Shirer, William Lawrence

Shirer, William Lawrence
▪ 1994

      U.S. journalist and author (b. Feb. 23, 1904, Chicago, Ill.—d. Dec. 28, 1993, Boston, Mass.), kept extensive diaries while working for CBS as a radio broadcaster in Berlin (1937-41) and used them and volumes of confidential information retrieved from the German archives after World War II to chronicle the Nazis' rise to power under Adolf Hitler in the massive, best-selling The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960), which won the 1961 National Book Award. After graduating (1925) from Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Shirer was lured by Europe's mystique. He borrowed funds and worked his way there on a cattle boat. He secured a job with the Chicago Tribune as a copywriter and then as a foreign correspondent, and during the 1920s and '30s he sent dispatches from India, Afghanistan, and the capitals of Europe for the Tribune and later for the Universal News Service. While working for CBS, Shirer won several journalism awards for his impassioned commentaries. He laced his speeches with American slang in an effort to confuse the censors and convey information about the operations of the German army. After serving as bureau chief in Vienna, Shirer left CBS in 1947. He was blacklisted during the McCarthy era as a leftist sympathizer. It was then that he had time to complete The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Some of Shirer's other works include Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941 (1941), The Collapse of the Third Republic: An Inquiry into the Fall of France in 1940 (1969), and Gandhi: A Memoir (1979). Shirer also published three volumes of memoirs and prior to his death had completed a book on Leo Tolstoy.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Shirer,William Lawrence — Shir·er (shīrʹər), William Lawrence. 1904 1993. American journalist and historian known for his vivid radio broadcasts from Berlin at the outset of World War II and for the popular history The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960). * * * …   Universalium

  • Shirer, William Lawrence — (1904 1993)    Journalist and historian William L. Shirer was born in Chicago, Illinois, and educated at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was the European correspondent for the Chicago Tribune from 1925 to 1932 and then joined the Berlin… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • William Lawrence Shirer — William L. Shirer 1961 William Lawrence Shirer (* 23. Februar 1904 in Chicago; † 28. Dezember 1993 in Boston) war ein US amerikanischer Historiker, Journalist und Publizist. Er gilt als der bekannteste jener unabhängigen Zeitzeugen, die als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Lawrence Shirer — William L. Shirer William L. Shirer Naissance 23 février 1904 Chicago Décès 28 décembre  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shirer, William L. — ▪ American author in full  William Lawrence Shirer   born Feb. 23, 1904, Chicago, Ill., U.S. died Dec. 28, 1993, Boston, Mass.       American journalist, historian, and novelist, best known for his massive study The Rise and Fall of the Third… …   Universalium

  • William Lawrence Shirer — noun United States broadcast journalist who was in Berlin at the outbreak of World War II (1904 1993) • Syn: ↑Shirer • Instance Hypernyms: ↑journalist …   Useful english dictionary

  • Shirer — William L. Shirer 1961 William Lawrence Shirer (* 23. Februar 1904 in Chicago; † 28. Dezember 1993 in Boston) war ein US amerikanischer Historiker, Journalist und Publizist. Er gilt als der bekannteste jener unabhängigen Zeitzeugen, die als… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Lawrence — /lawr euhns, lor /, n. 1. D(avid) H(erbert), 1885 1930, English novelist. 2. Ernest O(rlando), 1901 58, U.S. physicist: inventor of the cyclotron; Nobel prize 1939. 3. Gertrude, 1901? 52, English actress. 4. Jacob, born 1917, U.S. painter and… …   Universalium

  • William — /wil yeuhm/, n. 1. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W. 2. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning will and helmet. * * * (as used in expressions) Huddie William Ledbetter Aberhart William George William… …   Universalium

  • William L. Shirer — 1961 William Lawrence Shirer (* 23. Februar 1904 in Chicago; † 28. Dezember 1993 in Boston) war ein US amerikanischer Historiker, Journalist und Publizist. Er gilt als der bekannteste jener unabhängigen Zeitzeugen, die als Journalisten,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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