Dorothy Thompson

Dorothy Thompson was a pioneering American journalist and radio broadcaster whose incisive political commentary reached millions during the mid-20th century. She gained international fame as the first American correspondent expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 for her critical reporting on Adolf Hitler. Through her widely syndicated column "On the Record" and popular radio broadcasts, she became one of the most influential women in American media, offering forceful analysis on World War II, fascism, and Zionism. Her career spanned major publications like the New York Herald Tribune and The Ladies' Home Journal, cementing her reputation as a formidable voice in political journalism.

Early life and education

Born in Lancaster, New York, she was the daughter of Margaret (Grierson) Thompson and Peter Thompson, a Methodist minister. After her mother's early death, she moved to Chicago to live with relatives before attending Syracuse University, where she graduated in 1914 as a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and developed a passion for suffrage and social reform. Following graduation, she worked for the New York State Woman Suffrage Party before traveling to Europe, where she pursued further studies in politics and economics at the University of Vienna and the New School for Social Research. Her early experiences in the women's suffrage movement and academic work in Central Europe profoundly shaped her later journalistic focus on international affairs and human rights.

Journalism career

Her journalism career began in Europe, where she filed reports for the Philadelphia Public Ledger and the New York Evening Post from Vienna and later Berlin. Appointed head of the Berlin bureau for the Public Ledger in 1925, she conducted a famous 1931 interview with Adolf Hitler, which formed the basis for her prescient book "I Saw Hitler!" She became a vocal critic of the Nazi Party, leading to her expulsion from Germany by order of the Gestapo in 1934, a first for an American journalist. Upon returning to the United States, she wrote the syndicated column "On the Record" for the New York Herald Tribune, which was carried by over 200 newspapers, and became a popular commentator on NBC Radio and the CBS Radio network, analyzing events like the Munich Agreement and the Battle of Britain.

Political activism and commentary

A committed anti-fascist, she used her platform to advocate for American intervention against the Axis powers and was a founding member of the Emergency Rescue Committee, which helped artists and intellectuals flee Vichy France. She was a staunch supporter of Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state, often criticizing British policy in Palestine in her columns. Her activism extended to domestic issues, as she supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal early on but later criticized aspects of his foreign policy. She co-founded the short-lived political party Common Council for American Unity to promote tolerance and was an outspoken opponent of McCarthyism in the 1950s, defending individuals targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Personal life and legacy

She was married three times: first to Hungarian writer Josef Bard, then to Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Lewis, with whom she had a son, Michael Lewis, and finally to artist Maxim Kopf. Her tumultuous marriage to Lewis, with whom she lived in Barnard, Vermont, was highly publicized. She maintained a close friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and moved in influential literary circles that included Rebecca West and H.G. Wells. Her legacy is that of a trailblazer who broke gender barriers in journalism; in 1939, *Time* magazine featured her on its cover, declaring her and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt the most influential women in America. Her papers are held at the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University.

Awards and honors

Her significant contributions to journalism were recognized with numerous accolades. In 1939, she was made a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters. She received the 1943 Headliners Club award for her outstanding column writing and was honored with the 1958 Lasker Award in journalism for her commentary on public affairs. Posthumously, she was inducted into the New York Newspaper Women's Club Hall of Fame and remains a celebrated figure in the history of American political commentary and foreign correspondence.

Category:American journalists Category:American radio personalities Category:1893 births Category:1961 deaths