Peter Grimes in the comments reminds us that…
Lord Reith revered Hitler, says daughter
LORD REITH, founder of the BBC and a member of Churchill’s wartime cabinet, was a Nazi sympathiser who abhorred Jews, according to a candid biography by his daughter.
Marista Leishman claims her father respected Hitler and Mussolini and adopted some of the principles espoused by the German chancellor in the running of the BBC.
She claims that her father was open in his admiration of the fascist leaders and continued to praise Hitler and his regime, even after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
‘Reith had another motive for detesting Churchill: the great man had rejected him for political office because he was ‘difficult to work with’.
There was another reason why Churchill did well to avoid supporting the BBC’s founder. In the run-up to War World II, Reith privately expressed fulsome admiration for the Fuhrer. ‘Hitler continues his magnificent efficiency,’ he wrote in his diaries, when Prague was occupied in 1939.’
And more quotes showing his admiration for the efficient Nazis..
‘On 9 March 1933, he wrote: “I am pretty certain … that the Nazis will clean things up and put Germany on the way to being a real power in Europe again. They are being ruthless and most determined.” After the July 1934 Night of the Long Knives, in which the Nazis ruthlessly exterminated their internal dissidents, Reith wrote: “I really admire the way Hitler has cleaned up what looked like an incipient revolt. I really admire the drastic actions taken, which were obviously badly needed.” ‘
So why did the BBC ‘muzzle’ Churchill when he was warning of the Nazi threat?
Interesting what Reith thought about the BBC’s declining standards…
‘The standards I set have been rubbished in favour of pandering to what the people – the people, forsooth! – want,’ he raged one morning at the breakfast table. When a new independent channel arrived, he ranted against this ‘bubonic plague’.
Make a good Tory MP forsooth! Can’t have the BBC producing populist programmes can we….‘pandering to the people’.
Once the war started he changed his tune and set to with a will to defend Britain…
‘Sir Frederick Ogilvie (Director-General of the BBC, 1938-42) recounts a conversation with Sir John Reith (Director-General of the BBC, 1927-38) and reveals the difference of opinion between them over the BBC’s wartime status. While Reith is prepared to give complete control of the BBC to the government, Ogilvie disagrees, underlining the importance of maintaining its independence, not only to safeguard its own future but also to preserve democracy for the good of the country and the government itself.’
SECRET [typed]
With [printed] Sir John Reith [typed]
On the subject of [printed] B.B.C. and Government [typed]
Date [printed] February 23rd,1940. [typed]Reith came to see me here yesterday, – the first time he had been in Broadcasting House since he left in 1938. (I gave him a copy of the B.B.C. 1940 Handbook, inscribed with greetings
and best wishes from the Old Firm.)He had four points:-
1. He said with great emphasis that, in his view, nothing would be better calculated to raise the morale of the Home Front, for which he was told he was responsible, than a daily series of talks at about 9.0 p.m. of a “heartening kind”, – hitting at Haw-Haw, telling cheering stories of bravery in the fighting services or at home, etc. He put it as a personal and urgent request from him to me that this should be done as soon as possible. I said that I would have it considered here and taken up with the Ministry. I naturally did not commit myself to any undertaking.
2. He said that the Enemy Propaganda Unit would shortly be returning to the Ministry, Halifax having agreed.
3. He emphasized the supreme importance of broadcast propaganda to Germany, with which I of course agreed, and suggested that we ought to be broadcasting to Germany almost continuously throughout the day, – not merely news and sonderberichte, but concerts, entertainments, etc. after the manner (he said) of Fecamp or Luxemburg. In his view this was much more important than the services which we were doing to many other countries, e.g. Bulgaria. I said that the allocation of time to Germany was shortly to be increased by three additional periods; and that, in general, the B.B.C. felt – apart from the Empire Service – that the allocation of time in the foreign language services was fundamentally a matter for Govern-
Signature [left blank]
Dept or Section[left blank]
Reith also felt that the government should take over the BBC during war time…
He said he had always felt that it would be simpler for the B.B.C. to be taken over, and that this would make things easier for the B.B.C.
Lest we forget the Daily Mirrors support for Fascism in the 1930s, conveniently forgotten by the left in this day and age….
http://www.europeantruth.co.uk/mosley%20mirror.html
Perhaps while youll about it you might like to include many of the other proprietors and half of the then Tory cabinet.
i am truly shocked by the reaction this story today,the sun was right to report this story and i think stig abell made the right decision in reporting it,what has shocked me is reaction from the left and the anti semites who have crawled from under there stones and done nothing but attacked stig abell and the sun for politacal reasons,i listened to lbc today and leftist caller after caller seems to think it as ok for members of the royal family making nazi salutes because it was 8 0 years ago and that was ok,one caller even said it was a bit of a laugh in those days,others used this story to attack isreal and there treatment of the palestinians,what the sun and stig abell done today is to awaken those anti semites and haters of isreal to spew out there usual bile and agenda of anti semetifc hatred of the state of isreal.bty,stig abell is on at lbc 8.am tommorow presenting his show,it will be one hatefest of anti semite callers who not only hate the sun but hate jews.
If you are principally worried about Israel then the solution clearly is to recognise that Palistine did not give the Jews Israel. That Isael has indulged in continuous acts of human rights abuses together with crimes against humanty , according to UN sources and continues to oppress and murder Palistians with overwhelmingly US backed firepower.
Thereafter, you might like to support a two state solutions and recognition of the citizenship of all who live in Israel,not just the Jews. Maybe you might like also to consider the current political view there that recognises only white Jews as having a legitimate claim to living in the hallowed state. Just where is God when you need him most?
Good balance on Lord Haw Hall’s Marr programme today, the liar Blair’s lie writer Philip Collins and Diane Fatbott!
The latter name-checked Lord Rothermere and the Daily Mail with regard to Nazi sympathies but not, strangely, Lord Reith.
She just managed Murdoch, too!
At Tolpuddle today, Sir William Bragg of Burton Bradstock and Dorsetshire sang about Scousers who didn`t buy the Sun…cue much applause from boozed up lobster pink class warriors of the public sector.
Prior to this , he cited the Sun as doing a good thing in showing us that the Queen was a fascist-he`d seen it yesterday.
The lefty blowhards saw no contradiction in Billy reading the paper but not actually BUYING it-a very left-wing stance, I know you`ll agree.
He ranted about “the fascists losing”-dedicated it to the Queen(because the Sun says so)-worst song from a heady bunch of contenders-but then dedicated his Scouse song to “the 96”.
Will these be the ones who also read the Sun on Merseyside, but don`t pay the papershop to do so?
Poor sod rather confused-a heckler got Billys Goon Squad around him to doughnut him into silence-very Fascist/Mosley I was thinking.
They swore on an oaf though-Frances O Grady.
And Billy is now homeless-he sang “I ain`t got no home”-and the lefties let him deliver the conceit in his bellicose quack over an out of tune guitar.
That country shag pile up by Bridport isn`t a home then Sir William?…I rather thought that you wanted the footpaths closed off roundabouts?
Hypocrisy-it`s all the Left are good for.
Mind you-lots of casualties in grief therapy workshops, and seemingly still hating both Thatch and Ozzy Osbourne!
Lots of JC stickers too-now whether they`re Friends of Israel, Followers of Jesus Christ or eejits who crave the Corduroy clown that is Jeremy Corbyn is your call!
You should have been there-lots of Julians, Jeremys and Tristrams to have fun with.
Labour is dying-not before time….no wonder they crave the BBCs pan pipes to keep tootin`…