"American Cassandra: the life of Dorothy Thompson," book by Peter Kurth
Dorothy Thompson biography, American Cassandra: the life of Dorothy Thompson, by Peter Kurth, 1990.
A worthwhile rabbit hole--a Smithsonian magazine article about the Depression era WPA relief program, the Federal Theatre Project, which produced a play based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, It Can’t Happen Here, 1935, about a fascist takeover of the United States, prompted me to read that book. Then I needed to find out about an amazing American woman, journalist and radio broadcaster, Dorothy Thompson (1893-1961). She was married to Lewis when he wrote his novel, and there’s no doubt his book reflects information about the situation in Germany that she provided from her on-the-ground reporting.
In Germany she personally interviewed Hitler early in 1932. Her depiction of him as a “little man” --”I bet he crooks his little finger when he drinks his tea,” and her exposure and criticism of Nazi anti-Semitic policies enraged Der Further. In 1934 the Gestapo officially expelled her from Germany. She framed the expulsion letter and hung it in her office.
She was brilliant, complicated, and fearless. Contemporaries often compared her to a force of nature— “a blue-eyed tornado,”-- whose long career spanned the 1920s to the ‘50s. To find out more about this fascinating American woman who was hugely influential in her time, read about her, or dive deep and read American Cassandra: the life of Dorothy Thompson.
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