Post by petere on May 25, 2020 9:36:55 GMT 12
Read an article today in the Danish newspaper JyllandsPosten about how Lord Haw-Haw was captured - on Thursday this week it is 75 years ago. To paraphrase Cpl Jones you might say :”funny thing to write an article about!” But the thing is, he and his wife stayed in Dennark for a few days in May, fleeing the Allies and trying to get to Sweden. He was arrested just south of the border, by to British soldiers who recognized his voice. As they were talking to him, he reached down his pocket and got shot - the soldiers thought he tried to pull out a gun. He survived though but was executed the following year.
A complex character, this William Joyce, as his real name was. An anti-semite, pro-nazi, pro-fascist and described as a street-thug. But also intelligent who managed to get a degree in English and Literature with high marks. He is of course notorious for the broadcasts ”Germany Calling”, English speaking propaganda aimed at the British ilses and North America.
One thing that surprised me was that he actually had a lot of listeners, according to the article 1/3 of the radio listeners in GB regularly tuned in, at least in the beginning of the war. Why did people tune in? Well, he was very skilled when it came to adressing the man/woman on the street. He knew the price of tobacco, milk, bread etc. and he used this to attack the British Government. He also had a photographic memory when it came to geography of Britain. Before the war when he was campaigning for Lord Mosley’s Blackshirts, he had visited many small places around the country, so he knew for example that in this or that town the clock in the church tower was a little bit behind. Such ”creepy” details he used in his broadcasts which of course must have made the audience feel a bit uneasy.
In the article there is a link to a short video about William Joyce, his life and how he was found and arrested.
A complex character, this William Joyce, as his real name was. An anti-semite, pro-nazi, pro-fascist and described as a street-thug. But also intelligent who managed to get a degree in English and Literature with high marks. He is of course notorious for the broadcasts ”Germany Calling”, English speaking propaganda aimed at the British ilses and North America.
One thing that surprised me was that he actually had a lot of listeners, according to the article 1/3 of the radio listeners in GB regularly tuned in, at least in the beginning of the war. Why did people tune in? Well, he was very skilled when it came to adressing the man/woman on the street. He knew the price of tobacco, milk, bread etc. and he used this to attack the British Government. He also had a photographic memory when it came to geography of Britain. Before the war when he was campaigning for Lord Mosley’s Blackshirts, he had visited many small places around the country, so he knew for example that in this or that town the clock in the church tower was a little bit behind. Such ”creepy” details he used in his broadcasts which of course must have made the audience feel a bit uneasy.
In the article there is a link to a short video about William Joyce, his life and how he was found and arrested.