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GOOD NEWS FOR HITLER After William Randolph Hearst's visit to a German spa, he had new respect for Hider. Was there gold in the waters? In September 1934, William Randolph Hearst went to the world-famous spa at Bad Nauheim to “take the waters". The Nazi government welcomed him. After a month of socialising with prominent Germans, Hearst was invited to meet the new chancellor, Adolph Hitler. According to German newspapers, "Hearst was charmed and converted by the Nazi leader." The German newspaper may have been right. When he returned to the US, Hearst completely changed the editorial policy of his nineteen daily newspapers and began praising the Nazi regime. For example, a September 1934 editorial signed by Hearst began: "Hitler is enormously unpopular outside of Germany and enormously popu- lar in Germany. This is not difficult to understand. Hitler restored character and courage. Hitler gave hope and confidence. He established order and utility of pur- pose...and the Germans love him for that. They regard him as a saviour." Did Hearst offer his praise freely, or had he been paid? Hearst's change in editorial policy came less than a month after the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda first subscribed to his International News Service (INS), a wire service that Hearst had created to compete against Associated Press (AP) and UPI. INS was considered by journalists to be, by far, the worst of the three services. Even so, the Nazis paid Hearst more than $400,000 a year to subscribe to INS, at a ime when other customers were only paying US$50,000 to US$70,000 for the same service. (The Nazis paid only US$40,000 for their subscription to AP.) Hitler appears to have gotten what he paid for. According to legal papers filed in a lawsuit involving Hearst in the 1930s, “Promptly after the visit with Adolph Hitler and the making of...arrangements for furnishing INS material to Germany...William Randolph Hearst instructed all Hearst press correspondents in Germany, including those of INS, to report happenings in Germany only in a ‘friendly’ manner. All of such correspon- dents reporting happenings in Germany accurately and without friendliness, sym- pathy and bias for the actions of the then German government, were transferred elsewhere, discharged or forced to resign.” (Even the Gods Can't Change ITistory) Week after week, Hearst publications ran pieces sympathetic to the Nazis. One article, which justified German rearma- ment to the American people, was written by Hitler's Minister of Aviation, Hermann Goering. Was Hitler's payment a bribe to get Hearst to print pro-Nazi propaganda? The US Ambassador to Germany, William E. Dodd, thought so. According to Dodd, who was Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937, Hitler sent two of his chief propa- gandists to meet with Hearst at Bad Nauheim, to see how his image could be polished. When they found Hearst recep- tive, they set up a mecting and cut the deal. When Dodd found out about the arrangement, he “did not hesitate to tell the president that this was not a legitimate business deal; it was buying political sup- port.” (ibid.) Dodd noted that Hearst newspapers also began praising Italian dictator Mussolini after "Giannini, President of the Bank of America, had loaned Hearst some millions of dollars." (ibid.) Giannini was an avid Mussolini supporter. According to author George Seldes, Hearst's deals with the two dictators were widely rumoured in the industry, but he was so powerful that "of the 1,730 daily newspapers” Hearst didn't own, “not one per cent ever said a word about the situa- tion.” Hearst, untouched by the scandal, continued to smear the patriotism of "socialists, liberals and other un- Americans" until the day he died. (ibid.) Recommended Reading: + Charles Higham, Trading with the Enémy: An Exposé of the Nazi-American Money Plot 1933- “1949, Delacorte Press, 1983. * George Seldes, Even the Gods Can't Change History, Lyle Stuart, 1975. . + George Seldes, Facts and Fascism. IT'S A CONSPIRACY! by The National Insecurity Council The Shocking Truth About America's Favourite Conspiracy Theories! The facts about © JFK @ Elvis ¢ Marilyn ¢ Silkwood Watergate » Malcolm X * October Surprise ¢ The Gulf War ¢ Pearl Harbour ¢ The Gulf of Tonkin Incident ¢ and lots more... $25.00 including postage (NZ orders add $5.00) Now available through NEXUS: PO Box 30, Mapleton Qid 4560 Ph: 074 42 9280; Fax: 074 42 9381 began praising Italian dictator Mussolini after "Giannini, President of the Bank of America, had loaned Hearst some millions of dollars." (ibid.) Giannini was an avid Mussolini supporter. According to author George Seldes, Hearst's deals with the two dictators were widely rumoured in the industry, but he was so powerful that "of the 1,730 daily newspapers” Hearst didn't own, “not one per cent ever said a word about the situa- tion.” Hearst, untouched by the scandal, continued to smear the patriotism of "socialists, liberals and other un- Americans" until the day he died. (ibid.) to Recommended Reading: + Charles Higham, Trading with the Enemy: An Exposé of the Nazi-American Money Plot 1933- *1949, Delacorte Press, 1983. * George Seldes, Even the Gods Can't Change History, Lyle Stuart, 1975. . + George Seldes, Facts and Fascism. IT'S A CONSPIRACY! by The National Insecurity Council The Shocking Truth About America's Favourite Conspiracy Theories! The facts about © JFK ® Elvis ¢ Marilyn ¢ Silkwood ¢ Watergate * Malcolm X * October Surprise ¢ The Gulf War ¢ Pearl Harbour ¢ The Gulf of Tonkin Incident ¢ and lots more... $25.00 including postage (NZ orders add $5.00) Now available through NEXUS: PO Box 30, Mapleton Qid 4560 Ph: 074 42 9280; Fax: 074 42 9381 $25.00 including postage (NZ orders add $5.00) NEXUS ¢ 39 SS ee DECEMBER 1994 - JANUARY 1995