55 sec
Andre Baruch on How He Helped Thwart Axis Sally During World War II Breaking Walls
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- History
Famed radio announcer André Baruch served in the original invasion of North Africa during World War II and spent almost four years overseas before being honorably discharged as a major. Baruch was involved in the launching of the Armed Forces Radio Service and also helped thwart the messages of "Axis Sally."
Axis Sally was Mildred Gillars, a German-American woman who broadcast propaganda messages in Europe for the Nazi Party which were designed to crush the spirit and morale of American soldiers. These messages would emphasize the value of surrender, stoke fears that soldiers' wives and girlfriends were cheating on them, and point out that the Axis powers knew their locations.
American soldiers listened to Gillars' broadcasts for the entertaining music even as they found her attempts at propaganda "laughable." After the War, Mildred Gillars became the first woman in US history to be convicted of treason by the United States and on March 8th, 1949 was sentenced to ten to thirty years' imprisonment.
Gillars served her sentence at the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson, West Virginia. She became eligible for parole in 1959, but did not apply until 1961. She was released on June 10, 1961. Having converted to Roman Catholicism while in prison, Gillars went to live at the Our Lady of Bethlehem Convent in Columbus, Ohio, and taught German, French, and music at St. Joseph Academy, Columbus.
Famed radio announcer André Baruch served in the original invasion of North Africa during World War II and spent almost four years overseas before being honorably discharged as a major. Baruch was involved in the launching of the Armed Forces Radio Service and also helped thwart the messages of "Axis Sally."
Axis Sally was Mildred Gillars, a German-American woman who broadcast propaganda messages in Europe for the Nazi Party which were designed to crush the spirit and morale of American soldiers. These messages would emphasize the value of surrender, stoke fears that soldiers' wives and girlfriends were cheating on them, and point out that the Axis powers knew their locations.
American soldiers listened to Gillars' broadcasts for the entertaining music even as they found her attempts at propaganda "laughable." After the War, Mildred Gillars became the first woman in US history to be convicted of treason by the United States and on March 8th, 1949 was sentenced to ten to thirty years' imprisonment.
Gillars served her sentence at the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson, West Virginia. She became eligible for parole in 1959, but did not apply until 1961. She was released on June 10, 1961. Having converted to Roman Catholicism while in prison, Gillars went to live at the Our Lady of Bethlehem Convent in Columbus, Ohio, and taught German, French, and music at St. Joseph Academy, Columbus.
55 sec