Special Intelligence Service

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Special Intelligence Service (SIS)

Overview
The SIS was a secret counterintelligence unit of the FBI that operated mainly in the Western Hemisphere during World War II, with a focus on Latin America. Its job was to watch for Nazi activity and pro-Nazi groups, and to gather information on German and fascist networks such as the Abwehr, Falange, and COMINTERN. The SIS helped lay the groundwork for what would become the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It existed from 1940 to 1946.

Formation and purpose
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became concerned about Nazi influence in the United States, and the FBI began investigating pro-Nazi groups. In 1940 the mission expanded to include Axis espionage in South America, a region with many ethnic Germans and active Axis activity. Roosevelt ordered the creation of the Special Intelligence Service in June 1940 to monitor these activities.

Organization and leadership
The SIS operated under a front organization called the Importers and Exporters Service Company, based in Room 4332 of the International Building in New York City. Percy E. Foxworth, often noted as the first chief, and SIS agent Harold Haberfeld died in a plane crash in January 1943. Jerome Doyle is listed as a later chief. The SIS deployed more than 340 undercover agents across Latin America.

Operations and impact
Between 1940 and 1946 the SIS helped uncover and counter Axis activity: about 887 Axis spies, 281 Axis propaganda agents, 222 smugglers, and more than 100 saboteurs were identified. It located 24 secret Axis radio stations and confiscated 40 transmitters and 18 receivers. In Cuba, SIS worked closely with Cuban police and the U.S. Legal Attaché to monitor political changes and Communist activity, maintaining strong coverage even as governments shifted. The SIS also worked with Basque intelligence, helped destroy the Abwehr radio network HDZ, and was involved in breaking parts of the German Enigma code.

End of SIS and legacy
The SIS was dissolved in 1946. Its work in Latin America helped form the foundation for the future CIA, while the FBI expanded its domestic counterintelligence efforts to catch spies at home.