  mildred elizabeth gillars (november 29, 1900 â june 25, 1988), nicknamed "axis sally" along with rita zucca, was an american broadcaster employed by the third reich in nazi germany to proliferate propaganda during world war ii. she was convicted of treason by the united states in 1949 following her capture in post-war berlin. ==early life== born mildred elizabeth sisk in portland, maine, she took the surname gillars in 1911, after her mother remarried... at 16, she moved to conneaut, ohio, with her family. in 1918 she enrolled at ohio wesleyan university to study dramatic arts but left before graduating. she then moved to greenwich village, new york city, where she worked in various low-skill jobs to finance drama lessons. she toured with stock companies and appeared in vaudeville but she was unable to establish a theatrical career. in 1929, gillars left the u.s. for france, where she worked as an artist's model in paris. in 1933 she left the us again, residing first in algiers, where she found work as a dressmaker's assistant.{{citation | url = http://www.justice.gov/criminal/foia/records/axis-sally-p8.pdf | title = axis sally | format = pdf | publisher = department of justice | 
1900_births 1988_deaths American_Roman_Catholics American_collaborators_with_Nazi_Germany American_prisoners_and_detainees American_radio_personalities Converts_to_Roman_Catholicism Nazi_propagandists Ohio_Wesleyan_University_alumni People_convicted_of_treason_against_the_United_States People_from_Conneaut,_Ohio People_from_New_York_City People_from_Portland,_Maine People_of_Nazi_Germany Women_in_World_War_II