1997/01/01 by Diane Cypkin · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Rhetoric and Communication Studies #Media Studies and Communication #Public Relations and Crisis Communication
paper · doi:10.1080/19376529709391688
openalex publication_date 1997/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
During times of chaos and confusion—like the late 1930s—people desperately search for answers. Rumors were coming out of Germany about Nazism, about Jewish persecution. Then came Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938. At that point, celebrated radio priest Father Coughlin decided to explain to his American listening audience exactly what, according to him, the situation was in Germany. This paper takes an in‐depth look at Father Coughlin's explanatory radio broadcast on November 20, 1938. The outstanding finding: Father Coughlin's clever use of the strategy of role reversal turned the victims of Nazism—Jews—into the victimizers.