Berlin Calling: American Broadcasters in Service to the Third Reich

Expatriates posing as detached yet patriotic American commentators, & using the news-of-the-day voice of the stereotypical radio announcer, sought to turn U.S. opinion against the British & achieve the political objectives of their media-savvy employer--master propagandist Paul Josef Goebbels. Biographies in "Berlin Calling" put real names & faces behind the voices of The Georgia Peach, Mr OK, Paul Revere etc. Were they motivated by antipathy towards New Deal programs or were they simply hucksters in search of a payroll check? Ten years of 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 WWII, this volume chronicles the careers of eight USA Zone commentators who worked for Nazi propagandist Goebbels. Drawing upon a variety of documentary sources--letters written by the subjects to family, friends & colleagues; treason trial transcripts; the contents of the BBC's wartime monitoring service; & FBI case files on the broadcasters--the author explores each broadcaster's political & personal motivations, & the influence of their broadcasts.