Karl Henry von Wiegand (born 11 September 1874 in Hesse in Germany; died 1961) was a German born American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and war correspondent. The New York newspaper ''The Sun'' printed that Karl H Von Wikgand was the only American correspondent allowed to stay in Berlin during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Career

Von Wiegand worked from 1911 until 1917 for the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and from 1917 for Hearst Newspapers.

World War I

From the outbreak of the First World War Wiegand worked to influence American public opinion in favour of Germany and against the Allies. In 1915 he published ''Current misconceptions about the war'', containing an interview with the German crown prince, and several essays, and a series of letters, all presenting the German point of view. Wiegand was the first United States reporter allowed to interview Crown prince Wilhelm. Elter page 74 That interview was also the first foreign interview given by a German noble since the outbreak of

. William E. Dodd, US ambassador to Germany during the Roosevelt administration later described him as a "very strongly pro-German representative through the Great War" Karl von Wiegand was the father of journalist (also for Hearst's Newspapers) and abstract painter Charmion von Wiegand.

Interwar career

He was one of the

Hearst Press Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...

reporters on at least two of the '' Graf Zeppelin'' flights, usually accompanying fellow Hearst reporter Lady Hay Drummond-Hay.

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

Los Angeles to Lakehurst
9 September 1929 Wiegand was one of the first American journalists to interview Hitler, having first met him in 1921 while he was only a minor malcontent in post-World War I Munich. He was one of the first journalists to take Hitler seriously, and his story was published on November 12, 1922, a year before the

Beer Hall Putsch The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...

. As such, Wiegand provided the first introduction Americans had to Hitler. He referred to him as the "German Mussolini", and expressed genuine concern about his popularity, writing "The shadow of the Fascisti is arising in Germany. Whether what is yet only a shadow will clothe itself in the flesh, blood and spirit of the German Mussolini, depends on a number of things." He also emphasized his "man of the people" qualities, his charisma, and his electrifying speaking ability. He pegged him as a potentially great leader, saying "Hitler has the earmarks of a leader. Whether it be merely a band or a great movement, only the future will tell."

World War II and after

A month after Germany invaded France in

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 ...

, Wiegand secured an interview with Hitler and published his report "Europe for the Europeans: Adolf Hitler on the international situation during the war in France; An interview granted to Karl v. Wiegand, Führer's Headquarters, June 11, 1940". Later, Lady Drummond-Hay and Wiegand were interned in a Japanese camp in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines. When they were set free in 1943, she was very ill. They returned to the United States, but during their stay in New York Drummond-Hay died of coronary thrombosis in the Lexington Hotel.Time

, 25 February 1946 After her cremation, Karl brought her ashes back to the United Kingdom. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

in Zurich in 1961 at the age of 86.. Obituary.

Bibliography

Notes References * Doctorate dissertation *Goldstein, Benjamin S. “‘A Legend Somewhat Larger than Life’: Karl H. von Wiegand and the Trajectory of Hearstian Sensationalist Journalism*.” ''Historical Research'' 94, no. 265 (August 1, 2021): 629–59. https://doi.org/10.1093/hisres/htab019. * * - Total pages: 368 * * - Total pages: 40

External links

Online Archive of California The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management a ...

. (Collection open for research) * * Text version of letter US-ambassador William E. Dodd sent to

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Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

on Wiegand's relationship with Germany * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegand, Karl Henry Von German emigrants to the United States American male journalists American war correspondents 1874 births 1961 deaths Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin