3 Jan: Hanging Lord Haw Haw
Nazi propagandist William Joyce, best known to British radio listeners as ‘Lord Haw Haw’, was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at Wandsworth Prison on 3rd January, 1946.
At the peak of his powers, his anti-Allied broadcasts from Hamburg reached up to 50% of the UK listening public, who tuned in to hear the German perspective on the looming confrontations, correspondence from British prisoners of War, and Joyce’s compelling, menacing, yet gossipy delivery of Hitler’s aims and accomplishments. And a bit of Jazz.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how there were not just one, but in fact three ‘Lords Haw Haw’; consider how Joyce leaned into his celebrity status during World War II; and reveal how his fraudulently-obtained British passport helped to seal his fate on the hangman’s noose…
Further Reading:
#40s #WW2 #Nazis #Germany