Heinrich Albert

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For the composer, please see Heinrich Albert (composer).

Heinrich Friedrich Albert was a German lawyer who served as commercial attaché to German Ambassador to the United States Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff during World War I.

He was the paymaster for German sabotage operations in the United States and also arranged for false documents for saboteurs and labor agitators and Germans who wanted to return to fight for the Fatherland.

He and Franz von Rintelen established a cover firm called the Bridgeport Projectile Company to purchase and destroy munitions that would otherwise be shipped to the Allies.

He was exposed as a spy because of his association with George Sylvester Viereck, the editor of The Fatherland, a pro-German publication, who was himself under surveillance. He left his briefcase, which contained sensitive documents, on a tram, and it was picked up by a counter-intelligence officer who was tailing him. The papers were published in the New York World. However, no official actions was taken against Albert, and he did not return to Germany until the U.S. entered the war.

Back in Germany, Albert was given responsibility for foreign assets in the country. After the war, he was charged with the sale of army surplus. In 1923, he was asked by Chancellor Stresmann to help form a government, but was unsuccessful.

He was a successful lawyer in Berlin, representing many foreign corporations. After World War II, he resumed his career in international business.