Dispatch from Berlin, 1943

The story of five journalists who risked everything 

By Anthony Cooper, with Thorsten Perl

Published by NewSouth
RRP $34.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781742237923

What courage it must have taken to accept the mission to be a journalist embedded as we might say these days on a bombing raid at the height of the war yet five men accepted this mission with alacrity.

In December 1943, five war correspondents joined a British air raid on Berlin. They were Australians Alf King, a 46-year-old senior correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and Norm Stockton, a 39-year-old veteran reporter from the Sydney Sun; the famous American radio reporter Ed Murrow from the CBS network and Lowell Bennett from the International News Service; and Norwegian journalist and activist, Nordahl Grieg.

Each is assigned to one of the 400 Lancaster bombers that fly into the hazardous skies over Germany on a single night.

Of the five, only two would land back at base to file their stories with Bennett becoming a POW. After parachuting out of his doomed aircraft, he is taken prisoner, with his captors taking him on a remarkable tour of bombed-out German cities.

This is a fascinating account of the bombing raids over Germany (including the famous G for George Lancaster bomber in action) and the lengths to which reporters will go to get the story.

Craig Stockings, Professor of History at UNSW Canberra has heaped praise on this book:

‘A deep, intimate and remarkable story — indeed, a rare personal window into the huge and devastating machinery of the air war over Europe during World War Two. The trials and tribulations of five intrepid journalists is an exciting tale in its own right, but it simultaneously gives a unique keyhole with which to view the tenure and drama of the era. Well-written and equally well-researched, this book is a gem for those with even a passing interest in military history of the Second World War, and scholars of the field alike.’ — Craig Stockings