Lord Hawhaw (William Joyce)

William Joyce (or Lord Hawhaw has he more well known) was a fascist politician who worked for the Nazi's during the war as a propagandist. His distinctly "posh" English accent is the cause of him receiving his mocking nickname. Joyce broadcast propaganda from radio stations in Berlin, Hamburg, and Luxembourg. Whilst it was not illegal to listen to his broadcasts in England, it was frowned upon. Nevertheless his recordings were very popular with the public as a source of amusement. He became a hated and ridiculed figure. He escaped after the war but an English soldier overheard him talking at a cafe and recognised his voice. He was arrested and executed for treason. This recording is a snippet of one of his propaganda broadcasts and it begins with his signature "Germany calling, Germany calling".

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• treason
• propaganda

[Hankydoodle1]

My neighbour used to look after an old man who was a defence lawyer for the nazis at Nurembourg ....They had no chance of a fair trial, he was Jewish.

[clintonearlwalker]

In death as in life, I defy the Jews who caused this last war, and I defy the power of darkness which they represent. I warn the British people against the crushing imperialism of the Soviet Union. May Britain be great once again and the hour of the greatest danger in the West may the standard be raised from the dust, crowned with the words "You have conquered nevertheless". I am proud to die for my ideals and I am sorry for the sons of Britain who have died without knowing why.--Lord Hawhaw

[BenAliGtor]

I think the guy was an asshole--but I don't believe he deserved execution.

[jaseyboy]

@demon27dan Thanks mate, that's really helpful. In my research I had found references to Reichssender Hamburg but kept thinking it couldn't be right because of the "ursh" noise at the end - great to have that finally explained. Cheers!

[demon27dan]

@jaseyboy It took me a while of searching but I found the answer. Lord Haw-Haw is saying "Here are the Reichssender Hamburg" (with the German pronunciation of Hamburg as 'Hambursh'). Controlled by Joseph Goebbels's Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, it was a radio program aimed at the British Isles and broadcast propaganda intended to demoralise the British. The Reichssender Hamburg was the last short wave station in Germany.

[jaseyboy]

Is someone able to fill in the blanks of what he says in the opening for me? I got:

"Germany Calling, Germany Calling, Germany Calling. Here are the...(Reich's?) ..ambush(?). Station Bremen and Station DXB on the 31-metre band".

Cheers.

[U5ERNAMEINVALID]

notes are wrong too, "his mocking" nickname pre-dated Joyce's broadcasts., and was applied to a number of propagandists.

[maskaryan]

the video was wrong. he was executed for treason