In December 1943, five courageous correspondents join a British 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 on a single night. Of the five, only two land back at base to file their stories.
After parachuting out of his doomed aircraft, one reporter is taken prisoner. From there his captors take him on a remarkable tour of bombed-out German cities.
In Dispatch from Berlin, 1943, Anthony Cooper and Thorsten Perl uncover this incredible true story of life on both sides of the war.
About the Authors
Anthony Cooper is a retired schoolteacher with a PhD in German civil aviation in the Weimar Republic, and is the author of HMAS Bataan 1952 (NewSouth, 2010); Darwin Spitfires (NewSouth, 2011 and 2022) and Kokoda Air Strikes (NewSouth, 2014).
Thorsten Perl was and is a investigator of historical and scientific topics. For 27 years he has been involved with official agencies in the search for and clarification of missing crew members of the Second World War. Thorsten works in research and development of regenerative agriculture and lives with his family in Eberswalde near Berlin in Germany.
Industry Reviews
‘An extraordinary 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
‘This book captures the life and death drama that saw five war correspondents, two of them Australian, assigned to RAF Bomber Command to report on the most dangerous campaign of the Second World War — bombing Berlin. Neither they nor the crew knew if they would survive the night. A compelling story of a single raid that has remained untold for too long.’ — Peter Rees
‘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 five intrepid journalists is an exciting tale in its own right, but it simultaneously gives 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
‘Dispatch from Berlin, 1943 takes you on a heart-stopping bombing raid over enemy territory as brave allied air crew battle flak, fighters and fate. Told through the eyes of five brave journalists who went with them, this is a remarkable book about the horror and humanity of war.’ — Mark Willacy
