MEET AXIS SALLY: THE AMERICAN TRAITOR AND NAZI PROPAGANDIST
Radio hosts have many options when it comes to formatting their shows. Some shows talk about sports, others may discuss celebrity gossip and rumors, and in the case of Mildred Gillars the American traitor, extreme political ideology and racism. Not exactly the best choice, but it was hers. Born to the world as Mildred Elizabeth Sisk in Portland, Maine, she would later become known as Axis Sally. Despite failing as an actress, Gillars would find fame by spreading propaganda during WWII, unfortunately inspiring others to do the same. More like this:Meet Martin James Monti: The Only @$$Hole to Defect to the Nazis
Tune Into Axis Sally for All Your Favorite Hits (And Nazi Propaganda)
Over time, it’s sensible to make career changes. The strangeness of Gillars’s career changes came in the 1940s when her focus shifted to extreme political views as well as propaganda while working for Berlin-based Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG). After touring with theatrical groups chasing fame, Gillars would end up making her way to Germany in pursuit of learning music. It was here that she would meet her fiancé, Paul Karlson. Karlson refused to marry her if she returned to the U.S., so she did not heed the warnings sent out by the U.S. State Department urging Americans to leave German-controlled areas in 1941. Karlson would be killed on the Eastern Front soon after, but in 1942, another change in her life would alter her career and her legacy forever. RRG would hire Max Otto Koischwitz to be the program director aiming at American audiences in Europe. Her new show would be called Home Sweet Home, and she held no punches. From spreading the thought of infidelity by the wives of American troops to painting vivid pictures of destruction for those who attempt to invade Normandy and more, “Sally,” as she called herself, worked to demoralize and destabilize Allied Forces. The monikers given to Gillars would include the B!tch of Berlin, Berlin Babe, and Olga, but Axis Sally was the most common. In addition to Home Sweet Home, additional shows would be created over the years, including Midge at the Mike, which mixed anti-Semitism and propaganda with popular American songs. GI's Letter-box and Medical Reports was a show that forwent Axis Sally’s normal audience of GIs stationed in Europe for the Americans back at home. Here, Gillars and Koischwitz would send demoralizing messages from POWs to spread fear throughout the states. But the fall of Nazi Germany would eventually come and with it, the fall of Axis Sally. Even before Allied Forces would conquer the Axis powers, the death of Koischwitz would send the show’s creative direction in a negative direction, hurting Axis Sally in the process. In 1946, Axis Sally was found in Berlin. After being captured, Gillars was indicted on 10 counts of treason in 1947 in the United States. She was convicted on one count in 1949 and was fined $10,000 as well as sent to the Federal Reformatory for Women in Alderson, West Virginia, for 10 to 30 years. 12 years after entering prison, she received parole, but only after converting to Roman Catholicism. After gaining her freedom, Gillars joined Our Lady of Bethlehem Convent in Columbus, OH, where she taught at St. Joseph Academy. Colon cancer would claim Gillars's life in 1988 at the age of 87 after a long life that took many twists and turns. Her days of Axis Sally were long behind her, but the unfortunate impact she had as a part of the Nazi war machine would not only inspire others but go on to be her disgusting legacy today.
Rita Zucca Joins the Airwaves
As the saying goes, “Every masterpiece has its cheap copy,” and while it's impossible to actually hold Nazi propaganda in such high regard, they at least caught the attention of another nation: Italy. While Hitler was working his evil throughout Europe, Italian fascist warmonger Benito Mussolini was in Italy committing war crimes, instilling fear into the people, assisting with the spread of racism, and a lot of other terrible things. But after hearing Axis Sally over the airwaves, he saw an opportunity. This is where Rita Zucca comes in. Zucca had been in Italy before and returned in 1938 despite her family’s ties to New York. She would renounce her American citizenship in order to keep her family’s land in Italy from being expropriated by the government. By 1943, Mussolini was beginning to feel the pressure of the Allied Forces tightening their grip. He chose Zucca to broadcast throughout Italy and North Africa as the Italian version of Axis Sally. Zucca spent her time doing about what you would expect at this point: preaching propaganda and sending political, tactical disinformation through the airwaves. It’s for these reasons that she, too, would also become known as Axis Sally, causing some confusion during the time. But the Allied Forces would succeed, causing Zucca to retreat with the Germans until finally ending her broadcasting in 1945. Later that same year, while on the run, Allied Forces would arrest Zucca, and she would eventually face a military tribunal run by the Italian government. She would only serve nine months, despite being charged and sentenced to over four years. Zucca was released from prison and was banned from ever traveling to the United States again. Her death would come unceremoniously in 1998 somewhere in Italy.
American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
The infamous story of Axis Sally continues to intrigue audiences and has been adapted into various forms of media over the years. Most notably, the book Axis Sally Confidential by William E. Owen was turned into a screenplay with the release of American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally being released in 2021. Starring Al Pacino, Meadow Williams, and others, American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally focuses on Gillars and her lawyer's pursuit of restoring her name after being captured. The drama, available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video, also dives into her past and showcases the incredible propaganda put on by the Nazis. Using your talents for the Nazis isn’t a great legacy, and instead of being known as an entertainer, Gillars is reduced to a part of the Third Reich’s propaganda machine. Axis Sally in all of her forms is an interesting footnote that should have never existed and in the end was a miserable failure. Read next:Gun Charges Filed Against Marine Vet Allegedly Part of Neo Nazi Group
Image: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo