Dorothy Thompsons was a fierce anti-Nazi reporter and writer in the 1930s and 40s, and one of the most influential female journalists of the 20th century. Born on July 9, 1893, in Lancaster, New York, Thompson's career began in the 1920s and spanned several decades. She is best known for her fearless reporting and commentary on the rise of [fascism](https://doctorparadox.net/category/politics/fascism/) in Europe during the 1930s. Thompson started her career as a freelance writer, contributing articles to a variety of publications. She then landed a job at the New York Evening Post in 1920, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the first woman to head a major news bureau in Europe. Based in Berlin, she reported on the rise of [[Adolf Hitler]] and the [[Nazis]], and warned of the dangers of the Naxis' aggressive militarism and anti-Semitic rhetoric. She was witheringly disdainful of Hitler, referring to him as the "[apotheosis of the Little Man](https://www.nytimes.com/1933/05/12/archives/hitler-power-seen-in-middle-class-dorothy-thompson-back-from.html)." Her reports were influential and widely read, and garnered her a reputation as one of the most perceptive and insightful journalists of her time. She was known as the [American Cassandra](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1632368) for her many prophetic predictions and warnings that accurately described the dangers of Hitlerism early on. ## Women's Rights work In addition to her journalism, Thompson was also a passionate advocate for [[social justice]] and women's rights. She was a strong supporter of [[suffrage]] and was involved in the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was also a vocal opponent of the [[Vietnam War]] and an advocate for nuclear disarmament. Thompson's achievements were recognized with many honors, including being the first American correspondent to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934. She was also the first woman to receive the National Headliner Award in 1937, and the first woman to have a regular column in the New York Herald Tribune. Thompson's career declined in the 1950s due to her outspoken opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunt. She was labeled a communist sympathizer and blacklisted from many media outlets. She continued to write, however, and published several books, including a memoir of her experiences in Nazi Germany titled "I Saw Hitler!" Thompson passed away on January 30, 1961, at the age of 67, but her legacy as a pioneering journalist and advocate for social justice lives on.