DOCSLIB.ORG

Axis Sally Her Name) Wasn't the Innocent Lit- Tle Girl on Park Street Anymore

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Axis Sally Her Name) Wasn't the Innocent Lit- Tle Girl on Park Street Anymore MAINE PEOPLE So Millie packed her bags, ate one, maybe two last bagels, and headed for North Africa. North Africa? Listen, for her it was an obvious next step. Anyway, after a while Millie figured the bread would be fresher in Paris, so she moved again. But one spring morning she caught a whiff of some fabulous chocolate cake and followed its wafting trail, sniffing and snuffling all the way. And Portland's Bad, Bad Girl what did she find at the end of her journey but Hitler's own Radio Berlin! Mildred Gillars (she'd changed Axis Sally her name) wasn't the innocent lit- tle girl on Park Street anymore. She started broadcasting provoca- tive radio shows to the Allies, try- BY ERIC MOODY ing to demoralize U.S. troops and make our boys homesick. Our Boys! She also posed as a Red F YOU were a 10-year-old Cross volunteer, solicited recorded girl on Park Street, would messages from paws for "the you leave, become an folks back home," then spliced unsuccessful actress, and them into jack-booted propaganda then take off for North for the bad guys in black. Not nice Africa? Neither would 1. And then . at all. In fact, it's treason. Not lit- would you hang around in France, tering. Not indecent exposure. killing time until you could have Treason, Bub. Treason. your own Nazi radio show? No So in 1948, the good guys with way,]ose! And when they brought the nice hats (that's us) finally you back to ask you why you did it, decided to bring her back to the would you say that it was all for States for some questions. She first the love of some guy named Max? claimed that she had performed I didn't think so. But for Axis Sally, under duress. The old "the Nazis it was all in a life's work. made me do it" line. But then sud- Axis Sally started out in 1900 as denly she changed her tune. "I did Mildred Sisk right here in Port- it all for Max," she said. What? land, Maine. But when she learned Yes, she claimed that she was only that Funtown wouldn't be built for vying for the affection of one Max another 60 years, she decided to Otto Koischwitz, a former college look elsewhere for excitement. Mil- professor and, coincidentally, her lie moved away. boss at Radio Berlin. And to top it Her first big mistake was land- off, she went ahead and lied about ing in Greenwich Village in New her age. (What's nine years forgot- York City. Artists live there. Millie ten when you feel so young!) You got too close to them, caught guessed it: Mildred "Axis Sally" Bohemian fever, and woke up Gillars went to jail. Mildred Elizabeth Gillars was charged screaming, "I wanna be an Axis Sally. Not exactly the nick- with 10 counts of treason by the Uni- actress!" But it just wasn't in the name you always wanted as a kid. ted States Government in August cards. While her waistline grew The American GIs had pinned it 1948. After 17 hours and 20 minutes, larger and larger, her roles were on her while she was doing her a jury found her guilty of one count, reduced to bit parts. So, having radio show as "Midge at the Mike." for which she served 12 years in a flopped as a chubby actress, Millie So she'd gone from little Mildred West Virginia federal prison. After figured doing radio would be the Sisk to Mildred Gillars to Midge at being paroled in 1961, she returned to easiest way to make it big and slim the Mike to, gulp, Axis Sally. What Ohio Wesleyan University - which her image at the same time. went wrong? she had left In 1922 without gradua- (N obody can see you sneaking a Well, it's obvious, isn't it? They ting - where she resumed studies, leg of lamb when you're behind the just should have built Funtown earning a degree In speech In 1979. forgiving veil of radio waves.) about 60 years sooner. • 28 PORTIAND MONTHLY.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nazi Almanya'sında Yayıncılık, Nazizm İdeolojisinin Yaydığı Anti
    Türk Kütüphaneciliği 34, 4 (2020), 693-722 Doi: 10.24146/tk.818460 Nazi Almanya’sında Yayıncılık, Nazizm İdeolojisinin Yaydığı Anti-Semitist Söylemlerin İnşası ve Kitapların Propaganda Amaçlı Kullanımı The Publishing in Nazi Germany, The Construction of Anti-Semitist Discourses Spread by the Nazism Ideology and the Use of Books for the Purpose of Propaganda Ebru Gülbuğ Erol* Öz 30 Ocak 1933 tarihinde Nazilerin Almanya’da iktidara gelişi, ülkede yayıncılık alanında radikal değişimlerin yaşanmasına neden olmuştur. Nazi rejimi, kendileri için tehdit olarak değerlendirdikleri yayınları sansürlemiş, diğer yandan ülkedeki kütüphaneler üzerinde sıkı bir denetim uygulamıştır. Nazilerin, Almanya’daki yayıncılık üzerindeki etkisi, Alman Öğrenci Birliği’nin (Deutsche Studentenschaft, DSt) katılımında gerçekleşen kitap yakma (Bücher verbrennung) kampanyasıyla simgeleşmiştir. Nazilerin kitap yakma kampanyasında, zararlı olarak nitelendirilen veya Nazizm ideolojisine karşıt ideolojileri temsil eden kitaplar hedef alınmıştır. Nazizm ideolojisine karşıt yayınların ortadan kaldırılmasının yanında Nazizm ideolojisini yücelten ve fikirlerinin Alman toplumu tarafından benimsenmesini amaçlayan yayınlar da ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu yayınlar içerisinde Nazizm ideolojisinin antisemitist söylemlerinin yer aldığı kitaplar da olmuştur. Çalışmada Nazi rejiminin, Nazizm ideolojisinin antisemitist söylemlerinin kitlelere benimsetilmesinde kitapları propaganda amaçlı nasıl kullandığı Yeşil Fundalıkta Tilkiye ve Yemininde Yahudiye Güvenme (Traukeinem Fuchs auf grüner Heid
    [Show full text]
  • American Terrorists As Perpetrators of Communitarian Assaults Amitai Etzioni
    American University International Law Review Volume 29 | Issue 1 Article 2 2013 American Terrorists as Perpetrators of Communitarian Assaults Amitai Etzioni Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/auilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Etzioni, Amitai. "American Terrorists as Perpetrators of Communitarian Assaults." American University International Law Review 29 no. 1 (2013): 123-144. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in American University International Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AMERICAN TERRORISTS AS PERPETRATORS OF COMMUNITARIAN ASSAULTS AMITAI ETZIONI* I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 123 A. FOCUS ON AMERICAN TERRORISTS ........................................ 125 B. THE NORMATIVE GROUNDS ................................................... 128 II. A LEGAL EXPRESSION .......................................................... 130 A. THE LEGAL FOUNDATION ...................................................... 130 B. PROCEDURE AND FORUM ....................................................... 133 C. WHEN AMERICAN TERRORISTS CANNOT BE CAPTURED ........ 134 D. IF AN AMERICAN TERRORIST IS CAPTURED ........................... 139 III. STRIPPING AMERICAN TERRORISTS’ CITIZENSHIP ..... 142 I. INTRODUCTION This article argues that there are strong normative reasons to treat American terrorists, abroad and within the United States, as individuals who have committed treason. For the purposes of this article, “American terrorists” refers to persons recognized as American citizens under the Constitution of the United States who commit acts defined under one of the following statutes: 18 U.S.C. § 2331(1),1 18 U.S.C. § 2232b,2 18 U.S.C.
    [Show full text]
  • War: How Britain, Germany and the USA Used Jazz As Propaganda in World War II
    Kent Academic Repository Full text document (pdf) Citation for published version Studdert, Will (2014) Music Goes to War: How Britain, Germany and the USA used Jazz as Propaganda in World War II. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. DOI Link to record in KAR http://kar.kent.ac.uk/44008/ Document Version Publisher pdf Copyright & reuse Content in the Kent Academic Repository is made available for research purposes. Unless otherwise stated all content is protected by copyright and in the absence of an open licence (eg Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher, author or other copyright holder. Versions of research The version in the Kent Academic Repository may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check http://kar.kent.ac.uk for the status of the paper. Users should always cite the published version of record. Enquiries For any further enquiries regarding the licence status of this document, please contact: [email protected] If you believe this document infringes copyright then please contact the KAR admin team with the take-down information provided at http://kar.kent.ac.uk/contact.html Music Goes to War How Britain, Germany and the USA used Jazz as Propaganda in World War II Will Studdert Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History University of Kent 2014 Word count (including footnotes): 96,707 255 pages Abstract The thesis will demonstrate that the various uses of jazz music as propaganda in World War II were determined by an evolving relationship between Axis and Allied policies and projects.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern White Women
    Women for Aryan Unity Presents SkuldModern White Women WAU Publications www.WAU14.com kuld is one of W.A.U’s many paperback publications, this maga- zine is one of a kind; it is dedicated 100% to Aryan Women S.The purpose behind Skuld is to honour Aryan Women past and Present. Being a woman is a very tough job. We are usually forced to mesh both warrior and mother into one. Many types of women past and present have made our roles in today’s society unique. We are labeled as many different things by many different kinds of men and women; one thing that cannot be denied is that we as women are both fierce and motherly all in one. Throughout history, war has been seen as a mans job; however women have always been involved in battles and sieges, not to mention duels, prizefights and so on. The most common occasion on which women would take part in battles was when their home was being attacked. A woman knew how to defend herself and her land. Proud women like Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Freydis Eriksdot- tir, Duchess Gaita of Lombardy, Countess Matilda Tuscany and many more. Women have conquered the skies, art, and medicine and much more. As we have been forced to believe that women before us were content with being shackled to the kitchen sink, Skuld will tell you differently. Each issue of Skuld will focus on many different types of Aryan Women, both historical and mythological. CONTENTS Leni Riefenstahl .............................................................. 2 Olivia (Wivi) Lönn ............................................................ 3 Fanni Luukkonen ............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER 5 the Legend of Tokyo Rose1
    Miss Yourlovin Ann Elizabeth Pfau CHAPTER 5 The Legend of Tokyo Rose1 2 American veterans of the Pacific war still remember Tokyo Rose. She was the 1 most dangerous and seductive of the enemy radio announcers who broadcast propaganda to American troops. During the war, she attracted avid listeners who passed the time in the tropics by circulating stories about what she said and speculating about who she really was. After the Japanese defeat, former servicemen reminisced about Tokyo Rose, and when the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) called for witnesses able to recognize her voice and to remember her words, many veterans eagerly volunteered their memories. In interviews conducted by FBI agents and in their own sworn statements, these men claimed to remember the peculiarities of her voice and delivery; they were certain that they could identify Tokyo Rose were they to hear her again. Many characterized her voice as "soft," "smooth," "sultry," or "sexy"; she spoke with a slight accent, or they were amazed by its lack. When asked to describe the content of Tokyo Rose's radio show, some former servicemen recounted taunting tales of unfaithful wives who were dating draft-dodgers. Others remembered more ominous broadcasts. They claimed that Tokyo Rose "welcomed" American troops to the Pacific by predicting their movements and warning of impending attacks. Between December 1945 and June 1949, FBI agents collected former 2 servicemen's stories about Tokyo Rose with the goal of building a treason case against Iva Toguri. Toguri was an American Nisei who had been visiting a sick aunt in Japan at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
    [Show full text]
  • Axis Sally," Ex- Pressed Jj!Dw R Ns·Today When up a Blind Alley Idepartment of Justic~Pre8enta­ I Tlves Infonned Her Tha He Was to by United Pres
    li~ :iroctor, ~adoral Eureau of Investi~a~ion J\m.e 4, 1945 ~O~ c. clark, .'-3sistant Att;orney '031::.61"8.1, ~,..c: SC;:: lr Cr~nal ~lvision ~ Idrl')d ~:llznbeth ('111ars, 146-1-51-1708 - -~re9.son. r-,: iTOUld e.pFear ~hat further information ::.i~h~ now be obtained rela1:ive to the re'-'ortad broadcutinc activities by "':::us sUb.1ec-t for -ena -'e~an -overn.--ncnt. (·oI:lf.lete (~nde!lce s:-.culd 'Ja developed relatiVEl to any acta by the subject ~1" c. troflsonable .:nture lL'lcl n!lrticular attention ~r..ould also be -i ~t3n 'co fe.cts ~~dica~in::-: tho t"cotention or 103s ot' {:3r ;,'=Wrican ci ';iZaI:shio. It i::; requested tha1: you !l.scertain. if' poesib1e, :::"0 r~~ure of ~~e subject's broaacasts nr.d 1n this re~~rd it is sur.=escod that inquirJ should a~ain be ;~e of the Federal ~'o1Dlmmicationa Gomniasion to ascertain 'llheth9r tm:y at' her broad­ casts have beon =:oni tored by H. Il; ia noted that your :'!Ie::-.orr.mdtun of Jscember 23, 1943, indicato. that the ?ederal ~o~unicctiona C:on::ciuion received no broadcasts by this subject prior to '3eptomber 27. 1943. An oi'fort should be made to locate the subject and inter­ view her relative to her ac~ivitie8 of a treasonable nature. It does not appear advisable, AoweTer, that 3he be taken into custody ~t --:nis time. It is desired that i!li'orna.~ion ~ela.ti~ "to t!lls subjeot je developed 113 soon aa possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Did the Court Kill the Treason Charge?: Reassessing Cramer V
    Florida State University Law Review Volume 36 Issue 4 Article 2 2009 Did the Court Kill the Treason Charge?: Reassessing Cramer v. United States and its Significance Paul T. Crane [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Paul T. Crane, Did the Court Kill the Treason Charge?: Reassessing Cramer v. United States and its Significance, 36 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. (2009) . https://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol36/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida State University Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW DID THE COURT KILL THE TREASON CHARGE?: REASSESSING CRAMER V. UNITED STATES AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE Paul T. Crane VOLUME 36 SUMMER 2009 NUMBER 4 Recommended citation: Paul T. Crane, Did the Court Kill the Treason Charge?: Reassessing Cramer v. United States and Its Significance, 36 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 635 (2009). DID THE COURT KILL THE TREASON CHARGE?: REASSESSING CRAMER V. UNITED STATES AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE PAUL T. CRANE* I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 636 II. THE TREASON PROSECUTION OF ANTHONY CRAMER ......................................... 640 A. The Case Against Cramer .......................................................................... 640 B. The Supreme Court’s Decision in Cramer ................................................. 645 III. THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM REGARDING THE JUSTICES’MOTIVATIONS IN CRAMER ............................................................................................................ 653 A. Prior Scholarship on the Justices’ Motivations in Cramer ........................ 653 B. The Weaknesses of the Conventional Wisdom ............................................ 656 IV. REASSESSING THE JUSTICES’MOTIVATIONS IN CRAMER ..................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bender, Violet and Irwin F.; Papers Apap342
    Bender, Violet and Irwin F.; Papers This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on September 28, 2021. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Bender, Violet and Irwin F.; Papers Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Historical Note ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Arrangement of the Collection ...................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 5 Controlled Access Headings .......................................................................................................................... 6 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 6 - Page 2 - Bender, Violet and Irwin F.; Papers Summary Information Repository: M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives Title: Violet and Irwin F. Bender, Sr. Papers ID: apap342 Date [inclusive]: 1941-2012 Physical Description:
    [Show full text]
  • Jazz Im -Dritten Reich"·
    Guido Faclder ZWISCHEN (MUSIKALISCHEM) WIDERSTAND UND PROPAGANDA - JAZZ IM -DRITTEN REICH"· Durch vielerlei "unerträglich sachunkundig[e]" (Wolfgang Muth in: Kellersmann 1990, Vorwort) Berichte in den Medien wurde und wird die Thematik Jazz im "Dritten Reich" oftmals nur auf nostalgische oder aber spektalmläre Episoden reduziert, dies umso leichter, als bisher nur wenige wissenschaftliche Arbeiten dazu vorliegen.2 Widersprüchliche Reaktionen nationalsozialistischer Behörden auf das "Swingfieber" sowie das Kompetenzgerangel unter den Kommandostellen erschweren einen Überblick, der in diesem Beitrag versucht werden soll. Swingbegeisterung und Jazzverbote Jazz spielte nach der Weltwirtschaftskrise bis zur ersten großen Swingwelle Mitte der 30er Jahre musikalisch nur eine untergeordnete Rolle. Wenn dennoch vielerlei Jazz-Verbote ausgesprochen wurden, dann deswegen, "weil es von Tatkraft und nationaler Gesinnung zeugte, gegen sogenannte 'fremdrassige Musik' vorzugehen" (Schröder 1988, 178). Als Reaktion auf den politischen Umschwung verließen etliche "nichtarische" Kapellmeister, beispielsweise Marek Weber, Dajos Bela und Paul Godwin, aber auch komplette Bands wie die Weintraub Syncopators, die von einer Auslandstournee nicht wieder zurückkehrten, schon 1933 das nationalsozialistische Deutschland. Besonders die Abwanderung amerikanischer Musiker wirkte sich auf das Niveau deutscher Jazzmusik negativ aus. Der Thüringer Erlaß des Volksbildungs- und Innenministers Wilhelm Frick vom I Überarbeitete und ungekürzte FlI8SIIJlg des Vortrags vom 25.9.1992 in Weimar. Für die vielfiltigen Anregungen und die wertvolle Kritik danke ich CIaudia Westermann recht herzlich. 2 Selbst in neuesten I~ublikationen werden die Tatsachen verdreht, beispielsweise: 'Nach 1933 gab es keine Beschäftigung deutscher Musiker mit dem Iazz mehr. [ ... ] Erst das Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges erschloß uns diesen Musikstil von neueJn' (Holzt-Edelhagen 1989, 105). 437 September 1930 gilt als erste Maßnahme der Nationalsozialisten gegen den Jazz.
    [Show full text]
  • Axis Sally – the American Voice of Nazi Germany Desk Top “Noise Away” MFJ-1775 Rotatable Dipole 2010-2014 Technician Class
    Larry Van Horn, New Products Editor Axis Sally – that you want. You can operate the 1775 on any Desk Top “Noise Away” of six amateur radio bands – 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 The Desk Top “Noise Away” from bhi and 2 meters, and run full 1500 Watts SSB/CW The American Voice of Ltd. is a stylish matt black, robust base station on all HF bands. speaker for use in radio communications, es- Nazi Germany This antenna features automatic band pecially amateur One of the most notorious Americans of the switching, and, with 6- and 2-meters thrown in, radio, two-way twentieth century was a failed Broadway actress you have ham radio’s most versatile rotatable radio and HF ra- turned radio announcer named Mildred Gillars dipole. dio. It is suitable (1900-1988), better known to American GIs as Each HF band uses a separate, efficient, for all bands and “Axis Sally.” Despite the richness of her life end-loading coil wound on fiberglass forms with is easy to set up story, there has Teflon wire, and capacitance hats at each end and control via never been a full- (no lossy traps).Six and 2-meters are full-length the microproces- length biography halfwave dipoles. Adjusting the SWR on one sor-controlled of the ambitious, band has little effect on other bands. pushbuttons on star-struck Ohio This antenna is built-to-last with an incred- the front of the girl who evolved ibly strong solid rod fiberglass center insulator speaker grill. It into a reviled dis- and 6063 T-6 aircraft strength aluminum tubing comes with a seminator of Nazi radiator.
    [Show full text]
  • Axis Sally" Shall Not Be Permitted Under Any Circum­ Stances, to Return to the United States
    --- OFFICF"" • QL4aries ~. 1!mt*tteh Jnst ~n. 1 THE AMERICAN LEGION ~.9 January 22, 19~ Mr. Ugo Carusi Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Franklin Trust Building 1500 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, a, Pennsylvania Dear Mr. Commissioner: At our last meeting on Monday, January 13th, 1947 of the Charles A. Learned Post No. 1 of the American Legion~ State of Michigan, a motion was made by Comrade _ ;and unanimously passed by the members of the Post, tJ!at,the traitor known as "Axis Sally" shall not be permitted under any circum­ stances, to return to the United States. t- -"I Comrade ~who made this motion, was • a gunner in the ffnited States Air Corps and was one of the first men to be shot down while on a bombing mission over Germany. He was held there as a prisoner of war for approximately 2 1/2 years. During the entire time of his imprisonment, he had to listen to broadcasts by Axis Sally and knows of his own knowledge of her traitorous comments and exhortations against the United States. In view of the above and of her general history the Charles A. Learned Post No. 1 of the American Legion composed of nearly 1100 members wishes to go on record ~ Unitedas being states unutterably of the womanopposed known LtooYath1leya, as "Axis dmlsslon Sally". to the/ _...:t:.f-, ~ 1---------:---- _ .. -. .. J c; '/ _ ~ _ ! ) (1 / . Charles A. Learned Post No. 1.:.:: ilP;:~I~~~ '~4/ ,:;~ I I GRIM. ~-n~TER~-::- ... L c:ccn':ITY SEC. I .J JJ*CMS \(.. -" ... ~'" l I 'Ir1ah to MkDDwleltce reoe1pt, of ",.1" letter dated Januarr rt, 1947.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 “The White Cliffs”: Literature and War in the Days of Radio by Rebecca Stelzer I Have Loved England, Dearly and Deeply
    “The White Cliffs”: Literature and War in the Days of Radio by Rebecca Stelzer I have loved England, dearly and deeply Since that first morning, shining and pure, The white cliffs of Dover, I saw rising steeply Out of the sea that once made her secure. These are the opening lines of Alice Duer Miller’s The White Cliffs, a sentimental story- poem of love and sacrifice in the two World Wars. Although it has largely been forgotten in today’s studies of war literature, it was immensely popular in the 1940s, spending thirteen weeks on the best-seller list (Justice 220) and selling almost 700,000 copies in the first four years of publication (Miller, All Our Lives). Its popularity is almost something of a mystery, as it does not fit the gritty battlefront realism or upbeat “home front” domesticity of other contemporary fiction, nor is the quality of the verse very exceptional (one critic called it “doggerel”). Rather, the phenomenon that was The White Cliffs can only be explained by the way it met a need in the British and American cultures and dovetailed with the radio propaganda culture of the 1940s. It is difficult to find secondary criticism on Alice Duer Miller or her most famous work. Two articles that stand out are Fred M. Leventhal’s “British Writers, American Readers: Women’s Voices in Wartime” (Albion 2000) and K. R. M. Short’s “‘The White Cliffs of Dover’: Promoting the Anglo-American Alliance in World War II” (Historical Journal of Film, Radio, & Television 1982). Leventhal’s article is mostly concerned with how The White Cliffs aligns with other domestic fiction of the time, but does not completely address the poem’s wider appeal.
    [Show full text]