Berlin Calling: American Broadcasters in Service to the Third Reich

by John Carver Edwards

Overview

Expatriates posing as detached yet patriotic American commentators, and using the news-of-the-day voice of the stereotypical radio announcer, sought to turn U.S. opinion against the British and achieve the political objectives of their media-savvy employer—master propagandist Paul Josef Goebbels. Riveting biographies in Berlin Calling put real names and faces behind the voices of The Georgia Peach, Mr. O.K., Paul Revere, and others. Were they motivated by antipathy towards New Deal programs or were they simply hucksters in search of a payroll check? Ten years on historical research have culminated in a landmark book with intriguing answers to these puzzling questions.

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of America's entry into World War II, this volume chronicles the careers of eight U.S.A. Zone commentators who worked for Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels. Drawing upon a variety of documentary sources—letters written by the subjects to family, friends, and colleagues; treason trial transcripts; the contents of the BBC's wartime monitoring service; and FBI case files on the broadcasters—the author explores each broadcaster's political and personal motivations, and the influence of their broadcasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275939052
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/1991
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)
Lexile:	1360L (what's this?)

About the Author

John Carver Edwards, PhD, a University Archivist at the University of Georgia, has authored dozens of historical articles and a book on the National Security League.

Table of Contents

Preface
The Beginnings of the USA Zone and Its Pioneer American Broadcasters
Jane Anderson, Alias the Georgia Peach
Max Otto Koischwitz, Alias Mr. O.K.
Robert H. Best, Alias Mr. Guess Who
Douglas Chandler, Alias Paul Revere
Donald Day, Goebbels' Final Recruit
Epilogue
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

An extremely detailed biographical account of five American expatriates who broadcast on shortwave for the Nazis . . . The author, an archivist at the University of Georgia, relies on letters, transcripts from treason trials, and other evidence to probe individual motivations. Recommended for collections dealing with World War II propaganda.” —Library Journal

“Edwards offers a fascinating account, as scholarly as it is readable. . . . Berlin calling is a fine work, of particular interest to students of Nazism, American extremism, and the propaganda of the Second World War.” —The International History Review

“[T]his is an engrossing book. For it not only tells a history, not yet told, but it also delves into the enigmatic nature of the human psyche . . . and the makings of treason.” —Martyrdom and Resistance

“John Carver Edwards' Berlin Calling is an intriguing, you-were-there expose of American journalists who turned their backs on their country during the Third Reich.” —The Athens Observer

“[Edwards'] book makes a nice addition to the library of any World War II junkie.” —The Atlanta Journal

From the Publisher

Drawing upon a variety of documentary sources--letters written by the subjects to family, friends, and colleagues; treason trial transcripts; the contents of the BBC's wartime monitoring service; and FBI case files--Edwards chronicles the careers, and explores the motivations and influence, of eight USA Zone commentators who worked for Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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