As a "Social Justice" correspondent Johnson made at least two trips to Germany, covering the huge Nazi rally at Nuremberg and the 1939 invasion of Poland with approval. The American correspondent William L. Shirer, traveling with him in his reporting on the invasion (later collected in "Berlin Diary"), labeled him "the American fascist" and suspected him of spying for the Germans. Three weeks after Poland fell in autumn 1939, Johnson "was with German troops at the front as the guest of the Propaganda Ministry". In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "The German green uniforms made the place look gay and happy... There were not many Jews to be seen. We saw Warsaw burn and Modlin being bombed. It was a stirring spectacle."