"Dirk Brinkley" from Nazi newsreel -- Doug Brinkley?

I originally posted this clip of "Dirk Brinkley, radio commentator" from the controversial documentary, Swastika (1973), because I was curious who this person was. I thought it might be the radio charlatan Dr. John Richard Brinkley, but a film maker working on Dr. Brinkley ruled him out. I posted a query to Project Wombat and librarian Jeff Graf of Indiana University Bloomington came up with "Doug Brinkley," who had a radio show on WGBS in New York and who traveled in pro-German circles. In 1935 Brinkley published a pro-Nazi account of his travels in Germany. Other than he claimed to be a native of Cleveland and a cousin of newspaper artist Nell Brinkley, I had nothing more about him. Doing more research, I found passenger lists with a Douglas Brinkley, born August 29, 1890 in Cleveland, travelling to Bremen Germany in 1933. He was resident of New York City. In 1936 he travelled to Bermuda with his wife, Celia. In 1940 his draft card gives his name as Thomas Douglas Brinkley and has him living at 68 Silvermine Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut and working for the Old Forge Real Estate Company. The New York Times carried the obituary of "T. Douglas Brinkely," who died on Nov. 3, 1962, with his wife named as Cellia Atkinson, and the funeral taking place at his home in Morristown, New Jersey.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Nazi Sympathizer
• Pro-German

[cragarrows]

See the full description for an update.

[35westst]

How do you know he was "dirt." You have no idea who he is or was, other than from watching this video. You don't mean to say that you heard of him previously? He was simply an actor hired for a newsreel. There never was such a person in real life.

[35westst]

There is no such person, he was an invention of Dr. Goebbels. He was in face a British, not American, actor, who's name is unknown and who was in fact removed (ie killed?) soon after to stop any tracing of his identity. Still it was excellent propaganda, Goebbels was evil, but very very clever, good in his job for sure.

[befranklintoo]

dirk was dirt the bastard