Written by Annika Rasmussen
Looking to demoralise Allied troops during the Second World War, Axis powers broadcasted English-language propaganda, often voiced by citizens of Allied countries who defected or were coerced into collaboration. After the war, many of these individuals would be arrested for treason, with some executed. But to what extent did these radio personalities undermine the Allies? Clearly their efforts did not prevent an Allied victory, but were their efforts really in vain? After the war, were their punishments just and warranted? The stark contrast between the experiences of Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose indicates these answers are nuanced and widely varied.
Axis Sally was the nickname given by the Allies to describe women who voiced English-language propaganda for Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The most famous was American Mildred Gillars, whose broadcasts typically alternated between swing music and propaganda. Born in 1900 to a broken home, Gillars was an aspiring actress who studied drama at Ohio Wesleyan University before dropping out. Visiting Germany in 1934, she chose to remain and study music in Berlin. Notably, she would have multiple opportunities to return to the United States throughout the war but chose not to. Needing money, she was hired by the German State Radio Corporation in 1940 and began broadcasting. Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels felt her voice was perfect as her American speech patterns would be familiar to the troops. Although, her anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi messages were largely ignored by troops who reportedly only listened in to catch popular jazz music. In fact, some believe the music ultimately upheld morale, contributing to Allied successes. This would imply that, far from being a tool of Allied demise, Gillars’ broadcasts posed no legitimate threat, despite being intentioned otherwise. Moreover, while her disheartening broadcasts targeted United States civilians, reporting on wounded and captured troops, there is no evidence this hurt recruitment numbers, and it was not cited as a reason to oppose the draft.
When the United States Army Counter-Intelligence Corps located Gillars in 1946, she was charged with ten counts of treason, although only convicted of one. The New York Times emphasised how her actions may have cost the lives of many troops. Her sentence was ten to thirty years in prison (but she was released after twelve) and a fine of $10,000. This was seen as justified at the time, with many against execution but supportive of retribution in some form. In terms of warranty, Gillars claimed she did it “for love” since she intended to marry the director of the broadcasts, Nazi party member, and her lover, Max Otto Koischwitz. He died without marrying her and, without the protection of German citizenship, Gillars was still culpable of treason. Furthermore, allegedly due to fear of being sent to a concentration camp after speaking out against Germany’s ally Japan following the Pearl Harbor attack, Gillars took a written oath of allegiance to Germany. Some even posit that since Gillar’s trial was during an election year, there was political pressure to sentence her. While all these factors portray a reluctant Gillars, she was gifted a cup from Heinrich Himmler (leader of the SS), calling into question her supposed resistance.
Certainly, United States public opinion was against her, veterans characteried her as a traitor and cited emotional distress caused by her broadcasts. This indicates despite her broadcasts lacking impact on the war’s outcome, they were not completely victimless. Moreover, when troops yelled abuse at her, she responded kindly and told reporters that she stood by everything she did during the war, giving insight into her character and apparent lack of remorse or guilt. Her questionable loyalties and motivations prevent a clear ruling over the justification of her punishment, although consensus is she intentionally took actions against her fellow countrymen and was duly sentenced. However, to what extent her involvement was due to ideological beliefs or self-preservation is up to interpretation. Following her release, Gillars taught at a convent in Ohio and later tutored at a local high school before finishing her degree. Living largely in obscurity, she died in 1988 at 87 and was buried in an unmarked grave, struggling with poverty until the end.
A similar radio host, dubbed Tokyo Rose, disseminated English-language propaganda for the Japanese Empire. While several women worked with the Japanese government, the only person to be named was American Iva Ikuko Toguri. Born to Japanese immigrants in 1916, she studied zoology at the University of California Los Angeles but was working at her father’s mercantile shop in 1941 when she travelled to Japan, either to study medicine or to treat her sick aunt. She left the United States without her passport and thus applied with the United States State Department upon her return. She withdrew this application when war broke out, stating that she would stay in Japan until the war was over. However, some sources claim she stayed in Japan because she lacked the documents needed for the application and was prevented from returning.
Cut off from financial support after her family were sent to a Japanese American internment camp, Toguri was hired as a typist for Radio Tokyo in 1942. She was the only American working with Radio Tokyo who did not denounce their United States citizenship, thus making her culpable of treason. Her experience of becoming a broadcaster differed widely from that of Gillars since Japan would force Allied prisoners to broadcast English-language propaganda. While Toguri was not a prisoner, captured allied troops were familiar with her as she would smuggle food into prison camps. In 1943, Australian Major Charles Cousens would nominate Toguri to host the show, The Zero Hour, where she read scripts written by Allied prisoners (although by 1944 she was writing her own material) which included comedy sketches and popular music. She reportedly only accepted the position provided she would not be forced to broadcast anti-American propaganda. Cousens later revealed they collaborated to subvert Japanese propaganda. Her broadcasts reportedly had limited negative effects and, like Gillar’s broadcasts, often raised morale. Although, her position differed from Gillars who was arguably closer with Nazi members and leadership while Toguri predominantly worked alongside Allied prisoners.
With the end of the war, journalists swarmed Tokyo hoping to interview the infamous Tokyo Rose. Journalists would bribe Toguri to sign statements claiming she was the sole Tokyo Rose broadcaster to ensure a headline piece, despite knowing the claim to be untrue and doubting her claims that she aided Allied prisoners. When the United States Army Counter-Intelligence Corps brought her in for questioning, Lt. General Robert Eichelberger allegedly thanked her for maintaining troops morale, but the press depicted this as the moment of Toguri’s arrest. Despite receiving constant negative press coverage, Toguri was reportedly well received by troops. This is a far cry from the traitorous broadcaster intent on destroying the Allies which was presented to the public. She would eventually be sentenced to ten years of prison (although only serving six years and two months) and fined $10,000. This followed a trial which was presided over by a biased judge, who used what would later be uncovered as false testimony by two of Toguri’s former coworkers. Both of whom lied under oath after being threatened and extorted by the FBI.
While some existing reports show that United States troops strongly disliked Toguri, many troops felt her broadcasts were harmless, with some even looking forward to them. Overall, her sentencing can largely be credited to the sensationalism of her story and, to a certain extent, lingering anti-Japanese sentiment in the public consciousness. She would have to fight deportation attempts after her release and moved into her family’s home in Chicago where she worked at her father’s shop until his death. She would be granted a full presidential pardon by President Gerald Ford in 1977 and received the Edward J. Herlihy Citizenship Award in 2005 before her death in 2006 at 90. Unlike Toguri, Gillars would not apply for a pardon, claiming she feared deportation or other retribution, although some see this as a possible admission of guilt.
Toguri’s story is incredibly different from Gillars, with modern analysis deeming Toguri’s trial and subsequent sentence as unjust. Despite both playing popular music, their broadcasts also widely differed with Toguri seemingly intending to lift spirits and connect with United States troops in the Pacific, while Gillars targeted both troops and civilians with the supposed goal of demoralising the nation. Clearly, both women’s intentions varied, and their notoriety was influenced by race, press coverage, and audience (since Toguri would be more well-known due to U.S. military focus on the Pacific front). While their broadcasts, regardless of intention, did not prevent Allied victory or substantially thwart their efforts, popular media largely depicted them as traitors who would stop at nothing to sabotage the Allies. Overall, while these radio personalities did not undermine the Allies, the mixed perception of their actions coupled with their complex motivations illustrates how English-language propaganda cannot be generalised into one threat. Tokyo Rose was not the Pacific’s version of Axis Sally or vice versa. The diverse individuals, events, and environments involved in these endeavors reveal the complexity of deceptively similar situations and how that influences their perception.
Bibliography
Blaine Taylor, “Mildred Gillars (a.k.a. ‘Axis Sally’) in WWII,” Warfare History Network (2016), Retrieved from https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/mildred-gillars-a-k-a-axis-sally-in-wwii/
Chuck Lyons, “Voices of the Axis: The Radio Personalities of Fascist Propaganda,” Warfare History Network (2013), Retrieved from https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/voices-of-the-axis-the-radio-personalities-of-fascist-propaganda/
Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Iva Toguri D’Aquino and “Tokyo Rose,”” Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/iva-toguri-daquino-and-tokyo-rose.
Jackie Mansky, “‘Axis Sally’ Brought Hot Jazz to the Nazi Propaganda Machine,” Smithsonian Magazine (2018), Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/axis-sally-and-art-propaganda-180970327/
Naoko Shibusawa, “Femininity, Race and Treachery: How ‘Tokyo Rose’ Became a Traitor to the United States after the Second World War,” Gender and History 22, no. 1 (2010), 169-188, Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-0424.2010.01584.x
New York Times, “Axis Sally,” (1949), Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1949/03/11/archives/axis-sally.html
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