Night of the Assassins: New York Times Article, Dec 17, 1943
Night of the Assassins: New York Times Article, Dec 17, 1943
This small New York Times article in 1943 was all the American people knew in the aftermath of the Tehran conference about the plot to kill not only United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, but also British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Marshal Joseph Stalin.
After reading this, I felt I needed to know much more about Hitler's assassination attempt on Allied leaders FDR, Churchill, and Stalin—this secret plot in Tehran that involved paratroopers, espionage, and the unparalleled bravery of FDR's Secret Service guard. I threw myself into the research, and am sharing it with readers in my newest book. NIGHT OF THE ASSASSINS: The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin reads like a thriller because with every new source I found, the plot thickened and grew more tense and more exciting—and it's all true.
The mission: to kill the three most heavily guarded men in the world.
The assassins: a specially trained team headed by the killer known as The Most Dangerous Man in Europe.
The adversary: A lone Secret Service agent, Mike Reilly.
The location: a top secret six day summit conference.
The stakes: nothing less than the future of the world.
You can order the book now to find out how Secret Service agent Mike Reilly foiled the plot and protected the president during wartime.
Night of the Assassins
The Untold Story of Hitler's Plot to Kill FDR, Churchill, and Stalin
© The New York Times
Stalin Bared Plot Against President
Induced Him to Move to Soviet Embassy, Making Any Trips In Streets Unnecessary
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON. Dec.17
President Roosevelt disclosed today what the Russians said was a plot endangering his life at Tehran, the knowledge of which caused him to move his residence from the American Legation to the Soviet Embassy.
Mr. Roosevelt, mentioning the matter during his press conference in discussing the need for security, did not say specifically whether the plot was aimed at all three leaders meeting there, although he implied as much.
While the President was at the American Legation on his first night at Tehran Premier Stalin sent word to him of a plot and urged him to move over to the Soviet Embassy, which adjoined the British Embassy in the same compound.
Although he did not take much stock in the report, the President said, he moved the next day and everything went well from then on.
All three leaders were in the same compound and did not have to pass through the streets. The American Legation was more than a mile from the Soviet compound.
The President observed that in a place like Tehran there probably were hundreds of German spies around and it would have been a pretty good haul for the Germans if they could have gotten all three of the conferees while they were going through the streets.