Author(s): Anthony Cooper

History

'This is a helluva way to get a story.’In December 1943, five brave correspondents join a British bombers air raid on Berlin. They are Australians, Alf King from the Sydney Morning Herald and Norm Stockton from the Sydney Sun; Americans, Ed Murrow from CBS and Lowell Bennett from the International News Service; and Norwegian journalist and activist, Nordahl Grieg. Each is assigned to one of the 400 Lancaster bombers that fly into the hazardous skies over Germany over a single night. Of the five, only two land back at base to file their stories.In Germany, after parachuting out of his doomed aircraft, reporter Lowell Bennett is taken prisoner alongside other surviving airmen. From there he is taken on a remarkable tour of bombed-out German cities, with his captors hoping for a journalist to see first-hand the devastation of war for everyday Germans.In Dispatch from Berlin, 1943, Australian historian Anthony Cooper and German researcher Thorsten Perl uncover a remarkable true story of life on both sides of the war. ‘A remarkable tale of five brave reporters and their eyewitness accounts of the horrors of aerial warfare during and after a raid on Berlin. A compelling tribute to the 57,205 young men killed while serving with bomber command during the Second World War.’ – Ian McPhedran‘A deep, intimate and remarkable story – indeed, a rare personal window into the huge and devastating machinery of the air war over Europe during World War Two. The trials and tribulations of out five intrepid journalists is an exciting tale in its own right, but they simultaneously give a unique keyhole with which to view the tenure and drama of the era. Well-written and equally well-researched, this book is a gem for those with even a passing interest in military history of the Second World War, and scholars of the field alike.’ – Craig Stockings