Louis P. Lochner
Encyclopedia
Ludwig Paul "Louis" Lochner (1887 - 1975) was an American political activist, journalist, and author. During World War I
, Lochner was a leading figure in the American and international anti-war movement. Later, Lochner served for many years as head the Berlin bureau of the Associated Press
. He is best remembered for his work there as a foreign correspondent
. Lochner was awarded the 1939 Pulitzer Prize
for correspondence for his wartime reporting from Nazi Germany. In December 1941 Lochner was interned by the Nazis and later released in a prisoner exchange
.
to Johann Friedrich Karl Lochner and Maria Lochner née von Haugwitz. The senior Lochner was a Lutheran minister.
In 1905 Louis graduated from the Wisconsin Music Conservatory. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison
, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in earning a Bachelor's degree
in 1909.
On September 7, 1910 he married Emmy Hoyer; they would have two children, Elsbeth and Robert.
Hoyer died in 1920 and Lochner married again in 1922. His second wife, Hilde De Terra, nee Steinberger, brought Rosemarie De Terra, her daughter from her fist marriage, into the family.
movement. Late in 1914 he was named Executive Director of the Chicago
-based Emergency Peace Federation, working closely with social activist Jane Addams
in an attempt to call an international conference of Neutral nations to mediate an end to World War I
. Lochner, Addams, and their Emergency Peace Federation were instrumental in convening an national conference in Chicago in February 1915 which brought together delegates representing pacifist, religious, and anti-militarist political organizations from around the United States.
Lochner became a secretary to Henry Ford
in 1915 and served as head of publicity for Ford's ill-fated "Peace Ship" in that year.
to join the staff of the Milwaukee Free Press. He also edited for the International Labor News Service, a press agency of the day.
In 1924 Lochner was named to the Berlin bureau of the Associated Press
. He would remain in that position until 1946. During the course of his career, Lochner twice interviewed Adolf Hitler
, the first time in 1930 and the second time in 1933.
When World War II
broke out with the German invasion of Poland in 1939 Lochner became the first foreign journalist to follow the German Army
into battle. His bravery in remaining in Nazi Germany
despite the outbreak of hostilities to provide objective and measured news coverage was rewarded with the 1939 Pulitzer Prize
for correspondence.
He reported further on the German side of the war, accompanying the German Army on the Western Front in Holland, Belgium and France witnessing, the 1940 French surrender in Compiègne
.
After the December 1941 declaration of war between Germany and the United States, the Berlin government imprisoned any Americans who remained in the Third Reich. Lochner was interned for nearly five months at Bad Nauheim
near Frankfurt am Main, before being released in May 1942 as part of a prisoner exchange for interred German diplomats and correspondents.
Upon his release Lochner took eight months leave of absence for an extended lecture tour throughout North America, which he spent publicly attacking Nazism and warning of its dangers. It was in this interval that he wrote a book warning of the fascist
menace, entitled What About Germany?
From 1942 to 1944, Lochner worked as a news analyst and radio commentator for the National Broadcasting Company. Thereafter he departed once again for Europe, working as a war correspondent
until after the end of World War II.
, a book which attained considerable commercial success. This set Lochner on a new path as a writer of non-fiction
books. During the decade of the 1950s, Lochner published an additional three volumes on various aspects of the German history and current affairs.
Lochner also returned to his Lutheran roots as a member of the editorial board of The Lutheran Witness and a columnist for The Lutheran Layman and The Lutheran Witness Reporter.
In 1955 Lochner published his memoirs, Stets das Unerwartete: Erinnerungen aus Deutschland 1921-1953 (Always the Unexpected: Recollections of Germany 1921-1953). The English language edition of this volume was published in 1956.
Lochner spent his later years compiling a series of articles for the quarterly journal of the Wisconsin Historical Society
, published on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin.
, West Germany
.
In 2005 a posthumous volume of Lochner's German journalism was published as Journalist at the Brink : Louis P. Lochner in Berlin, 1922-1942, edited by Morrell Heald.
Lochner's papers reside at the Concordia Institute in St. Louis, Missouri. An online finding aid is available. Many of the volumes from his personal library found their way to Valparaiso University
in Indiana
, an institution at which Lochner had lectured at various times during his career.
The archive of the Henry Ford Peace Expedition of 1915-1916, including scattered material by Lochner, resides at Swarthmore College
in Pennsylvania
as part of its Peace Collection.
The papers of Lochner's son Robert, which include photographs of and correspondence by Louis Lochner, resides at the Hoover Institution archives
at Stanford University
in Palo Alto, California
.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Lochner was a leading figure in the American and international anti-war movement. Later, Lochner served for many years as head the Berlin bureau of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. He is best remembered for his work there as a foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
. Lochner was awarded the 1939 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for correspondence for his wartime reporting from Nazi Germany. In December 1941 Lochner was interned by the Nazis and later released in a prisoner exchange
Prisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...
.
Early years
Louis Lochner was born February 22, 1887 in Springfield, IllinoisSpringfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
to Johann Friedrich Karl Lochner and Maria Lochner née von Haugwitz. The senior Lochner was a Lutheran minister.
In 1905 Louis graduated from the Wisconsin Music Conservatory. He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin at Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in earning a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1909.
On September 7, 1910 he married Emmy Hoyer; they would have two children, Elsbeth and Robert.
Hoyer died in 1920 and Lochner married again in 1922. His second wife, Hilde De Terra, nee Steinberger, brought Rosemarie De Terra, her daughter from her fist marriage, into the family.
Political activism
During the decade of the 1910s, Lochner was a leading activist in the American pacifistPacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
movement. Late in 1914 he was named Executive Director of the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based Emergency Peace Federation, working closely with social activist Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
in an attempt to call an international conference of Neutral nations to mediate an end to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Lochner, Addams, and their Emergency Peace Federation were instrumental in convening an national conference in Chicago in February 1915 which brought together delegates representing pacifist, religious, and anti-militarist political organizations from around the United States.
Lochner became a secretary to Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
in 1915 and served as head of publicity for Ford's ill-fated "Peace Ship" in that year.
Journalism career
Following the end of the war in 1918, Lochner moved to Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
to join the staff of the Milwaukee Free Press. He also edited for the International Labor News Service, a press agency of the day.
In 1924 Lochner was named to the Berlin bureau of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. He would remain in that position until 1946. During the course of his career, Lochner twice interviewed Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, the first time in 1930 and the second time in 1933.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out with the German invasion of Poland in 1939 Lochner became the first foreign journalist to follow the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
into battle. His bravery in remaining in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
despite the outbreak of hostilities to provide objective and measured news coverage was rewarded with the 1939 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for correspondence.
He reported further on the German side of the war, accompanying the German Army on the Western Front in Holland, Belgium and France witnessing, the 1940 French surrender in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
.
After the December 1941 declaration of war between Germany and the United States, the Berlin government imprisoned any Americans who remained in the Third Reich. Lochner was interned for nearly five months at Bad Nauheim
Bad Nauheim
Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...
near Frankfurt am Main, before being released in May 1942 as part of a prisoner exchange for interred German diplomats and correspondents.
Upon his release Lochner took eight months leave of absence for an extended lecture tour throughout North America, which he spent publicly attacking Nazism and warning of its dangers. It was in this interval that he wrote a book warning of the fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
menace, entitled What About Germany?
From 1942 to 1944, Lochner worked as a news analyst and radio commentator for the National Broadcasting Company. Thereafter he departed once again for Europe, working as a war correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
until after the end of World War II.
Post-war years
In 1948, Lochner translated and edited a volume of diary material written by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph GoebbelsJoseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, a book which attained considerable commercial success. This set Lochner on a new path as a writer of non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
books. During the decade of the 1950s, Lochner published an additional three volumes on various aspects of the German history and current affairs.
Lochner also returned to his Lutheran roots as a member of the editorial board of The Lutheran Witness and a columnist for The Lutheran Layman and The Lutheran Witness Reporter.
In 1955 Lochner published his memoirs, Stets das Unerwartete: Erinnerungen aus Deutschland 1921-1953 (Always the Unexpected: Recollections of Germany 1921-1953). The English language edition of this volume was published in 1956.
Lochner spent his later years compiling a series of articles for the quarterly journal of the Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society is simultaneously a private membership and a state-funded organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of North America, with an emphasis on the state of Wisconsin and the trans-Allegheny West...
, published on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin.
Death and legacy
Louis P. Lochner died in January 1975 in WiesbadenWiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
In 2005 a posthumous volume of Lochner's German journalism was published as Journalist at the Brink : Louis P. Lochner in Berlin, 1922-1942, edited by Morrell Heald.
Lochner's papers reside at the Concordia Institute in St. Louis, Missouri. An online finding aid is available. Many of the volumes from his personal library found their way to Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a regionally accredited private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, a nursing school and a law school...
in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, an institution at which Lochner had lectured at various times during his career.
The archive of the Henry Ford Peace Expedition of 1915-1916, including scattered material by Lochner, resides at Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
as part of its Peace Collection.
The papers of Lochner's son Robert, which include photographs of and correspondence by Louis Lochner, resides at the Hoover Institution archives
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
.
Books and pamphlets
- The Cosmopolitan Club Movement. New York: American Association for International Conciliation, 1912.
- Internationalism Among Universities. Boston: World Peace Foundation, 1913.
- Personal Observations on the Outbreak of the War. Chicago: Chicago Peace Society, 1914.
- Pacifism and the Great War. Chicago: Chicago Peace Society, 1914.
- Wanted: Aggressive Pacifism. Chicago: Chicago Peace Society, 1915.
- The Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation. Stockholm: Neutral Conference for Continuous Mediation, 1916.
- Mexico — Whose War? New York: The Peoples Print, n.d. [c. 1919].
- Die Staatsmännischen Experimente des Autokönigs Henry Ford (The Experiment in Statesmanship of Auto King Henry Ford). Munich: Verlag für Kulturpolitik, 1923.—Reissued as America's Don Quixote: Henry Ford's Attempt to Save Europe. (London, 1924) and Henry Ford: America's Don Quixote. (New York, 1925).
- What About Germany? New York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1942.
- What About Poland? A Radio Broadcast over National Broadcasting Co. Beverly Hills, CA: Friends of Poland, 1944.
- Fritz Kreisler. New York: Macmillan, 1951.
- Tycoons and Tyrant: German Industry from Hitler to Adenauer. Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1954.
- Stets das Unerwartete: Erinnerungen aus Deutschland 1921-1953 (Always the Unexpected: Recollections of Germany, 1921-1953). Darmstadt: Franz Schneekluth Verlag, 1955.
- Always the Unexpected: A Book of Reminiscences. New York: Macmillan, 1956.
- Herbert Hoover and Germany. New York: Macmillan, 1960.
- Journalist at the Brink : Louis P. Lochner in Berlin, 1922-1942. (Morrell Heald, ed.) Xlibris Corporation, 2005.
Edited or translated
- Margaret Leng, The Wood-Peasant's Grandchild. Germany: Johannes Herrmann, n.d. [c. 1920s].
- Rosa Luxemburg, Letters to Karl and Luise Kautsky from 1896 to 1918. New York, R.M. McBride and Co., 1925.
- Joseph Goebbels, The Goebbels Diaries, 1942-1943. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1948.
Selected articles
- "Communications and the Mass-Produced Mind," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 41, no. 4 (Summer 1958), pp. 244-251.
- "Aboard the Airship Hindenburg: Louis P. Lochner's Diary of Its Maiden Flight to the United States," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 49, no. 2 (Winter 1965/66), pp. 101-121.
- "Round Robins from Berlin: Louis P. Lochner's Letters to His Children, 1932-1941," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 50, no. 4 (Summer 1967), pp. 291-336.
- "The Blitzkrieg in Belgium: A Newsman's Eyewitness Account," Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 50, no. 4 (Summer 1967), pp. 337-346.
Further reading
- Barbara S. Kraft, The Peace Ship: Henry Ford's Pacifist Adventure in the First World War. New York: Macmillan, 1978.
External links
- "Louis Lochner, 1887-1975," Traces website, www.traces.org/ —Includes excellent account of Lochner's interment.