Dublin City University School of Communications HITLER'S IRISH VOICES The Story of German Radio's Irish Propaganda Service, 1939-1945 A thesis submitted to Dublin City University in candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by David A. O'Donoghue 1995 S u p e r v iso r School of Communications Dr. Colum Kenny April 1995 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. S ign ed : C andidate D ate : CONTENTS Abbreviations, Foreign and Technical Terms................................................................................................ i A b s t r a c t .................................................. i i i Forew ord.........................................................................................................................................................................................i v Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 C hapter 1 A Nazi Radio Service for Ireland ................................................................................................................... 10 C hapter 2 Founding Fathers of the Irland-Redaktion ..............................................................................................32 Ludwig Muhlhausen......................................................................................................................................................3 6 A d o lf Mahr........................................................................................................................................................................ 43 Wolfgang Dignowity ...................................................................................................................................................52 Hans Hartmann................................................................................................................................................................ 55 C hapter 3 B e r lin 's I r i s h Team........................................................ 60 John Francis O’R eilly .......................................................................................................................-...................60 Liam M ullally ................................................................................................................................................................ 69 Frank R yan.....................................................................................................................................................................7 0 Francis Stuart ..............................................................................................................................................................7 0 William Joseph Murphy...........................................................................................................................................7 0 Elizabeth Clissmann ..................................................................................................................................... .73 C hapter 4 Portrait of the Writer at War: Francis Stuart ................................................................................7 5 C hapter 5 The Motley Crew................................................................................................................................................................ 97 Count Keroer.................................................................. 97 Michel Piche ................................................................................................................................................... .98 James Blair ..................................................................................................................................................................... 99 Sophie 'Sonja' Kowanko......................................................................................................................................100 Nora 'Roisin' O'Mara...........................................................................................................................................101 Hilde Spickernagel................................................................................................................................................ 104 Madeleine Meissner ................................................................................................................................................ 107 Mona B r a s e ......................................................................................................................................................................107 Charles Budina...........................................................................................................................................................108 Susan H ilton ....................................................................................................»..........................................................I l l Johann M ikele ..............................................................................................................................................................112 C hapter 6 Suitable Pseudonyms...................................................................................................................................................113 C hapter 7 'God Bless and Save Ireland1: The Broadcasts of 1939-41 ...................................................128 C hapter 8 The Mahr Propaganda Initiative of 1941 ................................................................................................ 148 C hapter 9 'To See England Broken One Day': The Broadcasts of 1942-43 ..............................................161 C hapter 10 The Nazis' Irish-American Propaganda In itiative ..........................................................................202 C hapter 11 A Faltering Voice: The Broadcasts of 1944-45 ..............................................................................218 C hapter 12 Berlin's Irish Audience.......................... 231 C hapter 13 'Having Backed the Wrong Horse'...................................................................................................................257 C o n c lu s io n ................................................................................................................................................................................27 0 APPENDICES (menu).........................281 A ppendix A Key Players ...........................................................................................................................................................................282 A ppendix B Walshe memo to de Valera, 22 February 1939 (source: FLK).................................................. 287 A ppendix C Mahr Report to German Foreign Office, 'Radio Propaganda to Ireland', 18 March 1941 (source: Political Archive, German Foreign Office, Bonn) 291 English translation .....................................................................................................................................................307 A ppendix D Minutes of German Foreign Office meeting, Berlin, 22 May 1941 (source: Political Archive, German Foreign Office, Bonn)...........................................................................322 English translation ..............................................................................................................* ....................................330 A ppendix E Mahr memo to German Foreign Office, 'English language programmes to Ireland', 9 September 1941 (source: Bundesarchiv, Potsdam).....................................332 English translation ............................... 337 A ppendix F Minutes of German Foreign O ffice's North America Committee meeting, Berlin, 26 August 1943 (source: Schnabel, document 227, pp. 468-71) ........................ 339 English translation .....................................................................................................................................................341 A ppendix G Technical data on broadcasts to Ireland by German Radio, 193 9-45 ........................... 3 42 Appendix H Profile of Franz Fromme.......................................................................................................................................... 344 REFERENCES Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................3 49 C hapter 1 A Nazi Radio Service for Ireland ........................ ..3 5 1 C hapter 2 Founding Fathers of the Irland-Redaktion .............................................................................................356 C hapter 3 Berlin's Irish Team.....................................................................................................................................................365 C hapter 4 Portrait of the Writer at War: Francis Stuart ..............................................................................37 0 C hapter 5 The Motley Crew..............................................................................................................................................................375