WWII’S ‘Axis Sally’ had childhood ties to Bellevue
BELLEVUE – Throughout its history, Bellevue has been home to a number of notable residents, including a professional NFL player (Benny Lapresta), a CNN reporter (Christi Paul), and a Standard Oil tycoon (Henry Morrison Flagler).
But one former resident came to notorious prominence for engaging in treachery during one of America's darkest hours.
Mildred Gillars gained worldwide fame as Axis Sally, a smooth-talking radio broadcaster employed by the Nazi regime to spread Axis propaganda. Gillars was the first woman convicted of treason in the history of the Untied States.
During World War II, Gillars hosted radio broadcasts out of Berlin designed to frighten, discourage and demoralize American soldiers serving in Europe. Gillars attempted to use her familiar American accent to woo the soldiers as she created “the illusion of beauty and warmth and general intimacy,” according to “Stories of Old Bellevue” by Bill Oddo, which is part of the Bellevue Historical Society archives.
Gillars told GIS they should lay down their guns
Gillars played American songs to encourage nostalgia and then spewed shocking warnings of defeat on the battlefield and abandonment by loved ones on the home front.
“She would talk in a sultry voice like she was their girlfriend. She would tell them they were going to lose and they should lay down their guns,” said Mary Mitchell, treasurer of the Bellevue Historical Society.
Gillars also targeted worried American families at home with her radio program “GI'S Letter-box and Medical Reports.”
During the broadcast, she gave specific information about American soldiers' wounds and deaths. Gillars obtained her information by posing as a Red Cross representative while visiting overseas hospitals and POW camps.
Gillars was born in Maine in 1900, but lived in Bellevue from 1909 to 1916, when her father had a dental practice in the city, according to “Stories of Old Bellevue.” The Gillars owned homes on Northwest Street and Oakland Avenue and were a family that “kept pretty much to themselves”, according to former neighbors quoted in a 1946 Bellevue Gazette story.
The theatrical skills that made Axis Sally broadcasts such a success were first learned at Bellevue High School, where Gillars was in the cast of a high school play presented on Jan. 27, 1916.
Family moved to Conneaut, Ohio, in 1916
Later in 1916, Gillars' father closed his dental practice and moved the family to Conneaut, in northeastern Ohio, where Gillars graduated from Conneaut High School in 1918. Later that year, Gillars enrolled in Ohio Wesleyan University to study English and dramatics. While there, she “won campus-wide admiration for her dramatic ability,” Oddo wrote.
Gillars left school without graduating and lived a number of places — including Cleveland, New York, Paris and Algiers — before settling in Germany. In 1943, she fell in love with Dr. Max Otto
Koischwitz, a married, former American citizen who had ties to German radio. Koischwitz helped Gillars gain employment in radio, and, although she later claimed she was forced to “do sabotage work for Germany,” Koischwitz' influence helped make Gillars the highest paid radio broadcaster in Germany.
Gillars' fame ended when the war ended, and she was left with no country of connection.
“After the war, she went into hiding in Berlin,” Mitchell said.
Extradited in 1948 and charged with treason
Gillars was located in 1948 and extradited to the U.S. for trial. She was charged with 10 counts of treason and, after a seven-week trial, was convicted of one. She was sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison and served at a West Virginian prison until she was paroled in 1961.
Although Gillars turned her back on her country and its soldiers during a worldwide conflict, the Bellevue Historical Society still preserves her story as a part of the varied fabric of Bellevue.
“You know, it's history,” said board member Jeannie Gore. “I don't think it gives a bad name to Bellevue that she lived here. You have good and bad in every town.”
For more information on Mildred Gillars or other Bellevue history, visit bellevuehistoricalsociety.com.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.