Axis Sally

This is the story of an aspiring actress. Mildred Elizabeth Gillars, who found herself in wartime Germany, where she worked for Radio Berlin, the propagandizing arm of the Nazi Regime. Known as Axis Sally, her radio show attempted to lower both civilian and military morale through the dissemination of propaganda. After the war, she was arrested in Berlin by American authorities and later tried for treason in the United States. Though she was convicted of treason and sentenced to prison against a backdrop of national anger and derision, many questions lingered as to the fairness of her trial, including the role of the press, the federal government, and the witnesses who testified against her. This is the story behind the story.