to the conference, attended lectures, met with other physicists, and finally decided that Heisenberg was more of a scientist than a Nazi, and that the program was not a threat.

After the war, Berg did a few odd jobs and soon slipped into obscurity. The man who helped strike out Babe Ruth and ensure the prevention of the Nazi A-bomb died in 1972. His final words were "How did the Mets do today?" His dual life could be summed up by the words of one of his former baseball teammates: "Moe Berg could speak a dozen languages, but couldn't hit any of them."