Max Otto Koischwitz
Encyclopedia
Max Oscar Otto Koischwitz (February 19, 1902, Jauer
, Silesia – August 31, 1944, Berlin
) was a naturalized American of German origin who directed and broadcast Nazi propaganda
during World War II.
and Germany. In 1920 he completed his secondary education at one of the most famous Gymnasia in Berlin, the College Royal Français, and graduated from the University of Berlin
in 1924. He immigrated to the United States in that year.
He then taught German at Columbia University
and became a professor of German Literature at Hunter College
, New York City. Initially he took an anti-Nazi view of developments in Germany but as the 1930s progressed he came to openly support Hitler and Nazism.
Despite this, Koischwitz took US citizenship at Long Island City on March 29, 1935.
In the fall of 1939 Koischwitz was required by Hunter College to take leave of absence after putting anti-Semitic material into his lectures. He immediately made plans to return to Germany, resigning his position in January 1940.
, German State Radio. He broadcast talks to the U.S. under the pseudonyms of ‘Mister O. K.’ and ‘Doctor Anders’. His propaganda was directed to college students and German-American listeners who might be susceptible to National Socialism. He spoke on literature, music, drama, philosophy and geopolitics, his broadcasts being anti-Semitic, anti-British, anti-Roosevelt and anti-communist in tone.
In Berlin, Koischwitz began a relationship with another American working for German State Radio, Mildred Gillars, ‘Axis Sally’. Koischwitz and Gillars became lovers and before long Koischwitz was working her into his political broadcasts. Together they formed a powerful propaganda duet. They began a joint series, the ‘Home Sweet Home Hour’, aimed at the Allied forces in North Africa.
Koischwitz also edited a magazine for American POWs, ‘The Overseas Kid’, and in September 1943 he was made head of the U. S. A. Zone. From October 1943 he and Gillars toured POW camps in Germany, interviewing captured Americans and recording their messages for their families in the U.S. The interviews were then edited for broadcast as though the speakers were well-treated or sympathetic to the Nazi cause. After D-Day, June 6, 1944, US soldiers wounded and captured in France were also reported on. Koischwitz and Gillars worked for a time from Chartres
and Paris for this purpose, visiting hospitals and interviewing POWs.
Koischwitz also wrote and produced propaganda sketches and plays with Gillars in the lead, the most notorious of which was the ‘Vision Of Invasion’ broadcast of May 11, 1944, a few weeks before the D-Day
invasion of Normandy
, France.
Koischwitz broadcast for almost the entire war, towards its end appealing for the United States to join Germany in fighting the approaching Red Army
.
, Edward Delaney
, Constance Drexel
, Robert Henry Best, Douglas Chandler
and Ezra Pound
, was indicted in absentia
by a District of Columbia grand jury on charges of treason
.
and heart failure on August 31, 1944. The treason charges against him were formally withdrawn by the Department of Justice
due to lack of evidence on October 27, 1947.
Jawor
Jawor is a town in south-western Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław.In the town can be found a Protestant Church of Peace...
, Silesia – August 31, 1944, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) was a naturalized American of German origin who directed and broadcast Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
during World War II.
Biography
Koischwitz was the son of a prominent physician, born into a family with a history of military service to PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Germany. In 1920 he completed his secondary education at one of the most famous Gymnasia in Berlin, the College Royal Français, and graduated from the University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
in 1924. He immigrated to the United States in that year.
He then taught German at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and became a professor of German Literature at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
, New York City. Initially he took an anti-Nazi view of developments in Germany but as the 1930s progressed he came to openly support Hitler and Nazism.
Despite this, Koischwitz took US citizenship at Long Island City on March 29, 1935.
In the fall of 1939 Koischwitz was required by Hunter College to take leave of absence after putting anti-Semitic material into his lectures. He immediately made plans to return to Germany, resigning his position in January 1940.
Propaganda for Nazi Germany
By the spring of 1940 Koischwitz was working as a program director in the U. S. A. Zone at the Reichs-Rundfunk-GesellschaftReichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft
The Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft , which can be loosely translated as the State Broadcasting Company, was a national network of German regional public broadcasting companies active from 1925 until 1945...
, German State Radio. He broadcast talks to the U.S. under the pseudonyms of ‘Mister O. K.’ and ‘Doctor Anders’. His propaganda was directed to college students and German-American listeners who might be susceptible to National Socialism. He spoke on literature, music, drama, philosophy and geopolitics, his broadcasts being anti-Semitic, anti-British, anti-Roosevelt and anti-communist in tone.
In Berlin, Koischwitz began a relationship with another American working for German State Radio, Mildred Gillars, ‘Axis Sally’. Koischwitz and Gillars became lovers and before long Koischwitz was working her into his political broadcasts. Together they formed a powerful propaganda duet. They began a joint series, the ‘Home Sweet Home Hour’, aimed at the Allied forces in North Africa.
Koischwitz also edited a magazine for American POWs, ‘The Overseas Kid’, and in September 1943 he was made head of the U. S. A. Zone. From October 1943 he and Gillars toured POW camps in Germany, interviewing captured Americans and recording their messages for their families in the U.S. The interviews were then edited for broadcast as though the speakers were well-treated or sympathetic to the Nazi cause. After D-Day, June 6, 1944, US soldiers wounded and captured in France were also reported on. Koischwitz and Gillars worked for a time from Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
and Paris for this purpose, visiting hospitals and interviewing POWs.
Koischwitz also wrote and produced propaganda sketches and plays with Gillars in the lead, the most notorious of which was the ‘Vision Of Invasion’ broadcast of May 11, 1944, a few weeks before the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
invasion of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, France.
Koischwitz broadcast for almost the entire war, towards its end appealing for the United States to join Germany in fighting the approaching Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
.
Charges of Treason
On July 26, 1943 Koischwitz, along with Fred W. Kaltenbach, Jane AndersonJane Anderson – The Georgia Peach
Jane Anderson was an American broadcaster of Nazi propaganda during World War II. She was indicted on charges of treason in 1943 but after the war the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.-Biography:...
, Edward Delaney
Edward Leo Delaney
Edward Leo Delaney was an American broadcaster of Nazi propaganda during World War II...
, Constance Drexel
Constance Drexel
Constance Drexel , a naturalized United States citizen, and groundbreaking feature writer for U.S. newspapers, was indicted for treason in World War II for radio broadcasts from Berlin that extolled Nazi virtues...
, Robert Henry Best, Douglas Chandler
Douglas Chandler
Douglas Chandler was an American broadcaster of Nazi propaganda during World War II. He was convicted of treason in 1947 and sentenced to life imprisonment.-Biography:Chandler was an officer in the U.S...
and Ezra Pound
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an American expatriate poet and critic and a major figure in the early modernist movement in poetry...
, was indicted in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
by a District of Columbia grand jury on charges of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
.
Death
Koischwitz did not stand trial as he died in Berlin-Spandau Hospital of tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and heart failure on August 31, 1944. The treason charges against him were formally withdrawn by the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
due to lack of evidence on October 27, 1947.