[2] Eventually, United States Navy intelligence officers recruited Drechsler as a spy and placed him in a prisoner of war (POW) camp near Fort Meade, Maryland with other U-boat sailors.

After arrival, Drechsler worked undercover, befriending his fellow POWs in order to collect information regarding German submarine technology, operational procedures and tactics and any other intelligence which could be useful to the Allies.

The other prisoners eventually decided it was necessary to kill Drechsler to ensure he could no longer spy upon them, and also to act as a deterrent for any other POWs who might consider collaborating with the enemy.

[4] Seven men (Helmut Fischer, Fritz Franke, Günter Külsen, Heinrich Ludwig, Bernhard Reyak, Otto Stengel and Rolf Wizny) were tried by a general court-martial and executed for the beating and hanging of Drechsler.

[5] A review board had recommended that two other German POWs, Siegfried Elser and Friedrich Murza, face charges as accessories before the fact to Drechsler's murder.