Heinrich Harm Heinck was born in Hamburg on June 27, 1907. As an adult Heinck worked for the Hamburg-American Shipping Company and eventually served on the S.S. Westphalia as a machinist. In 1926 Heinck jumped ship in New York City and entered the United States illegally. He worked a variety of jobs, mostly as a machinist or tool and die maker. In 1933 he married Anna Goetz. Heinck was a member of the German-American Bund. Out of work, Heinck returned to Germany in 1939 where he was employed at the Volkswagen factory at Braunschweig. There he met Richard Quirin, who he became close friends with. Heinck’s wife Anna followed him and they lived with her parents and had one son. Exempt from the draft because of their jobs, Heinck and Quirin were nevertheless both recruited for Operation Pastorius because of their knowledge of the USA, their mechanical abilities and their ability to speak English. They were trained at the Brandenburg Sabotage School. In June 1942 the pair landed on Long Island with two others from a U-boat. Heinck was arrested, as was Quirin, after the other two reported the mission to the FBI. In all, six agents were tried by a military tribunal and executed. After his death in the electric chair, Heinck was buried with the other five in the Washington D.C. potters field under a wooden marker which read 277. In 1982 a grave marker was placed at the Blue Plains burial plot.
Heinrich Harm Heinck was born in Hamburg on June 27, 1907. As an adult Heinck worked for the Hamburg-American Shipping Company and eventually served on the S.S. Westphalia as a machinist. In 1926 Heinck jumped ship in New York City and entered the United States illegally. He worked a variety of jobs, mostly as a machinist or tool and die maker. In 1933 he married Anna Goetz. Heinck was a member of the German-American Bund. Out of work, Heinck returned to Germany in 1939 where he was employed at the Volkswagen factory at Braunschweig. There he met Richard Quirin, who he became close friends with. Heinck’s wife Anna followed him and they lived with her parents and had one son. Exempt from the draft because of their jobs, Heinck and Quirin were nevertheless both recruited for Operation Pastorius because of their knowledge of the USA, their mechanical abilities and their ability to speak English. They were trained at the Brandenburg Sabotage School. In June 1942 the pair landed on Long Island with two others from a U-boat. Heinck was arrested, as was Quirin, after the other two reported the mission to the FBI. In all, six agents were tried by a military tribunal and executed. After his death in the electric chair, Heinck was buried with the other five in the Washington D.C. potters field under a wooden marker which read 277. In 1982 a grave marker was placed at the Blue Plains burial plot.
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