3. Training the agents took less than a month
The agents were trained by Abwehr operatives on a private estate at Lake Quentz, about 45 miles west of Berlin, in April 1942. The three-week training course was on the use of the weapons to be used to destroy their targets in America. Since all of the men had lived in the United States there was no need to familiarize them with American culture, money, or aspects of its infrastructure. The men received instructions from demolition and sabotage experts, including some who had gained experience working with the Irish Republican Army. They were trained in the manufacture and dispersal of various bombs and detonators, their proper placement, and the use of timers.
As the men were trained in the use of bombs, and received some physical fitness training, Abwehr agents worked on creating complete false backgrounds for each of them. They created letters from non-existent friends and relatives, identification documents, and personal histories. The use of German was forbidden, the men were trained in English, read documents in English, and were ordered to converse among themselves in English. American newspapers and magazines were provided for them to read. Other Abwehr agents prepared the list of targets they were to attack in the United States, and assembled the American money which would be necessary to sustain them.