Axis Sally

Reviews / Votes

"With the advent of film and radio, propagandists discovered a whole new world in which to disseminate information, accurate or not, preying on the psyches of enemy soldiers. . . . Whether she was naive or just an attention-starved actress, Mildred Gillars will always be remembered as the infamous 'Axis Sally.' She began to believe the Nazi propaganda she was spewing over the radio and, as the author states, 'paid a heavy price for that delusion.' * WWII HISTORY * This is a compelling, often poignant story, brilliantly told by Richard Lucas, of one of the most notorious Americans of the 20th century - a woman who betrayed her country for love, paid the price, and is buried in an unmarked grave in her native Ohio since her death in 1988. * educationviews.org * Playing "Midge", an American broadcaster with a deep, sultry voice, she played big band jazz record and exhorted American GIs to quit fighting with England against Germany. She warned that their wives and sweethearts back home were being unfaithful, that they would be wounded or killed in a senseless war, that the real conflict should be with the Bolsheviks (Communists), and she blamed the Jews. Transcripts were introduced at her trial for treason starting in January 1949, after being held in prison since March 1946. * Book Bit * ...a fascinating story of a woman who was so focused on herself and her show business dreams that she was easily convinced to broadcast and work at odds with her own country. * Windy City Times * ...the first full-length biography of Mildred Gillars, and it reveals the mostly untold story of the unfilled Broadway showgirl who found international fame as the notorious mouthpiece of the Third Reich in broadcasts aimed at millions of GIs. * King Features Syndicate * Lucas acknowledges that Gillars 'accepted the Nazi worldview', was 'wilfully blind' to the plight of the Jews and insisted on remaining in the limelight even after it became clear that the Allies would win the war. Nonetheless, he believes she should not have been tried - let alone convicted - for treason. In hindsight, he writes 'the punishment meted out to Axis Sally seemed like a quaint relic of a bygone national morality. * The Jerusalem Post * ...reveals the mostly untold story of the unfulfilled Broadway showgirl who found international fame as the notorious mouthpiece of the Third Reich in broadcasts aimed at millions of GIs. * Payson Roundup * ...examines one of the most infamous characters of the Second World War... The human drama which is history is filled with tragic contingencies or "what ifs. * Iron Mountain Daily News * ...fascinating, well-researched account * Publisher's Weekly * ... to hear 'Axis Sally' -- as she was dubbed by American GIs -- was to hate her. She was the original shock-jock of radio propaganda, delivering daily doses of discouragement and dismay in the congenial Midwest tones of her Northeast Ohio upbringing. * www.kimelli.nfshost.com * This is definitely a book worthy of any fan of biography's attention, as this startling character reaches the limelight at last. The included appendix of transcripts of her shows prove this to be a valuable document for WW2 historians too, while anybody will find this comprehensive, and more than readable. * www.bookbag.co.uk * Lucas (1)s thorough biography does not exculpate Gillars from the wrong that Axis Sally did, but explains what might be a story incredible in fiction, about how a down-on-her-luck stage-struck middle-class woman got caught up in the Nazi machine just because she wanted to be a star. Oh, and wanted to stick it to the Jews and those fighting at their behest. She accepted the Nazi world view, but it was clear by her trial that she was deluding herself that she was no propagandist and had done nothing against her country. These delusions along with those about her lovers and her artistry caught up with her eventually. It (1)s a sorry story, and an essential one for those interested in the history of the war. * The Commercial Dispatch *