The FBI and World War II


November 14, 2008

It was December 7th, 1941, and Pearl Harbor was attacked. Even before that, FBI Historian Dr. John Fox says the FBI was working closely with the Army and Navy on national security...


Audio Transcript

Mr. Schiff: It was December 7th, 1941, and Pearl Harbor was attacked. Even before that, FBI Historian Dr. John Fox says the FBI was working closely with the Army and Navy on national security...

Mr. Fox: "When the U.S. actually entered the war we entered in with a bang; operating on a 24 hour schedule, increasing our numbers by tens of thousands and tackling huge problems across the nation.”

Mr. Schiff: Fox says the FBI was basically in charge of security in the Homeland...

Mr. Fox: "We went after spies, saboteurs, subversives who were trying to undermine our war efforts here at home and we were also in charge of collecting intelligence in South and Central America."

Mr. Schiff: In the mid 30s, the FBI had a few hundred Agents and Professional Support personnel; when the war ended, there were 13,000 employees. Celebrate the FBI’s 100th anniversary with more history on the Internet at www.fbi.gov. I’m Neal Schiff of the Bureau and that’s what’s happening at the “FBI, This Week.”

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