New York, This is Shirer in Berlin Quiz

Answer: Chicago

He was born on February 23, 1904. His father died when he was 9 and his mother moved the family to Iowa. Shirer hated farm life, and moved back to Chicago as soon as he could.

Answer: CBS

With the depression going strong, the Tribune made cuts in its overseas staff. Shirer bounced from several lower paying, and less gratifing jobs until he was offered the chance to write for on air broadcasting. He was already known with fellow writers in Europe as a very intelligent, and fair journalist who had a good understanding of the fast changing political scene in Europe.

Answer: Edward R. Murrow

Murrow heard of Shirer from other reporters. CBS was looking for someone to write from Continental Europe, and Shirer fitted the bill. Murrow, who was based in London, cabled Shirer, and the rest is history. They remained friends, as well as working partners, for many years.

Answer: Berlin

Berlin was the most obvious place to base Shirer. All his reports had to go through censorship, as well as the official German channels. Besides, Berlin had the best radio equipment in Germany. However, Shirer did not sit in Berlin the entire time. He travelled constantly throughout Germany, Spain, France ... Where the German Army went, so went Shirer.

Answer: Austria

Tess was very proud of her Austrian heritage. When the Shirers married in the 30s, a spouse did not gain automatic U.S. citizenship. This proved troublesome later. When Hitler gained control of Austria, all Austrians became German citizens. This required getting new German passports. Tess refused, and travelled with her expired Austrian one. Meanwhile, William had begun the process of getting Tess citizenship in the U.S., even though she had never been in the States. Eventually, the State Deptartment granted the request, and she became an American.

Answer: Geneva

William remained in Berlin. The political climate was changing so rapidly he dared not leave. He would visit Tess as often as possible, but these visits were far and between. When in Geneva, he often spoke to Murrow, and CBS in New York, without the threat of Germans listening in.

He was under such censorship that he described Geneva not as the place to relax with his family, but a place to report what he wanted, not the official Nazi party line.

Answer: French surrender to Germany

Shirer, through several high ranking German contacts, got wind of the June armistice in Compiegne, France. After the first few minutes of the official signing, the press pool was put on a plane with Goebbels to go to the official Nazi announcement in Berlin. Shirer managed to stay behind, and sat in the official German recording van, listening to the signing itself, while broadcasting to New York. Hitler was furious when he found out he had been beaten to the punch, and several of the regular German soldiers who assisted Shirer were punished for it.

In England and the U.S., the broadcast was met with disbelief. Churchill did not believe that this reporter had the news before his own people were telling him of it. It took several more hours for the world to believe that France had surrendered.

Answer: Lip microphone

During the first few bomb raids by the RAF, the thunderous noise of the exposions came over the air loud and clear. The Germans did not want the world, as well as their own citizens, to know exactly what was happening. So, they installed a lip microphone. Shirer was forced to place his lips directly on the device, which would not pick up any other sound. Shirer commented later that at times, the bombs were so close and loud he had to yell, and could not hear his own voice.

Answer: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Shirer used not only his great knowledge of the events leading up too, but his his own personal diaries to write "The Rise and Fall". The book is a masterpiece, a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the terrible nightmare Europe endured under Hitler.

Answer: Gestapo watching him

Shirer had been warned by several Germans that the Gestapo was watching him, suspecting him of spying. Shirer was at his wits' end, anyway. Tess and Eileen had left a month before, the bombing raids were picking up, and the censorship was horrible. CBS sent a replacement, and Shirer left.

He continued for a year doing work for CBS, but eventually left to write. He wrote many books, had another daughter, and eventually divorced Tess. He retired to a small farm in New England, and married again. He died in 1993, at the age of 89.