Hello and thank you for this AMA! I've had the pleasure of reading the first book (In Plain Sight) in your series on Felix Sommerfeld and I was impressed by the amount of research that went into the book. A fascinating book and I can't recommend it enough.

My question is regarding the Villa raid on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916. Pancho Villa appears to have gotten rid of any good feelings towards the US by fall of 1915 which coincided with a need to put on a display to get national attention and revive the Villinista cause; to what extent did Germany or German elements influence Villa to target the US?

Thanks for doing the AMA. I know nothing of the involvement of the German Secret Service in North America (or your other topics), so I am asking as a novice:

Given your research, have you reached different conclusions or do you perceive your subject in a radically different way that diverges from previous scholarship? And if so, how is your work being received, particularly since you are unaffiliated?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

I'm curious what you know about the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City in 1916. I've read the Wikipedia article and quite a few other sources on the internet. Germany did pay for damages, but whether they were the cause or not seems to be pretty sketchy. Does this kind of operation fit with other operations Germany was doing at the time? I've looked up Johann Bernstorff, the German ambassador to the US. He appears to have been involved in quite a bit sabotage activity in the US, although nothing really proven. In one case, the 1915 bombing of the Vanceboro bridge between US and Canada, a German agent was caught basically red handed (literally, he had frost bite from being out in the cold setting up the explosives). Apparently he only got some jail time because he changed into a German Army uniform before being arrested. Otherwise he would have been shot as a spy.

Hello Mr. Feilitzsch and thank you for your work.

I have a question re: the actions of a certain Franz von Papen who was attempting to commit espionage in the US before escaping and returning to Germany. Despite his utter failure, he somehow was able to retain the prestige to eventually make his way into the halls of power as part of the reactionary DNVP. Were there any repercussions for these failed operations, or did perhaps the lack of any repercussions contribute to their overall ineffectiveness?

Was Germany's interest in Mexican affairs purely related to World War I, or was there clandestine German involvement in the earlier stages of the Mexican Revolution that predated that?

Have you found evidence that Woodrow Wilson's actions before entering the war were purposefully to position the US for war entry, despite crafting his public image as a man of peace? (I mean his rules for German submarine warfare, etc.)

Hello Heribert, thank you for doing this AMA!

I have a quick question, I read your response above, about Germany and the Black Tom explosion, and it made me wonder: Why did Germany agree to pay damages? Why didn't they deny involvement? Do you have any knowledge of discussions within German leadership as to how to react?

Very impressive body of work! How did you find the time/financing to pursue your scholarly work outside of an academic institution? I would love to pursue independent research like you have done, but am unsure where to even begin. My only credentials are an MA in History and a Master's in Energy Policy. I did not publish a thesis but have maintained a near obsession with history and historical writing since graduation and am looking for opportunities to start writing again.

Thank you very much for joining us here again!

My question may lie somewhat outside the scope of this AMA, but I'm curious to know your answer to it all the same. In recent years, so convinced have many people become that the war was started, maintained, and essentially dominated by "propaganda" -- and that "propaganda" and "bald-faced lying" are synonymous -- that there are now people who seem seriously to question whether the Zimmermann was actually real. Obviously it was, and Zimmermann himself admitted as much; I'm curious to know what you think about just why such an incredible new belief may have come about, and what you would say against it if someone were to put it to you.

I'm also curious about your thoughts on the state of awareness (if we may call it that) on the general public's part when it comes to the activities of German agents in the United States during the war. This, too, is often dismissed as mere propagandizing, though obviously it was a very real thing. Do you find people more open to hearing about it than they have been in the past, and more aware of the scope of the situation than they previously were?

Thank you again for stopping by.

Because I have no affiliations I self-finance my research, writing, and publishing.

How do you do this exactly? I presume you've founded a society/foundation of some sort, which is it, legally? How accepted has it been? Do other scholars often contact and refer to you?

Ihre Bücher kann ich nicht auf Deutsch auffindig machen, veröffentlichen Sie sie denn nicht auf Deutsch und ausschließlich auf Englisch? Warum? Es ist ziemlich zu bedauern, daß es immer weniger auf Deutsch geschrieben wird, auch wenn das Thema sich um Deutsche handelt und Arbeit mit deutschsprachigen Texten erfordert. Haben Sie eine Meinung dazu?

Do you know anything about the numbers of Germans born in the US (a small amount also in Mexico, I suppose) who served in the German military? I know a lot of emigrants left due to the 1848 revolutions and so on and that the US-German population was generally not the biggest supporter of the German war effort, but after a few generations and combined with other immigration, I suppose there were also some great supporters, could you talk about that?

Did Austria-Hungary attempt any similar operations in the US?

What sort of work did Germany do in the US to garner public opinion for itself during the early part of the war, if any?

How were German agents sent to the US trained? Where did they find recruits with the necessary language skills?

At what point was the US squarely for the Entente? The majority of loans were to them, but I suppose there was also economic support for Germany and a lot of investment before the war - didn't they have a voice in the matter?

Könnten Sie vielleicht ein paar nicht so betrockene, doch gut recherchierte Geschichtsbücher zu Österreich(-Ungarn) (besonders nach 1848) empfehlen? Was wäre das Standardwerk?

von Feilitzsch

I nope'd out so hard at trying to pronounce this name. And speaking of language, could you tell me what you think of English as a language? How do you think it compares to German in terms of say, practicality, versatility, grammar and overall usefulness? Not related to History in any fashion whatsoever, I just like talking to people who don't speak English as a first language about English, it's interesting to me as someone who only speaks English to see another view on it. Thanks!

I'm not sure if this is really in your area of expertise, but to what extent did the Germans support the Bolsheviks?

Hello! Thank you so much for doing this AMA! This is my question: prior to the war what was the state of economic and diplomatic relations between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the United States?

Why did the prussian and austro-hungarians, people with deep aristocratic traditions surrender a war, where not a single bullet was fired on homesoil? Do you think its better to have italy as an enemy rather than allied?