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The Dragon from Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany
For fans of unheralded women’s stories, a captivating look at Sigrid Schultz, one of the earliest reporters to warn Americans of the rising threat of the Nazi regime—drawing striking parallels to the rise of fascism today
“No other American correspondent in Berlin knew so much of what was going on behind the scene as did Sigrid Schultz.” — William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Dragon from Chicago tells the gripping tale of American journalist Sigrid Schultz's fights on two to establish herself as a serious foreign correspondent in an era when her male colleagues saw a powerful unmarried woman as a “freak” and to keep the news flowing out of Nazi Germany despite the regime’s tightening controls on the media.
Schultz was the Chicago Tribune 's Berlin bureau chief and primary foreign correspondent for Central Europe from 1925 to January 1941, and one of the first reporters—male or female—to warn American readers of the growing dangers of Nazism.
Drawing on extensive archival research, Pamela D. Toler unearths the largely forgotten story of Schultz’s years spent courageously reporting the news from Berlin, from the revolts of 1919 through Nazi atrocities and air raids over Berlin in 1941. At a time when women reporters rarely wrote front page stories, Schultz pulled back the curtain on how the Nazis misreported the news to their own people, and how they attempted to control the foreign press through bribery and threats.
Sharp and enlightening, Schultz’s story provides a vital lesson for how we can reclaim truth in an era marked by the spread of disinformation and claims of “fake news.”
“No other American correspondent in Berlin knew so much of what was going on behind the scene as did Sigrid Schultz.” — William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
The Dragon from Chicago tells the gripping tale of American journalist Sigrid Schultz's fights on two to establish herself as a serious foreign correspondent in an era when her male colleagues saw a powerful unmarried woman as a “freak” and to keep the news flowing out of Nazi Germany despite the regime’s tightening controls on the media.
Schultz was the Chicago Tribune 's Berlin bureau chief and primary foreign correspondent for Central Europe from 1925 to January 1941, and one of the first reporters—male or female—to warn American readers of the growing dangers of Nazism.
Drawing on extensive archival research, Pamela D. Toler unearths the largely forgotten story of Schultz’s years spent courageously reporting the news from Berlin, from the revolts of 1919 through Nazi atrocities and air raids over Berlin in 1941. At a time when women reporters rarely wrote front page stories, Schultz pulled back the curtain on how the Nazis misreported the news to their own people, and how they attempted to control the foreign press through bribery and threats.
Sharp and enlightening, Schultz’s story provides a vital lesson for how we can reclaim truth in an era marked by the spread of disinformation and claims of “fake news.”
288 pages, Hardcover
First published August 6, 2024
About the author
Pamela D. Toler
11 books109 followersI'm an academic renegade
The first day of my PhD program at University of Chicago, my advisor said, "You know there are no jobs, right?" I knew, but I didn't care. I wanted to write about history for a broader audience than the other five people interested in my dissertation topic. I wanted to write for history buffs and nerdy kids and the general intelligent reader. (That would be you, right?)
Officially my degree is in the history of the Indian sub-continent, with strong sub-fields in European imperialism and Islam. I feel strongly that the West in general and Americans in particular need to know more about the history of other parts of the world. That belief is often reflected in the topics I choose to write about, whether I'm working on a small story (feather hats in ancient Peru, anyone?) or a big one (Mankind: the Story of All of Us).
These days I write about a wide range of historical topics for history buffs, nerdy kids and--you get the idea. On any given day I could be working on World War I recruiting posters, the mud mosques of West Africa, the first European translation of the Arabian Nights, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, or the history of absinth. At least half the time I'm writing outside of "my field", exploring odd corners of the past with field-tested research skills, a red-hot library card, and a large bump of curiosity.
Basically, I'm interested in the times and places where two cultures meet and change each other. Come along for the ride.
The first day of my PhD program at University of Chicago, my advisor said, "You know there are no jobs, right?" I knew, but I didn't care. I wanted to write about history for a broader audience than the other five people interested in my dissertation topic. I wanted to write for history buffs and nerdy kids and the general intelligent reader. (That would be you, right?)
Officially my degree is in the history of the Indian sub-continent, with strong sub-fields in European imperialism and Islam. I feel strongly that the West in general and Americans in particular need to know more about the history of other parts of the world. That belief is often reflected in the topics I choose to write about, whether I'm working on a small story (feather hats in ancient Peru, anyone?) or a big one (Mankind: the Story of All of Us).
These days I write about a wide range of historical topics for history buffs, nerdy kids and--you get the idea. On any given day I could be working on World War I recruiting posters, the mud mosques of West Africa, the first European translation of the Arabian Nights, Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, or the history of absinth. At least half the time I'm writing outside of "my field", exploring odd corners of the past with field-tested research skills, a red-hot library card, and a large bump of curiosity.
Basically, I'm interested in the times and places where two cultures meet and change each other. Come along for the ride.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 29, 2024
Any person willing to verbally slap around Hermann Göring deserves a book written about them. That is what Pamela Toler does by writing a book about Sigrid Schultz in The Dragon from Chicago. Oh, and the title of the book? That is the name Göring gave her.
Schultz was a journalist who spoke so many different languages that I literally lost count. She traveled extensively and was based in Germany in the time between World War I and II. It goes without saying that being a female journalist at this time was impressive enough. To be a female journalist in Nazi Germany and unafraid to call out those in power is bravery with a side of suicidal tendencies.
Toler tells Schultz's story straight and includes many wonderful anecdotes. I definitely felt like I know who Schultz was and what drove her. I would say I felt like Toler probably could have pared down some of the book. There are certain sections which drag more than others. Also, it probably would have helped to add a bit more feeling to the narrative. Toler sticks to the facts, but for example, the sections on Schultz reporting from the site of concentration camps felt too academic. This is still a good book. My criticisms are mainly about why it is not as superlative as it could have been.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
Schultz was a journalist who spoke so many different languages that I literally lost count. She traveled extensively and was based in Germany in the time between World War I and II. It goes without saying that being a female journalist at this time was impressive enough. To be a female journalist in Nazi Germany and unafraid to call out those in power is bravery with a side of suicidal tendencies.
Toler tells Schultz's story straight and includes many wonderful anecdotes. I definitely felt like I know who Schultz was and what drove her. I would say I felt like Toler probably could have pared down some of the book. There are certain sections which drag more than others. Also, it probably would have helped to add a bit more feeling to the narrative. Toler sticks to the facts, but for example, the sections on Schultz reporting from the site of concentration camps felt too academic. This is still a good book. My criticisms are mainly about why it is not as superlative as it could have been.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher.)
August 13, 2024
If the timing of Pamela Toler’s release of The Dragon from Chicago was intentional, then she is not only an exceptional writer and tenacious researcher, but she’s also a brilliant strategist. Everyone should be reading this book. Pamela has a gift for seeing the implications of information the average person sees as merely interesting. Sigrid Schultz’s name on a plaque in the park sparked her curiosity. How many hundreds of thousands of people read that plaque before her? It was Pamela’s vast knowledge of history and her understanding of how to connect the puzzle pieces of seemingly innocuous events that brought the picture into view. That picture is a cautionary tale for our times. It is also a reminder that women, largely absent from the narrative of k-20 classroom curricula, have always played a pivotal role in history.
Toler reveals the events of the twentieth century through the eyes of a reporter uniquely positioned by her nature and upbringing to observe and evaluate much more than her counterparts. Those events unfold in a way that shines a neon light on what is happening in our own country today. Sigrid’s relentless commitment to the truth sets her apart from many other reporters of the time.
Sigrid Schultz’s courage and integrity in pursuing the story are inspiring. Sigrid Schultz’s story is but one of the millions of women of import in the history of humankind. It is one more than yesterday. Pamela Toler’s work crucially adds to the unveiling of our true history—the one that is not limited to the conquerors and colonialists but rather values accurately the critical perspectives of all humans.
Toler reveals the events of the twentieth century through the eyes of a reporter uniquely positioned by her nature and upbringing to observe and evaluate much more than her counterparts. Those events unfold in a way that shines a neon light on what is happening in our own country today. Sigrid’s relentless commitment to the truth sets her apart from many other reporters of the time.
Sigrid Schultz’s courage and integrity in pursuing the story are inspiring. Sigrid Schultz’s story is but one of the millions of women of import in the history of humankind. It is one more than yesterday. Pamela Toler’s work crucially adds to the unveiling of our true history—the one that is not limited to the conquerors and colonialists but rather values accurately the critical perspectives of all humans.
August 5, 2024
What was it like on the ground in wartime Berlin in 1914? Or in 1941? Or in the years of riots, street-fights, marches, intrigue, and terror in between? THE DRAGON FROM CHICAGO by Pamela D. Toler tells the story of Berlin across the wars through the eyes of an American reporter, Sigrid Schultz. Schultz broke into newspaper journalism during the Great War. She would become chief of the Berlin office of the Chicago Tribune.
This book is a fast-paced thriller, a story of journalistic integrity and ingenuity, one through which readers follow a reporter filing stories despite the censors, breaking news scoops while protecting informants, hosting dinner parties to make connections, marching into interviews and high-level diplomatic negotiations, and avoiding expulsion or worse. This is an inspiring read!
This book is a fast-paced thriller, a story of journalistic integrity and ingenuity, one through which readers follow a reporter filing stories despite the censors, breaking news scoops while protecting informants, hosting dinner parties to make connections, marching into interviews and high-level diplomatic negotiations, and avoiding expulsion or worse. This is an inspiring read!
August 15, 2024
Goodreads offers the option to hide this entire review to prevent spoilers, but in this nonfiction history of journalist Sigrid Schultz--American bureau chief in Hitler's Berlin--we 21st-century readers know what devastating events are about to unfold. But Schultz, of course, living in that moment, does not--and as we watch her live in fraught and dangerous times and watch her come to awareness, this story captivates. In historian Pamela Toler's deeply researched book, the author recovers this brave, perceptive, strong journalist who deftly balanced interviews with Nazis and their propoganda machine with informing the American public what facisim would bring. She was a woman to be reckoned with -- a "Dragon from Chicago" -- and her story is well-worth knowing.
August 7, 2024
Pamela Toler unearthed the untold story of Sigrid Schultz, spent years researching, and now tells it in glorious form. It's the inspiring biography of a woman who rose above the challenges her childhood to become an American journalist in Nazi-controlled Germany, determined to find and tell the truth about what was really happening. As the best biographies are, the book is also a window into a period of history and a particular place, and how the subject of the book influenced her time and place. I had the good fortune to pre-order the book, which came quickly, and I was able to read and enjoy it soon after publication. Highly recommended.
May 2, 2024
I am so glad Pamela Toler was able to find this story and share it. It is a story to be told and a story that needed to be told. The legacy of Sigrid Schultz is rich and full of courage, intelligence and perseverance, in a time that women were not able to do or be all of this. Who would have ever thought, or even known about Schultz, if Toler didn't bring this story to life. A wonderful read.
Want to read
August 20, 2024From 1925 to January 1941, Sigrid Schultz was The Chicago Tribune’s Berlin bureau chief. She witnessed Hitler’s rise to power and was one of the first reporters—male or female—to warn American readers of the growing dangers of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, and the elaborate con that is their shared history. Tune in for a conversation about Suzan-Lori Parks' place in American theater, some patter from the street game three-card monte, listened to discussion on History Happy Hour podcast
July 12, 2024
A really good book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews