Schultz was a clever journalist who could speak several languages andwho knew how to get inside a story. Living in Berlin in the 1930s whenNazis were rising to power, she often hosted parties for Nazi officials.When she got the inside news on what they were doing, she would cross theborder into Danmark or Norway and wire stories to the ChicagoTribune, under the pen name John Dickson.
What Schultz did was very dangerous, because Germany had peopleworking as censors to stop anti-German news from getting around theworld. She pretended to comply with their rules, and then wrote different stories once she was outside Germany. Although Germans knew she was a reporter, they didn't realize shewas John Dickson, who accurately predicted what would happen next in thewar. She told readers in the U.S. what country Germany would invade next,who was rising to power, and what other countries were on Germany's side.
Schultz may have been devious in getting a story, but she was veryintelligent. Although her parents werefrom Norway and moved to the U.S. for several years, Schultz lived andwent to school in France and Germany, and travelled all over Europe. Shewas the first woman to be elected to Berlin's Foreign Press Club's boardof directors, which enabled her to talk to more sources. A year later, in1925, she was named Berlin Bureau Chief for the Tribune.
Her reports from Berlin were very important, because no other Americanhad such close access to the Nazis. Her articles were very critical ofwar, and were constantly warning Americans what would happen if Germanygained too much power. She despised what the Nazis stood for, and helpedmany Jewish people escape from being killed by Nazis. She reported onwhat was really going on in the concentrations camps where Jews and otherpeople were being kept and killed, which caused the Nazis to label her"the dragon from Chicago."
Schultz had an insider's view of World War II, and because of herbackground, she understood what led up to Germany's role in the war.Read about WWII, and what events led up to the Holocaust, where millionsof Jewish people were killed. What were Germany's philosophies that madethem want to get rid of Jews? Sometimes the way a country or an ethnicgroup thinks can eventually lead to horrible violence and wars. Today, inBosnia, three groups of people with philosophies similar to the Nazis areat war with each other. There are many other small-scale wars going onright now all over the world. What leads up to these conflicts? Why doeseach side think they should have power? Understanding the causes of warcan go a long way towards ending it, and preventing similar wars fromhappening in the future.