Axis Sally was the generic nickname given to women radio personalities who broadcast English-language

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

on behalf of the European

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. These included: *

Mildred Gillars Mildred Elizabeth Gillars ( Sisk; November 29, 1900 – June 25, 1988) was an American broadcaster employed by Nazi Germany to disseminate Axis propaganda during World War II. Following her capture in post-war Berlin, she became the first woman t ...

, a German-American who broadcast for Germany. She was "the first woman in US history to be convicted of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

" by the United States and "on 8 March 1949 was sentenced to ten to thirty years' imprisonment." *

Rita Zucca Rita Luisa Zucca (, 1912–1998) was an American-born Italian radio announcer who broadcast Axis propaganda to Allied troops in Italy and North Africa. She became known as one of the "Axis Sallys", along with Mildred Gillars, who broadcast out of ...

, an Italian-American who broadcast for Italy On their radio shows, the two Axis Sally personalities would typically alternate between

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

and propaganda messages aimed at American troops. These messages would emphasize the value of surrender, stoke fears that soldiers' wives and girlfriends were cheating on them, and point out that the Axis powers knew their locations. American soldiers listened to Gillars' broadcasts for the entertaining music even as they found her attempts at propaganda "laughable."

References

{{reflist

External links

*http://www.historynet.com/axis-sally.htm *http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/March-April-08/On-this-day---Axis-Sally--Convicted-of-Treason.html *http://factorialist.com/axis-sally-nazi-fame/ Nazi propaganda radio German radio presenters German women radio presenters Italian radio presenters Italian women radio presenters Collective pseudonyms Race-related controversies in radio Nicknames Nicknames in radio

See also

References

External links