Karl Henry von Wiegand

Karl H. Von Wiegand
Karl H. Von Wiegand, 1932
Born(1874-09-11)September 11, 1874
Glaam, Hesse, Germany
DiedJune 7, 1961(1961-06-07) (aged 86)
Zürich, Switzerland
NationalityUS
Occupation(s)Journalist, war correspondent
Employers
Known forReporting from Germany during World War I and Interwar period; interviews with Adolf Hitler
SpouseInez Royce[1]
Children
Parents
  • Henry Wiegand (father)
  • Anna Margueret Wiegand, née Mehlmann (mother)
Signature

Karl Henry von Wiegand (September 11, 1874[2] – June 7, 1961) was a German born American journalist and war correspondent. Von Wiegand became one of the longest-serving American journalists stationed in Berlin, Germany.

Although Von Wiegand is most widely known for his extensive tenure with Hearst media outlets, his journalistic reputation was initially established through his work with the Associated Press in California and United Press in Europe. In 1911, he became a foreign correspondent for United Press in Europe. During the First World War, Von Wiegand gained prominence for reporting from Germany and conducting exclusive interviews with members of German political and social elite. In August 1914, at the onset of World War I, the New York newspaper The Sun reported that Von Wiegand was the only American correspondent permitted to remain in Berlin.[3] In 1914-1915, Von Wiegand interviewed German crown prince Crown Prince Wilhelm, grand admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, and Ferdinand von Zeppelin.[4]

Von Wiegand was the first American journalist to interview Adolf Hitler in 1922. The report of this interview datelined November 12, 1922, was published in the New York American.[5]

  1. ^ The New York Times, June 8, 1961, 'Karl Von Wiegand Dies at 86; Hearst Foreign Correspondent', p. 35.
  2. ^ Institute for Research in Biography 1948, p. 4875.
  3. ^ The Sun, August 16, 1914, p. 1.
  4. ^ Knightley, P. (1976). The First Casualty. From the Crimea to Vietnam: the War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth Maker, p. 102.
  5. ^ Nagorski, Andrew (2012). Hitlerland: American Eyewitnesses to the Nazi Rise to Power. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-9100-2. p. 21.