Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany

by Richard Lucas

A “fascinating, well-researched account” of Mildred Gillars, the failed actress who turned on her country and became a Nazi propagandist during WWII (Publishers Weekly). One of the most notorious Americans of the twentieth century was a failed Broadway actress turned radio announcer named Mildred Gillars (1900–1988), better known to American GIs as “Axis Sally.” Despite the richness of her life story, there has never been a full-length biography of the ambitious, star-struck Ohio girl who evolved into a reviled disseminator of Nazi propaganda. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, Gillars had been living in Germany for five years. Hoping to marry, she chose to remain in the Nazi-run state even as the last Americans departed for home. In 1940, she was hired by the German overseas radio, where she evolved from a simple disc jockey and announcer to a master propagandist. Under the tutelage of her married lover, Max Otto Koischwitz, Gillars became the personification of Nazi propaganda to the American GI. Spicing her broadcasts with music, Gillars’s used her soothing voice to taunt Allied troops about the supposed infidelities of their wives and girlfriends back home, as well as the horrible deaths they were likely to meet on the battlefield. Supported by German military intelligence, she was able to convey personal greetings to individual US units, creating an eerie foreboding among troops who realized the Germans knew who and where they were. After broadcasting for Berlin up to the very end of the war, Gillars tried but failed to pose as a refugee, and was captured by US authorities. Her 1949 trial for treason captured the attention and raw emotion of a nation fresh from the horrors of the Second World War. Gillars’s twelve-year imprisonment and life on parole, including a stay in a convent, is a remarkable story of a woman who attempts to rebuild her life in the country she betrayed.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, World War II, War, Historical, Memoir

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Richard Lucas is a freelance writer and lifelong shortwave radio enthusiast. Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany is the first thoroughly documented look at this mythologized figure of World War II.

Reviews

[Chris D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting biography of Mildred Gillars who broadcast to the Allied nations during World War II. She came to Germany in the 1930's after being an unsuccessful actress in America and having endured a rough upbringing. She was known after World War II as Axis Sally, but this was not the name she used in her broadcasts, and there were other women who broadcast propaganda for Germany who were not prosecuted.

The book starts off strong and was especially good of giving the reader good insights to the life of Gillars before the war and then conveying her broadcasting career. However, the second part of the book bogs down as Lucas gets repetitive as Lucas could have used an editor's help. The interest in the subject for me really lagged after the war with a comprehensive yet tiring discussion of the trial and tribulations of Gillars after 1945.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Mr Lucas did an excellent job of being fairly non-prejudiced in his treatment of Axis Sally (a.k.a. Mildred Gillars). I think most people would agree she is not a very sympathetic character. Even if most of her peers hadn't considered her a traitor, she seems (from Mr Lucas' telling, at least) vain and completely self-absorbed.

In the general education most people have about World War II, I don't think media gets much mention. It was interesting to get some insight into part of the war that I was not familiar with, including the other broadcasters in similar positions to Ms Gillars'.

The book kept moving at a good pace and never felt like it had bogged down in trivialities. I don't read biographies frequently, but felt that Mr Lucas had given his subject a fair portrayal and managed to write a compelling story at the same time.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this 5 stars except I would not categorize the book as an "entertaining" read, which for me is a high value, even for a scholarly or journalistic work. However, it is well written and filled with excerpts from letters, documents, transcripts, etc. I highly recommend the work to any World War II and post-war enthusiast. It may also be of great interest to one who likes celebrity biographies since Axis Sally is quite unique in this category, being an American celebrity who was very popular, but not in the normal way.

[Debbie Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Title sounded good

So I read the story and found it dragged in most parts. I even stopped reading for almost 2 weeks because this was the book I was currently reading and I had to finish- almost like a chore. I got through it and now can mark it read!

[Candy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Failed actress Mildred Gillars was better known to American GIs as Axis Sally.  Axis Sally operated in Germany, much like Tokyo Rose in the Pacific, broadcasting propaganda in an attempt to demoralize the American troops.

Mildred Elizabeth Sisk was born in 1900 in Portland, Maine.  After her mother divorced and remarried, she took her stepfather’s name, Gillars.  The Gillars moved to Ohio, and Mildred studied dramatic arts. Leaving her fiance behind, she left school and moved to New York, seeking fame and fortune in theatre.  Mildred never hit the big time, and in 1929, she moved to Paris for a while. In 1934, she moved to Germany and found employment at the Berlitz School of Languages in Berlin.  By 1939, Mildred was still unmarried, and her main reason for staying in Germany when war broke out was her hope at marriage. In 1940, she was hired by German forces as a radio broadcaster and under the direction of her married lover, Otto Koischwitz, she began her career as Axis Sally.  

Gillars would broadcast music of the day, using her silky smooth voice to demoralize the troops by telling tales of their wives and girlfriends back home being unfaithful, painting a picture of the atrocities that awaited them on the battlefield and attempting to cast doubt in their minds that they were on the right side of the war.  Equally unnerving, Gillars had information about troop movements. Under the cover of darkness, a troop would move into an area, and Gillars would welcome them.

After the war, Gillars was arrested and tried for treason.  She was returned to the United States, stood trial, was convicted and received a $10,000 fine and 10 to 30 years in prison.  She spent 12 years in a federal prison before receiving parole. During her imprisonment, she converted to Catholicism. Upon her release, she became a music teacher at a Roman Catholic convent in Ohio.  She lived out the remainder of her life teaching, finally graduating college at 72. She never gave interviews and her neighbors thought she was a sweet old lady, not knowing who she was until after her death.  Maybe she did find redemption through religion, but throughout her life she never took responsibility for her actions. She always maintained that she had no choice but to do what she did as she was facing death or imprisonment in a concentration camp.

The book does get redundant at times, but appears to be well-researched.  The psychological insight into Gillars was fascinating. Millars seems to fit the bill for a classic case of narcissism to the extreme:

Excessive interest and admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance.  Gillars met with imprisoned GIs over the years, never wearing underwear and always sitting so they could see up her skirt.  Even while in prison, she was fastidious about her appearance, tailoring her uniforms.
Grandiose sense of self-importance and entitlement.  She used people throughout her life, especially those with means.  Her attitude was she deserved what they had.

Lack of empathy for others.  Goes without saying.
Preoccupation with fantasies.  Her primary fantasy was marriage, and she stuck with Koischwitz who was married with four children, believing he would marry her.  Her secondary fantasy was that Germany would win the war, and she would be celebrated for her role.

Arrogant behavior.  She met with imprisoned GIs, and it never seemed to go as well as she thought it would.  She couldn’t sway them to her side.  They called her names and played pranks, enraging her until she unleashed a barrage of threats.

Troubled relationships.  Until her release from prison, she had no true friends and her familial relations were strained, at best.

If you are an armchair psychologist or a history buff looking for something a little different, I recommend you read this.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because it was cited in Sisters in Hate and I can see why. . .

Axis Sally is a book about how an ordinary American woman became one of the most notoriously effective agents for the Nazi propaganda machine. There are even transcripts of some of her broadcasts from Germany, which are ruthless, bordering on evil. Her delusion of this fact is remarkable. If you have ever scratched your head and wondered how a seemingly normal person can do abominable things, this book is for you.

PS: The writing can be awkward & stilted at times, but this is still is an interesting story.

[Martha Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never really knew anything about Axis Sally except that she had been convicted for treason in WWll. Found the book very interesting. I feel that Richard Lucas did a good job in researching the book. The editing left a little to be desired. In numerous instances Edna Mae Gillars was either referred to as Axis Sally's half sister or step sister. Emma Mae was in fact Mildred Gillars/Axix Sally's half sister.

Mildred Gillars was born in Portland Maine and raised in Ohio. She always aspire to be on the stage but never quite made it. After moving to Germany she became a radio broadcaster for the Reich.

[Richard Marteeny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has always been amazing to me how such mundane individuals reach such pivotal points in history. Mildred Gillar is one of these people. This talentless girl from the Midwest became the voice of Nazi Germany. The author openly states that the book was constructed for the reader to make the decision as to how Gillar should be viewed, monster or tragic casualty of world that had gone mad. I found that both were true and that she found redemption at the end of her life. If you are interested in World War II, Nazism, or America in the 30's through the 50's this is a great read.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating piece of history with a not-so-likable subject. The book did offer some insight into what could compel an American citizen to broadcast propaganda for the enemy. The book also raised the issue of the unevenness of the justice system and the times when one person becomes the scapegoat.

[JulieK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, kind of clunky writing.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Axis Sally pops up continuously in my World War II readings, most recently in the last book I read, When Books Went to War, where her repeated appearances were enough to convince me to check out the Axis Sally biography at my local library. What I learned surprised me. Specifically, I was surprised to learn that while Mildred Gillars was officially Axis Sally, several women actually broadcast under the moniker. And Gillars was essentially made to take the fall for all of them: she was tried for treason and sentenced to a decade in prison for her broadcasts - in fact several women used the moniker, most notably Rita Zucca, who broadcast from Rome.

Gillars herself is both a fascinating and pathetic character. A failed showgirl, she appears to have got into the broadcasting business both to curry favor with her (already married) lover and to gain a level of fame that eluded her in Vaudeville and on Broadway. A college dropout, she earned her degree as an elderly woman, and spent much of her post-imprisonment life teaching in a convent. Reading the transcripts of her broadcasts from the distance of 70-plus years, and (as author Richard Lucas correctly points out), after the Vietnam protests and general coarsening of society, it is difficult to see how her deeds rise to the level of treason.

The book itself is fairly dry. Lucas wrote it, as he explains in the preface, upon discovering that no biography existed, and, while this will sound more uncharitable than I intend, it's not difficult to see why. Gillars is just not that terribly interesting. I was most interested in the hypocrisy and double dealing of the U.S. government that Lucas details throughout Gillars' trial, as well as the existence of Zucca. I mean no slight to Lucas, whose writing is clear and concise and research painstaking, but Axis Sally is a book that even the most devout history buffs can likely skip without missing too much.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mildred Gillars' case should be included in free speech studies. She may have been an unlikeable person, focused solely on her career and leveraging acting opportunities, but she also became a scapegoat for the propagandists our government couldn't prosecute. Trying to hold Americans accountable for their words meant that propaganda had to be considered a definite weapon used in an overt act of treason. Although swearing allegiance to Germany, Mildred walked a very fine line when it came to attacking Roosevelt and the Jews. She also visited POW camps to broadcast soldiers' messages, which were lifelines for some families. Then she discovered her pseudonym was being used by a Roman woman, Rita Zucca, who was not shy about broadcasting military intelligence or anti-American vitriol. Not wanting to be associated with such a woman, Mildred nearly stopped broadcasting. It was only her alleged fear of what could happen to her that forced her to keep going.

In regards to her prosecution, "Little separated the actions of Mildred Gillars and Georgia von Richter but a marriage certificate, just as a single piece of paper separated the Berlin Axis Sally from Rita Zucca, the Rome Axis Sally. A marriage or a testament of allegiance meant freedom, exoneration and a life uninterrupted." (page 177) Then there's the double-standard where the man who created her broadcasted material, Koischwitz, was exonerated because his new German citizenship meant he could not terminate his broadcasts even if he wanted to. So, how was a friendless American woman was supposed to put up a fight? Oh right, go to the Embassy.

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Mildred Gillars is intriguingly and sympathetically told in Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany. Author Richard Lucas' sympathy starts early on in the book where he suggests Ms. Gillars was sexually abused by her stepfather, which helped lay the foundation of a life filled with self-delusion and narcissism. Only after landing in prison, converting to Catholicism, and later becoming a much valued and respected teacher of music and languages, did she appear to lose much of her self-centeredness and delusions.

Yet, even to the end, she still seemed confused about her role in helping the Germans to do atrocious things during the war. Moreover, she also never fully gave up her anti-Semitism. It's interesting to note that when Ms. Gillars returned to the United States after the war and was bought to trial, her supportive half-sister complained her own life was being made difficult by Jews. Thus, more than likely Germany only helped develop Mildred Gillars' prejudice against Jews, a prejudice that was probably actually born in the Midwestern United States.

[Holly Dolezalek · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started to read this, I wanted the answer to the question of how an American could have done what Axis Sally did. I got it from this book. It does a good job of explaining the major events in her life, and a great job of explaining how one decision after another left her with fewer and fewer options, until it was down to two: concentration camp or broadcast.

It's a thorny question: What did Axis Sally deserve? She spent 12 years in jail for her propaganda broadcasts, but Lucas describes the way the judge in her trial put his thumb on the scale at many turns. He also notes others who had done similar things (if not at the same scale as Axis Sally) yet were not even charged. You're left with the sense that she bore the brunt of American rage at the end of the war, but also that her choices and opinions were part of the reason for that (especially her anti-Semitism, and her seeming willful blindness about what was being done to the Jews in Germany).

[Bob Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic morality play for failed actress

Life doesn’t unfold in “black” or “white” terms but rather, in shades of gray. But in the court of post WWII public opinion, one was either on the right or wrong side, Nazi or not, patriot or traitor.

This book explores the rational, if unpopular, notion that Axis Sally, Mildred Gillars, was mostly a drama queen, self-absorbed by her own momentary wants, whims and desires. The author makes a convincing case.

Gillars apparently told herself story after story to make her self-absorbed selfish actions “reasonable” and OK.

And, we are reminded that victors get to write the history and her decisions and actions put her on the wrong side of that history.

It is uplifting to hear that at the end of her life, the fame she sought from the spotlight of the theater and betrayal of country was finally found in quiet service to others.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews that the writing was clunky and disjointed. I also felt that for a 300-page book, it's also kind of fluffy. There may not have been a lot of information about Mildred Gillars when Lucas researching the book, but there's not much more here either.

Included at the end are transcripts of some of her broadcasts. There's no way around how anti-American, anti-Semitic, and pro-Nazi they are. It's also a distinct contrast to the way Lucas writes about her.

Lucas also tried to make Gillars sympathetic, which I wasn't expecting. No one is all black and white, but even if she wasn't a true believer in the Nazi cause, her broadcasts were still treasonous propaganda. I find it hard to believe she wasn't aware of that. It seems she would do or say whatever it took to survive, no matter how positively Lucas tried to portray her.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subject was an ambitious young woman who had a long desire to be an actor but could never get much of a break and make a living at it. She got very used to a life of deprivation because of her very meager earnings as an actress.

Then she chases love to Europe and eventually gets into radio broadcasting for the Nazis. She seemed to very willingly adopt the Nazi opinions about Jews and the problems with her birth country. After the Allies defeated Germany, she tries to hide but is caught and found guilty of treason. An interesting concept that she could end up spending many years in prison for just talking on a radio station.

The book develops her story, her complex relationships with her family, her adoring love for somebody she could not completely have in Europe, her trial and conviction and her live after being released from prison. It is an interesting story.

[Gregory Klages · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5, rounded up. This sort of book is dogged, I expect, by the difficulty in source location. It may have been easy to find trial reports and newspaper articles related to Gillars' trial, and these portions of the book felt surprisingly dull. Some portions of the book seemed weakly grounded, but were strangely more compelling. Confirming details of Gillars' early life was likely quite difficult, but provides the psychological foundation for choices she made in the 1930s and '40s (even later in life). The challenge of finding those early sources, piecing together the 'story', and keeping in mind the consideration that much of Gillars' self-accounting frequently changed as her life progressed must have made for difficult work as a historian.

[Carolyn Dickerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before picking up this book, I have never heard of Mildred Gillars aka Axis Sally. I was familiar with her Pacific Theater counterpart, Tokyo Rose. I found this book engaging despite the jumps in chapters. Ms. Gillars life wasn't as interesting and it seems full of struggle after another just to find success. Success that she found elsewhere that made her an enemy to her country and people. It is hard to feel sad for her predicament, but in the end she chose the life and therefore suffered the consequences. In the end, I believe she was able to redeem herself despite how her life turned out.

[Lyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down...

Gave it four but closer to five.
Great story of WWII history if nothing else. I found it a great lesson of the importance to temper ones thought before committing to social media!
I highly Recommend this book for any historically astute reader . Although the story is long forgotten, the subject of blind ambition V. Morality is clearly relevant to modern day.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interestIng story, but told in a repetitive fashion.

The author reiterates the Axis Sally story over and over again. He even repeats it in the epilogue. She was found guilty of treason in a Federal trial, but her unique inner world view kept her from ever admitting guilt. Was she truly guilty? Read this book and decide for yourself.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather sad book about the american woman who was European equivelent to "Tokyo Rose". However, "Sally" was more interested in entertainment and the "soft sell" than hardline propaganda, which is why GIs loved her program.

After the war, the DoJ and the Army gave her an insanely long sentence and a Kangaroo court trial. Not only did she spend 3 years being imprisoned and under house arrest in Germany, she was brought back to the USA and given another 10 years in Jail. Incredibly harsh given she had renounced her US citizenship in 1941, and married a German.

By comparison, Tokyo rose was treated with kid gloves. It seems the ADL and othter Jewish Organizations were applying pressure behind the scenes to get "Sally' a long prison sentence.

Anyway, the most interesting part concerns her activities in Germany, and her dysfunctional life before then. The rest after WW II, is sad and depressing.

[Anita Heveron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this unbiased telling of Axis Sally's life. I thought the author did a great job of being honest to who she was and her ambitions behind her "treason"

[Chad Montabon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slice of history previously unknown to me told in an engaging way with plenty of interesting tid-bits on the side.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biography of the US born propogandist of Nazi Germany. Author does admirable job telling her story and her plight - without excusing her actions.

[Lynn Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the movie so I wanted to read the book which is a very in-depth biography. It's very well written but wanders through so many names and people I was lost in the details.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Richard Lucas' "Axis Sally" a very interesting book. I agree with another reviewer I read that the author's writing style is only mediocre and needs editing, but I think Lucas' research is excellent.

Although throughout the book he appears to want to explain Mildred Gillars' actions, he never pushes that desire too far and lets her actions speak for themselves. She is a very difficult character to like; in fact, I think most readers will find her basic nature silly and self-absorbed -- so much so that she is willing to engage in the most detestable activity simply in order to win her own 15 minutes in the limelight.

What I did like about her life was the redemption story I found at the the end. Because she is, indeed redeemed by faith and by people whose charity gives her a way to use her talents to help others.

"I am not trying to justify what she did. It was terribly wrong. But it does point out, though, that without absolutes of right and wrong firmly established in our minds, we listen to our hearts, we practice situational ethics and we make horrible mistakes. The beautiful part of this story, however, is that during the same time in Germany, there was an order of Catholic nuns who were also persecuted by the Nazis. Some of the nuns escaped to France. From there, they traveled to England and later to the United States. When Gillars was in prison, these same nuns, who should have hated anyone associated with the Nazis, faithfully visited her and prayed for her. When she was released from prison, they gave her a job at their convent school (I was a student at that school). Through their efforts, she was converted to Christ because they loved their Lord enough to forgive, to pray for an enemy, and to do good to those who persecuted them."

Lucas, Richard (2013-05-07). Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany (p. 248). Casemate Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most notorious Americans of the twentieth century was a failed Broadway actress turned radio announcer named Mildred Gillars, better known to American GIs as "Axis Sally." Despite the richness of her life story, there has never been a full-length biography of the ambitious, star-struck Ohio girl who evolved into a reviled disseminator of Nazi propaganda. At the outbreak of war in September 1939, Mildred had been living in Germany for five years. Hoping to marry, she chose to remain in the Nazi-run state even as the last Americans departed for home. In 1940, she was hired by the German overseas radio, where she evolved from a simple disc jockey and announcer to a master propagandist. Under the tutelage of her married lover, Max Otto Koischwitz, Gillars became the personification of Nazi propaganda to the American GI. Spicing her broadcasts with music, Mildred used her soothing voice to taunt Allied troops about the supposed infidelities of their wives and girlfriends back home, as well as the horrible deaths they were likely to meet on the battlefield. Supported by German military intelligence, she was able to convey personal greetings to individual US units, creating an eerie foreboding among troops who realized the Germans knew who and where they were. After broadcasting for Berlin up to the very end of the war, Gillars tried but failed to pose as a refugee, but was captured by US authorities. Her 1949 trial for treason captured the attention and raw emotion of a nation fresh from the horrors of the Second World War. Gillars's twelve-year imprisonment and life on parole, including a stay in a convent, is a remarkable story of a woman who attempts to rebuild her life in the country she betrayed. Written by Richard Lucas, a freelance writer and lifelong shortwave radio enthusiast, Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany is the first thoroughly documented look at this mythologized figure of World War II.

[Heather Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at one of WWIIs Axis collaborators.

Axis Sally had a life that could be described as colorful with the colors washed out. She is an example of someone who for her own selfish reasons consistently chose the wrong side of things to be on, and did the wrong things, not only as the voice of Berlin on Reichsradio, but as a student, a sister and a defendant.

This book does an amazing job of being even handed, letting the facts speak for themselves via court records, interviews, and Mildred Gillars' own radio recordings. I read this to my husband on a crime as country road trip, and we both enjoyed it a lot. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the final portion of her life. You'll have to read it for yourself.

I did dock one star, only due to it being rather lengthy and occasionally repetitive. One thing that amazed me was the research that went into the book. 26% of the book is footnotes and appendices of the reference material the author used. It really is a masterfully written biography/history.

[Diane Lybbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildred Sisk wanted to be an actress, to be in the lime-light, to be admired and applauded. Failing to make a splash in the US, she went to Europe to follow a man - and ended up one of the most vilified and famous puppets for the Nazi party. Sitting behind the microphone at the radio station in Berlin, with an orchestra in the background playing American music, she 'talked' to the Allied troops - telling them to pack up and go home, there was no winning against Germany, their wives/girlfriends were probably being unfaithful. Part history, part biography, and part psychological study, Lucas' deeply researched book is a real page-turner. After the Allied victory, she is caught and put on trial. Firmly believing she was a true American who never committed treason, she is resentful, arrogant, and confused - but finally has the attention and press releases she always wanted. Very interesting slice of WWII history.