Voice of America

Founded on February 17, 1942, Voice of America is “a US government-funded multi-media news source and the official external broadcasting institution of the United States.” (Wikipedia)  Headquartered in Washington, DC, VOA provides news, information, and cultural programming for radio, television, and the internet outside of the US in English and forty-seven (!) other languages. VOA began broadcasting to combat Nazi propaganda with accurate and unbiased news and information. Per their website ever since then, VOA has served the world with a consistent message of truth, hope, and inspiration.

The first words spoken by William Harlan Hale, American journalist, writer, and editor who served in Army Intelligence during WWII, and broadcast in German over shortwave radio were “we bring you voices from America.” Here is the transcript:

MUSIC:           Battle Hymn

WINTER:        This is a voice from America.

KAPPEL:        This is a voice from America at war.

HALE:             Our voices are coming to you from New York over the Atlantic Ocean. They are transmitted to Germany by our friends at London Radio.

KAPPEL:        Today, America has been at war for fifty-eight days.

HALE:             Today, and every day from now on, we will be with you from America to talk about the war. Here in America, we get news from all over the world. The news may be good or bad for us…We will always tell you the truth.

VOA announcer and Austrian Robert Bauer began his radio career in the 1930s with the Austrian Freedom Broadcasting Station. Vocal about his anti-Nazi philosophy and regularly mocking Hitler through news stories, Bauer fled Austria in 1938 with one suitcase and never saw his mother again.

Another Austrian who joined the ranks of VOA broadcasters was Walter R. Roberts. While a student at Harvard Law School in 1942, he was approached by a professor and asked if he spoke German. When he replied in the affirmative, Walters was told “we need people like you.” Shortly thereafter he found himself on a train to Washington, DC.  

The VOA charter signed into law in 1976 by President Ford requires VOA to “serve as a consistently reliable and authoritative source of news” and “be accurate, objective and comprehensive.” Located in Washington, DC the organization is funded from the same budget used for embassies and consulates. Broadcasts are distributed by satellite, cable, and FM, AM, and shortwave radio frequencies. They are also streamed on language services websites, social media sites and mobile platforms – a far cry from their initial thirty-eight second message sent over shortwave. 

A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Shenton Matchett writes soul-quenching stories about ordinary women who do extraordinary things. Her novellas Love's Harvest, Love Found in Sherwood Forest, and On the Rails are available on Amazon. Under Fire, the first book in her series about WWII war correspondent/amateur sleuth Ruth Brown is being released in July 2017 by eLectio Publishing. Visit Linda at www.LindaShentonMatchett.com

Keep Calm and Carry On

The poster featured here was printed in 1939 by the Ministry of Information. Some reports indicate the item was distributed but never hung. Others say there was minimal use of the poster, but because it was met with distain, the campaign it was part of was scrapped. It was originally thought that only two copies of the item existed, but during a 2010 episode of Antiques Roadshow, a participant arrived with twenty in his possession. Prior to that in 2000, a bookshop owner discovered one of the posters in a box and hung it in his shop. It became quite popular and morphed into other iterations since then.

The Ministry of Information was formed the day after Britain declared war on Germany. It’s mission was to “promote the national case to the public at home and abroad in time of war.” It did this through the use of propaganda and controlling news and information. Initially it was responsible for censorship, issuing official news, home publicity, and publicity in Allied and neutral countries.

Comprised of four groups: press relations, publicity users, publicity producers, and coordination and intelligence. However, senior officials were unsure about their responsibilities which caused confusion between departments. This led to resentment from the press who felt the ministry was delaying access to news. In addition, the Ministry’s first campaign “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory” was criticized for being class-bound. (The poster above is one of three from this campaign). Others felt the ministry was over staffed and out of touch with reality.

Three months after being sworn into office as the Minister of Information, Lord McMillan was replaced by Sir John Reith. However, when Chamberlain resigned as Prime Minister and Winston Churchill replaced him, Reith was fired. A close ally of Churchill’s and critic of the previous administration, Duff Cooper, was appointed. However, Mr. Cooper was quickly run out of office amid complaints of Gestapo tactics.

Fortunately for the English people, the next appointee, Brendan Bracken, an Irish-born businessman, remained in his position until the end of the war. During his tenure, he managed to promote a closer working relationship with other governmental departments. He also repaired relations with the press when he maintained that the MOI should not hamper the right to free speech. He also felt the ministry should be dissolved at the end of the war, stating that its activities “made it inappropriate for peacetime.”

He got his wish. The MOI was dissolved in 1946.

A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Shenton Matchett writes historical fiction. Her novella Love’s Harvest is available on Amazon. She is currently seeking a publisher for her series about WWII war correspondent Ruth Brown. Visit her at www.LindaShentonMatchett.com