num_pages: 312
description: Cast your mind back to the 1940's. The United States was at war with the axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan. These countries had spies and agents who used the franking privilege of elected Congressman and Senators to send propaganda to "isolationists" and "America Firsters" around the country. The purpose was to break the fighting spirit on the homefront.Henry Hoke attempted to bring three grand juries' proceedings before the public eye. Unfortunately, because powerful people were implicated, the aggressive prosecutor, Maloney, was replaced and a thorough public viewing of the case was never undertaken. Here is an example of what Henry Hoke refers to as gutter-literature that was inserted into franked envelopes from the office of Charlie Hoffman of Onaha, Nebraska:It describe in an alliterative fashion the dangers of West Africa:It proclaimed in part: "V is Victory. These vain visionaries Would Send Our Valiant Vanguard to Africa's Vilely Vicious Clime, Victimized by Verminous Voracious insects, Venomous snakes, Vitiating tropical diseases, Voo-dooed and Hoo-dooed by the horrors of war in the hottest hell on earth."I happen to know that Henry Hoke's youngest son, Jack, was in the US Army and sent to west Africa because Henry is my grandfather, and Jack is my uncle.It is amazing to read about the genius propagandist named Viereck who got Congressman like Hamilton Fish to publish Nazi propaganda as their own speeches. These speeches would become part of the Congressional Record and hundred of copies were ordered from the Government Printing Office. Envelopes marked with the Congressman's frank would be passed to Nazi front organizations like America First where they would be addressed to their mailing lists. So, while the Nazi were sinking American ships and bombing American allies, Viereck found a way for American taxpayers to finance distribution of Nazi propaganda. According to George Sylvester Viereck book "The Germs of Hate", "Propaganda is a campaign camouflaging its origin, its motive, or both, conducted for the purpose of obtaining specific objectives by manipulating public opinion." "The objective of German propaganda was threefold: to strengthen and replenish Germany; to weaken and embarrass Germany's foes; and to keep America out of the war by spreading the truth as German's saw it."Henry predicted the sorry state of affairs of propaganda posing as news, and this book is an example of how he tried to educate the public to come to the defense of democracy and oppose totalitarian dictatorships.I believe Henry would agree with me that George Viereck and Roger Ailes are spawn of the same germ of hate.
title: It's A Secret
publisher: Reynal & Hitchcock, New York