Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
09 February 2011
Lord Haw Haw:
Hanged for Treason
William Joyce was an Irish-
Born in New York in 1906 of an Irish father and English mother, William Joyce was taken to Ireland by his parents when he was still a child. The family later moved to England.
Joyce Attracted to Fascism as a Student
While studying at the University of London, England, Joyce became interested in the newly developing political philosophy of fascism.
Once, when acting as a steward at a Conservative political rally in London in 1924,
some left-
A razor appeared and, says a pro-
Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists
A bit of a political gadfly, Sir Oswald Mosley had been a minister in the socialist government of Ramsay MacDonald in the 1920s.
As the Great Depression tightened its grip, Mosley formed the New Party and started to flirt with fascism. He became more and more attracted to the ideas of Benito Mussolini and began to model himself after the Italian fascist dictator.
In October 1932 he formed the British Union of Fascists (BUF) and William Joyce was
an early recruit and, within two years he was the party’s director of propaganda.
He has been described as a powerful public speaker, with his oratory thickly infused
with anti-
He could rouse a rabble with the best of them, and, rabbles got roused quite frequently at BUF rallies with Joyce in the midst of any fracas that was going.
William Joyce Flees to Germany
With the drums of war beating louder, Joyce left with his family for Germany knowing that if he stayed in Britain he would certainly be put in prison.
Through connections he got a job with Germany’s English radio service as a script writer and announcer.
The Mail on Sunday (August 26, 2009) reported that, “With detailed knowledge of Britain and current events, he whipped up anger and loathing in Brits and delivered his broadcasts with his distinctive nasal drawl.”
He started each broadcast with “the words ‘Germany calling,’ but with his strange voice it sounded like ‘Jairmany calling.’ ”
German Propaganda Backfired
Early on The Daily Express newspaper gave Joyce the unflattering title “Lord Haw Haw.”
Joyce exhorted the English to surrender but he soon became a figure of ridicule.
“Joyce’s broadcasts were anti-
A lot of what Joyce broadcast was rubbish and known to be so and probably lifted the spirits of the British and their will to resist rather than demoralizing them.
William Joyce’s Last Broadcast
As Berlin was being reduced to rubble by the combined onslaught of the Soviet Union and British and American forces, Joyce gave his last radio talk on April 30, 1945.
Sounding drunk and tired, he criticized Britain for its role in the destruction of Germany and signed off with a defiant “Heil Hitler.”
He was captured by British soldiers (left) who, according to The Mail on Sunday “recognized
his voice and shot him four times in the buttocks.”
Joyce was taken to England, tried for treason, and sentenced to death.
He was hanged in Wandsworth Prison, London on January 3, 1946 at the age of 39.
Image credit
John Phillips
Sources
“Lord Haw Haw.” History Learning Site
“Microphone Used by Nazi Traitor Lord Haw Haw to Broadcast Propaganda Found 64 Years
after he was Hanged for Treason.” Daily Mail, August 26, 2009.
© Canada and the World, February 2011
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Fascists logo
In January 2010, the BBC released an archive collection featuring some of Lord Haw Haw’s broadcasts and interviews with those who knew him.