On July 7, 1941, war was raging in Europe and the U.S. was demanding that Panama ruthlessly ferret out "German" saboteurs. The presidency of Arnulfo Arias was on the brink of collapse. On the morning of July 7, the Policia Nacional of Panama opened fire in cold blood on Swiss-Germans who had founded an enigmatic community on a farm in the highland wilderness of western Panama. These obstinate but unarmed settlers were followers of the U.S. cult-figure Father Divine. The victims of the shooting: 10 dead on the spot; two who bled to death on the 18-hour trek by horse, truck and train to the...