Tokyo Rose: American Patriot?

• Sep 29, 2006

• #1

W

Wiseguy A

Registered User

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City of Angels

Long since pardoned by President Ford, himself a veteran of the Pacific War and survivor of many kamikaze attacks, controversy over Toguri's supposed guilt continues even to this day.

Though employed to broadcast pro-Japanese propaganda, Toguri's outspoken support of the Allies off-mic (while cleverly concealing it within her message and delivery on-air) resulted in numerous arguments, fisticuffs, and sometimes daily 3 am harassments thanks to the Kempeitai Thought Police. She helped keep American soldiers alive (at mortal personal risk) with food, medicine, clothing, and hope during her almost daily visits to their cells.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/09/tokyo_rose_aka_.html

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #2

H

Harp

I'll Lock Up

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Chicago, IL US

Tokyo Rose

After reading the feature blog, I believe Iva Ikuko Toguri deserves
both a congressional apology and posthumous induction into the
Radio Hall of Fame.

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #3

Maj.Nick Danger

I'll Lock Up

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Behind the 8 ball,..

People aren't always what they seem to be.

Apparently she had no choice but to play along with the propaganda.

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #4

LizzieMaine

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Judging from the surviving recordings I've heard there was very little propaganda content in the "Orphan Ann" segments of the Zero Hour. Most of the propaganda stuff was delivered by a male announcer identified as the "Music From Home Man" who read the news and filled up the second half-hour of the program -- his segment had a good deal more talk in it than conducted by Toguri, who concentrated mostly on introducing records in a fairly innocuous manner.

There were other women who worked on the program aside from Toguri, however -- and I've not heard any of their segments, so it might well be that these other women were much more heavy on the propaganda content than Toguri was.

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #5

Baron Kurtz

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Being slowly digested inside "The Crouching Monste

Yes, there seem to be profound differences between this case and Norman Baillie Stewart (a Brit) and William Joyce (an American), who broadcast Nazi propaganda to England during WWII in the infamous 'Germany Calling' program which featured propagandised versions of events and jazz music bastardised with new racist, and often anti-Jewish words (which is sad because the musicians were actually VERY good).

bk

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #6

LizzieMaine

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Some original Zero Hour programs in Real Audio format may be downloaded here -- http://www.earthstation1.com/Tokyo_Rose.html

The original recordings were made by military intelligence monitors using a Memovox dictating machine, so the audio quality leaves a great deal to be desired -- but it's clear enough to give you an idea of the actual content of the programs.

For comparison, this site also has several *counterfeit* "Tokyo Rose" excerpts. Faked audio clips are a notorious problem for broadcast historians, and the site does an excellent job in running such things to earth.

 

• Sep 29, 2006

• #7

Solid Citizen

Practically Family

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Maryland

Tokyo Rose

This women was in a really tough situation from the obits I've read she couldn't leave Japan & they forced her into doing the broadcasts.

Many WWII movies feature those clips of the GI's listening to the radio
with Tokyo Rose.

SC

The German version aside from Axis Sally, Lord Haw Haw was hanged.

 

• Nov 20, 2006

• #8

Gray Ghost

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I have read some transcripts of her broadcasts and have also read some background to her story. From my understanding, she was actually giving away Japanese secrets to the US and it's allies. In one of the transcripts that I read, she told the 42nd Bomb Group of the 13th Air Force that they better run and hide because they were going to be attacked at what ever time it was to be. It was giving important attack info to us and our planes could be already up and ready to intercept and also allow a more effective defence of the airfield. In the article that I read, her handler was an Austrailian POW that would receive the info and write it up for her to read. The way she delivered the information, made the Japanese think that she was on their side. The other Tokyo Roses were not of the same character and were actually working for the Japanese.

Gray Ghost

 

• Mar 9, 2013

• #9

F

Futwick

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Detroit

Ironically, because she refused to renounce her American citizenship, she was tried for treason after the war and imprisoned. Had she renounced her citizenship, she would have been immune from such prosecution. While the American govt was smuggling Nazi scientists into the US and paying them very handsomely (many of whom were very ardent Nazis), they had branded Iva Toguri a traitor and locked her in prison and stripped her of the citizenship she steadfastly refused to renounce to the enemy. What shameful thing.

 

• Mar 10, 2013

• #10

V.C. Brunswick

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Orange County, CA

Baron Kurtz said:

Yes, there seem to be profound differences between this case and Norman Baillie Stewart (a Brit) and William Joyce (an American), who broadcast Nazi propaganda to England during WWII in the infamous 'Germany Calling' program which featured propagandised versions of events and jazz music bastardised with new racist, and often anti-Jewish words (which is sad because the musicians were actually VERY good).

bk

Click to expand...

The band you're referring to is Charlie and his Orchestra, a pseudonym for Lutz Templin and his Orchestra. The Nazis had something of a love/hate relationship with jazz and swing because there were actually some notable German swing orchestras, among them Erhard Bauschke, Oskar Joost and Lutz Templin. Though the Nazis regarded swing as "degenerate" (as well as some less politically correct characterizations) it was generally tolerated in the interest of keeping the masses pacified.

As I was a bit hard-pressed to find a Charlie and his Orchestra recording without the offensive anti-semitic lyrics, I offer as an example of the Lutz Templin sound a couple of his straight recordings (The A and B sides of the same record) both from 1941 featuring vocalist Karl Schwedler who was the "Charlie" of Charlie and his Orchestra.

Was Dir Fehlt, Ist Etwas Gute Laune (instrumental)
(You Have No Sense Of Humour)

[video=youtube;zlLiMi5cn40]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlLiMi5cn40[/video]

Für Ein Süßes Mädel
(For A Sweet Girl)

[video=youtube;8al-yUc3nIg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8al-yUc3nIg[/video]

 

Last edited: Mar 10, 2013

• Mar 13, 2013

• #11

John in Covina

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Covina, Califonia 91722

In WWII there are many instances of those that were seen as colaberators that were very much working for the Allies. We usually here more about the European theater stories and those that were as high profile.