James Wakefield Burke (1906–1989) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and writer.

Biography

Burke worked as a salesman and executive sales manager in Chicago until 1941. Then he became a lieutenant colonel in the

US Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a test pilot. After World War II Burke made a living as a journalist. From 1945 till 1954 he was stationed in Berlin as correspondent of the magazine ''Esquire''. He reported from the

Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

and acted as a public relations adviser to General

Lucius D. Clay Lucius Dubignon Clay (23 April 1898 – 16 April 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhow ...

. Subsequently he was

Public Relations Officer A public relations officer (PRO) or chief communications officer (CCO) or corporate communications officer is a C-suite level officer responsible for communications, public relations, and/or public affairs in an organization. Typically, the CCO o ...

for Generals

Joseph T. McNarney Joseph Taggart McNarney (28 August 1893 – 1 February 1972) was a Four-star rank, four-star General (United States), general in the United States Army Air Forces, United States Army and in the United States Air Force, who served as Military Go ...

, Clay and Frank L. Howley (then American commandant in Berlin). Burke

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

the book ''The Big Rape'' ("A Historical novel of the fall of Berlin") in 1951. It centers on sexual crimes committed 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 ...

Soldiers in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

during the capture of the German capital in April and May 1945. The book has been described as both racist and misogynistic by Ingrid Schmidt-Harzbach. Klaus Martens criticized a stereotypical characterization of nations and races by Burke and insinuates a connection between the author and the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

's Psychological Warfare Department. The German edition followed in 1952 (''The Big Rape - Die große Vergewaltigung''), by Amsel Publishing House. A Paperback

edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Records ...

in German was published in 1953 under the title ''Frau komm!''. Burke published a "fast paced crime novel" in 1954, ''Three Days pass – To Kill''. A German edition titled ''Ami – Go Home!'' was translated by Dietrich Bogulinski. Burke published a total of 26 works. The manuscript of the novel ''Of a Strange Woman'' (1955) is stored in the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Special Collections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, James Wakefield Pulp fiction writers Historical fiction writers 20th-century American journalists American political journalists American foreign correspondents American male journalists 1906 births 1989 deaths