Louis P. Lochner

Louis P. Lochner (born Ludwig Paul Lochner on February 22 1887 in Springfield, Illinois, died in January 1975 in Wiesbaden) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist at the Associated Press. He headed the Berlin bureau along with Wes Gallagher. Lochner was awarded the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for correspondence for his reporting from Nazi Germany in Berlin. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, USA and died in Wiesbaden, Germany. In December 1941 Lochner was interned by the Nazis and later released in a prisoner exchange.

Early life

Born to Johann Friedrich Karl Lochner and Maria Lochner nee von Haugwitz, Lochner always signed his name Louis. In 1905 he graduated from the Wisconsin Music Conservatory. On September 7 1910 he married Emmy Hoyer; they would have two children, Elsbeth and Robert. Hoyer died in 1920 and Lochner married again in 1922. With his second wife, Hilde DeTerra nee Steinberger, he had one daughter, Rosamarie.

Foreign correspondence

From 1909--1919 Lochner worked as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press in Germany. In 1919 Lochner was named the director of the Berlin bureau of the U.S. AP. He would remain in that position until 1946. When WWII broke out with the German invasion of Poland in 1939 Lochner became the first foreign journalist to follow the German Army into battle. He reported further on the German side of the war, accompanying the German Army on the Western Front in Holland, Belgium and France. He witnessed the 1940 French surrender in Compiegne.

In 1941 Lochner, while still working for the AP, took a job as an analyst and commentator for the National Broadcasting Company, a capacity he served in until 1944. Toward the end of the war Lochner served on several governmental mission abroad and was on the Board of Directors for the American Council in Germany. In 1942 he received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Muhlenberg College.

Lochner was on friendly terms with Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (1907-1994).Fact|date=July 2008

Post-WWII career

Besides working on his book writing career Lochner continued to work in journalism. 1951 found Lochner as a member of the editorial board of "The Lutheran Witness". Post-war he also worked as a columnist for "The Lutheran Layman" and "The Lutheran Witness Reporter".

Books

Lochner wrote seven books during his life and edited numerous others. Some of the books he wrote and edited include:

Authored

*"Herbert Hoover and Germany" (1960)

Edited

*"The Goebbels Diaries 1942-1943" (1970)

Honors

*1939: Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence

ee also

*Armenian quote

References

* [http://chi.lcms.org/collections/fa/m-0028.htm Louis P. Lochner (1887-1975) Family Collection, 1524-1975] : Concordia Historical Institute of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod