Frederick Wilhelm Kaltenbach (March 29, 1895 – October 1945) was an American who broadcast

Nazi propaganda Propaganda was a tool of the Nazi Party in Germany from its earliest days to the end of the regime in May 1945 at the end of World War II. As the party gained power, the scope and efficacy of its propaganda grew and permeated an increasing amou ...

from Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Kaltenbach was born in

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and was raised in

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. His father was John Kaltenbach, who had emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1891 and was naturalized in 1896. After graduating from East High School, Waterloo, Kaltenbach and his brother Gustav went on a cycling tour of Germany and were there when

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out in August 1914. They were detained on suspicion of espionage until December 1914, when they were released. Despite that experience, Kaltenbach became an admirer of Germany and its people. On his return Kaltenbach enrolled in

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

in Grinnell, Iowa, and studied there for three years. In June 1918, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Coastal Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

. Kaltenbach was honorably discharged from the US Army in April 1919. He resumed his education at Iowa State Teachers College, earning a bachelor's degree in 1920. Kaltenbach worked for the next seven years as an appraiser before becoming a teacher. His first teaching post was in

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township and the county seat of Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and State Highway 13 ...

. In 1931 he was offered a position at Dubuque's Senior High School teaching business law, economics, and debate. In the early 1930s he earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in history from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Introduction to Nazism

In 1933, Kaltenbach won a scholarship at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and took a two-year

leave of absence The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they ar ...

from his employment to pursue his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

. While in Germany he became an ardent follower of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

movement. On his return to the United States, Kaltenbach resumed teaching in Dubuque. In 1935 he started a club for boys based on the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

movement, the Militant Order of Spartan Knights. It held secret initiation rituals and the boys wore brown military-style uniforms. Because of the concern of parents, Kaltenbach's teaching contract was terminated in June 1936. Kaltenbach then left for Germany where he worked as a freelance writer and translator and on occasion for the

Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft The Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG; ''Reich Broadcasting Corporation'') was a national network of German regional public radio and television broadcasting companies active from 1925 until 1945. RRG's broadcasts were receivable in all parts o ...

, German State Radio. In February 1939 he married a German national, Dorothea Peters, and they honeymooned in the United States. There he took every opportunity to speak in favor of the Nazi cause, but, after a hostile confrontation at a lecture he gave at the Russell-Lamson Hotel in Waterloo in May 1939, he hastily returned to Germany. He was soon hired as a broadcaster for Nazi propaganda.

Lord Hee-Haw: propagandist for Nazi Germany

Back in Germany, Kaltenbach became a full-time broadcaster reading news bulletins for the RRG's USA Zone. From 1940 to 1941 he broadcast ''Letters to Iowa'' to the United States directed at the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern c ...

. His programs consisted of anti- Roosevelt, anti-British and pro-

isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...

propaganda in the form of fictional letters back home. Kaltenbach believed that his role was also to warn Americans of the dangers of

Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...

and saw himself as one who could clarify the Nazi philosophy while minimizing criticism of Hitler. He cultivated a simple and homey style and was one of several English-speaking propagandists for Germany that were referred to by the nickname Lord Hee-Haw, analogous to the British-directed propagandists who were dubbed Lord Haw-Haw. Kaltenbach opened each program with "Greetings to my old friend, Harry in Iowa", and delivered his propaganda messages in the form of advice, such as, "Don't let the British drag America into this thing he war in Europe Harry." After the United States entered the war against Germany on December 11, 1941, Kaltenbach's broadcasts aimed at undermining US morale and the national will to prosecute a protracted war with Germany. Kaltenbach also broadcast with another American collaborator, Max Koischwitz, as Jim of ''Jim and Johnny'', a humorous dialogue program in which the title characters traded propaganda-laden wisecracks.

Charges of treason

On July 26, 1943, Kaltenbach, along with Max Otto Koischwitz, Jane Anderson ("The Georgia Peach"), Edward Delaney, Constance Drexel, Robert Henry Best,

Douglas Chandler Douglas Chandler (May 26, 1889 – after 1970s) was an American broadcaster of Nazi propaganda during World War II. He was convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1947 but was released in 1963. Early life Born in Chicago, Ill ...

and

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

, was indicted by a

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

on charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

Disillusionment with Nazism

In the months following Kaltenbach's US indictment for

in 1943, the frequency of his radio broadcasts diminished and his position as the leading American broadcaster was taken by two collaborators, Mildred Gillars and

. From 1944, Kaltenbach's health declined as he began to suffer from

heart problems Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

and

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

. He also became disenchanted with Hitler and Nazism, often refusing to broadcast and going on

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

, sometimes for months at a time. This alienated his fellow American collaborators and resulted in confrontation, especially with their British colleague,

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Fascism, fascist and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the World War II, Second World War. After moving from ...

, on whom the Lord Haw-Haw nickname had finally settled. Towards the end of the war, Kaltenbach attempted to ingratiate himself with anti-Nazi elements and religious elements associated with Pastor

Martin Niemöller Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (; 14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s, and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confes ...

. He could still be heard intermittently in North America and by American forces in Europe up to early 1945.

Capture and death

After Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945, his wife reported to the US Army that her husband had been arrested at the family home in Berlin by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

troops on May 15, 1945. The Soviets refused American requests to surrender custody and later reported that Kaltenbach had died in Soviet Special Camp 2 in Buchenwald at an unspecified date in October 1945."Reds Report 'Lord Hee Haw' Died as Captive Last Year"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. July 21, 1946. The State Department agreed and the US District Court dismissed the indictment against Kaltenbach on April 13, 1948.

References

External links

Courtroom Battle of World War II (Part 1 of 3).
contains information on the careers and fates of some of the Nazi broadcasters and other collaborators.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaltenbach, Fred W. 1895 births 1945 deaths American broadcasters for Nazi Germany American Nazis American people of German descent American people imprisoned in the Soviet Union American people who died in prison custody Grinnell College alumni University of Chicago alumni People from Dubuque, Iowa People from Waterloo, Iowa United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers Military personnel from Iowa Nazis who died in prison custody People charged with treason People who died in NKVD special camp Nr. 2 Treason in the United States World War I civilian detainees held by Germany