THE DRAGON FROM CHICAGO Sigrid Schultz

Sigrid Schultz at her typewriter at the Chicago Tribune Berlin Bureau.

When Sigrid Schultz was offered a job as a reporter in Berlin, Germany in 1919, she had no idea how her life was about to change – or how her work would change the world.

Returning guest Pamela Toler introduces us to this indomitable woman, who was one of the first to raise the alarm about the Nazis, one of the last to leave as WWII made reporting impossible, and the first woman in history to head an American News Bureau.

Images courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society unless otherwise indicated.

Sigrid Schultz as a baby, with her mother Hedwig and Barry the dog. Photo by Herman Schultz.

A young Sigrid with her mother Hedwig and Barry the dog in their garden. Photo by Herman Schultz.
used by permission of Pam Toler

A young Sigrid and her mother in Berlin. Photo by Herman Schultz.

Sigrid with the rabbits she raised during WWI.
used by permission of Pamela Toler

Sigrid with a bunch of “the boys” in front of thein front of the Chicago Tribune office in the hotel Adlon, 1927.
by permission of Pam Toler

Sigrid and an unknown man in the Tribune office. Berlin, 1920. Unknown photographer.

Sigrid holding a camera on a tripod. She is probably taking a selfie in a mirror. Unknown photographer.

Sigrid making the first direct telephone call between Berlin and Chicago in 1928.

Sigrid Schultz, 1930. Portrait photo by Charles Leon.

Sigrid Schultz, Ambassador William Dodd, and Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels photographed together at the Foreign Press Ball.

Portrait of Sigrid Schultz in an official war correspondents’ uniform. Unknown photographer.

Sigrid seated front-and-center at a group interview with at a group interview with Nazi leader Hermann Göring, days after his capture by the US Army.
by permission of Pam Toler

Richard “Dick” Little, famed foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, and Sigrid’s mentor and friend.
Photo courtesy of Sgt. Daxter.

Robert “Colonel” McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune.
photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

Armed with a PhD in history, a well-thumbed deck of library cards, and a large bump of curiosity, author, speaker, and historian Pamela D. Toler translates history for a popular audience. She goes beyond the familiar boundaries of American history to tell stories from other parts of the world as well as history from the other side of the battlefield, the gender line, or the color bar. Toler is the author of ten books of popular history for children and adults, including The Dragon From Chicago: The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany, Heroines of Mercy Street: Real Nurses of the Civil War, Women Warriors: An Unexpected History. Her work has appeared in American Scholar, Aramco World, Calliope, History Channel Magazine, MHQ: The Quarterly Journa Military History, Ms., Time.com and The Washington Post and has been featured in National Geographic.

Music featured in this episode includes

Alma Mahler‘s “Laue Sommernacht” and Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31 – Amanda Setlik Wilson

“1919 Rag,” “Aunt Hagar’s Blues,” and “12th Street Rag” by The New Hot 5

“Argonnerwald” – The Carl Woitschach Orchestra

“Anathema,” “Blinded” and “Me” – Jeff Cuno

“The Quiet Aftermath” – Sir Cubworth

“Remembering Her” – Esther Abrami

“Four fou fo” – Andy Reiner

“Salut d’Amour” – Peak Duo

“Allégro” – Emmit Fenn

Music featured in this episode includes

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