During the 1930s, Sonia covered major events including the rise of Adolf Hitler and the battle of France following her return to Europe. In 1940, she returned to the United States after the 1940 armistice. In 1942, she was elected president of the New York Newspaper Women's Club. She was accredited as a United States war correspondent later in the year and was assigned to the Far East to cover political stories in the China-Burma-India Theater. Jean Lyons of the "Chinese News Bureau" served as acting club president while she was away.